Predictors And Consequences Of Allergies That Impact On Children Getting A Healthy Start To Life:a Prospective Study
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$893,559.00
Summary
Allergic diseases prevent Australian children getting a healthy start to life by causing long term illnesses. This group of diseases includes asthma, hay fever, eczema and food allergies. Half of all Australian children are born into families with a history of these conditions and these children are at increased risk. Some of these children develop allergies while the others do not. It is also known that allergic conditions change over time, but we have no information on causes of these changes. ....Allergic diseases prevent Australian children getting a healthy start to life by causing long term illnesses. This group of diseases includes asthma, hay fever, eczema and food allergies. Half of all Australian children are born into families with a history of these conditions and these children are at increased risk. Some of these children develop allergies while the others do not. It is also known that allergic conditions change over time, but we have no information on causes of these changes. For example some infants with eczema continue to have eczema or develop hay fever and asthma, while others do not. The aim of this study is to determine what factors cause allergies and what factors influence these changes. This will provide evidence to guide health policy and clinical practice. Looking at the different conditions in family members over time is a good way to answer these types of questions, because parents and siblings share similar exposures, but not all the same genes. This helps to disentangle the effects of the environment and genes. The Melbourne Atopic Cohort Study (MACS) is amongst the world�s major studies on the development of allergies. MACS commenced in 1991-94 by recruiting 620 babies prior to birth. Only infants born into families with a history of allergic disease were included. MACS is unique because all family members and the home environment were assessed at the time of birth of the child. These children have been followed regularly over the first ten years of their life. The MACS now provides a unique opportunity to conduct a family study that can examine genes, childhood environment and individual risk factors for allergies. This will also allow exploration of the impact of allergies on families and the health care system, and how we can reduce that impact. Such information will provide evidence to guide health care policy and clinical practice. Also, the current study will provide a platform for future studies to investigate the progression of allergies in this family cohort. This will be the world's only longitudinal family follow-up of allergies that spans all of childhood. It will assist in reducing the impact of these common conditions, and the findings will be original and significant not only in Australia but also internationally.Read moreRead less
Evidence For Psychological And-or Educational Interventions For Cancer-related Fatigue: A Systematic Review
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$28,283.00
Summary
Potential benefits to the community: Fatigue is one of the most common and distressing symptoms experienced by people with cancer and can exacerbate the experience of other symptoms, negatively affect mood, and impact on function and quality of life. Understanding which interventions are effective in helping people cope with cancer-related fatigue is important to inform decision-making by consumers, clinicians working in palliative care and policy makers. Objectives: This study aims to systemati ....Potential benefits to the community: Fatigue is one of the most common and distressing symptoms experienced by people with cancer and can exacerbate the experience of other symptoms, negatively affect mood, and impact on function and quality of life. Understanding which interventions are effective in helping people cope with cancer-related fatigue is important to inform decision-making by consumers, clinicians working in palliative care and policy makers. Objectives: This study aims to systematically review the evidence for psychological and-or educational interventions for managing cancer-related fatigue. Methods: This study will use the Cochrane Collaboration’s methodology to search, critically appraise, and analyse randomised controlled trials of psychological and-or educational interventions. This will involve collaboration with consumers and with the Cochrane Pain, Palliative Care, and Supportive Care Collaborative Review Group. This review will inform decision-making at all levels, assist in research translation and identify further gaps in the research regarding this distressing symptom.Read moreRead less
Epidemiology Of Human Papillomavirus (Hpv), Ultraviolet (UV) Radiation In Relation To Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$300,000.00
Summary
Queensland epidemiologist, Professor Adele Green is the winner of an Australian-European Union medical research grant that she will use to investigate prevention of skin cancer. The prestigious NHMRC grant is intended to support Australian researchers involved in European collaboration, which will benefit the Australian community. Professor Green and her research group will use the grant to participate in a large consortium led by Dr Jan Nico Bouwes Bavinck from Leiden in the Netherlands, with t ....Queensland epidemiologist, Professor Adele Green is the winner of an Australian-European Union medical research grant that she will use to investigate prevention of skin cancer. The prestigious NHMRC grant is intended to support Australian researchers involved in European collaboration, which will benefit the Australian community. Professor Green and her research group will use the grant to participate in a large consortium led by Dr Jan Nico Bouwes Bavinck from Leiden in the Netherlands, with teams of researchers based in Germany, England, Italy and France. The work of the consortium will focus on finding out whether Human Papilloma Virus plays a role in causing skin cancer. Professor Green and her team are working to discover the relationship between Human Papilloma Virus, which is a common virus of the skin and the commonest types of skin cancer. If the papilloma virus is found to cause skin cancer, this will open up new avenues for prevention. Although Australia is a world hot-spot for skin cancer, the disease is of concern to Europeans because it is the most common form of cancer in white-skinned people.Read moreRead less
Assessment To Service Outcomes - Care Pathways For Older Australians With Dementia, CVD And Arthritis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$656,029.00
Summary
The project aims to use existing data source to answer questions similar to �What happens to people after they have been assessed and recommended for aged care? in respect of service delivery for people with one of the three chronic conditions dementia, arthritis or cardiovascular disease. The project is to provide information about issues such as �bed blockers� and determine if the outcomes are different for people who have been assessed for aged care while they are in hospital. It is to chart ....The project aims to use existing data source to answer questions similar to �What happens to people after they have been assessed and recommended for aged care? in respect of service delivery for people with one of the three chronic conditions dementia, arthritis or cardiovascular disease. The project is to provide information about issues such as �bed blockers� and determine if the outcomes are different for people who have been assessed for aged care while they are in hospital. It is to chart changes in service use over time and examine factors that affect the type of care used by older people.Read moreRead less
The principle objective of the proposed project is to determine the molecular, cellular extracellular matrix pathology of chondrodysplasia phenotypes which result from mutations in a variety of different gene products that are important for normal bone development. To achieve our objective the Eurogrow consortium has developed an extensive series of mouse models of chondrodysplasias that closely mimic the relevant human phenotype. The consortium will use a multidisciplinary systems biology appro ....The principle objective of the proposed project is to determine the molecular, cellular extracellular matrix pathology of chondrodysplasia phenotypes which result from mutations in a variety of different gene products that are important for normal bone development. To achieve our objective the Eurogrow consortium has developed an extensive series of mouse models of chondrodysplasias that closely mimic the relevant human phenotype. The consortium will use a multidisciplinary systems biology approach to determine the molecular mechanisms that underpin the pathophysiology of these distinct chondrodysplasias. From this approach we can expect to identify common disease mechanisms and learn general principles about genotype-phenotype correlations in chondrodysplasia phenotypes. The NHMRC-EU grant is to fund a consortium (Eurogrow) of 10 EU research groups (led by the University of Manchester) along with my research group at the MCRI to conduct these integrated studies.Read moreRead less
Neonatal Immunization With Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine In Papua New Guinea
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,181,966.00
Summary
One million children die every year of pneumococcal (Pnc) disease, the majority in the third world. Many die in early infancy and babies may benefit from immunisation with a Pnc conjugate vaccine (PrevenarTM) at birth. The Papua New Guinea (PNG) Insatiate of Medical Research; Telethon Institute for Child Health Research and the Department of Paediatrics, University of Western Australia, will collaborate to closely examine the safety of this approach, particularly with regard to impact on the dev ....One million children die every year of pneumococcal (Pnc) disease, the majority in the third world. Many die in early infancy and babies may benefit from immunisation with a Pnc conjugate vaccine (PrevenarTM) at birth. The Papua New Guinea (PNG) Insatiate of Medical Research; Telethon Institute for Child Health Research and the Department of Paediatrics, University of Western Australia, will collaborate to closely examine the safety of this approach, particularly with regard to impact on the development of immunity and response to other vaccines given to infants. This study will also provide a unique opportunity for training of PNG and Australian scientists in both countries; transfer state-of-the-art immunological technology and stimulate further collaborations on respiratory infections in the region.Read moreRead less
Novel Approaches To Pathogenesis, Diagnosis &treatment Of Autoimmune Diseases Based On New Insights Into Thymus-dependen
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,045,422.00
Summary
An individual relies upon their immune system to protect against invasion by hostile organisms. The system usually works well. Invading agents (the 'non-self') are detected and attacked by the immune system's patrolling killer T cells. These normally beneficial cells are called T cells because they were formed and educated in an organ called the thymus, which kick-starts our immune system in childhood, but falls into inactivity by adolescence. Sometimes the education system in the thymus goes wr ....An individual relies upon their immune system to protect against invasion by hostile organisms. The system usually works well. Invading agents (the 'non-self') are detected and attacked by the immune system's patrolling killer T cells. These normally beneficial cells are called T cells because they were formed and educated in an organ called the thymus, which kick-starts our immune system in childhood, but falls into inactivity by adolescence. Sometimes the education system in the thymus goes wrong and it releases T cells that mistakenly attack 'self' instead of 'non-self'. This causes autoimmune diseases, such as type1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis. The Euro-Thymaide project aims to determine why and how self-attacking T cells are mistakenly released from the thymus into the body. Usually such errant T cells are detected and destroyed within the thymus, before they have the opportunity to escape and cause autoimmune diseases. The ultimate objective is to learn about the thymus recognition process and help the immune system detect and destroy faulty T cells that patrol the body, thereby preventing the onset of autoimmune diseases.Read moreRead less
Understanding Factors Contributing To Nausea: Clinical And Patient Perspectives
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$100,000.00
Summary
This study aims to develop and validate indicators that can be used to more effectively identify nausea and its contributing factors in patients with advanced cancer receiving palliative care. Stage one involves a systematic review of the literature and qualitative interviews with patients and clinicians to identify clinical and psychosocial factors associated with nausea in the end stages of life. Stage 2 involves a study to evaluate the validity of the identified indicators in predicting patie ....This study aims to develop and validate indicators that can be used to more effectively identify nausea and its contributing factors in patients with advanced cancer receiving palliative care. Stage one involves a systematic review of the literature and qualitative interviews with patients and clinicians to identify clinical and psychosocial factors associated with nausea in the end stages of life. Stage 2 involves a study to evaluate the validity of the identified indicators in predicting patients’ experiences of nausea.Read moreRead less
An Evaluation Of The Validity Of Measureing Salivary Oxycodone Concentrations For Pharmacokinetic Studies In Patients
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$49,135.00
Summary
In many countries, oxycodone is replacing morphine as the opioid of first choice for the treatment of moderate to severe pain. Despite this, very little is known about how the drug is processed in the body or how its ability to control pain is affected by such factors as other drugs, age or organ function. Studies to determine this usually require multiple blood tests from individual patients over set time periods. Our team is able to measure drug levels in saliva and has shown this to be a vali ....In many countries, oxycodone is replacing morphine as the opioid of first choice for the treatment of moderate to severe pain. Despite this, very little is known about how the drug is processed in the body or how its ability to control pain is affected by such factors as other drugs, age or organ function. Studies to determine this usually require multiple blood tests from individual patients over set time periods. Our team is able to measure drug levels in saliva and has shown this to be a valid substitute for the measurement of drug levels in blood. Furthermore, one of us has developed a computer modelling system that shows how drugs are handled in the body using only a few samples from each patient. Palliative care patients are generally frail and unwell. We are reluctant to expose them to invasive tests such as repeated blood sampling. If we can prove that saliva sampling is as good as blood sampling, we will have identified a simple non-invasive means of greatly increasing our knowledge of oxycodone and how it behaves in individual patients. This in turn may allow us to tailor drug doses according to the unique characteristics of each patient and to optimise their pain control.Read moreRead less
Assessment Of The Effectiveness Of Australian Models Of Palliative Care Delivery In Four Neurodegenerative Disorders
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$150,000.00
Summary
This study will be conducted in three Australian states (Queensland, Victoria and West Australia), to assess the effectiveness of existing palliative care service delivery to people with motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis, Huntington’s disease or Parkinson’s disease, and to their families. In phase I, interviews will be conducted with people who have these diseases, their families, and health professionals to discover the needs for palliative care services. In phase II, a survey will dete ....This study will be conducted in three Australian states (Queensland, Victoria and West Australia), to assess the effectiveness of existing palliative care service delivery to people with motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis, Huntington’s disease or Parkinson’s disease, and to their families. In phase I, interviews will be conducted with people who have these diseases, their families, and health professionals to discover the needs for palliative care services. In phase II, a survey will determine the extent to which these needs are met. The findings will be used to recommend improved palliative care delivery models.Read moreRead less