This project studies the mechanisms involved in rejection of skin and heart grafts using a novel model to track the behaviour of individual graft-reactive white blood cells. We will test two promising new techniques to limit graft rejection: using drugs to inhibit the entry of graft-reactive cells into the graft, and administering cells with the ability to suppress the function of graft-reactive cells. This work will help us to design new therapies to prevent heart graft rejection.
Detection Of Cardiac Allograft Rejection By Peripheral Blood Gene Expression: A Novel Concept Of Personalized Approach To Transplantation.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$292,705.00
Summary
Heart biopsy is required to detect rejection after heart transplantation. The cost of each biopsy is around $7,000 and at least 10 heart biopsies needed in the first post-transplant year alone. The biopsy is difficult for the patients and significant cost for the Australian healthcare system. Thus, it would be beneficial to identify rejection using a simple blood test. Such tool would help to reduce or eliminate the need for expensive heart biopsy and would reduce the cost by about 10 times.
The Dead Heart Project: When Is A 'dead' Heart Truly Dead?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,672,053.00
Summary
Best practice treatment for end-stage heart failure is heart transplantation, yet donor heart availability is deficient and limited by current practices. Using extensive basic and clinical research approaches, this project aims to increase donor heart quantity and quality by profiling current and novel donor heart sources, and extending donor heart storage time and quality using a novel transport device and therapeutic agents - thus increasing the number of successful transplant recipients.
Exercise As Medicine For Heart Failure: A Novel Intervention To Improve Outcomes
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$665,585.00
Summary
Heart failure (HF) is a common, debilitating and expensive disease; prognosis remains poorer than for the most cancers. 30,000 Australians are diagnosed every year and 300,000 live with the HF, at an annual cost of ~$1Billion. Exercise training is effective therapy in HF, because it reverses many of the problems that contribute to the reduced lifespan and impaired quality of life of patients with HF. We will test an exciting new type of exercise that promising greater benefit, at lower risk.
Guaranteeing Survival Into Adulthood, Physical Health And Psychological Well-being To Children Born With Single Ventricles.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$342,773.00
Summary
Being born with a single pumping heart chamber is the most severe heart condition but thanks to several operations we can see them survive. A growing population of young functional adults now face an uncertain future and we have no options for them. A/Pr Y d’Udekem is a leading paediatric cardiac surgeon. His research aims to provide the medications, reinterventions and artificial hearts that are necessary to give them a longer and fulfilling life.
Development Of A First-in-class Therapeutic For Protecting The Ischemic Heart
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$926,673.00
Summary
Heart disease is the leading cause of death globally. Heart attacks are the primary cause of death associated with heart disease. We have discovered a drug, Hi1a, that blocks the injury response of the heart when a heart attack happens. There are no other drugs currently available or in the discovery pipeline that address this problem. This proposal will use models of injury to the heart as well as safety studies to help develop Hi1a as a new drug for people who suffer from heart attacks.
Advanced Heart Failure Management With Ventricular Assist Therapy – Evaluating Australian Costs Of Care And Effectiveness From Implant To Transplant Or End Of Life
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$45,668.00
Summary
Ventricular Assist Devices (VADs) are implantable heart pumps that are increasingly being used to slow down the progression of end stage heart failure. This project assesses the costs and effectiveness of VAD therapy and advanced heart failure medical management in an Australian health care setting. The aim is to provide Australian clinicians and health decision makers access to current and relevant, clinical, cost and effectiveness data for advanced heart failure and VAD therapy.
Towards A New Normokalemic Arrest Paradigm For Orthotopic Heart Transplantation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$489,634.00
Summary
Innovations from Nature to Heart Transplantation:a Real Heart Stopper Heart preservation is limited to 4-6 hours of cold-ischaemic storage (0 to 4 C). The risk of post-transplant death doubles if the donor heart is stored from 1 to 5 hours, and triples with 7 hrs storage times. We have developed a new preservation solution borrowing from natural hibernators that will permit organs to be safely stored for up to 15 hours, and offering new opportunities to organ donors and recipients worldwide.