Investigation Of Neural Mechanisms Of 670 And 830nm Laser Acupuncture In Pain Relief, Using Rat
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$326,207.00
Summary
Background Chronic pain is common and costs $10 billion dollars per year in Australia. Drug therapies are widely used but serious side effects limit use. Patients actively seek non-drug treatments and laser acupuncture is one of the most commonly sought therapies for chronic pain, however, how it works is not well understood. Our previous work Researchers propose that laser acupuncture reduces pain by direct effects on nerves, altering how pain signals are transmitted to the brain. To investigat ....Background Chronic pain is common and costs $10 billion dollars per year in Australia. Drug therapies are widely used but serious side effects limit use. Patients actively seek non-drug treatments and laser acupuncture is one of the most commonly sought therapies for chronic pain, however, how it works is not well understood. Our previous work Researchers propose that laser acupuncture reduces pain by direct effects on nerves, altering how pain signals are transmitted to the brain. To investigate this we (CI A and CI B) previously undertook a study of infrared laser on nerve cell cultures. This followed on from a positive clinical study with the same laser wavelength in the treatment of neck pain, undertaken by CI B. We established that laser temporarily interrupts the nerve transport system, which is made up of a series of minute tubes, called microtubules. These act as a “monorail” system for transport of mitochondria, which provide energy for all nerve functions. We propose that temporary interruption of this system, called fast axonal transport, disrupts the conduction of pain signals along the nerve, resulting in pain relief. Important unanswered questions The mechanism by which 830nm laser acupuncture relieves pain clinically remains poorly understood. For its acceptance into mainstream clinical practice it is important to determine the effect of laser on the peripheral nerves and in particular the pain carrying fibres. We know from an earlier study that a single exposure causes significant but reversible changes in pain fibres including axonal microtubule disruption, decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential and block of fast axonal flow. These events would result in conduction failure. The question is whether the repeated irradiations, comparable to those delivered clinically result in the same changes. This would provide a scientific basis for understanding the clinical effectiveness of laser acupuncture. We also do not know if 670nm laser acupuncture would act in the same way. There is evidence that this may be more effective so that this remains another important unanswered question. Further, there is no evidence regarding which wavelength would be cost and time effective as it is desirable to deliver lower dose. We need to determine the most effective dose and wavelength so that clinical trials could be carried out as was done for the trials by CIB (Chow and Barnsley, 2006).Read moreRead less
Therapeutic Targeting Of The Hedgehog Signaling Pathway In Premalignant Lesions Of The Breast.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$115,980.00
Summary
Breast screening has been successful in reducing deaths from breast cancer. Unfortunately it also detects increasing numbers of precancerous changes. Treatment of these changes is often aggressive, using surgery and radiotherapy. However we are unable to predict exactly which of the changes we need to treat. We aim to better understand the changes involved in this progression and try to block them using new drugs.
Developing A Novel Glaucoma Surgery For Clinical Use And Commercialisation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$565,893.00
Summary
Glaucoma is a potentially blinding eye condition that affects more than 60 million people. The greatest risk factor in glaucoma is high intraocular pressure. Surgical treatment for glaucoma seeks to lower the pressure inside the eye by increasing the drainage of fluid from the eye. There are numerous techniques available but all have risks of complications. This grant seeks to develop a novel approach to the problem using intra-ocular delivery of laser pulses to cut a drainage channel.
What Factors Affect Lesion Distribution In Multiple Sclerosis And Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$56,797.00
Summary
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a common neurological disease which affects about 10,000 people in Australia. In MS, a persons own immune system starts to attack specific parts of their brain and spinal cord, causing lesions that prevent nerve impulses from passing from the brain to other parts of the body. The symptoms that people with MS develop can vary from one person to another, depending on where in the brain or spinal cord the lesions occur. Some parts of the brain and spinal cord seem to be m ....Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a common neurological disease which affects about 10,000 people in Australia. In MS, a persons own immune system starts to attack specific parts of their brain and spinal cord, causing lesions that prevent nerve impulses from passing from the brain to other parts of the body. The symptoms that people with MS develop can vary from one person to another, depending on where in the brain or spinal cord the lesions occur. Some parts of the brain and spinal cord seem to be much more susceptible to this attack than others, and the question that this study will address is why do lesions occur where they do in MS? Some preliminary results strongly suggest that there is a link between carrying particular genes that control immune responses, having immune cells that can attack one particular protein in the nervous system called PLP, and developing lesions in parts of the brain that control balance. This will be investigated further, and we will also look for other links between immune cells that can attack other proteins and development of lesions in particular areas. If such links can be identified, they would be very important for improved diagnosis of MS and it would enable more specific treatments for MS to be developed. We will also use experimental models of MS to investigate the exact components within the nervous system and within the immune system that play a role in directing the attack to particular sites.Read moreRead less