Alternatives To Homologous Blood Transfusion - Development Of Evidence- Based Decision Aids.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$213,697.00
Summary
Transfusion of donor blood is the traditional means of treating blood loss resulting from injury or during surgery. Donor blood is in short supply and in the past there have been episodes of contamination by viruses that have led to hepatitis and AIDS. Consequently there is much interest in a range of techniques designed to reduce the need for transfusion of donor blood. One of the most popular is transfusion of patients' own blood (autologous transfusion). Despite the popularity of some of thes ....Transfusion of donor blood is the traditional means of treating blood loss resulting from injury or during surgery. Donor blood is in short supply and in the past there have been episodes of contamination by viruses that have led to hepatitis and AIDS. Consequently there is much interest in a range of techniques designed to reduce the need for transfusion of donor blood. One of the most popular is transfusion of patients' own blood (autologous transfusion). Despite the popularity of some of these techniques their true value is not really proven. They may be capable of diminishing the need for a transfusion of donor blood, but the long-term effects of this are not clear. In addition the preparation of autologous blood is a burden for overworked blood banks, and autologous blood may itself be associated with its own problems. The main aims of this study are to carry out reviews of the best quality trials of the various alternatives to transfusion of donor blood and to carry out surveys to find out what patients and doctors think. In a third phase of the project we will use the information gathered in the first two phases to design decision aids. These are comprehensive structured summaries of the available evidence to enable patients and their physicians to collaborate in making informed decisions that are likely to lead to the best outcomes for patients. The products of the research will be a number of reviews of 'best evidence' that appear in the International Cochrane Library, available to health professionals around the world. In addition, the decision aids, if successful, will be made available in a form that can be used by all Australian patients who are facing surgery that is likely to require a blood transfusion.Read moreRead less
Relaxin-3 Systems In Brain: Neurophysiology And Behaviour
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$287,321.00
Summary
The project aim is to better understand the function of a newly-discovered signalling molecule in the mammalian brain, know as relaxin-3. Recent research suggests that this chemical is vital for normal animal behaviour, such as arousal, stress, and learning and memory processes. This project will thoroughly characterise how this chemical modulates activity of brain regions that subserve behaviour in rats. This should reveal clinical implications of relaxin-3 in human behavioural disorders.
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
Proteases, Their Inhibitors And Receptors In Degenerative Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$5,843,388.00
Summary
Many of the themes of this program are aimed at understanding the molecular basis of several important degenerative diseases that in particular affect the ageing population. These include osteoporosis, arthritis, periodontal disease, wasting diseases of muscle and inherited disorders such as antitrypsin deficiency. The five CI’s on this application have formed a collaborative network since 1996. Dr Whisstock is a bioinformatician and structural biologist with a research focus on the serpin super ....Many of the themes of this program are aimed at understanding the molecular basis of several important degenerative diseases that in particular affect the ageing population. These include osteoporosis, arthritis, periodontal disease, wasting diseases of muscle and inherited disorders such as antitrypsin deficiency. The five CI’s on this application have formed a collaborative network since 1996. Dr Whisstock is a bioinformatician and structural biologist with a research focus on the serpin superfamily of protease inhibitors and their protease partners. He is currently the scientific director of the Victorian Bioinformatics Consortium and an NHMRC Senior Research Fellow. Dr Bird is an NHMRC Senior Research Fellow who discovered the intracellular branch of the serpin superfamily and formulated the hypothesis that describes their function. A-Prof Mackie is a world expert in the field of musculoskeletal biology and pathology. Dr Bottomley is a Senior Logan Fellow and RD Wright Fellow whose research focuses upon how proteins misfold and lead to disease. Dr Pike is an enzymologist whose research area encompasses a wide range of bacterial and mammalian proteases involved in the pathology of human disease. Each individual in this team brings different skills which makes this a very important and powerful collaboration. The research is extensive and involves protein folding, enzyme kinetics, molecular modelling, structural biology, bioinformatics, cell biology and pathology, enzyme kinetics and drug design. Collectively the CI’s have a total of 154 papers since 1998, of which a third include two or more of the CI’s as co-authors. Currently the team holds over >$5 million in grant funding. The team is augmented by four P.I.s: Dr Buckle is a talented structural biologist; Dr Scott is a molecular cell biologist who holds an NHMRC CJ Martin Fellow; Dr Garcia de la Banda is a computer scientist based at Monash and Dr Grigoryev is a world expert in chromatin condensation based at Penn State University (USA).Read moreRead less
A Comparison Of Loaded And Unloaded Exercise For People With Non-specific Chronic Low Back Pain (NSCLBP)
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$42,410.00
Summary
Chronic low back pain is a common and costly condition. This research will conduct studies to determine the important ingredients of exercise programs that are related to successful outcomes for people with chronic low back pain (CLBP) and also to determine the effects of an exercise program intended to strengthen or load the low back muscles and a program that encourages movement restoration through movement not intended to strengthen for people with non-specific CLBP.