Rapid, Cost-effective, Diagnosis And Monitoring Of Multiple Sclerosis By Novel Multifocal Evoked Potential Methods
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$152,463.00
Summary
A new technology for concurrently stimulating both eyes, and recording thousands of responses from the brain, will be tested for its effectiveness in diagnosing and tracking progression in Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and the degree to which it complements Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Our understanding of MS has changed in recent years. It is now recognised to have two phases: an initial inflammatory phase, and a secondary progressive phase. The progressive phase produces the inexorable increas ....A new technology for concurrently stimulating both eyes, and recording thousands of responses from the brain, will be tested for its effectiveness in diagnosing and tracking progression in Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and the degree to which it complements Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Our understanding of MS has changed in recent years. It is now recognised to have two phases: an initial inflammatory phase, and a secondary progressive phase. The progressive phase produces the inexorable increasing disability of MS. MS only affects about 0.04% of Australians but the early onset of MS, the high cost of medication, and the prolonged period of disability, mean that the cost to Australia is about $2 billion pa. MRI quantifies the inflammatory phase well but is poorly correlated with the debilitating secondary progression. The common treatments for MS target the inflammatory phase but not the causes of secondary progression, which are unknown. Current diagnostic methods mean diagnosis can take years, meaning that patients can be denied treatment for some time. The applicants have published experiments on 50 MS patients and 27 normal subjects using a variant of the new method. Not only has it shown high diagnostic accuracy, but the new method seems to provide data on the progressive phase, suggesting strongly that it is complementary to MRI. The new method is also much cheaper to set up and run than MRI and so could provide cost-effective means for monitoring patient condition and testing new drugs that are effective against the progressive phase. The applicants have considerable experience commercialising diagnostic technologies, and are currently working with an Australian company developing new diagnostic hardware. That hardware has been adapted to perform the presently proposed experiments. Overall it is reasonable to assume that positive outcomes will be translated into economic and health benefits for Australians.Read moreRead less
Control Of Refractive Error Through Ionically Driven Fluid Movements
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$208,600.00
Summary
Myopia affects about half the world's population with recent studies suggesting epidemic proportions among some Asian schoolchildren though we are not seeing this in Australia. Costs associated with detection, monitoring and optical correction of low and high myopia are huge. High myopes (15% with > 6D) also have a greatly increased risk of blindness between the ages of 30 and 50 years due to secondary disorders associated with impaired fluid balance (retinal and choroidal oedema, macula oede ....Myopia affects about half the world's population with recent studies suggesting epidemic proportions among some Asian schoolchildren though we are not seeing this in Australia. Costs associated with detection, monitoring and optical correction of low and high myopia are huge. High myopes (15% with > 6D) also have a greatly increased risk of blindness between the ages of 30 and 50 years due to secondary disorders associated with impaired fluid balance (retinal and choroidal oedema, macula oedema, retinal detachment and glaucoma). Currently there is no accepted pharmaceutical treatment for myopia though our studies in chick have provided the theoretical rationale and experimental data for a potential therapy and patent. This patent is now at the PCT stage and attests that changes in the abundance of the ions of the subretinal space control fluid movements across the retina to choroid and can be modulated therapeutically by diuretics to control fluid flow and hence axial growth and myopia. This application aims to take our current knowledge about fluid control in myopic chick into a mammalian model prior to preclinical trials in monkey. We anticipate it will take 1 year to establish the feasibility of diuretic control of experimentally induced myopic refractive errors in guinea pigs and the best drug and best the dosage range. These studies will contribute to the scientific understanding and bring the proposed pharmaceutical therapy for myopia in adults and children to a point of full commercialization. We believe that the results found in chick will have significance for early and late-onset myopia in humans as it is highly likely that the same mechanisms of ocular growth regulation operate throughout life.Read moreRead less
Development Of Small Molecule IRAP Inhibitors For Treating Memory Deficits
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$369,898.00
Summary
We have identified a series of small molecule compounds based on their ability to inhibit the catalytic activity of a protein, IRAP using a computer model of IRAP to screen chemical libraries. This research proposal aims to investigate the properties of these compounds and their ability to treat Alzheimer's dementia. At the conclusion of this project, we will have 2 families of lead compounds suitable for development into a new class of therapeutic agents for treating Alzheimer's disease.
Development Of Small Molecule Inhibitors Of IRAP - Potential Use For The Treatment Of Memory Disorders
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$195,450.00
Summary
This research project provides proof of concept that IRAP is a suitable target for use in the development of a new class of clinically valuable cognitive-enhancing agents. We have recently Identified a family of small molecule compounds that inhibited the catalytic activity of the enzyme using a molecule model of IRAP to screen virtual libraries. This research proposal aims to validate that this family of compounds have memory-enhancing properties by acting specifically on IRAP. At the conclusio ....This research project provides proof of concept that IRAP is a suitable target for use in the development of a new class of clinically valuable cognitive-enhancing agents. We have recently Identified a family of small molecule compounds that inhibited the catalytic activity of the enzyme using a molecule model of IRAP to screen virtual libraries. This research proposal aims to validate that this family of compounds have memory-enhancing properties by acting specifically on IRAP. At the conclusion of this project, we will have elucidated important information on the specificity of the memory effects and the structure activity relationship of this family of compounds. We will have identified and characterised a lead compound for development into a new class of cognitive enhancers.Read moreRead less