The Wakefield Gastroenterology Research Trust

The Research Institute is located in a free-standing two story building at Wakefield Hospital. The Institute has up to ten scientists and research officers working on novel research in the following areas:

Colorectal Cancer Molecular Genetics

Work is being undertaken to try to define and understand the various abnormalities (mutations) in genes which might be responsible for the spread of colorectal cancer to the liver and other organs. It is this spread which generally renders colorectal cancer incurable, and an increased understanding of the molecular events leading to the spread of the cancer may permit the development of new treatment strategies in the future. We have been collecting blood and tissue samples from our patients for many years which together with our detailed patient database gives us a very valuable research resource. This resource means we are in a particularly good position to make or contribute to important discoveries that may affect the management and outcome of patients with colorectal cancer in the future.

Obesity and Diabetes

Severe obesity is becoming an extremely common and growing problem in the Western World. It is associated with many serious metabolic diseases such as diabetes, dyslipidaemia (high cholesterol), hypertension, and heart disease. The underlying cause of these conditions and perhaps obesity itself is probably what is called insulin resistance. We have for some years been involved in research to better understand insulin resistance, and we were the first to show that gastric bypass resolves insulin resistance within one week of surgery. This observation has very important implications for the development of medications which may achieve the same effect. We are actively trying to understand the mechanisms involved and the underlying causes, in the hope that more effective treatments for these conditions can be developed.