GENETIC PREDICTION OF FRACTURE IN A RISK-STRATIFIED POPULATION
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$363,000.00
Summary
Osteoporosis is a condition characterised by excessive bone loss and impaired bone quality, which ultimately results in fracture with minimal trauma. Osteoporosis affects 27% of women and 11% of men aged 60 years or above in the community, and costs Australia around $7 billion each year. Individuals with low bone mineral density (BMD) have a significantly higher risk of fracture than those with normal BMD. In the long-term (14-year) Dubbo Osteoporosis Epidemiology Study, more than half of indivi ....Osteoporosis is a condition characterised by excessive bone loss and impaired bone quality, which ultimately results in fracture with minimal trauma. Osteoporosis affects 27% of women and 11% of men aged 60 years or above in the community, and costs Australia around $7 billion each year. Individuals with low bone mineral density (BMD) have a significantly higher risk of fracture than those with normal BMD. In the long-term (14-year) Dubbo Osteoporosis Epidemiology Study, more than half of individuals with osteoporosis (e.g., low BMD) did not sustain a fracture, while approximately 60% of fracture cases had BMD above the high risk levels. Thus, BMD alone is not a good discriminant of fracture versus non-fracture cases. It is widely known that the liability to fracture is determined in part by genes. Previous studies, including from our group, have suggested a number of candidate genes that are associated with fracture risk. The fundamental issue that this study is concerned is that how and whether genetic markers could be used to facilitate case finding. It is proposed that common variations of certain genes are associated with fracture risk independent of BMD. That is, they can identify individuals at relatively high and low fracture risk after stratification for BMD. Hence, some markers may identify those individuals likely (and unlikely) to fracture even with low (osteoporotic) BMD. Similarly, some, possibly the same, markers may identify individuals at high risk of fracture despite relatively good (ie non-osteoporotic) BMD. It is further proposed that no single gene will achieve this outcome, but rather a small set of such gene polymorphisms will provide clinically useful risk information. This effect is entirely analogous to the use of clinical risk indicators (eg, age, weight, sex, family history, etc) to assess the risk of future fracture.Read moreRead less
Clinically Severe Obesity: A Better Understanding Of A Complex Condition, Improving Health Outcomes Through Effective Therapies, And Delivering A Comprehensive Clinical Pathway.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$701,539.00
Summary
Clinically severe obesity impacts on the health of 7-8% or 1.5 million Australians, yet poor access to integrated effective care. This challenging area of healthcare is distorted by perceptions and beliefs that are frequently contrary to clinical and physiological research findings. Professor Dixon’s plan is to: 1) To learn more about clinically severe obesity, 2) improve the assessment and delivery of effective care, and 3) improve clinical capacity to better care for these Australians.
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, Insulin Resistance And Obesity
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$105,325.00
Summary
Research to be undertaken will focus on the impact of excess weight on insulin action in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). PCOS is the most common hormone condition in women of reproductive age, with significant long-term health implications. Identification of key metabolic and lifestyle associated factors in PCOS and the long term impact of these on health outcomes will assist in enabling earlier detection and intervention to optimise management and minimise long-term sequelae.
The Function Of The Natural Antisense Ghrelin Receptor Gene (GHSROS) In Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$493,750.00
Summary
Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer deaths in men and women in the world and the incidence in Australia is rising with our aging population. Survival rates for lung cancer are very poor. We have discovered a new gene that is produced by lung cancer cells and may contribute to the aggressive nature of this disease. We will investigate this gene to determine if it could be a useful target for new therapies for lung cancer and it determine its utility as a biomarker for the severity of t ....Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer deaths in men and women in the world and the incidence in Australia is rising with our aging population. Survival rates for lung cancer are very poor. We have discovered a new gene that is produced by lung cancer cells and may contribute to the aggressive nature of this disease. We will investigate this gene to determine if it could be a useful target for new therapies for lung cancer and it determine its utility as a biomarker for the severity of the disease.Read moreRead less
The Role Of A Protease Activated Receptor System In Prostate Cancer Bone Metastasis.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$582,204.00
Summary
Prostate cancer is one of the most significant health issues for men. This disease occurs because certain proteins start to function abnormally. Our focus is on a protein called PAR2, present on the surface of prostate cancer cells and bone cells, which we propose helps cancer cells to spread to bone. In our project, we aim to understand how this happens so that we can develop ways to block prostate cancer metastasis to bone.
How Does Disruption Of Circadian Rhythms Induce Diabetes?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$631,782.00
Summary
Increasing evidence suggests that disturbed circadian rhythms initiate and amplify metabolic and cardiovascular disease. The increasing and already high proportion of workers engaged in shiftwork, and increased frequency of disruption of these rhythms in the population more generally, implicate this body system as contributing to the growing epidemic of obesity and diabetes and related disorders in our community and world-wide. While we are now beginning to understand how our rhythms are synchro ....Increasing evidence suggests that disturbed circadian rhythms initiate and amplify metabolic and cardiovascular disease. The increasing and already high proportion of workers engaged in shiftwork, and increased frequency of disruption of these rhythms in the population more generally, implicate this body system as contributing to the growing epidemic of obesity and diabetes and related disorders in our community and world-wide. While we are now beginning to understand how our rhythms are synchronised to night and day, how this rhythmicity is linked to our organs in the normal and common disease states such as diabetes is poorly understood. The discovery of a special set of genes, called clock genes that function in all of the cells in our bodies and strongly influence the function of our organs such as the liver, pancreas and heart has been particularly important. We hypothesise that both environmentally (exogenous) and genetically (endogenous) induced disruption of circadian rhythms causes metabolic dysfunction. This is due to altered central and peripheral clock gene expression rhythms, which in turn alter metabolic rhythms and impair glucose homeostasis. This project aims to determine the impact of disrupted rhythmicity on metabolism with a particular emphasis on the possibility that the disrupted rhythmicity may be a predisposing factor for the development of diabetes.Read moreRead less