Identifying The Relationship Between Biochemical Markers And Healing In Chronic Leg Ulcers Treated With Compression
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$374,159.00
Summary
Chronic leg ulcers are a significant cause of pain, immobility and decreased quality of life for 1 - 3% of the over 60 years age group. The condition is difficult to heal and commonly becomes a long term problem, costing the Australian health care system over $500 million - year. Additional costs to the community include loss of productivity and social support systems necessary for people with limited mobility. As the number of people aged over 65 years is expected to double in the next few deca ....Chronic leg ulcers are a significant cause of pain, immobility and decreased quality of life for 1 - 3% of the over 60 years age group. The condition is difficult to heal and commonly becomes a long term problem, costing the Australian health care system over $500 million - year. Additional costs to the community include loss of productivity and social support systems necessary for people with limited mobility. As the number of people aged over 65 years is expected to double in the next few decades, this problem will become increasingly significant. Most chronic leg ulcers are caused by venous disease, and compression bandage therapy is the accepted standard treatment. However, there is little information available on the cellular responses associated with compression treatment and how they promote wound healing. The project proposed here will examine the cellular responses to compression and investigate the relationships between these cellular responses and wound healing. Knowledge gained from the study will provide valuable information for improved techniques to promote wound healing, improved ulcer healing rates, informed decisions on wound care treatment, improved qualtiy of life and reduced health care costs.Read moreRead less
Development And Pre-clinical Evaluation Of A Novel Wound Dressing Treatment For Chronic Ulcers
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$125,040.00
Summary
Chronic leg ulcers are a common, painful and costly reality for many Australians, impacting on sufferers' mobility, social interactions and overall quality of life. This research is directed at developing a novel cost-effective wound dressing for treatment of this condition. This will be achieved through neutralising the ulcer's toxic proteolytic environment through an interactive wound dressing. This then will allow the body's own cells to promote wound healing.
Preventing Recurrence Of Leg Ulcers In Older Adults With Peripheral Vascular Disease: Identifying Predictors And Evaluating Strategies.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$311,860.00
Summary
Peripheral vascular disease – disease of the arteries and veins in the limbs – leads to chronic leg ulcers for 1–4% of adults aged over 60. The ulcers are slow and difficult to heal and after healing, up to 70% recur, many within a few weeks. The aim of this research is to identify predictors and evaluate strategies to prevent recurrence of chronic leg ulcers; and improve our understanding of relationships between biology, localised disease and health in adults suffering from chronic leg ulcers.
Identification Of Early Predictors Of Non-healing Venous Leg Ulcers And Development Of A Risk Assessment Tool
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$43,271.00
Summary
Venous leg ulcers make up about 70% of all chronic leg ulcers and are often debilitating. This project aims to examine the relationships between physiological and psychosocial variables in patients with chronic venous leg ulcers in relation to healing at 24 weeks thereby guiding the development of a risk assessment tool that will then be tested. Identification of risk factors for non-healing at 24 weeks would offer an opportunity for clinicians to be able to determine realistic outcomes.
Evaluation A Novel Vitronectin:growth Factor Complex For Treatment Of Chronic Venous Leg Ulcers
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$854,975.00
Summary
Chronic leg ulcers in the elderly are an important problem, diminshing quality of life and costing at least A$1 billion per year. New treatments are urgently required. This study will test a new topical growth factor therapy designed to have greatly improved activity in wounds.The project is a collaboration between scientists and doctors at the Queensland Univeristy of Technology and the University of Western Australia. Many wound types may ultimately benefit from this treatment.
Plasma Activated Hydrogel Therapy For Combatting Antimicrobial Resistance In Chronic Wounds
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$755,023.00
Summary
The aim is to advance wound care using electrical ionised gas discharge (plasma) to deliver antimicrobial and healing agents through tailored hydrogel dressings into wounds. The technology will be configured for real-world wounds and clinical settings and its antimicrobial delivery system will be optimised to eradicate all wound pathogens and prevent re-infection. The technology has potential to revolutionise chronic wound care and alleviate the growing problem of antimicrobial resistance.
Non-invasive Electrical Nerve Stimulation To Improve Healing Of Chronic Venous Leg Ulcers
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$206,210.00
Summary
Chronic venous leg ulcers are common in the elderly. They often last for many months or years, causing much suffering and expense (currently around $600,000,000 per year in Australia). As more and more Australians live into advanced age, more and more people will be troubled by leg ulcers, particularly as the likelihood of having a leg ulcer increases markedly in the very old. We have developed a painless, cheap treatment that improves wound healing. The treatment consists of electrical stimulat ....Chronic venous leg ulcers are common in the elderly. They often last for many months or years, causing much suffering and expense (currently around $600,000,000 per year in Australia). As more and more Australians live into advanced age, more and more people will be troubled by leg ulcers, particularly as the likelihood of having a leg ulcer increases markedly in the very old. We have developed a painless, cheap treatment that improves wound healing. The treatment consists of electrical stimulation of nerves that supply the wound. Low frequency current is passed through the skin from small battery powered stimulators. We have tested this technique in laboratory animals and in just a few older people with diabetes and have shown it is remarkably effective. We now plan to test this technique properly in a large study in older adults. If successful, the electrical stimulation could result in healing of wounds in relatively few weeks that otherwise would not heal for many months. Much suffering and expense would be avoided. As people age, nerve function deteriotes. Another part of the project will explore whether electrical nerve stimulation can improve damaged nerves themselves. This will provide interesting scientific insight about nerve repair and could lead to treatments for peripheral neuropathy that occurs in diabetes and other medical conditions. Australia needs to act on this now because the number of people aged over 65 will increase from around 2.3 million at present to over 6 million in the next half century. The increase in those over 85 will be even more marked with numbers increasing four fold to over one million people. Many of these people will experience severe impairment of their quality of life from leg ulcers that could be avoided, or at least minimized if a successful treatment is developed and made available to them. Similarly, much unnecessary expense could be avoided.Read moreRead less
Efficacy Of Activated Protein C To Treat Diabetic Leg Ulcers - A Randomised, Controlled Clinical Trial
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$519,284.00
Summary
Chronic leg ulcers are a major public health burden. Research undertaken by the CIs and funded by a NHMRC Development Grant have shown that activated protein C heals chronic wounds in animals and now in humans, and resolved mechanisms underlying activated protein C's actions. The current chronic leg ulcer trial is an essential step to validate the therapeutic use of activated protein C in wound healing, which is likely to emerge as a cost-effective treatment for this difficult health problem.
Wounds are not just the simple cuts and abrasions that can be covered with a band-aid and healed within days with no major consequence. They are a largely unrecognised spiralling epidemic that is affecting millions of people world-wide. This project aims to develop new approaches to heal wounds with research that is innovative, cross-disciplinary and has the ability to transform current approaches for wound management.
Wounds and burn injuries are frequent injuries which can lead to deformity, disfigurement and loss of movement. The cytoskeleton is integral to the wound healing process and we have shown that a specific cytoskeletal protein, Flightless I (Flii), is an important regulator of wound repair. During the course of this fellowship I plan to further my investigations into the function and regulation of Flii in wounds and aim to develop new therapies for treating wounds and reducing scar formation.