Short Term Effects Of Overfeeding On Metabolic Risk In Humans
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$380,558.00
Summary
Obesity is associated with increased risk of diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Obesity prevalence is rapidly increasing and consitutes one of the greatest threats to human health. The aim of this study is to determine mechanism-s underlying the close relationship between obesity and insulin resistance by inducing experimental weight gain in humans with and without a genetic predisposition to diabetes. This project will help identify new candidates for anti-diabetes drugs.
Molecular Characterisation Of Adiponectin Receptors: Implications For Adiponectin Action And Resistance
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$95,137.00
Summary
Adiponectin is a hormone secreted by fat cells with anti-inflammatory, anti-atherogenic and insulin sensitising properties. Adiponectin levels and actions are compromised in obesity and type 2 diabetes. Adponectin mediates its effects via two receptors but the mechanisms are poorly understood. This proposal aims to define the underlying mechanisms with the ultimate goal of identifying novel therapeutic strategies to improve adiponectin's actions.
Determinants And Impact Of Patient-Centred Health Outcomes In Psoriatic Arthritis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$84,069.00
Summary
Psoriatic arthritis is a chronic joint disease which is linked with the skin condition called psoriasis. People who have psoriatic arthritis can develop deformities in their joints and suffer from decreased quality of life. Psoriatic arthritis can present in a wide range of ways, but the reasons for this are not understood. This research aims to explain some of this variation and to predict which patients will develop more severe disease so treatment can be targeted to improve their outcome.
Is Insulin Sensitivity In Children And Their Mothers Programmed By Maternal Blood Glucose?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$169,630.00
Summary
Glucose intolerance in pregnancy is associated with the birth of large-for-dates and macrosomic (>4000g) babies. The risk of type 2 diabetes is greater in babies who are small or large at birth compared to those with normal birth weight. This study will determine if treatment of mothers with glucose intolerance in pregnancy (which is intermediate between normal glucose tolerance and diabetes) alters the regulation of glucose tolerance in their children. The mothers were randomised to receive ....Glucose intolerance in pregnancy is associated with the birth of large-for-dates and macrosomic (>4000g) babies. The risk of type 2 diabetes is greater in babies who are small or large at birth compared to those with normal birth weight. This study will determine if treatment of mothers with glucose intolerance in pregnancy (which is intermediate between normal glucose tolerance and diabetes) alters the regulation of glucose tolerance in their children. The mothers were randomised to receive normal antenatal care or to have their blood sugar measured and controlled by diet and insulin as for diabetics. We will measure the insulin sensitivity of the children to a glucose load. We will also measure blood pressure and lipids in these children. Treatment of the mother during pregnancy may alter the deposition of fat in the fetus the effect of which will continue into childhood. Thus the offspring of treated mothers may remain thinner throughout childhood. Each pregnancy increases a woman's chance of developing type 2 diabetes in later life. This risk is further increased by abnormal glucose tolerance during pregnancy. This study will test the long-term benefits of treatment during pregnancy of women with impaired glucose tolerance on the subsequent regulation of glucose tolerance. We shall invite women who took part in the Australian Carbohydrate Study in Pregnancy (ACHOIS) to return and have an intravenous glucose tolerance test. Insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance will be determined and related to treatment of the impaired glucose tolerance in pregnancy. This study will be the first follow-up of a large randomised trial of treatments of impaired glucose tolerance in pregnancy. The potential long-term benefits are strategies to reduce the future chance of developing risk factors for type 2 diabetes, obesity and abnormal blood lipids in childhood and adult life. The study will establish the benefits or otherwise of tight control of blood glucose in pregnancy.Read moreRead less
The Role Of Adiponectin In Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$125,922.00
Summary
Primary liver cancer or hepatocellular carcinoma is a leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide and accounts for approximately 1000 deaths in Australia annually with a rising incidence in both men and women. It is associated with chronic viral hepatitis and liver cirrhosis. Even in patients with viral hepatitis, obesity has been shown to increase the risk of cirrhosis and liver cancer. This study will investigate the role of the fat tissue derived molecule adiponectin in liver cancer.
The Nutritional Geometry Of Ageing In A Rodent Model
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$979,269.00
Summary
A central belief in ageing research is that eating fewer calories prolongs life, and that the source of calories (carbohydrate, fat or protein) is irrelevant. However, a critical assessment indicates that this conclusion is premature. We will use recent techniques in nutrition to define for the first time in mammals the relationship between diet and ageing in a normal and a prematurely ageing strain of mice. The project will provide a novel nutritional approach for promoting healthy ageing.
Genetic Dissection Of A QTL Influencing The Development Of Type 2 Diabetes And The Metabolic Syndrome.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$129,875.00
Summary
Diabetes is usually associated with obesity and is often part of a wider disturbance affecting an individuals metabolism. These other factors include high blood pressure and the control of fats (eg cholesterol), and sugars (glucose) in the blood stream. Physicians have noted that these abnormalities often cluster together in individuals and have called it the metabolic syndrome, the main long term implication of which is to increase a persons risk of developing heart disease and disorders in blo ....Diabetes is usually associated with obesity and is often part of a wider disturbance affecting an individuals metabolism. These other factors include high blood pressure and the control of fats (eg cholesterol), and sugars (glucose) in the blood stream. Physicians have noted that these abnormalities often cluster together in individuals and have called it the metabolic syndrome, the main long term implication of which is to increase a persons risk of developing heart disease and disorders in blood circulation. The number of affected people with one the major components of the metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, has trebled since 1981 in Australia and is still increasing. Apart from individual suffering, this presents a major public health burden for the country (approx $3 billion annually). Currently available lifestyle based and pharmaceutical therapies appear inadequate to control the increasing numbers of affected individuals. Unfortunately the cause of disease is poorly understood, although genetic factors are known to be important, in other words it runs in the family. This project proposes to identify some of these factors (genes) and how they contribute to the disease. Using molecular flags on the DNA (like DNA fingerprinting) we have previously found that a small region on chromosome 3 is likely to carry one or more of these disease genes. But there are over 100 genes in the region, so to help choose the most likely candidates first for testing, we have developed an automated computer database searching program that narrowed the list to the six most likely genes. This project will determine which if any of these genes are involved. A successful finding means we will know more about the mechanism of disease development and be able to better develop new therapies for treatment and prevention. If none of these genes are the culprit, we would continue examination of the next set of genes likely to be involved and so on until we are successful.Read moreRead less