Chemical Neurobiology Of Ventral Mesencephalon: Mechanisms Underlying Neuronal Death In Parkinsonism.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$286,830.00
Summary
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease which has profound effects on the Australian community. It affects about 1% of individuals aged more than 50 years and approximately 50,000 Australians. Brain cells die over many years and eventually the loss is so bad from the parts of the brain that coordinate motor control that uncontrollable motor movements occur. The cause of the condition is unknown and although drugs can control the motor disorders for some 5 years, eventually increa ....Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease which has profound effects on the Australian community. It affects about 1% of individuals aged more than 50 years and approximately 50,000 Australians. Brain cells die over many years and eventually the loss is so bad from the parts of the brain that coordinate motor control that uncontrollable motor movements occur. The cause of the condition is unknown and although drugs can control the motor disorders for some 5 years, eventually increasing disability occurs and finally complete dependency. The condition has profound effects on the families of the sufferers and the Australian health care system. Clearly, it is most important to understand how brain cells die in this debilitating neurological condition because once this death mechanism is understood then strategies can be devised to protect at risk brain cells so that new drugs can be developed to prevent the onset and progression of the disease. Since post-mortem studies on human brain suggest that cells in Parkinson's disease die by a process of programmed cell death (i.e. an unknown stimulus gives the cells a message to die by an exact mechanism involving gene activation), we shall examine the involvement of this unique form of brain cell death and attempt to determine what factors initiate the process. By establishing experimental models where rat brain cells are cultured, we plan to test how multiple factors could start the death cascade and how possible treatments may be preventitive. These assessments will be performed by measuring cellular biochemistry and electrical activity. We also hope to examine how at risk brain cells can be rescued and stimulated to grow to re-establish normal brain circuits. Overall, the programme aims to understand the disease process such that new directions for its management will be revealed.Read moreRead less
Mechanisms Of Cell Death In Chronic Compressive Myelopathy Using A Rodent Model
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$56,765.00
Summary
This study investigates the process of cell death in the spinal cord following chronic compression using a rat model. Chronic spinal cord compression can occur in common conditions such as 'slipped disc' or disc prolapse, the increased formation of bone around the spinal cord that is more common with age, or from tumours forming around the spinal cord in cancer patients. The distribution, timing and the mechanism by which cells die in the cord after compression will be analysed.
Molecular Diagnosis And Therapy Of Autoimmune Disease Using Translational And Reverse Translational Approaches
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,331,372.00
Summary
We plan to translate our recent discoveries on human gene variants and molecules produced by immune cells (follicular T cells) into effective therapies for autoimmune diseases. This will involve understanding the mechanisms by which the genes and molecules regulate immune tolerance, stratifying patients with autoimmune disease using newly identified biomarkers, trialling existing biologicals according to affected molecular pathway, and taking novel targets through to commercialisation.
I am an immunologist determining the development and function of the dendritic cell system, including its role in autoimmunity and resistance to infection.
When Prometheus Needs A Hand – How Human Amnion Epithelial Cells Resolve Fibrosis And Regenerate The Liver
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$530,653.00
Summary
Cirrhosis can progress to end stage disease for which transplantation provides the only hope for survival. Liver donors in Australia are scarce; the need for donor organs is increasing. Using stem cells to repair and regenerate damaged liver may provide an alternative to organ transplantation. We are studying placental stem cells that can decrease inflammation and increase progenitor cells to repair and regenerate liver. Our goal is to use these stem cells as treatment for human liver disease