Myopia And Colour Vision: Potential Impact Of Colour Vision Gene Variation On Susceptibility To Myopia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$227,947.00
Summary
The frequency of myopia has shown a rapid increase in recent years but the underlying cause remains largely unknown. Our recent work on severe myopia with dichromacy has indicated that some forms of myopia may arise through changes in cone visual pigments and the arrangement of cone photoreceptors in the retina which impact on the feedback loop between image formation and eye elongation. This study seeks to explore this link in detail in myopia patients that possess normal colour vision.
The Impact Of Fluid Mechanics On Wound Healing After Glaucoma Surgery- An Engineering-based Approach
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$280,400.00
Summary
Excess scarring after glaucoma surgery is the major reason why surgery fails.This study will investigate how biomechanical forces in the eye influence wound healing and provide a new approach to regulating scar formation. This will provide key information for developing surgical techniques that improve outcome and prevent vision loss. The annual cost to Australia from vision loss due to glaucoma will double to $4.3 billion by 2025 unless better treatments are developed (Access Economics).
Neuroprotection In A Model Of Chronic Ocular Hypertension
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$264,221.00
Summary
Damage can occur to nervous tissues like the retina and brain when there is a reduction in the blood supply. This can occur in the eye disease, glaucoma, in which the pressure inside the eye is elevated. This serious condition often results in blindness. Much of the neuronal damage is thought to be due to the release of an excess of glutamate. Glutamate is a chemical (neurotransmitter) that nerves use to communicate with each other, but it is toxic to nerves when present at high concentrations. ....Damage can occur to nervous tissues like the retina and brain when there is a reduction in the blood supply. This can occur in the eye disease, glaucoma, in which the pressure inside the eye is elevated. This serious condition often results in blindness. Much of the neuronal damage is thought to be due to the release of an excess of glutamate. Glutamate is a chemical (neurotransmitter) that nerves use to communicate with each other, but it is toxic to nerves when present at high concentrations. This project will utilise a new model of glaucoma to investigate the mechanisms that regulate the concentration of glutamate in the retina. If these mechanisms could be made to work more efficiently, they may prevent the build-up of the glutamate and therefore prevent damage to the nerve cells. Understanding these mechanisms will aid in the development of an effective treatment to prevent visual loss in the 150,000 Australians who suffer from glaucoma.Read moreRead less
Role Of Primary Cilia And PCP Proteins In Lens Development: Implications For Lens Regeneration After Cataract Surgery
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$413,742.00
Summary
Cataract extraction is the most common surgical procedure conducted in our hospitals today. Unfortunately, a complication of surgery is the development of a secondary cataract. This is caused by residual lens epithelial cells undergoing a wound healing response that leads to severe scarring and loss of vision. This project will identify the factors that are needed to maintain lens epithelial cells in a normal state so that they can act as stem cells that can be induced to regenerate a new lens t ....Cataract extraction is the most common surgical procedure conducted in our hospitals today. Unfortunately, a complication of surgery is the development of a secondary cataract. This is caused by residual lens epithelial cells undergoing a wound healing response that leads to severe scarring and loss of vision. This project will identify the factors that are needed to maintain lens epithelial cells in a normal state so that they can act as stem cells that can be induced to regenerate a new lens that can transmit and focus light as normal.Read moreRead less
Developmental Plasticity In The Nonhuman Primate Visual Cortex
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$464,417.00
Summary
A phenomenon that has puzzled many for a number of years is why damage to the visual brain during infancy has far less of an impact on visual capacity than the same lesion suffered later in life. This project hopes to uncover this mystery and see how brain 'wiring' is altered to compensate.
Osteocytes (OY) are the most abundant cell type in bone whose high density and viability are essential for healthy bone. We have found that vitamin K, vitamin D and strontium, promote human OY differentiation. We will test these in novel models of human OY differentiation and survival, and in animal models of bone loss associated with vitamin D deficiency, menopause and glucocorticoid treatment. Our work will lead to a better understanding of human OY and give a new approach to treat osteoporosi ....Osteocytes (OY) are the most abundant cell type in bone whose high density and viability are essential for healthy bone. We have found that vitamin K, vitamin D and strontium, promote human OY differentiation. We will test these in novel models of human OY differentiation and survival, and in animal models of bone loss associated with vitamin D deficiency, menopause and glucocorticoid treatment. Our work will lead to a better understanding of human OY and give a new approach to treat osteoporosis.Read moreRead less
The Role Of Mitochondrial DNA In Age-related Hearing Loss
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$260,475.00
Summary
Hearing loss is an extremely common and under-studied age-related disability, affecting 39% of Australians aged 50 years or older. Both genetic and environmental factors may contribute to the development of age-related hearing loss. Human genetic material (DNA) resides in two places in body cells; the nucleus and in organelles called mitochondria. This is due to the fact that mitochondria were derived from bacteria that were engulfed by the cell back in primordial life. Although this genetic mat ....Hearing loss is an extremely common and under-studied age-related disability, affecting 39% of Australians aged 50 years or older. Both genetic and environmental factors may contribute to the development of age-related hearing loss. Human genetic material (DNA) resides in two places in body cells; the nucleus and in organelles called mitochondria. This is due to the fact that mitochondria were derived from bacteria that were engulfed by the cell back in primordial life. Although this genetic material is different to nuclear DNA, it has an essential role in helping to provide energy for the cell. Genetic mutations in the DNA residing in the mitochondria have been associated with a number of conditions, usually affecting tissues that require large amounts of energy, such as the brain, muscle, heart, retina and the cochlea of the ear. The commonest clinical manifestation of mitochondrial disease is thought to be hearing loss. This project investigates the role that abnormal mitochondrial DNA plays in the development of hearing impairment by studying subjects from a representative Australian community who participated in a large population study of hearing loss. We will assess whether different sectors of mitochondrial DNA predispose particular individuals to the development of hearing loss or accelerate its onset. The Blue Mountains Hearing Study is able to take into account other factors known to be associated with hearing loss (industrial noise exposure, diabetes, smoking).Read moreRead less
Structure And Function Of The Third Geniculocortical Pathway In Primates.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$296,777.00
Summary
Our understanding of the human visual system has been based on the idea that there are two main nerve pathways from the eye to the brain. One, called the parvocellular pathway, is for colour and detail vision, and the other, called the magnocellular pathway, is for movement perception. Damage to either pathway by disease such as glaucoma, or a lesion such as stroke, will cause specific changes in visual perception and these changes can be used to diagnose the nature of the disease or lesion. We ....Our understanding of the human visual system has been based on the idea that there are two main nerve pathways from the eye to the brain. One, called the parvocellular pathway, is for colour and detail vision, and the other, called the magnocellular pathway, is for movement perception. Damage to either pathway by disease such as glaucoma, or a lesion such as stroke, will cause specific changes in visual perception and these changes can be used to diagnose the nature of the disease or lesion. We will study a recently recognised third subdivision of the visual pathway, called the koniocellular pathway. The properties of koniocellular cells have not previously been studied in anthropoid primates, and their importance for human vision is not well understood. We will study the way that koniocellular cells respond to moving and patterned stimuli, and their connections with the cerebral cortex, in order to determine whether this pathway could contribute to aspects of normal and abnormal visual perception. We will follow up our preliminary evidence that koniocellular cells respond to visual stimuli of the type used to diagnose the early stages of eye diseases such as glaucoma. The results will give us a better understanding of the way that the nervous system processes visual information, and will clarify the basis of disturbances to normal visual function.Read moreRead less
Origin And Specificity Of Neuronal Signals For Colour Vision In Primates.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$490,500.00
Summary
How do we see colours? What do colour blind people see? Although colour is one of the most important attributes of objects in the visual world, the way that colour is processed in the brain is poorly understood. The aim of this project is to study the way that nerve cells in the eye (the retina) and the visual part of the brain are specialised to transmit signals for colour perception. The visual system of humans and other primates includes nerve cells which are selective for a limited range of ....How do we see colours? What do colour blind people see? Although colour is one of the most important attributes of objects in the visual world, the way that colour is processed in the brain is poorly understood. The aim of this project is to study the way that nerve cells in the eye (the retina) and the visual part of the brain are specialised to transmit signals for colour perception. The visual system of humans and other primates includes nerve cells which are selective for a limited range of wavelengths reflected by objects in the visual world. We will study how this selectivity is generated, by examining how the colour receptors are connected within the retina to the cells which transmit nerve impulses to the brain. Between 5 and 7 percent of male humans have colour vision defects. Many objects which appear clearly different to colour-normal observers cannot be discriminated by colour-defective observers, and entry to professions such as the police and airline industry is restricted for individuals with colour vision defects. We will study the basis of reduced colour perception ability in red-green colour blindness. This will be done by measuring the responses of nerve cells in a species of primate (marmoset) in which many animals have colour vision receptors resembling those of humans with colour vision defects. We will measure the reliability with which individual neurones can transmit signals for colour vision when they receive input from such abnormal receptors. It is known that nerve cells transmit their message within the brain by means of brief electrical impulses called action potentials. In addition to studying the basis of human colour discrimination, the project also addresses one of the fundamental questions of sensory processing, by studying the reliability of the coded message carried by action potentials within the central nervous system.Read moreRead less