The Use Of Probiotics To Reduce The Incidence Of Sepsis In Premature Infants.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$808,733.00
Summary
Currently, premature infants are born without the normal immune defenses of infants born at the correct time because the protective factors that normally pass from the mother to the baby during the last few months of pregnancy have not had time to do so. In addition the tiny premature infants are at risk because they need the expertise of intensive care and are therefore separated from their parents and their parents' organisms which healthy term infants normally pick up from the birth canal and ....Currently, premature infants are born without the normal immune defenses of infants born at the correct time because the protective factors that normally pass from the mother to the baby during the last few months of pregnancy have not had time to do so. In addition the tiny premature infants are at risk because they need the expertise of intensive care and are therefore separated from their parents and their parents' organisms which healthy term infants normally pick up from the birth canal and their parents skin. The infants commonly develop infections from organisms living on their skin surfaces or inside their lungs, stomach or bowels. The babies are living in a hospital environment which they need to survive, but they may pick up particularly unhealthy organisms (pathogens) that produce toxins, which are difficult to treat even with antibiotics. These infections are so severe that one-fifth of the babies die, even in Australia where facilities for premature infants are excellent. Two recent studies overseas have shown that giving premature babies special preparations of certain probiotic organisms decreases the chance of babie developing infections. Probiotics are organisms that have health benefits. Probiotics tighten the spaces between cells to stop bacteria getting into the body, produce substances that kill other bacteria and promote the production of immunoglobulin A by the baby's own cells. Immunoglobulin A is a substance that lines the bowel wall and protects the baby from invasion by bacteria. This study will offer this probiotic product to very premature babies in a trial to see if it produces additional benefits for our babies in Victoria. Around five hundred babies will be given the product and five hundred will be given the placebo ( a harmless inert product which will look just like the real probiotic). Currently 23% of our babies get the serious infections and this study is powerful enough to see if we can reduce the number by one third.Read moreRead less
Neurodevelopmental Outcomes After Novel Interventions In Newborn Infants
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$188,226.00
Summary
Children who were sick in the newborn period or born preterm are at increased risk of abnormal development, particularly problems with their ability to walk, think and learn. This research will assess how new treatments affect sick newborns’ later development. For example, giving preterm babies healthy germs, or probiotics, decreases a serious bowel infection, called necrotising enterocolitis or NEC. This research will find out if they also help preterm brain development when the children are 2 ....Children who were sick in the newborn period or born preterm are at increased risk of abnormal development, particularly problems with their ability to walk, think and learn. This research will assess how new treatments affect sick newborns’ later development. For example, giving preterm babies healthy germs, or probiotics, decreases a serious bowel infection, called necrotising enterocolitis or NEC. This research will find out if they also help preterm brain development when the children are 2 years old.Read moreRead less
A Multicentre Randomised Controlled Trial Of Probiotic And Peanut Oral Immunotherapy For The Treatment Of Peanut Allergy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,887,302.00
Summary
A curative treatment for food allergy is required to prevent deaths and improve management. We recently trialed a new treatment for peanut allergy that was highly effective. Over 80% of children treated with Probiotic and Peanut Oral ImmunoTherapy (PPOIT) tolerated peanut as compared to 4% of children who received placebo. We now plan a larger multicentre trial to confirm these findings. If successful, we will have established a new treatment for peanut allergy and possibly all food allergies.
Curing Antibiotic Resistance: Probiotic Plasmids And Microbial Husbandry In The Enterobacteriaceae
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$560,832.00
Summary
The most troublesome emerging antibiotic resistance is coming in the form of addictive and promiscuous 'pest' plasmids, carrying dangerous genes that defeat antibiotics used for the most severe infections. We currently manage this problem by isolating infected patients and trying to design new antibiotics. Our approach eradicates these plasmids and renders the host bacterium antibiotic susceptible again, thereby restoring the natural ecology in animals and potentially in humans.
Prevention Of Otitis Media With Probiotics In Indigenous Children
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$100,531.00
Summary
The project is searching for ‘good’ bacteria in the upper airways of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (A&TSI) children that have the ability to inhibit the growth of bacteria that causes middle ear disease. These ‘good’ bacteria constitute a possible probiotic and will be matched to commercially available probiotic strains. These probiotic strains will then be used to recolonise the upper airways of A&TSI children to determine whether we can reduce the recurrence of middle ear disease.
The Effect Of Probiotics On The Neurodevelopmental Outcomes Of Preterm Infants
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,068,804.00
Summary
Premature infants are at increased risk of abnormal development, meaning problems with their ability to walk, talk, think, hear and see. Giving premature babies ‘good bacteria’ (probiotics) may help them survive, but little is known about how probiotics affect long-term development. This is the first large study to assess the development of children who were involved in a trial of probiotics following their premature birth.
Faecal Microbiota Transplantation And Other Novel Therapeutic Microbial Manipulation Strategies In Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$645,205.00
Summary
There is growing interest in the role of microbial-based strategies including faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. This project will develop such strategies into valid treatment options through a combination of clinical & basic science work including (1) characterising viral & fungal factors of importance, (2) evaluation of novel orally-delivered formulations of FMT, and (3) development of better defined, more reproducible microbial treatments.