What Is The Effect Of Alzheimer’s Disease On Eye And Can Ocular Changes Be Used As Biomarker For Alzheimer’s Disease?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$718,002.00
Summary
Visual symptoms are frequent early complaints in Alzheimer’s (AD) patients. Examining eyes can be a simple, specific and inexpensive way to assess and diagnose AD and fill in an urgent need for a viable biomarker. Retina is unique part of central nervous system that can be imaged non-invasively and thus serves as a ‘window to the brain”. Monitoring the eyes will also help prevent negative effects of AD on vision by way of timely intervention, in addition to providing mechanistic insights in AD.
The Retina As A Chemogenetic Target For The Treatment Of Depression
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$408,768.00
Summary
Treatments for depression are often poor because they lack selectivity. By inserting receptors that respond to an inert drug, Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs (DREADDs) can turn on-or-off very specific classes of cells, providing an exciting treatment direction for depression and other neuropsychiatric diseases. The long term goal of this project is to create a highly effective DREADD-based treatment for depression, which is activated by either eye drops or a pill.
The Combined Use Of Transplantation And Gene Therapy Techniques To Promote Regeneration After Neurotrauma
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$521,026.00
Summary
Trauma in the adult mammalian central nervous system causes long-lasting functional deficits. The resulting physical and financial burdens to the individual, to his or her family, and to the community at large, are immense. When fibre tracts are damaged there is disruption of circuits and there may be death of associated nerve cells. Interventions are therefore necessary to promote repair and to try to restore function. Highly modified, non-harmful viruses can be used as vectors to introduce gen ....Trauma in the adult mammalian central nervous system causes long-lasting functional deficits. The resulting physical and financial burdens to the individual, to his or her family, and to the community at large, are immense. When fibre tracts are damaged there is disruption of circuits and there may be death of associated nerve cells. Interventions are therefore necessary to promote repair and to try to restore function. Highly modified, non-harmful viruses can be used as vectors to introduce genes into cells, a method that allows targeted supply of molecules to the injured brain. Gene and cell therapy may eventually be of clinical benefit to injured patients. In a range of different experiments we will combine two different gene therapy approaches, various pharmacological agents and novel transplantation strategies in attempts to enhance the survival of affected nerve cells and promote the regrowth of damaged nerve fibres across injury sites in the injured adult rat visual system. Long-term vector-mediated expression of growth factors in neurons and in grafts may 'trap' regenerating axons, potentially reducing their outgrowth into distal, denervated target areas. It is therefore important to determine if temporal regulation of growth-promoting genes has additional beneficial effects on the ability of regenerating neurons to recognise and selectively regrow axons into appropriate CNS targets. An additional series of studies will thus be undertaken. We will test a new generation of regulatory vectors in which it is possible to switch the virally encoded genes on or off and thus control the level and timing of gene expression over a therapeutic range. We will then determine if the use of these regulatory viral vectors results in more consistent and robust growth of nerve fibres with better reconnections, in the longer term leading to better recovery of function.Read moreRead less