Determining The Role Of Vitamin D In The Development Of Asthma And Allergic Diseases In High Risk Families
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$351,127.00
Summary
Allergic diseases like asthma, eczema and hay-fever, prevent our children from getting a healthy start to life, and we don’t know how to prevent these conditions. Vitamin D levels may be critical in the development of childhood asthma and allergies, and they can be easily modified! Using a group of 620 children who we have followed for 20 years, we will identify the role of vitamin D levels in the development of allergic conditions, and factors that modify these relationships.
Developmental Vitamin D Deficiency And Prefrontal Cortical Dysfunction
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$355,570.00
Summary
The cause of schizophrenia is unknown but is believed to be due to abnormal brain development. Dopamine abnormalities are central to schizophrenia. We have developed a model of maternal vitamin D deficiency in rats, based on disease epidemiology that shows individuals that have low levels of vitamin D at birth have an increased risk of developing schizophrenia later in life. We now also show dopamine systems in regions associated with cognition may develop abnormally in our animal model.
The Developmental Vitamin D-deficiency Animal Model Of Schizophrenia:- Critical Window For Intervention And Optimal Dose
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$365,811.00
Summary
We have established that low levels of vitamin D at birth increase the risk of children developing schizophrenia in later life. Our studies indicate this risk is dose-dependent and may be enhanced if developmental vitamin D (DVD) deficiency is extended into postnatal life implying there may be an early critical vitamin D threshold and a critical window of exposure required to avert schizophrenia. This project will examine this and the effects of supplements using our DVD-deficiency animal model.
The Role Of Vitamin D In Placental Development And Pregnancy Success
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$723,235.00
Summary
Vitamin D deficiency affects about 1 billion people worldwide, including up to 80% of Australians depending on age, skin colour and sun exposure. Vitamin D deficiency has now been associated with a large number of common diseases of aging and with pregnancy complications. This proposal will use human pregnancy serum and placenta, as well as mouse gene knockout models, to determine the hitherto unknown roles of vitamin D in development of the placenta and health of mother and baby.
While is important to prevent vitamin D deficiency, controversies exist about optimal vitamin D intakes and concentrations. Our aim is to evaluate safety concerns with dosages of vitamin D which are routinely promoted for unsupervised public use with over the counter products. We will do this by evaluating long-term health effects for infant vitamin D supplementation, and by using a genetic approach to evaluate the causal effects of high vitamin D and calcium concentrations.
Maternal Vitamin D Supplementation In A Maternal Immune Activation Model Of Schizophrenia: Mechanisms Of Prevention
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$523,364.00
Summary
Maternal infection and vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy increase the risk of children developing schizophrenia. We model these risk factors in pregnant mice. Offspring produce schizophrenia-like behaviours. When pregnant mice with experimental inflammation are treated with the hormonally active form of vitamin D this completely abolished all schizophrenia-like behaviours in offspring. We want to a) understand this mechanism, b) replicate using a form of vitamin D safe-to-use in humans.
Vitamin D Synthesis Within Osteoblasts Increases Bone Mineral By Regulating Remodelling: Is This The Link Between Vitamin D Status And Fractures?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$627,082.00
Summary
This project will contribute to understanding mechanism of vitamin D action within bone to modulate bone resorption and offers the exciting prospect of identifying the mechanism by which an adequate vitamin D status can reduce the risk of osteoporotic hip fractures. Thus, this project has great potential to improve community health by being able to recommend vitamin D supplementation made on the basis of maintaining normal bone cell function with psarticular reference to modulating bone resorpti ....This project will contribute to understanding mechanism of vitamin D action within bone to modulate bone resorption and offers the exciting prospect of identifying the mechanism by which an adequate vitamin D status can reduce the risk of osteoporotic hip fractures. Thus, this project has great potential to improve community health by being able to recommend vitamin D supplementation made on the basis of maintaining normal bone cell function with psarticular reference to modulating bone resorption.Read moreRead less
Adult Vitamin D Deficiency And Cognitive Dysfunction In A Mouse Model
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$419,117.00
Summary
Vitamin D deficiency is common in the Australian adult population. We provide convincing evidence that vitamin D deficiency during adulthood impacts on brain function in a mouse model. If these changes generalize to humans, then this broader program of research could have important public health implications. Vitamin D supplementation is safe and cheap is clearly an attractive candidate for public health intervention.
Investigating Dietary Vitamin D In The Australian Population
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$386,476.00
Summary
Vitamin D deficiency is a significant public health issue in Australia: almost one in four adults, and one in five adolescents, are vitamin D deficient. Although vitamin D can be obtained from sun exposure and diet, we know very little about dietary vitamin D in Australia. This project will determine how much vitamin D is in Australian foods, how much people get from their usual diets, and whether increasing vitamin D in foods would be a safe and effective way to reduce vitamin D deficiency.