Vaccinating Against Helicobacter Pylori-induced Gastric Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,088,714.00
Summary
Stomach cancer is the 3rd leading cause of cancer-related deaths. Most stomach cancers result from inflammation due to Helicobacter pylori infection. Most infections are treatable with antibiotics but this does not protect against cancers that develop before infection is diagnosed. Normal vaccine approaches aimed at this infection have been unsuccessful. We have identified a new approach for protecting against stomach cancer by preventing inflammation; this project aims to develop this vaccine.
Improving Ubiquitous Interventions To Optimise Outcomes From Critical Illness
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$333,710.00
Summary
A/Prof Deane is a specialist intensive care physician who combines clinical work at The Royal Melbourne Hospital with a large research program. The research supported by this Fellowship will translate to fundamental changes in the administration of ubiquitous interventions and will optimise management of conditions that occur frequently in the critically ill and represent a major source of mortality, morbidity and healthcare utilisation/costs.
Potassium Channel Regulation Of Bacterial-driven Gastrointestinal Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$576,000.00
Summary
Helicobacter pylori infections cause a chronic inflammation which in some people results in stomach cancer or ulcers. We have used a mouse with natural resistance to H. pylori gastritis to identify a completely novel regulator of the pathology induced by this infection. In this project, we will examine the mechanism by which this regulator protects against disease in mice, and examine its significance in the susceptibility of people to gastric cancer.
Mechanisms Of Repair And Adaptation In The Gastric Mucosa: Roles Of COX-2 And Growth Factors
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$391,650.00
Summary
The stomach lining is continually threatened by its own acid and by hazards such as bacteria and ingested drugs. The drugs called COX inhibitors, which include aspirin, are widely used for treating arthritis and other inflammatory diseases and for preventing heart attacks and strokes. Despite their value in these conditions, COX inhibitors are responsible for about 5-10,000 hospital admissions annually in Australia due to complications from the side effect of stomach ulcers. A recent advance has ....The stomach lining is continually threatened by its own acid and by hazards such as bacteria and ingested drugs. The drugs called COX inhibitors, which include aspirin, are widely used for treating arthritis and other inflammatory diseases and for preventing heart attacks and strokes. Despite their value in these conditions, COX inhibitors are responsible for about 5-10,000 hospital admissions annually in Australia due to complications from the side effect of stomach ulcers. A recent advance has been the development of a sub-class called COX-2 inhibitors. In a very short time, one of these has become among the most prescribed drugs in Australia. The advantage of the COX-2 inhibitors is that they produce many less stomach ulcers. However, they have only been tested in patients who have not had a recent history of ulcer. Our preliminary experiments, together with some related information from two overseas groups, suggests that COX-2 is useful in the stomach, and is markedly increased around a healing ulcer. Our data suggest that blocking it delays the healing of experimental ulcers. This project aims to understand the roles of COX-2 in the stomach, and to clarify the effects of inhibiting it when the stomach is damaged or threatened. The project will also look for links between COX-2's functions and another protective process we have discovered called 'adaptation'. When anti-inflammatory drugs are given regularly to rats or humans under certain conditions, the stomach develops resistance after a few days so that the damage caused by each subsequent dose is markedly reduced. We have uncovered a number of mechanisms responsible for this during a current NH and MRC grant, and plan to explore some of the leads this work has given. The SIGNIFICANCE of the project is its potential to lead to safer use of anti-inflammatory drugs or eventually to new agents, and its potential to give new knowledge about how the lining of organs such as the stomach protects itself.Read moreRead less
Life-threatening Ulcer Complications In The Elderly: Role Of Visceral Sensory Function And Molecular Mechanisms
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$445,011.00
Summary
A large proportion of patients with chronic disease such as peptic ulcer disease present with life-threatening complications such as severe peptic ulcer bleedings without any relevant symptoms prior to the manifestation of the complication. This lack of symptoms can be considered the main reason that the disease is not earlier diagnosed or before severe complications such as life-threatening bleeding ulcers occur.