Long-term safety and dose escalation of intracerebroventricular CLN5 gene therapy in sheep supports clinical translation for CLN5 Batten disease.

CLN5 neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL, Batten disease) is a rare, inherited fatal neurodegenerative disorder caused by mutations in the gene. The disease is characterised by progressive neuronal loss, blindness, and premature death. There is no cure.

A Short History of Bioengineering Research in Ireland.

In July 2018, Ireland will host the World Congress of Biomechanics in Dublin. This Congress is held once every 4 yr and is the premier meeting worldwide in its field, with over 3000 people expected to visit Dublin in July. The awarding of the 2018 Congress to Ireland is a reflection of the strength of biomechanics and bioengineering research in this country.

Aging enhances the vulnerability of mesenchymal stromal cells to uniaxial tensile strain-induced apoptosis.

Mechanical priming can be employed in tissue engineering strategies to control the fate and differentiation pattern of mesenchymal stromal cells. This is relevant to regenerative medicine whereby mechanical cues can promote the regeneration of a specific tissue type from mesenchymal precursors. The ability of cells to respond to mechanical forces is dependent upon mechanotransduction pathways that involve membrane-associated proteins, such as integrins.

Four decades of finite element analysis of orthopaedic devices: where are we now and what are the opportunities?

Finite element has been used for more than four decades to study and evaluate the mechanical behaviour total joint replacements. In Huiskes seminal paper "Failed innovation in total hip replacement: diagnosis and proposals for a cure", finite element modelling was one of the potential cures to avoid poorly performing designs reaching the market place. The size and sophistication of models has increased significantly since that paper and a range of techniques are available from predicting the initial mechanical environment through to advanced adaptive simulations including bone adaptation, tissue differentiation, damage accumulation and wear.