Investigating The Molecular Basis Of Emerging Drug Resistance In Scabies Mites
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$516,000.00
Summary
Scabies is a disease of the skin caused by the burrowing of the 'itch' mite Sarcoptes scabiei. In remote Aboriginal communities in northern and central Australia up to 60% of children can be infected. Scabies causes intense itching of the skin, resulting in skin damage through scratching, and serious secondary bacterial infections leading to kidney and heart disease. Some remote communities in the NT are documented to have the highest rates of kidney and heart disease in the world. The location ....Scabies is a disease of the skin caused by the burrowing of the 'itch' mite Sarcoptes scabiei. In remote Aboriginal communities in northern and central Australia up to 60% of children can be infected. Scabies causes intense itching of the skin, resulting in skin damage through scratching, and serious secondary bacterial infections leading to kidney and heart disease. Some remote communities in the NT are documented to have the highest rates of kidney and heart disease in the world. The location of the Menzies School of Health Research in this region where scabies is endemic has enabled us to undertake a number of studies on the disease. Our world first molecular study using microsatellite markers demonstrated that scabies mites on people were genetically distinct from those on dogs. This had important implications in control programs in the communities. Additional work has focused on laboratory studies to monitor the sensitivity of mites to current treatments used in community control programs and for the treatment of crusted scabies, a very severe and debilitating form of the disease. We have reported evidence of increasing resistance of scabies mites to topical 5%permethrin and documented both in vitro and clinical evidence of resistance to oral ivermectin. We now seek support to extend this work to identify at the molecular level the mechanisms of resistance and use this knowledge to design a diagnostic test. This work has both local and global implications. Scabies is a significant disease of children primarily in many indigenous and third world communities, as well as associated with nursing homes and HIV infection. The tools developed in this project will enable the assessment of drug treatment failures and assist in the development of more sensitive methods for monitoring resistance in the community, including the potential for reversing it. This will avoid the current global problems of resistance observed in other organisms such as headlice.Read moreRead less
Scabies is a significant disease of children particularly in indigenous communities. This project is aimed at working out how scabies mites resist medications used to treat them and to design a test for drug resistance. The tools developed in this project will enable the assessment of treatment failures and assist in the development of more sensitive methods for monitoring resistance in the community, including the potential for reversing it.
Understanding, Detecting, Monitoring And Treating Brain Dysfunctions Due To Chronic Immune Diseases
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$415,219.00
Summary
The role of immune burdens on the brain of middle-aged persons is not well understood. For example the combined brain effects of HIV and cardio-vascular diseases are unknown. Our research is about better understanding those processes using advanced neuropsychology and brain imaging methods. It is also about developing new instruments to detect problems as early as possible, to monitor them accurately and to better treat them in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.