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The Integration Of High Level Clinical Medicine, Molecular Genics, And Cutting Edge Neuroimaging
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$4,000,000.00
Summary
I aim to cement my place as the leading clinical and translational researcher in epilepsy internationally. My research and that of my wider group is focused on the integration of high level clinical medicine, molecular genetics and cutting-edge neuroimaging, which is informed and enhanced by clinically relevant basic neuroscience. This integrative model is unique in the epilepsy field. The Fellowship will give me the opportunity to expand this model and optimally utilize the rapidly developing t ....I aim to cement my place as the leading clinical and translational researcher in epilepsy internationally. My research and that of my wider group is focused on the integration of high level clinical medicine, molecular genetics and cutting-edge neuroimaging, which is informed and enhanced by clinically relevant basic neuroscience. This integrative model is unique in the epilepsy field. The Fellowship will give me the opportunity to expand this model and optimally utilize the rapidly developing technologies in genetics and imaging which are the two most important and productive fields in clinical neuroscience. I am in a unique international position to do this because of the clinical cohorts that I have meticulously collected and characterized over the last two decades, working with the remarkable group of clinical and basic science investigators that form my personal research team, and the wider group that I head, supported by an NHMRC Program Grant. This Fellowship will provide for a major injection of additional core genetic expertise to take us up to the next level necessary to crack the challenging problem of the complex genetics of the epilepsies. I wish to increase the impact and reputation of my wider group as the International Centre for innovative and clinically relevant research in epilepsy. This will enhance the reputation of Australia as a place of excellence in health and medical research.Read moreRead less
Doublecortin (Dcx): A MAP For Migration In The Developing Brain
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$366,100.00
Summary
When a child is born with mental retardation or epilepsy, every parent wants to know why. There are many treatable causes, including poor nutrition, damage at birth and exposure to viruses or drugs. Other triggers for mental retardation and epilepsy are neither preventable nor treatable. Of the latter group, genetic diseases are one of the most important causes and are still not fully understood. At the Children's Medical Research Institute, we are involved in finding out how the brain develops ....When a child is born with mental retardation or epilepsy, every parent wants to know why. There are many treatable causes, including poor nutrition, damage at birth and exposure to viruses or drugs. Other triggers for mental retardation and epilepsy are neither preventable nor treatable. Of the latter group, genetic diseases are one of the most important causes and are still not fully understood. At the Children's Medical Research Institute, we are involved in finding out how the brain develops normally so that we can come to understand how our genes can cause conditions such as mental retardation and epilepsy. In understanding the normal development of the brain, we have focused on a gene known as doublecortin (Dcx). Mutations in doublecortin result in both mental retardation and epilepsy in a condition known as lissencephaly (smooth brain). Children with lissencephaly have fewer nerve cells (neurons) within their brains when compared to others of the same age, a problem thought to arise before their birth. At this time, the neurons are formed deep within the brain and migrate from this starting point to a final resting place nearer to its surface. This migration fails in lissencephaly and suggests a very important role for doublecortin in normal migration and brain development. We intend to undertake biochemical approaches which will tell us Dcx function in neuronal cells and in animals which have had Dcx expression altered. Dcx is reported to interact with the cells scaffolding system (microtubules). We will investigate interactions of normal and modified Dcx with microtubules. Following on the neuronal cell studies, transgenic mice will be developed expressing normal and mutated Dcx which will allow in depth analysis of gene function in an in vivo system. Ultimately our studies will lead to an understanding of Dcx role in microtubule dynamics and its involvement in neuronal migration and lissencephaly.Read moreRead less
Epileptic convulsions are common, disrupt social life and may occasionally cause death. They can occur spontaneously in individuals whose brains appear to be physically normal. Apart from the fact that epilepsy may run in families, the processes leading to spontaneous convulsions are not known. We measure the brain's electrical rhythms (EEG) to find out which rhythms are disturbed in people with epilepsy and whether these rhythms disrupt the brain to cause attacks. In preliminary studies in pati ....Epileptic convulsions are common, disrupt social life and may occasionally cause death. They can occur spontaneously in individuals whose brains appear to be physically normal. Apart from the fact that epilepsy may run in families, the processes leading to spontaneous convulsions are not known. We measure the brain's electrical rhythms (EEG) to find out which rhythms are disturbed in people with epilepsy and whether these rhythms disrupt the brain to cause attacks. In preliminary studies in patients with generalised epilepsy, we have identified abnormally strong rhythms that are almost certainly related to epilepsy causation and our studies are in part aimed at making our findings into a diagnostic test. Our findings may even enable individuals with epilepsy to test themselves for their immediate risk of seizure. Both of these outcomes should enable improved treatment for epilepsy. In addition to benefits in epilepsy, there are potential benefits in the diagnosis of cerebral degenerative disorders if changes in the rhythms also occur in these conditions.Read moreRead less
Common Susceptibility Genes Underlying The Idiopathic Generalized Epilepsies (IGE) - A Genome-wide Scanning Approach
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$212,063.00
Summary
Epilepsy is the most common serious brain condition. Seizures affect about 10% of people at some time in their life and their consequences are an important public health problem. The most common group of inherited epilepsies account for about 30% of childhood epilepsy and 20% of adult epilepsy. This study will be the first in Australia and one of only a few worldwide to take a population-based approach to investigating the link between epilepsy and genetic inheritance.
What Drives Abnormal Cerebral Activity In Secondary Generalised Epilepsy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$565,809.00
Summary
Secondary Generalised epilepsy (2GE) is a severe, disabling epilepsy syndrome characterised by childhood onset frequent, treatment resistant seizures and developmental delay. Although one of the four major categories of epilepsy, it is poorly understood. This project uses combined EEG (brainwave testing) and MRI to reveal which brain areas are involved in the epileptic activity of 2GE. Advanced analysis techniques will explore which brain regions initiate 2GE epileptic activity.
Health-Related Quality Of Life In Intractable Paediatric Epilepsy: Using A New Measure To Improve Management
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$252,940.00
Summary
Until recently there was no adequate measure to assess the quality of life of children with epilepsy. Our Australian centre was the first to develop, validate and publish such an instrument; the Quality of Life in Childhood Epilepsy Questionnaire (QOLCE). We now aim to collect more data using the QOLCE to gain further understanding of the effects of epilepsy and its treatment on the quality of life of children. We will determine if surgery in children stops seizures and improves quality of life. ....Until recently there was no adequate measure to assess the quality of life of children with epilepsy. Our Australian centre was the first to develop, validate and publish such an instrument; the Quality of Life in Childhood Epilepsy Questionnaire (QOLCE). We now aim to collect more data using the QOLCE to gain further understanding of the effects of epilepsy and its treatment on the quality of life of children. We will determine if surgery in children stops seizures and improves quality of life. We also aim to find out if children with different types of epilepsies have unique quality of life issues. Finally, we aim to determine if the quality of a child's life depends on how well they are thinking and learning or how often they are having seizures. We will conduct this study in children with difficult epilepsy recruited from three major children's hospitals (Sydney Children's Hospital, the Children's Hospital, Westmead, Miami Children's Hospital, Florida USA) using a well designed methodology. Each child will have their particular type of epilepsy characterised using video and brain wave analysis. Each parent and older child will receive a quality of life package including the QOLCE to assess life function. In addition, all children will have an assessment of their thinking and learning by a child psychologist. At the completion of this project we will have established whether surgical treatment in children with epilepsy stops seizures and improves quality of life. This will allow clinicians and parents to better understand the effects of surgical treatment in this population. In addition, we will determine if problems in quality of life are associated with specific types of epilepsy. This information can be used to counsel families and tailor interventions and treatments. Finally, we will know whether a child's quality of life is determined by problems with thinking and learning and-or seizures.Read moreRead less
Altered HCN Channel Expression And Function In Acquired Epilepsy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$279,912.00
Summary
About 100 000 people currently suffer from epilepsy in Australia and of these about one third are poorly controlled with current anti-epileptic drugs. It is therefore important to continue to develop novel modes of treatment for this debilitating disease. This projects investigates an ion channel, known as the HCN channel, that is thought to be involved in making a brain epileptic. We explore how changes in this channel can make a brain more excitable. Also, our group is the first in the world t ....About 100 000 people currently suffer from epilepsy in Australia and of these about one third are poorly controlled with current anti-epileptic drugs. It is therefore important to continue to develop novel modes of treatment for this debilitating disease. This projects investigates an ion channel, known as the HCN channel, that is thought to be involved in making a brain epileptic. We explore how changes in this channel can make a brain more excitable. Also, our group is the first in the world to discover a mutation in this channel that is linked to epilepsy. We will also investigate how this mutation changes the channel properties to make a brain more likely to be epileptic. The HCN channel is an important target for developing anti-epileptic drugs. Understanding how changes in HCN channels make nerve cells and therefore nerve cell networks more excitable will help us develop better strategies for designing anti-epileptic drugs.Read moreRead less
Tuberous Sclerosis And Epilepsy: Using Resected Tissue To Understand Pathogenesis And Inform Management
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$339,261.00
Summary
Epilepsy is the commonest neurological disorder in childhood and seizures cannot be fully controlled by medications in 30%, often leading to developmental consequences. A major cause of drug-resistant epilepsy is a malformation of the brain’s surface. Surgery is sometimes used to remove these lesions to treat the epilepsy. We will study this tissue to understand its architecture, genetic basis and how it causes seizures. Our results will guide treatment including the best surgical approach.