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Environmental And Metabolic Influences On Musculoskeletal And Other Diseases In A Cohort Of Elderly Women
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$840,575.00
Summary
Osteoporosis is a largely preventable disease yet 1 in 10 Australians have osteoporosis. Every year >64,000 osteoporotic fractures occur, which is one every 8.1 minutes and women are three times as likely to have the disease than men. The Bone and Calcium Research Group at the University of Western Australia, has been monitoring a cohort of elderly women for since 1998. This study is called the Calcium Intake Fracture Outcome Study or CAIFOS. 1,500 women were recruited to study whether a dail ....Osteoporosis is a largely preventable disease yet 1 in 10 Australians have osteoporosis. Every year >64,000 osteoporotic fractures occur, which is one every 8.1 minutes and women are three times as likely to have the disease than men. The Bone and Calcium Research Group at the University of Western Australia, has been monitoring a cohort of elderly women for since 1998. This study is called the Calcium Intake Fracture Outcome Study or CAIFOS. 1,500 women were recruited to study whether a daily calcium supplement for 5 years helps to prevent fractures compared to a diet without a supplement. Each year the study participants are reviewed and asked whether or not they have broken any bones and have other measurements to monitor their bone and cardiovascular health and cognitive function. The subjects will end the treatment phase in 2003 and they will find out the results of the study. More than 93% are interested in being followed for a further 5 years, where they will be contacted every 6 months and asked questions about their general health including information on fracture, hospital visits and changes in medication use. The subjects will have a clinic visits at 2 and 5 years post treatment. With the ongoing collection of adverse event data and metabolic and environmental data from the first phase of the study, we will be able to examine the metabolic and environmental factors that influence musculoskeletal, cardiovascular and mental health. This is important to determine how we can prevent disease to maintain the quality of life and independence in the elderly, a growing segment of the population.Read moreRead less
The proportion of the population over 65 years of age is increasing, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of disability and death in this group of people. Angina, heart failure and stroke in elderly people often result in considerable disability and in many instances in a need for changed living circumstances such as admission to nursing homes. Consequently there is an important need to understand how to prevent and manage cardiovascular diseases in elderly people. Although CVD oc ....The proportion of the population over 65 years of age is increasing, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of disability and death in this group of people. Angina, heart failure and stroke in elderly people often result in considerable disability and in many instances in a need for changed living circumstances such as admission to nursing homes. Consequently there is an important need to understand how to prevent and manage cardiovascular diseases in elderly people. Although CVD occurs much more frequently in older persons, much of the epidemiological information on CVD risk factors and risk estimation comes from studies of middle-aged populations. Recently there has been an increased focus on whether the established relationships hold or differ in the elderly. This has generated debate about the relative value and effectiveness of treating risk factors in elderly people. This study, which is based on comprehensive and long-term risk factor, mortality and morbidity data from the Busselton Health Study and Health in Men Study, will lead to a better understanding of classic and new CVD risk factors in older persons and will contribute positively to the debate about the relative value and effectiveness of attempting to modify risk factors in the elderly. Further, it will facilitate improved methods for CVD risk assessment in older people and hence assist in determining whether which preventive actions to implement in the elderly.Read moreRead less
The failure of an embryo to implant is a major cause of infertility. While IVF is an important intervention, still three quarters of embryos do not implant. We have identified new factors that we believe are critically important in embryo attachment to the womb. We will now prove whether these factors are critical and therefore provide the evidence required to begin to develop novel treatment options for infertility.
Female Reproductive Health Preservation By Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide (NAD+) And Sirtuin2 (SIRT2)
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$410,983.00
Summary
Cancer treatment can be severely toxic to women’s eggs. Increasing numbers of women who survive cancer therefore become infertile and prematurely deprived of hormonal support whilst still in their reproductive years. This project will use state-of-the-art techniques to interrogate newly uncovered pathways that can protect eggs from treatment-induced injury thereby greatly improving the quality of life for female cancer survivors.
Mechanisms Of DNA Damage-induced Oocyte Apoptosis And Infertility: Examination Of The Role Of BH3-only Proteins.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$495,755.00
Summary
Our ability to prevent or postpone menopause following cancer treatment, is of great importance for female fertility, health and quality of life. We will demonstrate that the death gene of the Bcl-2 family of life and death genes, Puma, is responsible for killing female germ cells after damaging treatment. When Puma is absent, sufficient high quality germ cells are able to survive damaging treatment, allowing normal fertility in mice. The quality of these rescued germ cells will be analysed in d ....Our ability to prevent or postpone menopause following cancer treatment, is of great importance for female fertility, health and quality of life. We will demonstrate that the death gene of the Bcl-2 family of life and death genes, Puma, is responsible for killing female germ cells after damaging treatment. When Puma is absent, sufficient high quality germ cells are able to survive damaging treatment, allowing normal fertility in mice. The quality of these rescued germ cells will be analysed in detail.Read moreRead less
This study will follow up over 12,000 men aged 65-83 years who have previously completed a questionnaire about their medical, social, family and occupational history and lifestyle and have undergone a simple physical examination (height, weight, waist, girth at the hips and blood pressure). The first aim is to determine which of these factors predicts serious ill-health from heart disease, stroke and certain cancers in old age. In addition, we will test the hypothesis that risk factors for heart ....This study will follow up over 12,000 men aged 65-83 years who have previously completed a questionnaire about their medical, social, family and occupational history and lifestyle and have undergone a simple physical examination (height, weight, waist, girth at the hips and blood pressure). The first aim is to determine which of these factors predicts serious ill-health from heart disease, stroke and certain cancers in old age. In addition, we will test the hypothesis that risk factors for heart disease also predict the development of dementia because it seems that part of dementia in some patients is explained by their having suffered multiple small strokes. Finally, we will examine the relationship between development of dementia and previous major surgery as there is growing evidence that major surgical operations in older patients can be followed by confusion and impairment of thinking that may never recover fully. The overall aim is to discover preventable factors for several of the leading causes of ill-health in old age.Read moreRead less
Macrophages In Developmental Programming Of Reproductive Health
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$532,386.00
Summary
Programming of reproductive health in women begins long before sexual maturity. Development during childhood, puberty and adulthood produces a fully functional reproductive system capable of conceiving, gestating and nurturing a child. This project will investigate the role of immune cells known as macrophages in the reproductive system, and investigate how their disruption might influence developmental programming and have lifetime consequences for the reproductive health of the individual.
This project will test the proposal that rising follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels in ageing females directly accelerate reproductive failure and bone loss , major public health issues due to delayed childbearing and our rising ageing population. We have developed a unique mouse model with elevated FSH levels that cause premature female infertility. We will now use this model to determine the direct effects of high FSH upon ovarian and uterine function, as well as bone loss with age.