Local Sleep In The Awake Brain: An Underlying Cause Of Neurobehavioural Deficits In Sleep Apnea?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$582,330.00
Summary
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a common sleep disorder which significantly impacts daytime functioning leading to excessive sleepiness, and problems with attention and thinking. Currently, the causes for cognitive impairment in OSA (including attentional lapses and performance deficits) are poorly understood. In the awake state, groups of neurons can briefly go “offline” as they do in sleep. These periods of “local sleep” may explain impaired task performance in OSA.
Transdermal Testosterone Therapy: A Potential Treatment For Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI)-associated Sexual Dysfunction In Women
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$241,351.00
Summary
Female sexual dysfunction (FSD) is frequently reported with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) therapy and venlafaxine, these being the most common antidepressants used by Australian women. We have shown that testosterone therapy significantly improves sexual function in women with FSD. However SSRI-users have been excluded from these past studies. The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of transdermal testosterone therapy for treatment of sexual dysfunction associated with SS ....Female sexual dysfunction (FSD) is frequently reported with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) therapy and venlafaxine, these being the most common antidepressants used by Australian women. We have shown that testosterone therapy significantly improves sexual function in women with FSD. However SSRI-users have been excluded from these past studies. The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of transdermal testosterone therapy for treatment of sexual dysfunction associated with SSRI therapy.Read moreRead less
A Nurse Led Psychosocial Intervention With Peer Support To Reduce Needs In Women Being Treated With Radiotherapy For Gynaecological Cancer: A RCT
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,184,630.00
Summary
This study is to test the effectiveness of a nurse-led psychosocial intervention with peer support to reduce psychological distress, psychosocial needs, psychosexual difficulties and symptom distress and to improve quality of life and preparation for treatment of women receiving radiotherapy with curative intent for gynaecological cancer (GC) using a randomised controlled trial (RCT).
Centre For Translational Neuroscience: A Modular Platform For Translating Discovery Into Health Outcomes
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,623,735.00
Summary
Clinical Centre of Research Excellence in Translational Neuroscience will provide people, pathways and resources to create a novel platform to take the outputs of Neuroscience Discovery programs though to improved patient outcomes for common brain diseases. A critical role will be to train and equip the best and brightest of the next generation of researchers to undertake internationally competitive translational neuroscience research that makes a difference to the health of our community.
Gene-environment Interaction In Healthy Brain Ageing And Age Related Neurodegeneration
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,162,805.00
Summary
Healthy ageing is characterised by low level of disability, high cognitive and functional capacity, and an active engagement in life. The most important ingredient of healthy ageing is a healthy brain, bereft of age-related diseases and dysfunction. Brain ageing and brain diseases are determined by multiple genetic factors that interact with environmental influences. The genes are multiple, the majority of which have a small influence. This study is an attempt to identify some of these genes and ....Healthy ageing is characterised by low level of disability, high cognitive and functional capacity, and an active engagement in life. The most important ingredient of healthy ageing is a healthy brain, bereft of age-related diseases and dysfunction. Brain ageing and brain diseases are determined by multiple genetic factors that interact with environmental influences. The genes are multiple, the majority of which have a small influence. This study is an attempt to identify some of these genes and investigate their interactions with environmental factors. It will use a unique resource, the NHMRC Australian Twin Registry (ATR) to identify elderly twins, and will also include the siblings of these twins so as to increase the ability to identify the important factors. The participants, who are listed on the ATR and recruited from NSW, Queensland and Victoria, will receive detailed neurological, psychiatric and cognitive assessments, and will undergo brain MRI scans. Their blood samples will be used to measure key chemicals that may affect brain ageing and to extract DNA for genetic tests. They will be followed-up every two years thereafter, and changes in their brain structure and cognitive functioning will be examined. Available statistical models will be used to examine gene-environment interactions and specific genes will be explored for their contribution to the additive genetic effects. This study will yield an important resource for national and international collaborations and has the potential to discover new genes.Read moreRead less
Therapeutic Thermal Regulation In Critical Illness
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$189,384.00
Summary
Patients who are admitted to intensive care units often develop abnormalities of their body temperature as part of their illness. Common illnesses include infections and injuries to the brain from trauma or strokes. Clinicians are unsure of how to react to these changes in temperature. My research is designed to provide high quality evidence on body temperature and the use of treatments, so that clinicians can improve patient outcomes.
A Study Of The Impact Of Treating Electrographic Seizures In Term Or Near-term Infants With Neonatal Encephalopathy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,365,184.00
Summary
Seizures in the newborn infant are common and may be harmful to the developing brain. They are not always recognised. This study investigates whether or not treating all seizures detected using a bedside brain activity monitor improves developmental outcome, compared to just treating seizures that doctors recognise.
A Trial Of A Multidisciplinary, Group Based Intervention To Meet The Needs Of Men With Prostate Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$524,285.00
Summary
This study will test an innovative approach to meeting the physical and psychosocial needs of men with early stage prostate cancer using a randomised controlled trial. This novel approach involves a combination of individual and group-based consultations which encourages peer-to-peer support, promotes self-care and enhances appropriate multidisciplinary referrals and communication. It provides a new model of care for patients with chronic diseases that can be translated into clinical practice.
Why Does Early Life Stress Aggravate Limbic Epileptogenesis?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$540,116.00
Summary
High rates of anxiety and depression occur in individuals with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), the most common form of focal epilepsy in adults. Rats that have experienced early life stress show increased anxiety, decreased seizure thresholds and accelerated epilepsy as adults. We have important leads to mechanisms. The proposed study will better understand the mechanisms connecting early life stress and psychiatric disease to adult TLE, and to test interventions that may counteract these effects.
Multicentre Trial Of Calcium Channel Blocker Versus Calcium Channel Blocker Plus Cox2 Inhibitor In Preterm Labour
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$644,130.00
Summary
Preterm birth is a major problem in our society, and has enormous consequences for parents and children. It also has a major impact on scarce financial resources. When women present in preterm labor, current therapies have only limited success in stopping contractions and postponing birth. They have not been shown to reduce the rates of the serious neonatal problems associated with prematurity. This project will be coordinated in Newcastle, N.S.W., and will involve major perinatal centres throug ....Preterm birth is a major problem in our society, and has enormous consequences for parents and children. It also has a major impact on scarce financial resources. When women present in preterm labor, current therapies have only limited success in stopping contractions and postponing birth. They have not been shown to reduce the rates of the serious neonatal problems associated with prematurity. This project will be coordinated in Newcastle, N.S.W., and will involve major perinatal centres throughout Australia, along with overseas centres. It will test a new combination of drugs for their ability to postpone delivery in women presenting with preterm labour. It is postulated that the combination of drugs will be more effective than existing therapies. The drugs used in the trial are Nifedipine and Rofecoxib. Complications of prematurity include neonatal death, cerebral palsy, visual and hearing impairment, and chronic lung disease. These complications are most significant in extremely premature infants - in particular, those under 28 weeks gestation at the time of their delivery. For this reason, the study will focus only on women presenting in labour below 28 weeks. The ability to stop labour is important, but the main aim of any treatment for preterm labour is to reduce the rates of neonatal death and handicap. Babies born to women enrolled in this study will be followed for a period of one year after birth to assess their outcomes. It is our hypothesis that the combination of Rofecoxib and Nifedipine will result in lower rates of death and handicap in babies than Nifedipine alone. In addition, we will examine the rates of side effects in women receiving therapy. Currently used therapies, including intravenous ventolin, have high rates of maternal side effects. Nifedipine and Rofecoxib have both been shown to have low rates of maternal side effects.Read moreRead less