A Randomised Controlled Trial To Prevent Primigravid Excessive Gestational Weight Gain And Postpartum Weight Retention
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$505,412.00
Summary
Excessive weight gain in pregnancy and weight retention 12 months post birth place women at a greater risk for the development of overweight and obesity. This study responds to the urgent need to design effective interventions to prevent excessive weight gain in pregnancy and postpartum weight retention. A health coaching intervention has been designed to address this urgent need, and its effectiveness will be evaluated in a randomised controlled trial with first time pregnant women.
Heart failure is a severely debilitating condition with a poor prognosis. It is characterized by retention of fluid and high nervous activity especially to the kidneys and the heart. Even with the best current treatment available, patients with heart failure still suffer from abnormally high nerve activity to the further detriment of this condition. The successful completion of this project will provide considerable insight into the role of the brain in the elevated nerve activity in heart failu ....Heart failure is a severely debilitating condition with a poor prognosis. It is characterized by retention of fluid and high nervous activity especially to the kidneys and the heart. Even with the best current treatment available, patients with heart failure still suffer from abnormally high nerve activity to the further detriment of this condition. The successful completion of this project will provide considerable insight into the role of the brain in the elevated nerve activity in heart failure. It will also provide us with a significant understanding of the role in reflex sympathetic nerve regulation of an important brain region known as the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN). Our findings will help us understand the nature of the neurotransmitters contributing to the reflex nerve regulation and the specific neurons within the PVN involved. This knowledge could help us to identify novel potential therapeutic targets within the brain to alleviate the problems observed in heart failure.Read moreRead less
The Metabolic Effects Of Oestrogens And SERMs: Regulatory Interactions With The GH-IGF-system In Health And Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$379,142.00
Summary
This project extends work aimed at understanding how GH and sex hormones work together to optimise physical health in women and men. It addresses the benefits and safety of oestrogen compounds in relation to their effects on body fat and muscle (body composition). Oestrogen compounds are among the most widely used medicines and include tradition oestrogens (female hormone) and synthetic oestrogens called SERMs. Oestrogens are used in young women as oral contraception and in the postmenopause for ....This project extends work aimed at understanding how GH and sex hormones work together to optimise physical health in women and men. It addresses the benefits and safety of oestrogen compounds in relation to their effects on body fat and muscle (body composition). Oestrogen compounds are among the most widely used medicines and include tradition oestrogens (female hormone) and synthetic oestrogens called SERMs. Oestrogens are used in young women as oral contraception and in the postmenopause for replacement therapy. Body composition is an important determinant of fitness and health. Obesity reduces fitness and increases the risk of diabetes and heart attacks while muscle loss causes weakness and frailty. GH is a major regulator of body composition; it acts by breaking down fat and building muscle mass. We discovered that oestrogens, when taken as a tablet interferes with the action of GH and causes detrimental changes in body composition. On the positive side, we have exploited the GH blocking action to treat acromegaly. This is a debilitating disease of excessive GH production from a pituitary tumour and for which available drug treatments are very expensive and require injection. The effects of SERMs on body composition are unknown. SERMs are interesting compounds because they act like oestrogens in some but as oestrogen blockers in other tissues. These are widely used in the treatment of breast cancer and osteoporosis. The extent to which they interfere with the action of GH has not been studied. They may exert additional effects because they act on the pituitary gland to reduce the secretion of GH. They may also prove to be effective in acromegaly which could extend their usefulness to men. In summary, the work will provide important information on the long-term benefits of SERMs in patient groups that tend to be frail. It may also prove to be a simple and inexpensive treatment for acromegaly.Read moreRead less
The Role Of Liver Fructose-1,6-phosphatase (FBPase) In Body Weight Regulation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$494,718.00
Summary
We have shown that fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (FBPase), an enzyme important in producing sugar from the liver and one that is connected to Type 2 diabetes, does not cause an increase in sugar production when there is more of the enzyme in mouse livers. It does, however, lower both body weight and the amount of food the mice consume. We therefore hypothesise that liver FBPase is important in controlling body weight in humans and our project aims to find out exactly how and why this happens.
The Effect Of Overexpression And Underexpression Of Beacon In Transgenic Mice
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$316,540.00
Summary
Overweight and Obesity are very prevalent in our society. Obesity is the cause of many medical problems including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, abnormal lipids, sleep apnoea, arthritis and some cancers. The idea that individuals can freely choose whether they eat or not eat is only true in the short term. Recent work has clearly shown that the desire to eat (hunger) and the decision to stop eating (satiety) are determined by the net level of many chemicals (neurotransmitters) in an area ....Overweight and Obesity are very prevalent in our society. Obesity is the cause of many medical problems including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, abnormal lipids, sleep apnoea, arthritis and some cancers. The idea that individuals can freely choose whether they eat or not eat is only true in the short term. Recent work has clearly shown that the desire to eat (hunger) and the decision to stop eating (satiety) are determined by the net level of many chemicals (neurotransmitters) in an area of the brain called the hypothalamus. Malfunction in some of these neurotransmitters has been shown to cause severe obesity in both animals and humans. A clear understanding of how the hypothalamus regulates body weight may lead to treatments for both severe obesity and anorexia. This project deals with investigating the role of a new hypothalamic protein in body weight regulation. This protein called beacon was discovered by one of the chief investigators (GC) who has shown that when it is injected in the brain it causes rats to overeat and put on excess weight. The aim of this project is to produce mice in which the amount of beacon is increased in the brain and other mice who do not have beacon and then to study the impact onthe regulation of body weight.Read moreRead less