Novel Genes And Protein In Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Potential Basis Of A Serum-based Assessment Of Disease Sta
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$200,000.00
Summary
The most common cause of elevated liver function tests is non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). NALFD is a spectrum of disease ranging from steatosis, to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a condition associated with the development of fibrosis in the majority of individuals. Approximately 20% and 3% of adults are affected with NAFLD and NASH, respectively, and NAFLD is expected to become the next major liver epidemic facing the western world, far exceeding the prevalence of chronic infe ....The most common cause of elevated liver function tests is non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). NALFD is a spectrum of disease ranging from steatosis, to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), a condition associated with the development of fibrosis in the majority of individuals. Approximately 20% and 3% of adults are affected with NAFLD and NASH, respectively, and NAFLD is expected to become the next major liver epidemic facing the western world, far exceeding the prevalence of chronic infection with the hepatitis C virus. We obtained liver biopsies from patients with NAFLD, 80% of whom had NASH, and determined the expression profile analysis of each subject using 19,200 element microarrays. Our data demonstrates the concordant differential expression of 130 genes, in subjects with NAFLD that were categorizes into 6 major metabolic and regulatory pathways. Many of these genes represented uncharacterised genes. Utilising an extensive bioinformatics approach we have been able to define the genes and their protein product. The use of these proteins as a diagnostic tool for the detection of NAFLD forms the basis of a provisional patent application. However, measurements of protein levels in tissue and sera from patients with NAFLD are needed for the development of a diagnostic method. Such information would also provide significant insight into the pathogenesis of NAFLD. The AIMS are: 1) Production of antibodies against proteins encoded by candidate genes Expression profile of candidate genes 3) Expression of proteins encoded by candidate genes in patients with NAFLDRead moreRead less
External Therapeutic Device To Support Rehabilitation Of The Hand Following Trauma Or Surgery
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$175,000.00
Summary
The loss of hand function will affect every aspect of an individual’s life. This includes the ability to feed and care for themselves and the ability to work and participate in family life. For people recovering from problems such as trauma, burns or surgery affecting the hand, careful management of hand rehabilitation can influence the outcome for the patient significantly. In order to reduce the possibility of mobility difficulties occurring, including loss of joint range of motion, muscle and ....The loss of hand function will affect every aspect of an individual’s life. This includes the ability to feed and care for themselves and the ability to work and participate in family life. For people recovering from problems such as trauma, burns or surgery affecting the hand, careful management of hand rehabilitation can influence the outcome for the patient significantly. In order to reduce the possibility of mobility difficulties occurring, including loss of joint range of motion, muscle and tendon sheath adhesions or non-functional scar tissue formation, continuous passive motion (CPM) is often indicated. Additionally, for people with reduced mobility of the hand due to upper limb paralysis, such as those with cervical spinal cord injury, stroke, cerebral palsy or peripheral nerve injury, disregard for management of the maintenance of the joint range of motion of the effected hand will result in contracture and limited joint range of motion. Such syndromes will reduce hand function, which is already limited by paralysis, and will negatively affect potential outcomes for aggressive rehabilitation techniques, such as tendon transfer surgery and functional neuromuscular stimulation. Therefore, in such cases, CPM is also indicated. Current devices applying CPM have shown to be effective in minimising the syndromes indicated above and these results are summarised in the Background and Research Plan attached to this proposal. Unfortunately, the use of such devices is not always prescribed by clinicians. This is due, mainly, to the limitations of these devices that are in the marketplace. These limitations include lack of secure finger placement, lack of portability, the inability to provide specialised therapy to specific joints and inflexible programming. This proposal introduces an improved device to be developed and these improvements form the proposal aims below. Given such an improved device, which can overcome many of the problems with current CPM machines, it is likely that that the clinical application of CPM will achieve the greater degree of prescription and application in hand rehabilitation. These improvements should overcome the clinical reticence to use these devices and restore a balance by increasing their use to the level that the scientific literature indicates they should have. The overall aim of the proposal is to take the device to a stage where it is ready for clinical trial.Read moreRead less
Non-invasive Measurement And Imaging Of Hepatic Iron Concentrations Using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$341,210.00
Summary
Iron overload diseases such as genetic haemochromatosis and thalassaemia affect up to 0.5% of the world's population. These diseases result in deposition of dangerously high concentrations of iron in tissues of the body. Organs such as the liver and heart are at particular risk of being damaged. In order to manage a patient's condition optimally, a knowledge of their tissue iron concentrations is required. Currently the most direct and reliable way of achieving this is to remove a small sample o ....Iron overload diseases such as genetic haemochromatosis and thalassaemia affect up to 0.5% of the world's population. These diseases result in deposition of dangerously high concentrations of iron in tissues of the body. Organs such as the liver and heart are at particular risk of being damaged. In order to manage a patient's condition optimally, a knowledge of their tissue iron concentrations is required. Currently the most direct and reliable way of achieving this is to remove a small sample of the patient's liver for chemical analysis. Apart from the fact that the procedure is unpleasant and carries some risk, the measurement made by this method has some uncertainty because the liver iron concentration can vary significantly from place to place within the liver. The aim of this project is to test the validity of a new non-invasive method of measuring and imaging the liver iron concentrations of a patient. In addition, the potential to use the new technology for detecting and imaging liver cirrhosis in iron overloaded patients will be evaluated. If successful, the project may lead to a more accurate method of measuring tissue iron concentrations and eliminate the need for invasive procedures.Read moreRead less
Seminal Plasma Cytokines As Novel Fertility Diagnostics In Men
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$101,000.00
Summary
Infertility and recurrent miscarriage affect 60-80 million couples globally, including 15% of couples in Australia. Current IVF therapy is not successful when the underlying reason for infertility is failure of the maternal tissues to support embryo implantation. We have discovered signaling proteins present in male semen that act in the female reproductive tissues to prepare for embryo implantation and healthy pregnancy. Recently we have identified those proteins and have shown that some men ha ....Infertility and recurrent miscarriage affect 60-80 million couples globally, including 15% of couples in Australia. Current IVF therapy is not successful when the underlying reason for infertility is failure of the maternal tissues to support embryo implantation. We have discovered signaling proteins present in male semen that act in the female reproductive tissues to prepare for embryo implantation and healthy pregnancy. Recently we have identified those proteins and have shown that some men have an imbalance in seminal proteins that leads to immune rejection of the embryo in the female partner. This project aims to develop a new test for male fertility that is based on seminal plasma proteins and independent of existing sperm count tests. Furthermore we will determine whether seminal protein imbalance can result from the �silent� presence of male reproductive tract infection.Read moreRead less
Ultrasonic Blood Pressure Measurement On Implanted Biomedical Surfaces
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$170,250.00
Summary
The project would develop a prototype device reporting blood pressure on a biomedical implant surface. The device would extract data in real time from a standard ultrasound scanner that images the implant. The School of Mathematical Sciences at Monash University will be contracted to develop this ultrasound pressure sensor.
A Novel Device To Improve Renal Blood Flow In Cardiorenal Syndrome
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$198,900.00
Summary
The aim of this project is to assist in the development of a novel device to treat poor delivery of blood to the kidneys in conditions such as heart muscle weakness (chronic heart failure, CHF). Specifically we aim to build a prototype and test the device in a relevant animal model of CHF. Chronic heart failure is a major public health problem affecting >10% of the adult population over the age of 60 years. It is associated with high morbidity, mortality, frequent hospitalisation and major co ....The aim of this project is to assist in the development of a novel device to treat poor delivery of blood to the kidneys in conditions such as heart muscle weakness (chronic heart failure, CHF). Specifically we aim to build a prototype and test the device in a relevant animal model of CHF. Chronic heart failure is a major public health problem affecting >10% of the adult population over the age of 60 years. It is associated with high morbidity, mortality, frequent hospitalisation and major cost burden on the public health system. Weak heart muscle results in poor delivery of blood to the kidneys. Poor delivery to the kidneys activates circulating hormones which in turn further impair cardiac function by adverse effects on the heart. We have developed and patented a novel catheter based system for improvement of renal function via a purpose built device. Proof-of-concept studies have shown that the device should improve kidney blood flow in the setting of CHF. Given the huge public health problem of heart failure and the importance of the kidney in this setting, the commercial potential for a simple device that can be positioned via a catheter-based approach, permanently implanted is large. The device is currently being constructed by the Monash University Department of Engineering where expertise exists with regard to biomedical devices and materials engineering. A series of proof-of-concept studies will then be performed in sheep, as the vasculature of the sheep roughly approximates the dimensions of man. Sheep with CHF will have the device inserted percutaneously into the aorta. Measurements will be made of renal artery flow, relevant circulatory hormones and ultrasound of the heart at baseline (pre-deployment) and following deployment. We believe the above studies (should they be successful) will be sufficient to constitute definitive proof-of-concept and thus allow the device to be commercialised, most likely by a licensing arrangement with a device company.Read moreRead less
The Diagnosis, Biomarker Identification And Measurement Of Drug Efficacy In Mental Illness And Neurological Conditions.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$119,050.00
Summary
Globally, 2 billion people suffer from a neuropsychiatric illness. The cost is more than US$2 trillion a year. Hampering early intervention is the current lack of definitive, quantitative techniques for diagnosis and measurement of treatment efficacy. This research will determine whether the disease fingerprints produced by a new technique, EVestG, are diagnostically unique (to schizophrenia, depression and Parkinson's disease) and sensitive to disease progression and treatment response.
Microfluidic Device Fo The Quantitative Assessment Of Blood Platelet Aggregation Behaviour
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$270,114.00
Summary
This project will develop a low-cost microfluidic chip which utilises dynamic shear stress to assess the propensity of blood clotting. This tool will analyze a tiny sample of blood and will predict excessive or ineffective clotting. The project will develop the chip and a low-cost 'chip reader' such that the tool can be operated at the point of care with only basic training.