Central Blood Pressure And Cardiovascular Risk In Children Within The General Population And After Repair Of Congenital Heart Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$431,000.00
Summary
With an exceptional research standing internationally, and as the leader of a Cardiovascular Bioengineering team, I am developing a new method for assessing central blood pressure in children that will provide better information about early risk of cardiovascular disease than arm blood pressure. This will be applied (1) in a large health study of Australian children and (2) to identify risks and causes of adult-type cardiovascular disease in children with repaired congenital heart disease.
Reducing Morbidities In Preterm Growth Restricted Neonates.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$687,214.00
Summary
Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is a serious complication of pregnancy and occurs when fetal growth is abnormal, resulting in a fetus that is smaller than it should be for its given gestational age. IUGR babies are at much greater risk of many short and long-term adverse outcomes. This study investigates the role that adverse cardiovascular development plays in the progression of lung, heart and brain disease in preterm IUGR newborns.
Performance And Safety Testing Of The BioQ Cardiac Assist System In A Chronic Ovine Heart Failure Animal Model
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$142,800.00
Summary
This proposal will test a novel cardiac assist system in safety and performance studies using a chronic sheep heart failure model. This device has been tested in cardiovascular simulators and in an acute animal model showing attractive proof-of-concept data. Specifically, the device increased left coronary artery blood flow and reduced aortic pulse and mean pressures using our novel self-powered fully implantable stand alone device, a potential therapy treatment for heart failure.
Development Of Oral Natriuretic-like Peptides For Chronic Treatment Of Congestive Heart Failure
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$389,533.00
Summary
Congestive heart failure is fatal disease and a major disease burdon for the community affecting nearly half a million Australians.. Current therapies are inadequate and very limited in prolonging life. We seek to develop a new peptide therepy based on the effectivness of human B type natriuetic peptide which has to be given by injection. Our aim is to produce an orally active and effective treatment based on peptides discovered in snake venom. The program involves testing in animals and cells
Mechanisms Linking Insulin-mediated Muscle Capillary Recruitment And Glucose Uptake
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$315,990.00
Summary
A number of studies over recent years including our own have suggested that insulin acts in normal humans and animals to improve blood supply to muscle and that a contributing factor to Type 2 diabetes is an impaired ability of insulin to achieve this effect. Our key contribution to this field is the finding that insulin acts to alter blood flow in muscle to improve access for itself and nutrients such as glucose. This discovery of blood flow redistribution in muscle was made possible by newly d ....A number of studies over recent years including our own have suggested that insulin acts in normal humans and animals to improve blood supply to muscle and that a contributing factor to Type 2 diabetes is an impaired ability of insulin to achieve this effect. Our key contribution to this field is the finding that insulin acts to alter blood flow in muscle to improve access for itself and nutrients such as glucose. This discovery of blood flow redistribution in muscle was made possible by newly developed in-house methods. Using these methods we now wish to explore (a) the mechanism by which insulin mediates this effect and (b) when this effect of insulin to improve muscle blood flow is impaired in diabetes, how it might be recovered. We expect to find that insulin-mediated capillary recruitment in muscle results from a signal substance released from muscle that permeates nearby tissue reacting with the blood vessels to improve blood flow. It is also expected that new therapeutic approaches for enhancing insulin action in muscle and targeted at the blood vessels will be identified.Read moreRead less
Cyclic GMP Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors And Facilitation Of Insulin-mediated Capillary Recruitment In Muscle
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$220,500.00
Summary
It would now seem clear that insulin has a major stimulatory effect on blood flow within muscle to improve access for itself as well as nutrients such as glucose. When this haemodynamic effect of insulin is impaired insulin resistance in terms of glucose uptake by muscle results and there is the potential for type 2 diabetes to develop. Our key contribution has been the development of new techniques to make this observation possible and it would be fair to say that we are the world leaders in th ....It would now seem clear that insulin has a major stimulatory effect on blood flow within muscle to improve access for itself as well as nutrients such as glucose. When this haemodynamic effect of insulin is impaired insulin resistance in terms of glucose uptake by muscle results and there is the potential for type 2 diabetes to develop. Our key contribution has been the development of new techniques to make this observation possible and it would be fair to say that we are the world leaders in this field because of these techniques. Using these methods we now wish to develop new drugs for treating type 2 diabetes based on improving muscle capillary blood flow. The approach we will use is similar to that used previously by others for the treatment of erectile dysfunction with drugs targeted at a particular enzyme controlling the metabolism of a substance (cyclic GMP) which in turn regulates blood flow to the corpus cavernosum. In our case, the drugs will be targeted at another specific isoform of the same enzyme, cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase, located at control points in the skeletal muscle microvasculature. We expect to find that insulin-mediated capillary recruitment in muscle will be enhanced by such drugs. As a consequence, insulin resistance in muscle will be lessened.Read moreRead less
Immediate Or Delayed Cord Clamping In The Preterm Birth Transition: Is There A Trade-off Between Circulatory Stability And Sympathoadrenal Activation?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$824,582.00
Summary
Using an established experimental model of preterm birth, this project will determine if delayed clamping of the umbilical cord at birth leads to better stability of the circulation than immediate clamping, and if this improved stability comes at a cost of not activating the involuntary nervous system essential for enhancing metabolic and lung function after birth. The results of this study will provide fundamental new information for optimizing birth delivery strategies in preterm babies.
Novel Therapy For Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,068,984.00
Summary
Heart failure is a major cardiovascular problem. Up to half of the patients have a specific problem with heart muscle relaxation. There is no effective therapy for this type of heart failure. We will investigate the effects of new treatment approach using a range of experimental and clinical methods. If successful the treatment could move quickly into clinical practice.
Myocardial Structure And Function In Preeclampsia Using Cardiac Magnetic Resonance And Echocardiography
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$187,322.00
Summary
Preeclampsia is a devastating high blood pressure problem of pregnancy. The only cure is birth of the baby. I believe that the key to understanding why preeclampsia occurs and to better treatments, is to examine the heart in women with preeclampsia using ultrasound and magnetic imaging. Using these safe methods it is anticipated that my research will improve understanding of preeclampsia, lead to better monitoring and the use of different medications to reduce complications in preeclampsia.