The Role Of Androgens In Angiogenesis And Endothelial Progenitor Cell Mobilisation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$272,591.00
Summary
The Role of Male Sex Hormones in Regulating New Blood Vessel Growth AIMS This proposed project seeks to investigate the role that male sex hormones (androgens) play in: 1) Regulating new blood vessel growth 2) Mobilising cells from the bone marrow which assist in blood vessel repair and growth. BACKGROUND Increasing evidence indicates that the heart and blood vessels are able to repair themselves in response to disease. For example, when a coronary artery becomes severely narrow as a result of d ....The Role of Male Sex Hormones in Regulating New Blood Vessel Growth AIMS This proposed project seeks to investigate the role that male sex hormones (androgens) play in: 1) Regulating new blood vessel growth 2) Mobilising cells from the bone marrow which assist in blood vessel repair and growth. BACKGROUND Increasing evidence indicates that the heart and blood vessels are able to repair themselves in response to disease. For example, when a coronary artery becomes severely narrow as a result of disease, the body can partially compensate by making new blood vessels in a process termed angiogenesis. Recently, cells circulating in the blood stream have been found to have the ability to assist in angiogenesis and in blood vessel repair. These cells, which come from the bone marrow, are called endothelial progenitor cells. Endothelial progenitor cells are therefore an important part of the cardiovascular system's ability to repair and maintain itself. While men are more likely to develop coronary artery disease than women, men are also more likely to have a favourable outcome after a heart attack compared to women. This gender difference after heart attacks, suggests that sex hormones such as the androgens, may play a role in the reparative response after a heart attack. In fact, there is evidence from some studies in cells and in animals that androgens increase blood vessel formation. RESEARCH PLAN We will study the effects of androgens on angiogenesis and in mobilising endothelial progenitor cells using human cells, animal studies and in a human clinical trial SIGNIFICANCE This research will help us further understand the differences between men and women in heart disease. It will also help us understand more about the risks-benefits of androgen replacement in older men.Read moreRead less
Drinking Patterns, Gender And Social Roles In Alcohol Problems In Victoria, In An International Comparative Context
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$342,239.00
Summary
The varied impacts of drinking in the family and other gendered relations are an important and understudied aspect of alcohol studies, with general social and policy implications. The proposed research will make an important contribution to developing quantitative research in this area in Australia. The project uses concepts and measures which are novel in an Australian environment, and the international comparative aspect of the project, with comparable questionnaires in a wide diversity of soc ....The varied impacts of drinking in the family and other gendered relations are an important and understudied aspect of alcohol studies, with general social and policy implications. The proposed research will make an important contribution to developing quantitative research in this area in Australia. The project uses concepts and measures which are novel in an Australian environment, and the international comparative aspect of the project, with comparable questionnaires in a wide diversity of societies, is novel and innovative for the alcohol research field in general. Measures of social problems from drinking, and particularly and family and relationship, developed in analysing the study material will be made more broadly available for use in future studies, raising the possibility that the study may serve as a first measurement point for future data-series over time.Read moreRead less
Clinical Genetic Phenotyping Of Autism Spectrum Disorders
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$582,114.00
Summary
Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have difficulty with communication, social interaction and intellectual disability. The cause is generally not known although most cases have a genetic basis involving multiple genes and possibly environmental factors. We will study families of children with ASD and carefully characterize features related to ASD in family members. This will help us to understand how ASD is inherited and serve as the basis for the discovery of autism genes.
Is Periosteal Bone Formation Responsible For Sexual Dimorphism In Bone Fragility
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$316,320.00
Summary
Men and women sustain fractures as they age because their bones become fragile. Women sustain fractures more often than men. Bone thinning occurs in both sexes but it is usually believed that this thinning or loss of bone is greater in women than men. We have evidence to suggest that this may not be correct. In fact, it is likely that men and women lose a similar amount of bone, about half what they started with, but during ageing, men lay down more bone on the outside surface of the bone than w ....Men and women sustain fractures as they age because their bones become fragile. Women sustain fractures more often than men. Bone thinning occurs in both sexes but it is usually believed that this thinning or loss of bone is greater in women than men. We have evidence to suggest that this may not be correct. In fact, it is likely that men and women lose a similar amount of bone, about half what they started with, but during ageing, men lay down more bone on the outside surface of the bone than women compensating for the similar amount lost on the inside of the bone. We also have evidence to suggest than men and women who get spine fractures do so because the process of laying down bone may fail to occur normally. We will study these processes of bone loss inside the bone and bone gain outside the bone to try to better understand why bones become weak. We will measure the bone size and its density in healthy men and women and patients with fractures to determine how the increasing size of the bone produced by laying down bone on its outside helps to keep it strong and to preserve the bone that would otherwise be lost if it didn't occur or if a disease developed that might reduce the compensatoryRead moreRead less
Does Pregnancy Cause Morphological Changes In Central As Well As Peripheral Nerve Pathways That Control Blood Pressure?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$382,538.00
Summary
Pregnancy changes blood pressure but the mechanism is unknown. We will use state-of-the-art anatomical methods to define how pregnancy alters nerves controlling blood pressure. We will identify changes in the information the nerve cells receive, in their shape and in the way they communicate with other blood pressure-controlling nerve cells. This information will help to develop new ways to prevent and treat pre-eclampsia, a major cause of death and disability for mothers and their newborns.
Behavioural Management Of The Triggers Of Recurrent Headache: Avoidance Versus Coping
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$503,233.00
Summary
The traditional approach to headache management is to advise that the best way to prevent headaches is to avoid the trigger factors. This approach has never been systematically evaluated, however, and it may lead to headache sufferers losing tolerance for the factors that could precipitate a headache. This study will be the first to evaluate the traditional approach, and will also evaluate an innovative approach that includes techniques designed to desensitise people to headache triggers.