DImensional Attention MOdelling For Neglect Detection (DIAMOND): A Novel Application For Brain Injury
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$513,483.00
Summary
One in three people experience neglect disorder after brain injury, where half of their visual world appears missing. Neglect is a persistent and distressing cognitive problem impacting all aspects of daily life, and is typically under-diagnosed and poorly treated. We have built a novel 3D technology platform for precision detection of neglect, and for informing personalised treatment options. This systematic feasibility project will establish early evidence for advanced neglect assessment.
Developing A Prototype Of A Next Generation Brain Computer Interface
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$837,398.00
Summary
Persons affected by quadriplegia and hemiplegia from stroke and spinal cord injury have few treatment options. Brain Machine Interfaces reconnect brain to a prosthetic limb, bypassing damaged nervous system. Our group has developed a BMI that can be implanted minimally-invasively, inside a blood vessel in the brain. We propose to manufacture a world-first device for a human clinical trial pilot study. The aim is to restore mechanical control over the physical environment for a paralysed patient.
Prophylactic Antibiotics To Prevent Recurrent Lower Respiratory Tract Infections In Children With Neurological Impairment (PARROT) Study
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,210,224.00
Summary
We plan a randomised controlled trial to determine if 12 months of a type of antibiotics (compared to placebo) reduces hospitalisations in children with neurological impairment. Currently this group of children are recurrently hospitalised and some doctors use long term antibiotics but there is no high level evidence for this practice. The study will be undertaken in the UK and Australia and involve 474 children. The study will lead to better clinical care and inform guidelines.
Glial Reactivity During The Post-acute Phase Of Stroke: A Target For Promoting Functional Recovery
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$547,307.00
Summary
Recent studies suggest that the development of a type of scar around damaged tissue in the brain following a stroke can limit recovery. Our studies will improve understanding of events leading to scar formation and will test whether modifying these events can improve functional recovery in experimental stroke. The studies have excellent potential to identify targets for treatments that will reduce the long-term debilitating effects of stroke even when administered well after its onset.
Determining The Cellular Mechanism Underlying Diffuse Axonal Injury Following Brain Trauma
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$400,885.00
Summary
Traumatic head injury causes transient stretch injury to the nerve cell processes within the brain. This leads to a poorly understood series of cellular changes within nerve cells which may ultimately lead to their breakage and subsequent neurological disability. This project seeks to understand how this nerve cell damage forms, and explores new potential interventions which may protect the brain.
Changes In Motoneurone And Motor Axon Properties Distal To The Lesion In Stroke
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$367,530.00
Summary
Following a stroke, adaptive changes occur in spinal cord motoneurones below the level of the stroke, but these are poorly understood. Apart from the exaggeration of spinal reflexes, distal changes have largely been neglected by clinicians. Even the mechanisms responsible for the exaggeration of spinal reflexes are still debated, in part because no single process can account for it. Using novel experimental techniques originally developed to study biophysical properties of human peripheral nerve ....Following a stroke, adaptive changes occur in spinal cord motoneurones below the level of the stroke, but these are poorly understood. Apart from the exaggeration of spinal reflexes, distal changes have largely been neglected by clinicians. Even the mechanisms responsible for the exaggeration of spinal reflexes are still debated, in part because no single process can account for it. Using novel experimental techniques originally developed to study biophysical properties of human peripheral nerves, this project will quantify the changes in excitability that occur in motoneurones and their peripheral extension, the motor axon, and compare these with the findings on the non-paralysed side of the same patients and with healthy matched control subjects. The changes that occur over time will be documented in longitudinal studies. The findings will be correlated with the patient's clinical status, providing insight into the extent to which changes in motoneurone properties drive clinical manifestations such as spasticity. In addition, control studies will provide further insight into whether disturbed transmission in some specific spinal reflex pathways contributes significantly to spasticity. The project is important for understanding the nature of adaptive changes (plasticity) in neural structures following lesions in the central nervous system and will shed light on the remote changes that occur in stroke. The studies are relevant not only for understanding current deficits but also for understanding and perhaps altering outcomes using rehabilitation procedures.Read moreRead less
Detection Of Susceptibility Genes For Multiple Sclerosis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$589,073.00
Summary
Multiple sclerosis is one of the most common chronic diseases of the nervous system. It usually starts in young adulthood and continues with episodes of severe disability from which partial recovery leads in many patients to difficulties with walking, balance, speech, bladder control and other neurologic functions. The disease inflicts a severe burden on both patients and the community. There is currently no preventive treatment and therapy is expensive (interferon at $20,000 p.a.) and of limite ....Multiple sclerosis is one of the most common chronic diseases of the nervous system. It usually starts in young adulthood and continues with episodes of severe disability from which partial recovery leads in many patients to difficulties with walking, balance, speech, bladder control and other neurologic functions. The disease inflicts a severe burden on both patients and the community. There is currently no preventive treatment and therapy is expensive (interferon at $20,000 p.a.) and of limited benefit in stopping further damage and of no benefit in reversing existing damage. New treatments will come through a full understanding of how the immune system attacks the brain to cause MS. There is a strong inherited component in MS and the discovery of the genes responsible should speed up the quest to understand the cause of the disease. The proposed studies involve international collaboration co-ordinated from Cambridge University, UK, in which the entire human genome will be screened looking for the MS genes using world s best available technology. Funding of this grant will allow Australia an equal seat at the table for this collaboration involving 17 countries. No individual country can recruit enough patients and hence this international effort is essential. It is expected that the understanding of the cause of MS will lead to new treatments that are effective and with low side effects.Read moreRead less
Neurorestorative Rehabilitation In Children With Cerebral Palsy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$451,716.00
Summary
Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common physical disability (1 in 500) with life-long impact. The economic burden is AUS$1.47 billion/yr. Children have limitations in function which impacts daily activities and participation. Deficits in visual perception and learning have an impact on vocational aspirations. This program will test novel interventions (Action Observation training, constraint induced movement therapy, multi-modal web training) measuring broad outcomes and mechanisms with Advanced ....Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common physical disability (1 in 500) with life-long impact. The economic burden is AUS$1.47 billion/yr. Children have limitations in function which impacts daily activities and participation. Deficits in visual perception and learning have an impact on vocational aspirations. This program will test novel interventions (Action Observation training, constraint induced movement therapy, multi-modal web training) measuring broad outcomes and mechanisms with Advanced Brain Imaging.Read moreRead less