Developing the WTCRF in Cambridge: Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy and a Nutrition Resource & Appetite Laboratory

位于剑桥的惠康信托资助的临床研究机构(WTCRF)已经在高水平(75%)的入住率下运营了几年。已经开展了200多个项目，从实验医学(密集的患者调查导致对疾病机制的了解)到治疗试验。肥胖、糖尿病和胰岛素抵抗在世界范围内流行，剑桥大学的国际公认的研究项目调查肥胖和胰岛素抵抗的遗传形式、人群糖尿病、儿童糖尿病、危重疾病和代谢以及代谢储存疾病。独一无二的是，我们的WTCRF包含对此类研究至关重要的专业技术(例如，能量消耗测量)，也是治疗试验的场所(例如，替代瘦素(食欲激素)治疗肥胖症或替代储存疾病中的酶；预防糖尿病)。磁共振波谱(MRS)技术允许以非侵入性和非放射方式测量组织中的物质和代谢途径，具有显著先进的包括糖尿病在内的代谢性疾病的知识。对位于扩大的现有成像设施内的MRS扫描仪和专家支持人员的支持将显著增加我们的代谢研究计划，MRS测量将发现疾病机制并监测试验中的治疗反应。无论是专业研究(如肥胖)还是一般临床研究，能量(食物)摄入量都是一个重要的变量，现有的CRF技术用于衡量这一点还处于起步阶段。增加CRF营养源(工作人员、减肥厨房)将使研究对象的饮食摄入量能够标准化或以明确的方式改变。“食欲实验室”，或测量饮食行为特征的移动仪器，对于研究肥胖和其他食欲失调状态是必不可少的。

A Wellcome Trust-funded Clinical Research Facility (WTCRF) in Cambridge has been inoperation for several years at a high level (75%) of occupancy. Over 200 projects have beenundertaken, ranging from experimental medicine (where intensive patient investigation leads tounderstanding of disease mechanisms) to trials of treatment. Obesity, Diabetes and InsulinResistance are epidemic worldwide and internationally-recognised research programs inCambridge investigate genetic forms of obesity and insulin resistance, population diabetes,diabetes in childhood, critical illness & metabolism and metabolic storage diseases. Uniquely,our WTCRF contains specialised technologies (e.g.energy expenditure measurement) that arevital for such research and is also the locus for treatment trials (e.g replacement of leptin (anappetite hormone) in obesity or enzymes in storage diseases; prevention of diabetes).Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), technology which allows substances and metabolicpathways in tissues to be measured non-invasively and non-radioactively, has significantlyadvanced knowledge of metabolic disorders including diabetes. Support for an MRS scannertogether with specialist support staff, located within an expanded,existing imaging facility, willadd significantly to our metabolic research programs,with MRS measurements discoveringdisease mechanisms & monitoring treatment response in trials. Energy (food) intake is animportant variable in both specialised (e.g. obesity) or general clinical research, and existingCRF technologies for measuring this are rudimentary. Addition of a CRF Nutrition Resource(staff, diet kitchen) will enable dietary intake of research subjects to be either standardised oraltered in a defined way. An “appetite laboratory”, or mobile apparatus to measurecharacteristics of eating behaviour, is essential for research of obesity and other appetitedisorderedstates.