Neurogenic Mechanisms Of Cardiovascular Risk In The Metabolic Syndrome: Benefits Of Lifestyle Interventions
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$328,194.00
Summary
One in four adult Australians has the 'metabolic syndrome' (MetS), a clustering of metabolic and heart disease risk factors associated with abdominal obesity. Sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity is increased in the MetS resulting in enhanced release of the stress hormone 'noradrenaline' . This project will examine the biological and genetic determinants of enhanced SNS activity and the benefits of lifestyle interventions (weight loss, weight loss maintenance and aerobic exercise).
The Effect Of Exercise On Insulin Resistance And The Adipokine Profile In Obese Versus Non Obese Patients With Hepatitis C
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$100,381.00
Summary
Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) infection and obesity are conditions of increasing prevalence. Untreated, CHC has significant long-term consequences including cirrhosis and liver failure, while obesity reduces the success of antiviral treatment. A tendency to develop diabetes in patients with CHC and obesity also leads to further medical complications. We aim to examine the effects of exercise on obesity and diabetes tendency in patients with CHC.
An Investigation Of Physiological Adapatations Contributing To Weight Regain After Weight Loss
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$405,897.00
Summary
Why we gain weight, and why it s hard to maintain weight loss, is the focus of this study. We can regulate food intake by voluntary control in the short term ( dieting ), but our long term ability to control food intake is more complex. Many proteins work together to regulate food intake, as do circulating factors in our blood. Before and after weight loss, subjects feelings of hunger and satiety will be examined so that we can identify pathways that are involved in successful weight loss.
Does Loss Of Melanocortin Glucose Sensing Contribute To Obesity Induced Diabetes?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$617,531.00
Summary
Diabetes is a failure to properly regulate blood glucose levels. Escalating rates of diabetes are a major health problem. Melanocortin neurons in the brain detect blood sugar levels and usually regulate glucose production and utilization, but in obese animals they do not. We have developed a possible therapeutic, which appears to reverse the glucose insensitivity, and rapidly reduces blood glucose in diabetic mice. This project will determine how melanocortins act to regulate glucose levels
Ghrelins Novel Neuroprotective Effects In Parkinsons Disease Are Mediated By AMP-activated Protein Kinase (AMPK).
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$400,885.00
Summary
Studies show that body mass index, midlife adiposity and diabetes are associated with Parkinson's disease (PD). During obesity there is a dramatic change in nutritional information, such as hormones, sugars and fats, carried in the blood. This proposal explores how this altered nutritional information in obesity kills the brain cells associated with PD. It will examine how ghrelin, a metabolic hormone inversely related to obesity, influences and protects brain cell activity in models of PD.
The Role Of Circadian Rhythm Genes In The Regulation Of Energy Balance And Substrate Metabolism In Muscle And Liver
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$349,263.00
Summary
Obesity is increasing at an alarming rate worldwide and as the standard of living increases in developing countries such as India and China, the incidence of obesity and its related diseases of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer will become the major health problem of the 21st century. The epidemic of obesity appears to be due to a complex interaction between genetic background and changes in the environment such as reduced physical activity and increased availability and consumption of ....Obesity is increasing at an alarming rate worldwide and as the standard of living increases in developing countries such as India and China, the incidence of obesity and its related diseases of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer will become the major health problem of the 21st century. The epidemic of obesity appears to be due to a complex interaction between genetic background and changes in the environment such as reduced physical activity and increased availability and consumption of high energy food. The accumulation of excess body fat in most individuals is not a precipitous event that occurs over a few days or weeks. Obesity actually occurs insidiously over a period years and is essentially the cumulative result of small differences in daily energy balance. In humans and animals energy balance is subject to diurnal or day-night variations in body temperature, feeding behaviour and physical activity (sleep-wake cycles). Recent research has determined that all tissues in the body have the same genes that regulate circadian (daily) rhythms in the brain. It has also become clear that the expression of these gene cycles over 24 hours in muscle liver and fat tissue the same way that they do in the brain. What is not understood is the extent to which these circadian genes control energy metabolism pathways such as glucose and fat utilisation and storage in liver and muscle. The aim of this grant is to test the effects of changing diet, feeding times and circulating hormones on metabolism and gene expression in muscle and liver to determine the extent to which circadian rhythm genes regulate the normal diurnal metabolism of glucose and fat and whether dysregulation of these systems contributes to metabolic disease.Read moreRead less
Characterizing The Molecular Mechanisms Of Clinically Important Bacterial-fungal Interactions; The Potential To Uncover Novel Therapeutic Targets
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$480,492.00
Summary
In hospitals and in nature, diverse microbes, such as bacteria and fungi, often live in close proximity to each other. Their interactions can either be helpful or detrimental to one another, and such interactions are likely important for their ability to cause human disease. This proposal aims to study the mechanisms by which bacteria interact with fungi and by doing so, will identify important mechanisms of how microbes cause human illness and also uncover new targets for antibiotic development ....In hospitals and in nature, diverse microbes, such as bacteria and fungi, often live in close proximity to each other. Their interactions can either be helpful or detrimental to one another, and such interactions are likely important for their ability to cause human disease. This proposal aims to study the mechanisms by which bacteria interact with fungi and by doing so, will identify important mechanisms of how microbes cause human illness and also uncover new targets for antibiotic development.Read moreRead less
The Role Of Arousal And Diaphragm Displacement In The Pathogenesis Of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$410,875.00
Summary
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) affects 4% of men and causes excessive daytime sleepiness leading to increased accidents, high blood pressure and premature cardiovascular disease e.g. heart attacks and strokes. OSA is characterized by repetitive obstructions of the floppy portion of the throat during sleep with adverse effects on oxygen levels and sleep quality. OSA is strongly associated with obesity and is 2-3 times more common in men than women. How obesity and male gender predispose to OSA is ....Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) affects 4% of men and causes excessive daytime sleepiness leading to increased accidents, high blood pressure and premature cardiovascular disease e.g. heart attacks and strokes. OSA is characterized by repetitive obstructions of the floppy portion of the throat during sleep with adverse effects on oxygen levels and sleep quality. OSA is strongly associated with obesity and is 2-3 times more common in men than women. How obesity and male gender predispose to OSA is not known. We will investigate two factors that we believe are most likely involved in causing and explaining this gender difference in OSA. We will examine if breathing responses with brief awakening are sufficient to promote OSA patterns of breathing in snorers and if they are greater in male than female OSA patients. We have already shown that healthy men have greater breathing response to arousal compared to women. These brief arousals occur hundreds of times a night in OSA patients, and over-breathing on arousal may increase the probability of upper airway obstruction on falling back to sleep. We will also investigate why even healthy men show greater breathing responses compared to women. Men tend to accumulate fat centrally, particularly in the abdomen, whereas in women fat tends to be distributed more to the hips and thighs. This could be very important in OSA because downward pull exerted on the upper airway by the diaphragm is likely to be reduced in people with more abdominal obesity. This mechanisms has not yet been studied in humans. We will therefore investigate if increased forces placed on the diaphragm during sleep make the upper airway more prone to collapse. We will also investigate these effects during sleep onset, when there may well be important changes in diaphragm position as muscles relax.Read moreRead less
Role Of Streptococcus Agalactiae Glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate Dehydrogenase (GAPDH) In Infection And Potential As A Target To Control Colonization In The Female Genital Tract
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$677,177.00
Summary
Extracellular proteins produced by pathogenic bacteria can facilitate microbial colonization of the host by mediating binding to host cells and by modulating the immune system. These proteins exert their effects by subverting specific elements of the immune system and this can allow infection to worsen. This project will increase our understanding of how this bacterium chronically colonizes humans and will identify the potential of a bacterial protein, termed GAPDH, as a target for control.
Characterising The Role Of IL-37 In The Development Of H. Pylori Infection.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$641,992.00
Summary
H. pylori infects more than 50% of the worlds population and is the causative agent of gastric cancer, the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Infection with H. pylori occurs during early childhood and persists within the host for life, causing immune suppression and therefore preventing clearance of the infection from the individual. We will examine a newly identified mechanism of H. pylori-induced immune suppression in humans in an attempt to provide novel treatments.