The University of Cologne is one of the oldest and largest universities in Germany and also among the country’s leading research institutions. In 2012, the University of Cologne was awarded extensive funding within the framework of the Excellence Initiative, a nationwide competition borne by the German federal and state governments to promote top-level research and enhance quality education.

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The Department of Skeletal Dysplasias is the national centre for Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI). It is a well-known centre of expertise for research and for patient care in this area.

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In recent years a close cooperation between the Paediatric Hospital, the Orthopaedic Department, the Rehabilitation Centre for Children of the University, the Institute of Human Genetics and the Department of Prenatal Medicine has been established and is part of the routine care for the patients and resulting research questions.

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Role in project:

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The Department of Skeletal Dysplasias will extend its existing active research interest in OI by participating in the conduct of the BOOSTB4 clinical trial. The centre will be involved in:

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• Identify pregnancies with fetuses affected by OI and neonates/children with OI and recruit to the study for intervention or observation;

• Perform prenatal and postnatal transplantation of fetal MSC to treat OI, and long term follow up of cases and controls.

 

Contributing staff:

• PD Dr. Joerg Oliver Semler

• PD Dr. Heike Hoyer-Kuhn

• Dr. Ingo Gottschalk