Skeletal Muscle Signal Transduction Related To Exercise, Metabolic Disease And Human Health
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$557,298.00
Summary
Exercise is one of the best prevention and treatment strategies for all major human diseases. Despite these well documented advantages, we still do not know exactly how exercise produces these benefits at the molecular level. A comprehensive understanding of this will lead to new avenues to treat many diseases. This project will monitor thousands of molecular changes that occur in human muscle biopsies following exercise and create the world’s first molecular blueprint of exercise.
Dietary Protein Effects In Elderly Women: Musculoskeletal, Renal, Cardiovascular And Body Composition Endpoints
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$478,946.00
Summary
Fractures and falls of the elderly are major health problems in our community in terms of disability and cost. It is critical to the future health of our aging population to develop non-pharmaceutical interventions to maintain health into old age. Epidemiologic studies have shown that relatively high protein intake is associated with increased bone mineral mass and reduced incidence of osteoporotic fracture in elderly people. Low protein intakes can lead to loss of muscle mass. To date there hav ....Fractures and falls of the elderly are major health problems in our community in terms of disability and cost. It is critical to the future health of our aging population to develop non-pharmaceutical interventions to maintain health into old age. Epidemiologic studies have shown that relatively high protein intake is associated with increased bone mineral mass and reduced incidence of osteoporotic fracture in elderly people. Low protein intakes can lead to loss of muscle mass. To date there have been no randomised trials of sufficient duration to examine the effects of increased dietary protein intake on bone and muscle health of the elderly. The aim of this study is to examine the effectiveness of protein supplementation for the prevention of osteoporosis and muscle wasting in elderly women, and the safety of such an intervention through monitoring renal function and risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Two hundred and twenty women will be recruited to this study and be assigned to protein group or placebo group. Women in the protein group will received 250 ml high protein drink (containing 30 g protein) per day and women in the placebo group will receive placebo drink containing the same amount of energy, calcium but no additional protein. Bone structure, muscle mass, body composition, renal function and risk factors for cardiovascular disease will be monitored during the 2 year study period. The results of this randomised, controlled study will clarify the role of protein on bone mass and structure, muscle mass and body composition in the elderly. At the same time, the safety of such intervention on renal and cardiovascular endpoints will also be evaluated. It is envisaged that the results of this study if positive will translate into both immediately applicable intervention strategies that are relevant at a program and an individual level.Read moreRead less
The Role Of Sarcopenia And Undernutrition In Disability After Hip Fracture
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$315,391.00
Summary
Hip fracture is one of the most costly and devastating medical events which can befall an elderly individual, and is expected to affect 40,000 Australians per year by the year 2040. It often results in permanent loss of walking abilities and independence, as well as a severely diminished quality of life. For example, 80% of elderly Australians who fracture their hip will not regain their previous level of walking ability, 20% will have died, and up to 25% will be in permanent nursing home reside ....Hip fracture is one of the most costly and devastating medical events which can befall an elderly individual, and is expected to affect 40,000 Australians per year by the year 2040. It often results in permanent loss of walking abilities and independence, as well as a severely diminished quality of life. For example, 80% of elderly Australians who fracture their hip will not regain their previous level of walking ability, 20% will have died, and up to 25% will be in permanent nursing home residence 12 months later. Although hip fracture has been thought of as a problem primarily related to osteoporosis (age-related loss of bone), it is now increasingly clear that other factors such as muscle wasting and weakness, gait and balance problems and poor dietary intake are also risk factors for this condition. Although surgical techniques have advanced to the point that most operations to repair hip fracture are now successful, the rehabilitation outcomes are disappointingly poor compared to other orthopaedic injuries. We believe that this is because recovery after hip fracture is in fact not primarily related to the bone disease itself, but to inadequate muscle bulk and strength. It is likely that already frail patients with a new hip fracture will experience further muscle wasting over time, because of their very low levels of physical activity, poor nutritional intake, depression, social isolation, and impaired memory in some cases. Their poor diet may be related in part to their difficulty in getting out of the home, preparing meals, reduced appetite and poor morale in the post-fracture period. If our theory is correct, then we will be able to prove that disability after hip fracture is closely related to muscle mass, and many common clinical problems contribute to this underlying mechanism of dysfunction. We will test these ideas by following patients who have had a hip fracture for 12 months with periodic detailed assessmentsRead moreRead less
I am a physiologist investigating the molecular basis of normal function in skeletal muscle and the dysfunctions occurring in various muscle diseases and in fatigue. In addition, I investigate analogous dysfunction of calcium release and excitability occu
Establishing STARS As A Therapeutic Target To Reduce Muscle Wasting And Improve Muscle Function
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$446,189.00
Summary
Muscle wasting occurs rapidly with disuse after injuries occurring at work, during sport, with chronic disease and in road accidents. It is also a consequence of ageing. Muscle wasting and reduced muscle function places considerable financial strain on our health care system. We aim to use gene therapy and pharmacological interventions to increase the levels of a protein called STARS. We hypothesize that STARS will reduce disuse-induced muscle wasting, increase recovery and improve function.
Genetic Basis For Skeletal Muscle Formation And Regeneration In Development And Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$876,005.00
Summary
How does muscle grow and repair after injury or disease? This basic question in the focus of the research in this fellowship. Specific cells are put aside during development to generate the growth and provide stem cells required for regeneration. Using the advantages of the zebrafish system I will record the action of different stem cell populations during growth and disease. I will define the genes required for stem cell action and utilize this knowledge to create new therapeutic pathways.
Therapeutic Potential Of Skeletal Muscle Plasticity And Slow Muscle Programming For Muscular Dystrophy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$780,476.00
Summary
There is no cure for DMD, a devastating, life-limiting muscle disease causing progressive muscle wasting in boys and young men. A potential therapy may come from modulating muscle activity patterns to promote a protective slow muscle phenotype through low-frequency stimulation protocols and/or well-described pharmacological ‘exercise mimetics’. This proposal will evaluate their therapeutic merit in mouse models of DMD to answer the key questions to advance this approach to the clinic.