Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in Australian women, affecting one in 8. While physical examination, mammography and ultrasound remain first-line screening tools, there are no reliable blood tests to aid diagnosis. This project aims to discover proteins in breast cancer tissue, or in the bloodstream of patients, which can be measured to provide information about the presence and severity of breast cancer. A new, reliable diagnostic test could benefit millions of women.
Using Non-invasive Magnetic Stimulation To Promote Remyelination
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$664,869.00
Summary
In patients with multiple sclerosis, brain insulation is lost from nerves. This leads to permanent and progressive disability. We have identified a non-invasive method of magnetic stimulation, and have shown that it increases the number of new insulating cells added to the brain. In this study we will determine whether this new treatment can promote insulation repair in a model of multiple sclerosis.
Optimising Myelin Repair And Restoring Neuronal Function In The Demyelinated Brain
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,009,933.00
Summary
Multiple sclerosis is a disease of the brain and spinal cord caused by damage to white matter. In healthy brains, a substance in white matter called myelin insulates the axons (cables) of nerve cells, which speeds up electrical conduction. In MS, myelin is destroyed which impairs conduction and can lead to permanent loss of axons and nerve cells. To prevent this, we will test whether increasing electrical activity in nerve cells helps restore myelin by activating myelin-forming stem cells.
Targeting The Canonical Wnt Signalling Pathway To Promote Central Nervous System Remyelination In Vivo
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$314,644.00
Summary
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) occurs when immune cells attack the sheaths, called myelin, that cover and protect nerve connections. If myelin is damaged nerve cells cannot function properly, leading to severe disability. The brain has a group of cells that could potentially replace damaged myelin, but as MS worsens these cells are blocked in a state where they cannot help in repair. I will remove a signal specifically from these cells and determine if this unblocks them resulting myelin repair.
Multiple sclerosis is a particularly devastating disease that affects people early in their lives. This chronic disabling condition is characterized by inflammation and loss or damage to the myelin sheath that surrounds axons. There is preliminary evidence suggesting that certain cell signals may prevent the cells that produce myelin from death in multiple sclerosis. This study will seek to determine how and which signals prevent cell death and whether this may be a potential therapeutic interve ....Multiple sclerosis is a particularly devastating disease that affects people early in their lives. This chronic disabling condition is characterized by inflammation and loss or damage to the myelin sheath that surrounds axons. There is preliminary evidence suggesting that certain cell signals may prevent the cells that produce myelin from death in multiple sclerosis. This study will seek to determine how and which signals prevent cell death and whether this may be a potential therapeutic intervention.Read moreRead less
Defining The Basis Of Autoimmune Attacks Against Myelin To Better Target Treatment Of Demyelinating Disorders
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$913,216.00
Summary
Brain autoimmunity is a common and costly cause of neurological and psychiatric disability in children and adults. Exploring the autoimmune response that targets the brain is essential for accurate diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. This project grant will identify and study the earliest autoimmune responses against the brain in children and adults. This will allow early and directed treatments that will not only prevent disability, but will also be life-saving.
While there are numerous therapies for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS), therapy for progressive MS remains elusive. This project will evaluate the effect of various therapies on the accumulation of irreversible disability in progressive MS. In addition, it will examine the effect of switching between therapies on MS activity. Finally, the project will indicate whether demographic and clinical information can be used as a predictor of individual patient response to MS therapies.
Multiple sclerosis is the most common cause of neurological disability among young adults. The patients’ individual response to therapy is highly variable. The research vision completed during this Fellowship will generate novel evidence enabling individually-tailored therapy of multiple sclerosis. Through the newly established Clinical Outomes Research Unit at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, the expertise from observational data in multiple sclerosis will be applied in other areas of neurology.
Multiple Sclerosis: Does Treatment Reduce Long-term Disability Progression?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$349,103.00
Summary
Multiple Sclerosis is an illness affecting more than 20,000 Australians, and causes significant disability and social disruption in most sufferers. It is an illness which progresses over decades, and this makes it difficult to accurately determine the best treatment strategies. We propose to use a registry that has followed more than 16,000 people with MS globally to examine which treatment strategies have provided the highest benefit/risk ratio in these patients, given the great variability of ....Multiple Sclerosis is an illness affecting more than 20,000 Australians, and causes significant disability and social disruption in most sufferers. It is an illness which progresses over decades, and this makes it difficult to accurately determine the best treatment strategies. We propose to use a registry that has followed more than 16,000 people with MS globally to examine which treatment strategies have provided the highest benefit/risk ratio in these patients, given the great variability of disease severity seen.Read moreRead less