The Minister for Health, Tanya Plibersek, last week launched Ten of the Best Research Projects 2012, a publication that showcases the work of some of the finest medical researchers in the country.
And our very own Prof. Stuart Hooper was on the honor roll.
Stuart, with Prof. Richard Harding and team, are working to improve the health outcomes of preterm babies. In particular, they are interested in how best to support the function of preterm babies’ lungs. The team have already found that lowering levels of oxygen administered enables gas pressure to be maintained in the lungs while reducing unwanted side effects associated with higher levels.
Congratulations to Stuart and his team.
Check out all the projects here: http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/_files_nhmrc/publications/attachments/ten_of_best_2012_web_120816.pdf
Wednesday 22 August 2012
Monday 30 July 2012
Public Forum: Childbirth and the pelvic floor - new solutions to age old problems
Did you know:
25% of ALL women, and 50% of women who give birth, suffer symptoms of pelvic organ prolapse.
Symptoms include, urinary and bowel incontinence and sexual dysfunction.
Most women suffer in silence because of the embarrassing nature of these symptoms and the poor public awareness of the condition.
The Ritchie centre, in conjunction with the Continence Foundation of Australia, Jean Hailes and Southern Health, is hosting a public forum to explain the causes of pelvic organ prolapse, ways to manage the symptoms and the cutting edge research being done to improve outcomes for women.
Check out www.ritchiecolloquium.org for details about the speakers at the public forum and to register your interest.
When: Wednesday 12th September 2012, 6-8pm,
Where: RMIT Storey Hall, 344 Swanston Street, Melbourne.
This issue affects 1 in 4 of all women and 1 in 2 of all mothers, so tell your mum, your sister, your grandma, your aunt, your niece and all your friends to be at this public forum to learn the latest preventative strategies and treatment options.
25% of ALL women, and 50% of women who give birth, suffer symptoms of pelvic organ prolapse.
Symptoms include, urinary and bowel incontinence and sexual dysfunction.
Most women suffer in silence because of the embarrassing nature of these symptoms and the poor public awareness of the condition.
The Ritchie centre, in conjunction with the Continence Foundation of Australia, Jean Hailes and Southern Health, is hosting a public forum to explain the causes of pelvic organ prolapse, ways to manage the symptoms and the cutting edge research being done to improve outcomes for women.
Check out www.ritchiecolloquium.org for details about the speakers at the public forum and to register your interest.
When: Wednesday 12th September 2012, 6-8pm,
Where: RMIT Storey Hall, 344 Swanston Street, Melbourne.
This issue affects 1 in 4 of all women and 1 in 2 of all mothers, so tell your mum, your sister, your grandma, your aunt, your niece and all your friends to be at this public forum to learn the latest preventative strategies and treatment options.
Wednesday 18 July 2012
Dr Leo Leader - Maternal stress during pregnancy affects infant neurodevelopment
Dr Leo Leader (University of New South Wales) presented his teams fascinating studies investigating maternal stress during pregnancy and the effects on infant neurodevelopmental outcomes. Maternal stress and anxiety are associated with increased rates of preterm birth, reduced birth weight and impaired neurodevelopment in infants.
Dr Leader presented a maternal stress study in pregnant women, which evaluated maternal physiology during stress, and the correlation between fetal movement and fetal cardiovascular function. Whilst watching distressing scenes from the film ‘Sophie’s Choice’ mothers who were affected emotionally by the film had elevated heart rate and variability which was also apparent in the fetus. Control women who watched a non-distressing film about the construction of Canberra did not display changes in heart rate or cardiovascular physiology and nor did the fetus.
Dr Leader also presented a long term follow up study of infants with mothers who were moderately anxious or stressed during pregnancy. The ‘still face’ test of maternal sensitivity and salivary cortisol levels were measured in babies at 6 months of age. Neurodevelopment tests such as the Bailey Development Score were also measured at 18 and 36 months of age. Maternal sensitivity was not different between anxious and non- anxious mothers. Infant cortisol levels were significantly altered in children of anxious mothers and mental development was also impaired at 18 and 36 months of age. Additionally, male children of anxious mothers had poorer outcomes than females. Dr Leader concluded that differences in function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis originate before birth and are affected by maternal stress or anxiety during pregnancy as well as infant sex.
Dr Leader presented a maternal stress study in pregnant women, which evaluated maternal physiology during stress, and the correlation between fetal movement and fetal cardiovascular function. Whilst watching distressing scenes from the film ‘Sophie’s Choice’ mothers who were affected emotionally by the film had elevated heart rate and variability which was also apparent in the fetus. Control women who watched a non-distressing film about the construction of Canberra did not display changes in heart rate or cardiovascular physiology and nor did the fetus.
Dr Leader also presented a long term follow up study of infants with mothers who were moderately anxious or stressed during pregnancy. The ‘still face’ test of maternal sensitivity and salivary cortisol levels were measured in babies at 6 months of age. Neurodevelopment tests such as the Bailey Development Score were also measured at 18 and 36 months of age. Maternal sensitivity was not different between anxious and non- anxious mothers. Infant cortisol levels were significantly altered in children of anxious mothers and mental development was also impaired at 18 and 36 months of age. Additionally, male children of anxious mothers had poorer outcomes than females. Dr Leader concluded that differences in function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis originate before birth and are affected by maternal stress or anxiety during pregnancy as well as infant sex.
Dr Joanne Britto - Formation of cortical layers
The Ritchie Centre was delighted to have Dr Joanne Britto recently present in our seminar series. Dr Britto heads a research team in the Brain Development and Regeneration Division at the Florey Neuroscience Institute in Melbourne. Her research focuses on identifying genes involved in neuronal generation and assembly in the cerebral cortex, particularly monitoring neuronal migration.
Dr Britto presented a fascinating talk about the lamination (formation of cortical layers) of interneurons during development and how this understanding this process better, may improve therapies to treat neurological disorders. Interneurons are neurons in the central nervous system (CNS) that form connections between other neurons. Interneurons are neither motor nor sensory. CNS interneurons are typically inhibitory, and use the neurotransmitter GABA or glycine. However, excitatory interneurons using glutamate also exist, as do interneurons releasing neuromodulators like acetylcholine. Abnormalities of interneuron function are thought to contribute to diseases such as Alzheimers and Schizophrenia.
Monday 7 May 2012
Dr Vincent Letouzey - Better treatments for pelvic organ prolapse
The Ritchie Centre was pleased to have Dr. Vincent Letouzey, from the Caremeau University Hospital, Nîmes, France, present to us last week. Dr. Letouzey will be with our centre for a year to continue his research into developing better treatments for pelvic organ prolapse. This condition affects millions of women and is due to injury sustained by the pelvic floor tissues during childbirth, such that the uterus may descend out of position. One current treatment is to insert a synthetic mesh that will hold the pelvic organs in place and prevent them from descending. This approach requires surgery and while it decreases the clinical recurrence in the short term, post-operative complications, such as infection exist and many will require re-operation.
Dr. Letouzey aims to improve these synthetic meshes, to include properties such as infection resistance and MRI visualization. To date, he has experimented with meshes that have a controlled release of antibiotics and this has shown a significant in vivo antibacterial effect. Another mesh coating, with an aerograph procedure, has allowed MRI mesh visualization. To achieve this, two new MRI visible polymers (degradable and non-degradable) were coated onto meshes using an airbrush system. This coating allowed the visualization of meshes in vitro and in vivo with experimental and clinical MRIs and lasts for at least one year. This property is very useful, especially when re-operation is required and locating the current mesh is of great importance.
Having Dr. Letouzey with us this year will be very exciting and we look forward to the outcomes of this collaboration.
Dr. Letouzey aims to improve these synthetic meshes, to include properties such as infection resistance and MRI visualization. To date, he has experimented with meshes that have a controlled release of antibiotics and this has shown a significant in vivo antibacterial effect. Another mesh coating, with an aerograph procedure, has allowed MRI mesh visualization. To achieve this, two new MRI visible polymers (degradable and non-degradable) were coated onto meshes using an airbrush system. This coating allowed the visualization of meshes in vitro and in vivo with experimental and clinical MRIs and lasts for at least one year. This property is very useful, especially when re-operation is required and locating the current mesh is of great importance.
Having Dr. Letouzey with us this year will be very exciting and we look forward to the outcomes of this collaboration.
Monday 23 April 2012
Dr Marcus Davey - Fetal lung gene therapy
"Fetal lung gene therapy - a once in a lifetime opportunity". With a title like that, who wouldn't be interested! The Ritchie Centre was very pleased to have Dr. Marcus Davey from the Children's Hospital in Philadelphia present some very exciting work about the possibility of treating diseases in the womb. As the Ritchie Centre is focused on fetal and neonatal health, this was one seminar that got a lot of attention.
Cystic fibrosis is a disease in which the lungs generate excess mucous that is thicker than normal and this can increase the patient's susceptibility to lung infections. Dr. Davey's research is using gene therapy to replace defective or missing genes in the fetus and therefore alleviate cystic fibrosis even before the baby is born. The gene therapy approach exploits the ability of viruses to promote the production of particular proteins and thus replace those that are defective/missing in cystic fibrosis. This research has been performed in a sheep model, in which viruses encoding functional proteins, are injected into the amniotic sac. The viruses are delivered right in front of the mouth of the fetus in the hope that the fetus inhales some of these viruses and the protein is then made in the lung cells. Indeed Dr Davey's research has shown that this technique works, however the number of lung cells with the ability to produce the new proteins is low. Now, the question is how can the delivery be maximised and what is the best way to delivery the viruses to the fetus? With such promising benefits to newborns, this is certainly an area of research we will be keeping our eyes on.
Cystic fibrosis is a disease in which the lungs generate excess mucous that is thicker than normal and this can increase the patient's susceptibility to lung infections. Dr. Davey's research is using gene therapy to replace defective or missing genes in the fetus and therefore alleviate cystic fibrosis even before the baby is born. The gene therapy approach exploits the ability of viruses to promote the production of particular proteins and thus replace those that are defective/missing in cystic fibrosis. This research has been performed in a sheep model, in which viruses encoding functional proteins, are injected into the amniotic sac. The viruses are delivered right in front of the mouth of the fetus in the hope that the fetus inhales some of these viruses and the protein is then made in the lung cells. Indeed Dr Davey's research has shown that this technique works, however the number of lung cells with the ability to produce the new proteins is low. Now, the question is how can the delivery be maximised and what is the best way to delivery the viruses to the fetus? With such promising benefits to newborns, this is certainly an area of research we will be keeping our eyes on.
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