WellChild Research Projects

Rapid Development of Novel Iron Materials to Address Childhood Iron Deficiency Anaemia

 

Researcher: Dr Jonathon Powell, MRC Collaborative Centre for Human Nutrition Research, Cambridge

Grant award: £41,617 (jointly funded with Action Medical Research)

Duration: May 2010 to October 2011

Synopsis:

Up to 25% of UK children suffer from iron deficiency anaemia, with recognised native impact in their cognitive development. Effective supplemantation (ie. cheap, efficacious and no adverse effects) is one tool to eliminate the burden of disease. In the proposed research, this team aim to develop a novel iron supplement that will overcome the current barriers to successful treatment of this disease in children - namely high adverse effects and poor compliance and lack of discrimination between children needing iron and those who do not.

They will use cellular uptake studies as well as cellular safety evaluation for the screening of up to ten novel iron preparations. Following this 18-month study, they will have a product that can be trialed in human subjects with the aim of ultimately translating findings to paediatric clinical trials, community studies on effectiveness (eg. in-school) and to ensure widespread availability of this solution at the population level. The team envisages that this approach could be part of normal clinical care within 8 years.

 

 

updated September 2010