Muscle Thermogenesis In Models Of Predisposition To Obesity
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$469,289.00
Summary
Obesity is a major health crisis, but effective treatments remain elusive. Body weight is determined by a balance of food intake and energy expenditure. Understanding both sides of this equation is essential to combating obesity. This project will show that the rate at which muscle uses energy is an important determinant of energy balance and contributes to the propensity to become obese. The work will define muscle as a target for developing anti-obesity therapies.
While it is clear that carrying excess body weight can jeopardize your health, and that losing excess weight is good for you, attaining and maintaining a healthy body weight remains an elusive goal for more than 60 % of Australian adults. There are many barriers that make permanent weight loss difficult. One of the main biological barriers to weight loss is that humans aren t designed to diet. Instead, we vehemently conserve body fat whenever food is scarce. This leads to a Famine Reaction that ....While it is clear that carrying excess body weight can jeopardize your health, and that losing excess weight is good for you, attaining and maintaining a healthy body weight remains an elusive goal for more than 60 % of Australian adults. There are many barriers that make permanent weight loss difficult. One of the main biological barriers to weight loss is that humans aren t designed to diet. Instead, we vehemently conserve body fat whenever food is scarce. This leads to a Famine Reaction that contributes to nagging hunger, lethargy, loss of libido, reduced metabolic rate, plateaus, and rebound weight gain in response to weight loss programs of any kind. In a new 3-year project funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, molecular scientists Dr Amanda Sainsbury-Salis and Associate Professor Herbert Herzog from the Garvan Institute endeavor to get to the root of the problem. Using cutting-edge molecular, genetic, and metabolic technology, Sainsbury-Salis and Herzog aim to identify the main culprits for the Famine Reaction. They hypothesize that the natural brain molecules neuropeptide Y and the endogenous morphine-like peptide dynorphin act together as major instigators of the Famine Reaction. Therefore they will determine whether mice that are deficient in these molecules can lose more weight in response to dietary restriction than normal mice. Moreover, they will determine whether dual deficiency of neuropeptide Y and dynorphin can not only reduce the voracious appetite that occurs during caloric restriction (eg: dieting), but whether it can also speed up metabolism and promote the loss of body fat. If their hypothesis proves correct, then it s likely that novel pharmaceutical agents that block the effects of neuropeptide Y and dynorphin could dramatically increase the do-ability and long-term effectiveness of lifestyle changes for permanent weight loss.Read moreRead less
Lung Injury: Influence Of Sodium, Water, Albumin, Gravity And Body Position
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$117,331.00
Summary
Although patients with poor oxygenation often require mechanical ventilation, only therapies that reduce lung damage improve outcome whereas therapies that improve oxygenation have not been shown to improve outcome. This project will examine the role of two common interventions in critically ill patients, fluid resuscitation and posture change, on lung injury. It is anticipated this will lead to clinical trials that will further improve survival in ventilated patients with respiratory failure.
Effects Of Increased Endolymph Volume On Cochlear And Vestibular Function And Morphology Of Inner Ear Tissues
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$313,391.00
Summary
Our recent research suggests that the vertigo attacks associated with enlarged fluid volumes in the inner ear, in diseases such as Ménière's Disease, maybe triggered when the fluid pressure forces open tissue valves located in the fluid-ducts connecting the hearing and balance organs. This project aims to identify the functional role of these valves, and to develop an animal model of abrupt changes in vestibular activity due to hydrops, to allow future treatments to be developed.