Muscarinic Receptors In The Human Brain: In Health And In Sickness
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$394,408.00
Summary
Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness, with sub-optimal treatment outcomes. New drugs are being designed to provide more effective treatment. To understand the effects of these drugs, we need to know which brain cells have the protein these new drugs target and which cells are affected in schizophrenia. Our project will determine the localisation of this drug target; this knowledge will help the development of better treatments for schizophrenia.
Better Targets And Drugs For Improving Stroke Outcome?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,085,972.00
Summary
Infection is highly prevalent and is one of the leading causes of death in stroke. It is now recognised that stroke impairs the immune system, raising the possibility that reversing this impairment can decrease the rate of infection after stroke. Therefore, the focus of this project is to identify the signalling pathways that underlie abnormal immune function after stroke and also assess the potential of a novel pharmacological approach for reducing bacterial infection in stroke patients.
Manipulation Of Enteric Neural Stem Cells For Cell Therapy To Treat Enteric Neuropathies
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$611,438.00
Summary
Cell therapy offers great promise for the treatment of motility disorders due to defects in the nerve cells in the bowel. Patient-derived cells are likely to be the best source of cells, however, patient-derived cells will require manipulation because they are likely to be defective. We will identify manipulations of stem/progenitor cells that increase their efficacy for cell transplantation.
Neurons within the wall of the bowel play an essential role in gut motility. A number of motility disorders are caused by diseased enteric neurons, but there are currently no effective treatments for these diseases. We will use animal models of a pediatric motility disorder to examine whether stem cells implanted into the colon can generate neurons and restore normal motility.
Inhibitors Of NLRP3 Activation For Treatment Of Inflammatory CNS Diseases
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,023,137.00
Summary
This project will use novel tool compounds to advance our understanding of inflammatory brain diseases such as Parkinson's disease and Multiple Sclerosis. We will examine the molecular pathways and identify novel means to treat these debilitating diseases. We will then aim to design novel therapeutics which target these pathways.
Nasal Epithelium As A Portal Of Entry For Burkholderia Pseudomallei, With Special Reference To Neurological Melioidosis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$536,419.00
Summary
Melioidosis is a potentially fatal disease of manly tropical Australia and SE Asia and an emerging disease worldwide. It disproportionately affects indigenous Australians. It is caused by a bacterium found in soil and water and infection may be by inhalation in the rainy season. One manifestation of melioidosis is neurological symptoms. This project seeks to establish sites and pathways of infection resulting from inhalation, including the pathway from nasal mucosa to brain.
Development Of Techniques To Expand Enteric Neural Crest-stem/progenitor Cells And To Administer Them To The Human Neonatal Colon For Repair Of The Enteric Nervous System Deficiciency In Hirschsprung Disease.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$664,820.00
Summary
Gastrointestinal tract function is controlled by nerves in the intestine. These are missing in a small segment of the colon in the serious birth defect Hirschsprung disease. Current treatment is surgical removal of the affected colon segment, but instead, it may be possible to use nerve stem cells to provide some functional recovery. In particular, we are facing two practical questions: How can we produce enough nerve stem cells? and: How can these nerve stem cells be emplaced in the colon wall?
Viral Determinants Of HIV-1 Transcriptional Latency In The Central Nervous System: Impact On Cure Strategies
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$847,521.00
Summary
This grant will identify the factors responsible for HIV-1 latency in the CNS, and will determine the effect of drugs aimed at reversing latency both on HIV-1 within the CNS, and also on the cells of the CNS.
Characterisation Of Eurl, A Novel Gene Implicated In The Etiology Of Abnormal Brain Development And Intellectual Disability
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$597,541.00
Summary
Intellectual disability affects around one per cent of Australians, and can arise from genetic abnormalities during fetal life, such as through abnormal regulation of gene expression. We have identified a novel gene, known as eurl, which controls brain assembly as well as the ability of neurons to form functional connections within the brain. We will investigate how this novel gene controls brain development, and characterise eurl as a potential therapeutic target for learning and memory.
Imaging The Activation Of Sensory Nerve Endings That Detect Pain In The Colorectum
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$570,334.00
Summary
Within the gastrointestinal tract are sensory nerve endings that detect painful stimuli. In this project a new technique has been developed that allows us to monitor and record the activation of the particular sensory nerve endings that detect painful stimuli. This project will determine how these sensory nerve endings detect pain and how drugs might be used to relieve these unpleasant sensations arising from the gut wall.