Does Traumatic Brain Injury Lead To Offending Behaviour?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$275,401.00
Summary
Rates of reported traumatic brain injury (TBI) in offender and prisoner populations are extremely high (~80%). It has been suggested that TBI may be responsible for half the crimes leading to incarceration. Criminal behaviour is complex and the role of TBI in this conundrum is unclear. Our study will examine this question using data-linkage. Should we find a link between TBI and subsequent offending, this opens up the possibility of developing interventions aimed at preventing this trajectory.
Mild traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of death and disability in Australia, especially in young populations. Although many patients recover uneventfully following mild TBI, complications such as prolonged symptoms, depression and cognitive deterioration may occur. With considerable advancements in neuroimaging and cognitive assessment in recent years, newer techniques may provide a window to directly observe changes that accompany mild TBI.
Mild Traumatic Brain Injury And The Risk Of Long-term Neurodegenerative And Neurobehavioural Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$585,269.00
Summary
Considerable media attention surrounds the potential for long-term problems in individuals with high exposure to head impacts such as seen in sporting, civilian and/or military contexts. This study examines the long-term effects of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and helps close the current knowledge gap of the impact of this disorder on individuals. There are no long term trials to answer the critical question of whether mild TBI causes long term problems in the brain.
Characterisation Of Substance P Antagonists As A Novel Therapeutic Intervention For Use In Traumatic Brain Injury
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$241,650.00
Summary
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is responsible for more deaths in Australians under 45 years of age than any other cause. The economic and social cost of head injury to the community is enormous with billions of dollars spent each year on the management and rehabilitation of trauma patients. Despite the enormity of this public health problem, no effective treatment currently exists. A number of studies have demonstrated that much of the morbidity following TBI is associated with the development of ....Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is responsible for more deaths in Australians under 45 years of age than any other cause. The economic and social cost of head injury to the community is enormous with billions of dollars spent each year on the management and rehabilitation of trauma patients. Despite the enormity of this public health problem, no effective treatment currently exists. A number of studies have demonstrated that much of the morbidity following TBI is associated with the development of a secondary injury process that occurs between hours to days after the insult. This delayed progression of injury suggests that appropriate pharmacologic intervention can prevent, or at least attenuate, this secondary injury process with a resultant improvement in outcome. Over the past 15 years, a number of groups, including ours, have been investigating the secondary mechanisms associated with the development of functional deficits after TBI. Our previous studies have demonstrated that decline in brain free magnesium is associated with functional deficits after experimental brain injury, and that magnesium administration after injury can improve outcome. Magnesium is now on clinical trial as a pharmacologic intervention. Recent studies have suggested that magnesium decline facilitates neurogenic inflammation, which has been associated with oedema formation, oxidative damage and cell death. Although a number of neuropeptides have been implicated in this process, it is thought that substance P release is closely associated with these pathophysiological processes. Therefore, inhibiting neuropeptide release, or inhibiting substance P binding, may offer a novel therapeutic approach for the attenuation of oedema and development of neurologic deficits after TBI. This proposal will use a combined biochemical, pharmacologic and behavioural approach to characterise the role of neuropeptides in brain trauma, and attempt to develop a novel therapy for use in clinical trauma.Read moreRead less
Reducing Perinatal Lung, Heart And Brain Injury In Preterm Infants – From Bench To The Clinic.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$463,652.00
Summary
Many infants are exposed to an adverse environment whilst developing in the womb, and are therefore at increased risk of lung, heart and brain injury, with life-long consequences. This research is focused on improving the entry into the world of vulnerable infants, thus reducing the risk and severity of brain injury.
Genes Important For Early Brain Development Are Also Important For Adult Brain Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$850,346.00
Summary
I committed to understanding of how the brain develops, grows and regenerates. My laboratory is active in finding a cure for brain injury following brain trauma or brain ischemia. I have discovered that the genes that drive neuron migration and wiring in the fetus also function in the adult brain to improve neuron survival and regeneration. Probing the function of these genes will deliver twin benefits in preventing brain disorder in the newborn and treating brain disease in the adult.
Organic Brain Damage After Non-fatal Opioid Overdose
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$244,858.00
Summary
The study will provide the first data on the level and nature of brain damage due to opioid overdose. The extent to which overdose survivors suffer brain damage has important implications for clinical management, particularly in relation to behavioural problems. It will also provide the first data on brain damage and drug treatment performance. Screening of those with an overdose history may lead to specialised management of these individuals with the potential for improved treatment outcome.
The Neural Reaction To Injury: Clues To The Cause And Prevention Of Acquired Brain Damage And Alzheimer's Disease.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$390,326.00
Summary
The cellular mechanism underlying neuronal degeneration following head trauma and Alzheimer?s disease is not known and represents the major impediment to developing therapeutic strategies to protect nerve cells. This grant application will utilise a variety of modern research methods to determine the key changes in the brain that are associated with the response of nerve cells to physical trauma. These include not only the structural alterations that immediately follow such injury, but the compl ....The cellular mechanism underlying neuronal degeneration following head trauma and Alzheimer?s disease is not known and represents the major impediment to developing therapeutic strategies to protect nerve cells. This grant application will utilise a variety of modern research methods to determine the key changes in the brain that are associated with the response of nerve cells to physical trauma. These include not only the structural alterations that immediately follow such injury, but the complex cellular and gene expression changes that determine the ultimate fate of the cell. Both acquired brain injury and degenerative conditions such as Alzheimer?s disease represent an enormous health, social and economic burden. Furthermore, with predictions that Alzheimer?s disease will increase by 3-4 times by the middle of the next century due to the Oaging? of the population, it is becoming even more crucial to establish effective therapeutic interventions. The animal models investigated in this project can be used to unravel the crucial neuronal alterations associated with head trauma and the early stages of Alzheimer?s disease and, more importantly, may be the key to discovering novel strategies to prevent neuronal degeneration in these conditions.Read moreRead less
Interactions Between Injured Neurons, Astrocytes And Metallothionein
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$478,067.00
Summary
We have found that the protein, metallothionein, which protects the brain after injury or during neurodegenerative disease acts in a more complex way than previously thought, including a direct action on injured neurons as well as on the originating cell, astrocytes. Elucidating each component of metallothionein action will help us understand how cells interact in the brain after injury, and excitingly, offers an opportunity to develop an enhanced therapeutic strategy based on this protein.
Enhancing Rehabilitation Services For Aboriginal Australians After Brain Injury: Healing Right Way
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$906,445.00
Summary
This project involves implementation of the first culturally secure intervention package for Aboriginal survivors of brain impairment in Australia. Stroke and traumatic brain injury occur significantly more frequently in Aboriginal populations, yet Aboriginal people are under-represented in rehabilitation programs. The project will improve accessibility to rehabilitation, improve health outcomes, and establish an economic model contributing to sustainability and planning of future services.