Prof Fitzgerald a psychiatrist investigating the use of a range of non-drug biological treatments for patients with severe and treatment resistant mood (and related) disorders.
Deep Brain Stimulation For Treatment Resistant Major Depression: Neural Correlates And Neuropsychological Outcomes
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$257,561.00
Summary
Major depression is a prevalent and devastating mental illness. While there are numerous pharmacological and psychological antidepressant therapies available, many patients do not respond to these treatments. Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) is emerging as a potential treatment option for individuals with chronic severe treatment resistant major depression. The current project will investigate the cognitive and neurobiological outcomes associated with the use of DBS to treat depression.
A Double-blind Sham Controlled Trial Of RTMS In Treatment Resistant Major Depression
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$371,491.00
Summary
Treatment Resistant Depression is clearly a major health issue - depression is common, results in marked morbidity and mortality and a large percentage of patients do not respond to, or cannot tolerate standard treatment. The development of new treatments for this condition is undoubtedly required. International efforts are underway to try and establish the efficacy of high frequency left Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (HFL-TMS) to the point where the technique may be approved by regulatory a ....Treatment Resistant Depression is clearly a major health issue - depression is common, results in marked morbidity and mortality and a large percentage of patients do not respond to, or cannot tolerate standard treatment. The development of new treatments for this condition is undoubtedly required. International efforts are underway to try and establish the efficacy of high frequency left Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (HFL-TMS) to the point where the technique may be approved by regulatory authorities and clinically introduced. However, clearly the response rate to HFL-TMS is suboptimal for its widespread use. The overall goal of this research program is to develop repetitive TMS (rTMS) methods to the point at which they are highly relevant and applicable to clinical practice. None of the substantial international studies is focusing on novel applications such as sequential bilateral rTMS (SBrTMS). The planned outcome of this study is that it may change the focus of rTMS application and practice nationally and internationally. If we can follow our well received initial study of this technique with a substantial comparative trial as planned here, it will provide enough evidence for the more widespread adoption and testing of SBrTMS as a viable alternative to HFL-TMS. Ultimately, this or a modification of it, may become the rTMS administration method of choice. Additionally, we will have a sufficient sample size to start to explore meaningful predictors of clinical response including biological, psychosocial-personality variable predictors.Read moreRead less
A Randomised Controlled Trial Of Magnetic Seizure Therapy In Major Depressive Disorder
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$372,049.00
Summary
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the only established treatment for a substantial sub-population of patients who fail to respond to other therapies. However, there are significant complications of ECT including memory related side-effects. The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical efficacy of a new form of treatment for severe depression, magnetic seizure therapy, which appears to have a substantially reduced rate of cognitive side-effects.
A Double-blind Controlled Trial Of RTMS In The Treatment Of Bipolar Depression
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$401,605.00
Summary
Bipolar affective disorder (BPAD) is a serious mental illness of substantive impact but there has been relatively sparse investigation of treatments for it. One of the only substantially new treatments developed for depression in recent years has been rTMS. Repetitive TMS has been evaluated in over 30 trials conducted, but no substantive trials have explored its use in bipolar depression. We propose to do this, conducting a large scale clinical trial.
Advancing Novel Brain Stimulation Treatment For Severe Depression
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$575,662.00
Summary
The aim of the proposed research is to substantially escalate the development of a range of novel brain stimulation treatments for patients with severe treatment resistant depression (TRD). For example, to expand a substantive research program aimed at further developing methods for the application of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in patients with depression.
A Double-blind Placebo Controlled Trial Of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation In The Treatment Of Depression.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$366,775.00
Summary
Depression is a severe and often disabling illness that occurs frequently in the general population. Depression is a treatable illness and the majority of patients will respond to anti-depressant medication, a form of psychotherapy or a combination of these. However, a significant percentage of patients with depression fail to respond to these therapies and currently require electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). This entails the complications and costs of multiple anaesthetics, memory impairment and ....Depression is a severe and often disabling illness that occurs frequently in the general population. Depression is a treatable illness and the majority of patients will respond to anti-depressant medication, a form of psychotherapy or a combination of these. However, a significant percentage of patients with depression fail to respond to these therapies and currently require electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). This entails the complications and costs of multiple anaesthetics, memory impairment and substantial social stigma. Transcranial magnetic stimulation is being researched as a potential alternative for these patients. It is administered to patients who are awake and alert and appears to have fewer side effects. TMS uses the unique properties of a magnetic field to produce or disrupt electrical activity in superficial areas of the brain, targeted to the areas thought to be involved in the cause of depression. Our research study will compare the two most promising types of TMS with an inactive or placebo condition. This is important to establish that the effects of TMS arise from the actual stimulation and to investigate whether one of two types of TMS administered is superior. We will administer this treatment for between 2 and 4 weeks and assess the response. We anticipate that our research will contribute to the development of TMS as a treatment methodology for this important patient group. It is crucial that a new treatment be thoroughly evaluated prior to wide dissemination of it in clinical practice. We will help define the effectiveness of this treatment and the most appropriate way in which it can be administered.Read moreRead less
Deep Brain Stimulation In The Treatment Of Severe Depression
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,008,087.00
Summary
Some patients with depression fail to respond to a variety of standard treatments and in this group, deep brain stimulation (DBS) is being evaluated as an alternative treatment option. This study will investigate the use of DBS applied to a novel brain target site in patients with highly treatment refractory depression.
Melanoma is the 4th most common cancer diagnosed in Australia. Advanced melanoma frequently spreads to other organs and can acquire resistance to anti-melanoma treatments, making it fundamentally incurable. I am focused on investigating the mechanisms underlying melanoma disease progression. I will achieve this by comparing the biological nature of melanoma cells at different stages of disease and therapy-resistance to identify new targets for the more effective treatment of patients with melano ....Melanoma is the 4th most common cancer diagnosed in Australia. Advanced melanoma frequently spreads to other organs and can acquire resistance to anti-melanoma treatments, making it fundamentally incurable. I am focused on investigating the mechanisms underlying melanoma disease progression. I will achieve this by comparing the biological nature of melanoma cells at different stages of disease and therapy-resistance to identify new targets for the more effective treatment of patients with melanoma.Read moreRead less
Optimising The Diagnosis And Management Of Treatment Refractory Benign Positioning Vertigo
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$286,466.00
Summary
Benign Positioning Vertigo, the most common and correctable cause of dizziness, is caused by freely floating calcium carbonate crystals in the semicircular canals of the inner ear. Localizing the affected semicircular canal holds the key to effective treatment.A proportion of sufferers will not respond to conventional repositioning treatments due to incorrect diagnoses. This study will explore refractory BPV in detail, develop test methods that accurately localize the affected canal and devise t ....Benign Positioning Vertigo, the most common and correctable cause of dizziness, is caused by freely floating calcium carbonate crystals in the semicircular canals of the inner ear. Localizing the affected semicircular canal holds the key to effective treatment.A proportion of sufferers will not respond to conventional repositioning treatments due to incorrect diagnoses. This study will explore refractory BPV in detail, develop test methods that accurately localize the affected canal and devise treatments for resistant BPV subtypes.Read moreRead less