Investigating Biomarkers Of Dementia And Improving Clinical Criteria Using Population- And Clinic-based Approaches
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$264,704.00
Summary
It is difficult to accurately diagnose an individual with dementia especially at early stages of the disease. This project aims to see what markers in the brain differentiate those with and without subtypes of dementia and to see what clinical criteria best relate to these markers. It is hoped that results will improve clinical criteria for dementia and its subtypes, thus improving the diagnostic accuracy of dementia.
The Optimization Of Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs) For Malaria
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$44,934.00
Summary
The ability to reliably diagnose malaria infections is key to both the management of individual patients as well as public health efforts to control the disease. Current Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs) for malaria have unacceptable sensitivity. The project will determine the low sensitivity of current malaria RDTs available on the market and help produce a malaria RDT with higher sensitivity and stability. This will bring great health benefits to millions of people.
The Diagnosis, Biomarker Identification And Measurement Of Drug Efficacy In Mental Illness And Neurological Conditions.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$119,050.00
Summary
Globally, 2 billion people suffer from a neuropsychiatric illness. The cost is more than US$2 trillion a year. Hampering early intervention is the current lack of definitive, quantitative techniques for diagnosis and measurement of treatment efficacy. This research will determine whether the disease fingerprints produced by a new technique, EVestG, are diagnostically unique (to schizophrenia, depression and Parkinson's disease) and sensitive to disease progression and treatment response.
Improving First Trimester Screening By Combining Rapid MF-PCR Of PAP Smears With Nuchal Ultrasound Scanning
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$206,809.00
Summary
Genetic defects are the major cause of embryonic and foetal death as well as being responsible for a large proportion of childhood disabilities. Although many are detected by the ~50,000 prenatal tests currently performed annually in Australia, these methods are only offered to high risk mothers because they are invasive (~1% risk of miscarriage), and-or expensive. A rapid, low cost, less invasive and safer alternative prenatal diagnostic method such as PAP smears that could be offered to all mo ....Genetic defects are the major cause of embryonic and foetal death as well as being responsible for a large proportion of childhood disabilities. Although many are detected by the ~50,000 prenatal tests currently performed annually in Australia, these methods are only offered to high risk mothers because they are invasive (~1% risk of miscarriage), and-or expensive. A rapid, low cost, less invasive and safer alternative prenatal diagnostic method such as PAP smears that could be offered to all mothers regardless of risk is therefore of immense value both to mothers and to the health care system. This proposal enhances first trimester screening by improving prenatal diagnosis from PAP smears. Although normally taken to detect cancer, these smears contain significant numbers of foetal cells. We will investigate: the best way and time to obtain these cells, the best way to remove the cells from any contamination, improvements in genetic diagnosis of these cells using a technique known as MF-PCR which is rapidly revolutionising conventional prenatal diagnosis. By automating these procedures, they will become less expensive and more accessible to all mothers regardless of risk. We will also compare these procedures with alternative first trimester screening techniques such as nuchal translucency to determine the value of both tests singly and in combination. This research should provide a safe, reliable and accurate method allowing inexpensive prenatal screening to be available for all pregnancies. General screening programmes using this new test, particularly if combined with nuchal translucency programmes, would result in a dramatic reduction in affected babies with major implications to families and the health care system.Read moreRead less
Development Of A Sensitive Point Of Care Diagnostic Assay For Troponin I
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$137,650.00
Summary
This research aims to develop a diagnostic for immediate monitoring of patients presenting with chest pain, with the presumption of heart attack. The novel diagnostic platform will enable the estimation of a key indicator of heart muscle damage to be performed within a ten to fifteen minute window. This will aid speedier diagnosis and propoer triage of patients presenting with chest pain.
A Methylation-Based Assay For The Detection Of Prostate Cancer Cells
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$303,712.00
Summary
Prostate Cancer is a major cause of death and morbidity among men in the western world. Little is understood of the early events that lead to the development of prostate cancer though recent evidence suggests that a modification of the DNA called methylation may be an early indictor of disease. Our current work has shown that a gene involved in the detoxification of the cell (called GST) is switched off in over 90% of prostate cancers by this DNA modification. We have studied the methylation pat ....Prostate Cancer is a major cause of death and morbidity among men in the western world. Little is understood of the early events that lead to the development of prostate cancer though recent evidence suggests that a modification of the DNA called methylation may be an early indictor of disease. Our current work has shown that a gene involved in the detoxification of the cell (called GST) is switched off in over 90% of prostate cancers by this DNA modification. We have studied the methylation pattern of the GST gene in prostate cancer and normal prostate tissue and found that the GST gene is modified exclusively in the cancer tissue . This important information has allowed us to design a test to specifically identify prostate cancer cells by assaying for GST modification . In this grant we plan to further optimise this test to ensure its sensitivity and reliability. In particular we plan to compare the effectiveness of our methylation-based test to the PSA and other tests currently used for the detection of prostate cancer. In addition we plan to identify other genes that also may be switched off specifically in prostate cancer by DNA methylation. This data will allow the development of new markers and approaches to stage the progression of prostate and possibly other cancers.Read moreRead less
A Stable Protein:DNA Complex For Development Of Ultrasensitive Diagnostics In Multiplex Format
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$521,961.00
Summary
A new technology platform will be developed to carry out diagnostic tests in a multiplex format with increased sensitivity and precision. We recently discovered a very strong interaction between a protein and a particular fragment of DNA. This interaction can be tuned to enable its use for the simultaneous detection of different disease markers in a single assay. This will improve the time and space needed to perform diagnostic tests in laboratories.