Determining the synergistic effects of complementary medicines on pro-inflammatory cytokines,

Funding Activity

Website
http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/471402

Funding Status
Closed

Does something not look right? The information on this page has been harvested from data sources that may not be up to date. We continue to work with information providers to improve coverage and quality. To report an issue, use the .

Funded Activity Summary

Diseases like influenza, commonly called ‘the flu’, produce symptoms such as fever, headaches, lethargy and lack of appetite. What most people don’t realise is that it is not the influenza virus that produces these symptoms, but the body’s immune response to the influenza virus. This immune response comes about because the influenza virus stimulates cells to produce molecules called cytokines, and cytokines have many effects in the body, including causing fever and a lack of appetite. In severe infections like those caused by the influenza virus responsible for the pandemic of 1918, and during “bird ‘flu” (H5N1) infections, people die because the immune response becomes overwhelming. Cytokines produced during these sorts of responses are actually very harmful, even though in small amounts they help to kill the virus and cure the infection. Researchers working in this field have likened these severe responses to a “cytokine storm”. This project focusses on finding alternative therapies such as those used in Chinese medicine to prevent a cytokine storm happening, so that if an influenza pandemic occurs these treatments could be quickly made available to everyone. Examples are the Chinese herbs Angelica sinensis and Salvia miltiorrhiza. Recent laboratory studies in New York have shown that both of these herbs have potent cytokine effects, decreasing levels of an inflammatory cytokine known to be associated with death in both malaria and sepsis. Our study aims to closely examine the effects of these Chinese herbs, as well as other commercially available herbal extracts, and traditional combinations of herbs, to find synergies between them that could be used to treat severe influenza infections.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 01-01-2008

End Date: 01-01-2011

Funding Scheme: NHMRC Strategic Awards

Funding Amount: $290,412.00

Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

Paediatrics not elsewhere classified

ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

There are no SEO codes available for this funding activity

Other Keywords

Chinese herbal medicine | Complementary medicine | Cytokines | Immunopathology | Inflammatory mediators

Related Links