A Longitudinal Study Of Bone Development In Children
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$144,750.00
Summary
Osteoporosis is a major public health problem resulting in 50-75,000 fractures each year in Australia costing the community about 800 million dollars per annum. Bone strength is a risk factor for fractures in both childhood and in later life. Relatively little is known about bone development with the exception of calcium intake and physical activity. This study will follow 500 children from birth in 1988 to 2004 with the aim of understanding the contribution of lifestyle factors to bone developm ....Osteoporosis is a major public health problem resulting in 50-75,000 fractures each year in Australia costing the community about 800 million dollars per annum. Bone strength is a risk factor for fractures in both childhood and in later life. Relatively little is known about bone development with the exception of calcium intake and physical activity. This study will follow 500 children from birth in 1988 to 2004 with the aim of understanding the contribution of lifestyle factors to bone development in this time period.Read moreRead less
Metformin In Gestational Diabetes: Follow-up Of Mothers And Offspring: Body Composition, Insulin Resistance, Development
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$630,142.00
Summary
Children born to women with gestational diabetes are at increased risk of later obesity and diabetes. This study will help to assess if giving such women during their pregnancy the cheap oral diabetes drug metformin rather than insulin injections can safely reduce this risk, measuring growth, fatness and blood glucose-insulin in the children at 2 and 5 years of age, as well as assessing the mothers. If so, such treatment might help to reduce the worldwide burden of disease related to obesity.
EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF EXPANDED NEWBORN SCREENING BY TANDEM MASS SPECTROMETRY
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,250.00
Summary
Newborn babies in Australia are routinely tested for certain treatable disorders. Testing began in the 1960's with systematic testing for phenylketonuria, a rare amino acid enzyme defect. It causes severe mental retardation which can only be prevented if treatment is begun in the first few weeks of life. By 1997, only three other disorders, congenital hypothyroidism, cystic fibrosis, and galactosaemia, had been added to the testing protocol as tests became available. Using the new technology of ....Newborn babies in Australia are routinely tested for certain treatable disorders. Testing began in the 1960's with systematic testing for phenylketonuria, a rare amino acid enzyme defect. It causes severe mental retardation which can only be prevented if treatment is begun in the first few weeks of life. By 1997, only three other disorders, congenital hypothyroidism, cystic fibrosis, and galactosaemia, had been added to the testing protocol as tests became available. Using the new technology of tandem mass spectrometry (MSMS) it is now possible to screen for up to 30 extremely rare, treatable metabolic disorders simultaneously and cheaply, but it is not clear how effective this is. A formal trial of MSMS screening, randomly assigning babies to be tested or not tested, does not seem feasible because of the rarity of the individual disorders (most with a birth prevalence much less than 1: 50,000). Huge numbers would be needed in the trial for statistical significance. We began MSMS screening in NSW April 1998 and in South Australia in February 1999. Victoria is proposing to start screening now, but there are as yet no plans for this screening in the other states. We would like to assess the effectiveness of MSMS newborn screening using the best possible evidence drawn from all data available in the whole of Australia. We plan to undertake an economic evaluation, comparing costs and benefits such as development, hospitalisations, medical complications and other outcome measures, in screened and unscreened babies and also assess harms from screening. Because only 6 specialised laboratories in Australia, in Brisbane (2), Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth can diagnose these disorders, we are confident that we know of all diagnosed cases of the disorders in question. We hope to be able to show whether or not there is a benefit to affected babies by implementing newborn screening tests for these rare diseases.Read moreRead less
A Randomised Controlled Trial Of Whole Body Cooling On The Outcome Of Term Infants With Hypoxic Ischaemic Encephalopathy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$386,732.00
Summary
The aim of this project is to investigate whether the brain damage caused by a serious lack of oxygen around the time of birth can be prevented or reduced by cooling the baby's temperature to 34C for 72 hours. The consequences, of a lack of oxygen, to the brain, around the time of birth can be devastating. Over 30% of those babies with abnormal brain function soon after birth either die or survive with severe permanent brain damage. There is no specific treatment for these infants. Evidence from ....The aim of this project is to investigate whether the brain damage caused by a serious lack of oxygen around the time of birth can be prevented or reduced by cooling the baby's temperature to 34C for 72 hours. The consequences, of a lack of oxygen, to the brain, around the time of birth can be devastating. Over 30% of those babies with abnormal brain function soon after birth either die or survive with severe permanent brain damage. There is no specific treatment for these infants. Evidence from studies in animals, as well as human adults and a small number of newborn infants, suggests that moderate body cooling started soon after birth in babies with serious abnormal brain function might prevent or reduce brain damage. This project is a multicentre trial, where infants who have suffered from a severe lack of oxygen around birth, are randomised to body cooling to 34C for 72 hours. This will be started as soon as possible after birth at their hospital of birth. If the baby needs to be transported this will be started when the newborn transport team collects the baby for transfer to a newborn intensive care unit. This new treatment will be compared with maintaining the baby's temperature at 37C. This project will investigate a new, simple and pragmatic treatment that might reduce brain damage. If it finds that cooling infants who have been severely deprived of oxygen is an effective and safe treatment, the information will be applicable to any of the very large number of babies around the world who suffer from a serious lack of oxygen around the time of birth.Read moreRead less