Pathogenic Mechanisms In Inflammatory Demyelinating Neuropathies
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$378,750.00
Summary
The causes and disease mechanisms of inflammatory neuropathy remain mostly unknown. Although treatments have been developed (intravenous immunoglobulin and plasma exchange) they are extremely expensive, non-specific in action, beyond the means of the worlds most populous nations and a considerable burden to health resources in developed nations. These studies aim to understand better the mechanism of disease production so that better and more affordable therapy can be developed. In our current g ....The causes and disease mechanisms of inflammatory neuropathy remain mostly unknown. Although treatments have been developed (intravenous immunoglobulin and plasma exchange) they are extremely expensive, non-specific in action, beyond the means of the worlds most populous nations and a considerable burden to health resources in developed nations. These studies aim to understand better the mechanism of disease production so that better and more affordable therapy can be developed. In our current grant we have made a most important breakthrough - which is that antibodies to a major structural protein of the myelin sheath are responsible for disease production in one subgroup of patients. We plan to search for other antigenic targets in other patient groups and to see whether we can regulate the disease by new mechanisms which would be cheaper and more effective.Read moreRead less
Investigations In Multiple Sclerosis Patients With Coexistent Autoimmune Thyroid Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$557,100.00
Summary
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a common chronic neurological disease affecting over one million people around the world. MS is generally thought to be an autoimmune disease, in which a person's own immune cells start to attack components of the brain and spinal cord. However, it is thought that the same components are not attacked in all patients, and that the pathway that leads to MS varies from one person to another. Therefore, in order to develop successful treatment strategies for MS, it will be ....Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a common chronic neurological disease affecting over one million people around the world. MS is generally thought to be an autoimmune disease, in which a person's own immune cells start to attack components of the brain and spinal cord. However, it is thought that the same components are not attacked in all patients, and that the pathway that leads to MS varies from one person to another. Therefore, in order to develop successful treatment strategies for MS, it will be necessary to look for patterns in the clinical symptoms and signs and other features of a person's MS that may give clues as to which particular pathway is leading to disease in that person. Some people who develop MS also develop other autoimmune diseases, or have these other diseases before they develop MS, or have other family members who have other autoimmune diseases. We have recently found that people who have the same combination of coexistent MS and autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) show similar clinical signs of MS, and tend to have damage (lesions) to the same areas of their nervous system. This suggests that these people may have the same underlying pathways leading to the development of MS, and that they may be a very informative group in which to look for immune or genetic abnormalities that might explain why they develop MS. This project will investigate people who have both MS and AITD and other members of their families to see if we can work out what the links are between having the same combination of autoimmune diseases and developing lesions in particular parts of the nervous system. It will provide information on the pathways that lead to the development of MS, and information obtained from this study may eventually be of use in developing more specific therapeutic agents, by tailoring therapies to specific people with MS, depending on the clinical and immunological profile of that person.Read moreRead less
Innovative And Multi-disciplinary Treatment Strategies For Secondary Degeneration Following Neurotrauma
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$455,452.00
Summary
Following injury to the central nervous system the damage spreads into nearby areas, leading to worse outcomes for the patient. The research conducted during this Fellowship will ensure that promising treatment strategies to prevent spreading damage are used in the best way, and will determine the mechanism of action of these treatments.
Cutting Through Complexity: The Promise Of Biomarkers To Discover, Diagnose, And Treat Antibody-associated Demyelination
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$438,768.00
Summary
Patients with damage to myelin, the sheath around nerve cells in the brain, have “demyelinating disorders” which can result in severe disability including blindness and paralysis. In some patients, their immune system mistakenly targets certain proteins in the brain. This research project will identify new targets in currently undiagnosed patients, increase our understanding of underlying disease processes, and evaluate optimal treatment strategies in these patients to improve their outcomes.
Design And Synthesis Of Peptide - Based Drugs For Multiple Sclerosis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$351,000.00
Summary
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system that affects ~1 million young adults worldwide. It is a debilitating disease for which there is currently no cure. The most effective treatment available, interferon-b (IFN-b) is useful for the treatment of some forms of the disease, reducing the relapse rate, that is the frequency of attacks or exacerbations of the disease, and delaying the time to onset of sustained progression of the disability. This treatment ma ....Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system that affects ~1 million young adults worldwide. It is a debilitating disease for which there is currently no cure. The most effective treatment available, interferon-b (IFN-b) is useful for the treatment of some forms of the disease, reducing the relapse rate, that is the frequency of attacks or exacerbations of the disease, and delaying the time to onset of sustained progression of the disability. This treatment may, however, cause adverse side effects, result in the development of antibodies that neutralise its function and is prohibitively expensive. In addition it does not slow the sustained progression of the disease in 20-40% of patients with the two most common types of MS and does not appear to directly affect deterioration of the protective layer around neurons, myelin. There is clearly a need for the development of therapeutics that address these issues and the drug leads to be developed in this project may help to overcome some of these shortfalls. While the immune system of a healthy individual is able to distinguish between foreign molecules and its own molecules, in MS the immune system fails to do this. An immune response against important proteins that form part of the protective myelin layer around neurons occurs. This means that the integrity of the protective layer is compromised. The peptide-based drugs that we plan to develop in this project are designed to interfere with the interaction between these important myelin proteins and their immune system targets. This will leave the myelin proteins to carry out their normal physiological roles and should therefore significantly slow, if not halt, progression of the disease. Given the prevalence of MS such a development could have a profound impact on the health and quality of life of many individuals and their families, and has the potential to substantially reduce the economic burden of this disease on the community.Read moreRead less