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Is Asthma In The Elderly A Disease Of The Peripheral Airways?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$502,437.00
Summary
Elderly asthmatics have poorer clinical outcomes compared with younger asthmatics. The reasons for this are unclear but may involve age-related changes in the disease itself. In this project we aim to show that asthma in the elderly is dominated by abnormalities of very small peripheral airways, in contrast to younger patients where the abnormalities occur in larger airways. The results will provide the basis for new and better targeted treatment strategies for asthma in the elderly.
Targeting Remodelling In Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Chronic Asthma And Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF)
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$386,634.00
Summary
Lung diseases (emphysema, asthma & pulmonary fibrosis) are major burdens on Australian community and economy. Airway remodelling/wounding is a key feature of all these diseases. Patients experience severe breathlessness seriously impacting quality of life and frequently leading to death. We will assess the potential of new targets (including IL-33), & therapy in suppressing wounding in experimental models. This may lead to a new treatment to reverse or prevent lung diseases.
Airway Extracellular Matrix And Smooth Muscle In Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$828,849.00
Summary
In asthma the layer of airway smooth muscle is thicker, due to more muscle cells. Airway narrowing is excessive but reversible. In chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (due mainly to smoking) the layer of airway smooth muscle is also thicker but the airways cannot be induced to open, or close. Our data suggest that this fixed airway narrowing is likely to be due to an excess of matrix between cells rather than muscle. This project will comprehensively test this new finding.
Revolutionising The Diagnosis And Monitoring Of CF Lung Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$818,391.00
Summary
Cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease starts early in childhood and relentlessly progresses, with early death a common outcome. There is currently no method capable of detecting very early disease onset nor directly assessing the effectiveness of putative treatments. This project will apply our globally unique X-ray imaging tools, which are capable of imaging lung function at any point across the entire lung, for the very early detection of CF and assessment of clinically applicable treatments.
Increased Airway Smooth Muscle Mass As An Independent Determinant Of Asthma Pathogenesis And Severity
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$409,966.00
Summary
Asthma is a major health burden to the community. The most common form of the disease is allergic asthma and it is thought that allergic inflammation drives associated airway abnormalities including increased airway smooth muscle (ASM) mass. This study tests a new hypothesis that airway abnormalities and allergy have separate origins but combine to produce allergic asthma, and it’s the individuals with the greatest amount of ASM who develop clinically severe asthma.
Heterogeneity Of Airway Smooth Muscle Remodelling In Asthma
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$623,078.00
Summary
Increased smooth muscle in the airways causes excessive narrowing and asthma symptoms. The distribution of the increased muscle in the lung varies between people with asthma and may determine how severe the asthma is and what treatments are best. This project will use tissues from many cases of asthma to map this distribution and will use laser scanning in the airways to develop a test to safely examine the smooth muscle in living people, in order to better treat or prevent asthma.
Dissecting The Contribution Of IL-17-producing ?? T Cells In The Pathogenesis Of Airway Diseases
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$734,570.00
Summary
Airway diseases such as severe steroid-refractory asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are an enormous worldwide burden and have a huge public health impact. Approved drugs for these two diseases provide symptomatic relief but they do not halt the disease process, and curative therapy remains elusive. We have discovered a possible cause of chronic bronchitis, and using advanced techniques we are now probing for ways to turn this discovery into an effective treatment option.
Elucidation Of The Aetiology Of Airway Remodelling In COPD
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$626,979.00
Summary
This project grant aims to discover how cigarette smoking induces the development of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) by understanding how smoking drives the key pathological charges in the airways, airway remodelling. Our research to-date has found that cells from people with COPD have an hightened response to cigarette smoke and we aim to uncover the molecular basis of this aberrant response.
The Central Role Of Connective Tissue Growth Factor In Remodelling Of Asthmatic Airways
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$689,019.00
Summary
In the asthmatic airway an increase in the number of blood vessels can affect an asthmatic's ability to breathe. We have recently found that growth factors which can promote vessel growth are increased in the airways of asthmatics. We want to understand how these growth factors act together to possibly control the blood vessels and how their behaviour is different in the asthmatic airways compared to the nonasthmatic airways.
Asthma causes wheeze and shortness of breath via airway narrowing, with asthma attacks commonly caused by virus infections. We plan to investigate how airway narrowing during an asthma attack decreases the body’s ability to fight off a viral infection, causing prolonged infection, worse asthma symptoms, more airway inflammation and long-term damage within the airways. We will attempt to use current and novel treatments to reverse these problems, and improve treatment for asthma.