ASCAPE: Audio App-delivered Screening For Cognition And Age-related Health In Older Prisoners
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$844,050.00
Summary
This study aims to develop and test a new, innovative health screening app to examine the health and functioning of older, ageing prisoners in Australia. The app will deliver a range of health and functioning measures via audio, minimising the need for literacy skills and for staff supervision during testing. It is hoped that this app will be easily implemented in prisons in future, to enable better health management for this growing cohort with complex health needs.
An Investigation Of The Effects Of Higher Plasma Glucose In The Normal Range On Cerebral Health.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$727,524.00
Summary
Until recently it has been assumed that variation in blood sugar levels within the normal range in non-diabetics is innocuous. Recent findings from our team suggest that high normal sugar levels present risks to brain and cognitive health. This project will investigate in detail the extent to which higher sugar levels in healthy individuals living in the community are associated with brain changes over time, and whether these changes are associated with cognitive decline in middle- and old-age.
Successful Ageing In Older Men – Thriving Not Just Surviving In The Health In Men Study
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$628,810.00
Summary
Despite “Ageing well, ageing productively” being listed as a research priority, we still do not know what factors increase the ability for people to live a healthy old age, particularly as they enter their older years. Studies suggest that factors in late life have quite different effects on both survival and the major causes of illness. This application will use a large group of older men who have already been followed for 15 years to determine what increases the chance of successful ageing.
Post-market Surveillance Of Medicine-related Adverse Events
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$99,248.00
Summary
Observational studies using administrative data are an important complement to spontaneous reporting systems for detecting medicine-related adverse events after they go to market, as they reflect real-world use of medicines; yet, they require rigorous methodological approaches to avoid bias. This project will review the existing methodologies for detecting adverse events in administrative data and apply them to Australian data.
Age Structure Of The Commercial Catch Of Northern Territory Narrow-barred Spanish Mackerel
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$18,662.00
Summary
Objectives: 1. Provide an estimated age structure for catches in the NT troll mackerel fishery for the 1991 to 1993 fishing seasons, for extension of population assessment to include an age-structured population model 2. Verify the growth relationships currently in use for stock assessment, or provide the information from which a new relationship might be developed
Investigation Of The Biology Of Tiger Prawns In The Western Gulf Of Carpentaria
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Summary
Objectives: 1. Detailed study of the 2 commercial tiger prawn species (Penaeus esculentus and P. semisculcatus) in Groote Eylandt region of northern prawn fishery: 2. population dynamics; spawning times & places; delimit nursery areas contribute to commercial stocks; recruitment
Developing Techniques To Estimate The Age Of Bigeye Tuna And Broadbill Swordfish Off Eastern Australia: A Pilot Project
Funder
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation
Funding Amount
$26,793.90
Summary
The BET and BBL swordfish fishery is expanding rapidly off the east coast of Australia and is now a significant fishery. The warning 'trigger', set by AFMA, of 800t of BBL caught this year has been exceeded. There is now an urgent need to gain an understanding of the stock structure of this fishery. There are now grave concerns, both within the Pacific and the Indian Ocean, on the possibility of over exploitation of these species.
Very little is known scientifically on these species (W ....The BET and BBL swordfish fishery is expanding rapidly off the east coast of Australia and is now a significant fishery. The warning 'trigger', set by AFMA, of 800t of BBL caught this year has been exceeded. There is now an urgent need to gain an understanding of the stock structure of this fishery. There are now grave concerns, both within the Pacific and the Indian Ocean, on the possibility of over exploitation of these species.
Very little is known scientifically on these species (Whitelaw and Unnithan. 1997). Critically there is no verifiable information on the size at maturity and age-structure of populations of BET and BBL in the western Pacific.
Stock assessments require knowledge of size at maturity, size at age, growth rate and estimates of the variability in these parameters within the stock.
For management plans to be devised and implemented it is necessary to expand our biological knowledge. A first step in a structured stock assessment of a fishery is to determine whether ages of individuals can be estimated from their bony parts (otoliths and spines). There is a need to develop verifiable age estimation techniques for stock assessment studies.
Refs; Whitelaw, A.W. and Unnithan, V.K. 1997. Synopsis of the distribution, biology and fisheries of the bigeye tuna, with a bibliography. CSIRO Marine Laboratories Report 228. 62pp. Objectives: 1. To collect hard parts (otoliths and spines) from broadbill swordfish and otoliths from bigeye tuna (much of this has been completed). 2. Assess a range of standard age estimation techniques using otoliths, vertebrate and spines of BET and BBL. This will be carried out in collaboration with SPC and NMFS. 3. Compare age estimates derived using these techniques with those of the SPC and NMFS using other techniques. 4. Using marked (strontium chloride) BET otoliths from previous SPC/CSIRO tagging studies, as well as tag release/recapture growth data from other tagging programs, attempt to validate our age estimation methods and techniques. 5. Make recommendations to Eastern Tuna MAC on the feasibility of an extended ageing project to provide biological information to stock assessment studies. Read moreRead less
Relaxin Therapy Reverses Large Artery Remodelling And Stiffening In Aged And Hypertensive Models
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$444,973.00
Summary
Hypertension and/or ageing result in morphological changes in large arteries with increased stiffness, which impacts negatively to cardiac function and increases the risk of cardiovascular disease. Currently there is no drug that can specifically and rapidly reverse the changes in large arteries. We will study a peptide hormone relaxin as a promising candidate drug in this setting. Our recent study strongly indicate the effectiveness of relaxin in softening stiffened large arteries.
A Population-based Study Of Cerebrovascular Mechanisms Underyling Gait, Balance And Cognition In Older People
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$528,330.00
Summary
Mobility problems, falls and dementia are among the major problems affecting older Australians with significant consequent disability. Treatment of such disorders carries an estimated annual cost of around 4 billion dollars. This study will examine the role of age-related brain changes in causing problems with walking, balance and cognitive abilities in the general community. The clarification of the role of the ageing brain in causing such disorders will guide efforts directed at preventing the ....Mobility problems, falls and dementia are among the major problems affecting older Australians with significant consequent disability. Treatment of such disorders carries an estimated annual cost of around 4 billion dollars. This study will examine the role of age-related brain changes in causing problems with walking, balance and cognitive abilities in the general community. The clarification of the role of the ageing brain in causing such disorders will guide efforts directed at preventing the occurrence of falls and dementia.Read moreRead less
Blue Mountains Cohort Study: Long-term (15-year) Incidence Of Eye Disease, Hearing Loss And Other Public Health Outcomes
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$837,919.00
Summary
The Blue Mountains Eye Study 15-year study will re-examine survivors of the 3,654 persons who participated in baseline BMES exams, to determine the long-term development and progression of sensory problems, including vision and hearing loss and eye diseases like macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataract or diabetic eye damage. The project will assess whether vascular conditions like high blood pressure, chronic medical conditions, medications, smoking, diet, blood, family and genetic factors pred ....The Blue Mountains Eye Study 15-year study will re-examine survivors of the 3,654 persons who participated in baseline BMES exams, to determine the long-term development and progression of sensory problems, including vision and hearing loss and eye diseases like macular degeneration, glaucoma, cataract or diabetic eye damage. The project will assess whether vascular conditions like high blood pressure, chronic medical conditions, medications, smoking, diet, blood, family and genetic factors predict the risk or age at onset of eye disease or hearing loss. We will assess impacts of vision and hearing loss on independence, falls, quality of life and development of memory loss and depression. This information will help to develop services, and to plan interventions to prevent and treat these conditions. Because of the exponential age-related increase in frequency of these diseases, this long follow-up will provide more disease events, and a longer interval to assess impacts from the exposures we measured when we started the BMES in 2002. It will enable us to estimate the strength of risk factors for eye disease and hearing loss with greater precision, essential to understand their evolution. Surviving participants from the original BMES will be invited to attend follow-up exams at our Katoomba clinic, or to attend mobile- nursing home exams. We will conduct similar exams to those previously to detect new or worsened eye disease or hearing loss. In 2002-4, we saw 82% of the population of 2 Blue Mountains postcodes aged 50 or older. At the 5- and 10-year exams we saw 75% of people still living. We expect the same proportion to participate this time. The BMES is one of Australia's main cohort studies with over 200 publications. It has yielded key findings on the frequency and causes of the major diseases threatening vision and hearing. Longer follow-up will greatly increase our power to detect predictors of these key age-dependent conditions.Read moreRead less