Negative Symptom Formation In Schizophrenia: An Electrophysiological, Neurophysiological And Computational Modelling Investigation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$374,508.00
Summary
The Negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia have been recognised as being just as disabling as the more widely recognised positive symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions. Recently it has been proposed that negative symptoms in schizophrenia might be caused by alterations in learning from rewards and punishments. This project will investigate brain activity in people with schizophrenia during reward and punishment based learning tasks while applying computational modelling.
Genetic Determinants Of Inherited Optic Neuropathies
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$249,750.00
Summary
Glaucoma is a slowly progressive visual disorder of the optic nerves often but not always associated with elevated pressure in the eyes. There is a strong genetic component. It is estimated to affect in excess of 60 million people worldwide with more than 6 million of those blind in both eyes. It is the second commonest cause of visual impairment in the developed world, and is present in up to 10% of the population by age 90. Numbers of affected patients in Australia are expected to double in th ....Glaucoma is a slowly progressive visual disorder of the optic nerves often but not always associated with elevated pressure in the eyes. There is a strong genetic component. It is estimated to affect in excess of 60 million people worldwide with more than 6 million of those blind in both eyes. It is the second commonest cause of visual impairment in the developed world, and is present in up to 10% of the population by age 90. Numbers of affected patients in Australia are expected to double in the next 30 years. Current methods of early detection and treatment are often inadequate, and associated visual loss is irreversible. There is a strong need for greater understanding of the disease process and new strategies to prevent and treat visual loss. Two less common causes of untreatable optic nerve blindness are Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON) and autosomal dominant optic atrophy (ADOA) which occur in younger age groups than most cases of glaucoma, and hence sufferers may experience substantial physical, emotional and economic hardship. Over a 10 year period we have seen large numbers of patients with all three eye conditions and have developed a powerful study to determine the genes which cause optic nerve blindness and their relative importance. The research is gathering momentum and the genetics of all 3 conditions are now partly understood. This project seeks to analyse a new major glaucoma gene (Optineurin) in our Australian population and to try to understand the way in which a number of genes interact to cause blindness in some patients but not others. This work will lead to greater understanding of these causes of blindness and is likely to lead to new screening tests to know who is at most risk, and the opportunity to develop and test new treatments targeted to the underlying genetic problem.Read moreRead less
Blood Biomarkers For The Diagnosis Of Pre-clinical Alzheimer’s Disease Employing The Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network Cohort
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,125,804.00
Summary
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia and yet a postmortem examination serves as the only definitive diagnosis. The current proposal seeks to investigate alterations in biochemical profiles of individuals who will develop Alzheimer’s disease due to an inherited mutation, against family members who are non-carriers of the mutation, to identify AD related blood changes which can contribute towards the development of a diagnostic blood test for the disease.
CD4+ T Cell-independent Immunity Against Salmonellae
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$550,226.00
Summary
Salmonella typhimurium is an important pathogen in both developed and developing countries where it causes significant HIV-linked morbidity. There is a pressing need to understand how immunity might be established against this organism that will function when the patient is immunocompromised either through age or through a comorbidity like HIV.
The Generation, Fate And Functional Potential Of Recent Thymic Emigrants
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$318,856.00
Summary
A particular kind of white blood cell, called a T lymphocyte, is responsible for controlling our immune responses to foreign invaders. These cells develop in the thymus, where they learn to distinguish between foreign invaders and self tissue, before emigrating to other organs. The regulation of this process is important to maintain a pool of T lymphocytes in the body. It is important that T lymphocytes do not respond against self tissue, as this can lead to a Oself destructO disease called auto ....A particular kind of white blood cell, called a T lymphocyte, is responsible for controlling our immune responses to foreign invaders. These cells develop in the thymus, where they learn to distinguish between foreign invaders and self tissue, before emigrating to other organs. The regulation of this process is important to maintain a pool of T lymphocytes in the body. It is important that T lymphocytes do not respond against self tissue, as this can lead to a Oself destructO disease called autoimmunity. Since these developing T lymphocytes will not see all kinds of self tissue while in the thymus, we propose that their education to prevent self-tissue reactivity may continue for some time after they leave the thymus.Read moreRead less