Arthritis treatment breakthrough

THE UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND

Share on print Almost four millions Australians suffer from chronic joint pain and disability caused by arthritis, but this new treatment could reduce that number if it works in humans as it does in the lab.  Image: michellegibson/iStockphoto Researchers from The University of Queensland's Institute for Molecular Bioscience have discovered a potential new approach to treating chronic inflammatory diseases such as arthritis. Professor David Fairlie and his colleagues have developed an experimental treatment that has proven effective at reducing symptoms and stopping the progression of the disease in models of arthritis. “Human enzymes called proteases stimulate the secretion of immune cells that, when the correct amount is released, play important roles in digestion, fighting infections and healing wounds,” Professor Fairlie said. “But in chronic inflammatory diseases such as arthritis, these enzymes continuously stimulate the release of immune cells, which cause inflammation when present at high levels. This leads to ongoing tissue damage.” Professor Fairlie and his team have developed experimental compounds that block this stimulation and successfully reduce chronic inflammatory arthritis in experimental models. If the treatment could be transferred to humans, it has the potential to reduce both the health and economic impacts of chronic inflammatory diseases. Almost four million Australians suffer from chronic joint pain and disability caused by various forms of arthritis, including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and gout. Related healthcare and loss of employment cost Australia over $20 billion per year, an amount that is expected to increase dramatically as our population ages. These promising new findings are published in the current hard-copy edition of The Federation of American Societies For Experimental Biology Journal, the world's most cited scientific journal in biology. Journal subscribers can access the paper here. Editor's Note: Original news release can be found here.

Anti cancer Fruits

Friedrich Hechelmann Art works

 

The artist and illustrator Friedrich Hechelmann, born in Isny, Germany in 1948, was the star student of Professor Rudolf Hausner at the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna, from 1969 to 1972. Since then, he has transformed his vision and philosophy into reality, through great effort and no less greater success

Hechelmann’s visionary paintings and illustration sirresistably draw in the viewer, who is left with the lasting wish to see the world through Hechelmann’s eyes. 

"For thousands of years, observations of nature were the most important theme in painting. The fact that today we regard this theme as cute, quaint and yet undeserving, reveals our arrogance, false sense of superiority, and alienation from nature" says Friedrich Hechelmann, who is strives against this trend in all of his work and with his every being. Then his art lives in awe of creation. "Nature does not need us but we need it. This is why it should be a theme of art today", argues the painter and artistic visionary.

In the Gallery at Isny Castle, in the Allgäu in the foothills of the Alps, Hechelmann has created the ideal setting for the presentation of his fantastic works

Already during his time at the Vienna academy, Hechelmann was equally fascinated by painting and illustration. The borders between large-format panel paintings and small-format illustrations are largely fluid. Strange and fanciful creatures from fantasy and fables populate dream-like landscapes, inviting the view to give him- or herself over to the Hechelmann’s vision completely. An invitation, which no one can resist and which fascinates and enthralls again and again.

Hechelmann is one of the great story-tellers of our time. His magical world blossoms out of an inexhaustible repertoire of figurative and coloristic ideas and inspirations. He has become popular as an illustrator of numerous books in Germany and abroad and today is considered one of the world’s most successful book illustrators. But anyone who views Hechelmann primarily as an illustrator misses the remarkable strength and creative force of Hechelmann the painter, who has raised his creativity to new heights at Isny Castle , a creativity which visitors to the castle can see for themselves.

With "Hechelmanns Traumtheater" (Hechelmann’s Dream Theatre) Friedrich Hechelmann achieved a poetic Gesamtkunstwerk – he didn’t just design the puppets, but sewed them himself and developed their internal workings. He created the theatre choreography and was screenwriter, set designer, and director, working in the television studio with the same commitment he shows in the privacy of his atelier. 

In the gallery’s video room, you can watch 45-minute portraits of the artist, the titles of which “Atlantis lies in the Allgäu”, or “Friedrich Hechelmann and His Bible – I Paint My Dreams” make you hungry to learn more about the work of this diverse artist. Let yourself be enchanted and get to know Hechelmann the person and Hechelmann the creator - then a visit to the Isny Castle Gallery is more than just a day in a museum. 


In the Media library your will find more videos, interviews and impressions about and of the work of Friedrich Hechelmann and his unusual life dedicated to art.