PATHOGENESIS OF ALZHEIMERS DISEASE AND RELATED DISORDERS: MECHANISM OF TAU PATHOLOGY
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$295,983.00
Summary
A protein called tau has an essential role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and related dementias. We have developed novel transgenic models, which allow us to treat the mice and to abrogate the clinical symptoms. As we have dissected the underlying molecular mechanisms, our ultimate goal is to develop a treatment approach based on these mechanisms and thereby reduce the socio-economic burden of these debilitating diseases.
An Analysis Of A Model Of Movement Disorder Lacking D1R Positive Neurons.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$346,446.00
Summary
The experiments outlined in this project proposal are aimed at further characterizing a genetically engineered mouse the generation of which was originally funded by the Australian NH and MRC. The mutant mouse suffers from the loss of brain cells in a part of the brain called the striatum. The mouse model will allow us to understand how damage to brain structures cause disabling human neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinsonism and Huntington's disease. The mouse model is unique as the mice ....The experiments outlined in this project proposal are aimed at further characterizing a genetically engineered mouse the generation of which was originally funded by the Australian NH and MRC. The mutant mouse suffers from the loss of brain cells in a part of the brain called the striatum. The mouse model will allow us to understand how damage to brain structures cause disabling human neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinsonism and Huntington's disease. The mouse model is unique as the mice suffer from the same type of movement abnormalities which afflict individuals with this spectrum of neurological illnesses. We will look at both structural changes in the brain as well as brain function as defined by the behavioural responses of the damaged brain to drug administration. The experiments also focus on the ultimate correction of the neurological deficits by transplantation of purified nerve cell progenitor cells.Read moreRead less
Chemical Neurobiology Of Ventral Mesencephalon: Mechanisms Underlying Neuronal Death In Parkinsonism.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$286,830.00
Summary
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease which has profound effects on the Australian community. It affects about 1% of individuals aged more than 50 years and approximately 50,000 Australians. Brain cells die over many years and eventually the loss is so bad from the parts of the brain that coordinate motor control that uncontrollable motor movements occur. The cause of the condition is unknown and although drugs can control the motor disorders for some 5 years, eventually increa ....Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease which has profound effects on the Australian community. It affects about 1% of individuals aged more than 50 years and approximately 50,000 Australians. Brain cells die over many years and eventually the loss is so bad from the parts of the brain that coordinate motor control that uncontrollable motor movements occur. The cause of the condition is unknown and although drugs can control the motor disorders for some 5 years, eventually increasing disability occurs and finally complete dependency. The condition has profound effects on the families of the sufferers and the Australian health care system. Clearly, it is most important to understand how brain cells die in this debilitating neurological condition because once this death mechanism is understood then strategies can be devised to protect at risk brain cells so that new drugs can be developed to prevent the onset and progression of the disease. Since post-mortem studies on human brain suggest that cells in Parkinson's disease die by a process of programmed cell death (i.e. an unknown stimulus gives the cells a message to die by an exact mechanism involving gene activation), we shall examine the involvement of this unique form of brain cell death and attempt to determine what factors initiate the process. By establishing experimental models where rat brain cells are cultured, we plan to test how multiple factors could start the death cascade and how possible treatments may be preventitive. These assessments will be performed by measuring cellular biochemistry and electrical activity. We also hope to examine how at risk brain cells can be rescued and stimulated to grow to re-establish normal brain circuits. Overall, the programme aims to understand the disease process such that new directions for its management will be revealed.Read moreRead less