Around the Precinct – 30 July 2020

Concerning news about how COVID attacks the brain while the fight continues with a rapid point-of-care test and the wider health implications of the pandemic are explored; a grant received to boost women’s health; discoveries shed light on glioma, MS, dermatitis, atrial fibrillation, inflammation and immune disease; the importance of community engagement and leadership highlighted on World Hepatitis Day, and clinical trials continue, including one for PSP: Here’s some of what has happened this week across the Alfred Research Alliance.

ALFRED HEALTH

COVID Attacks the Brain

Alfred Health Neurologist, Robb Wesselingh, has warned that the headaches, psychosis, fatigue and memory loss some COVID-19 patients develop could be the start of major life-long neurological complications due to the virus triggering their immune system to attack the brain. Read more…
MONASH CENTRAL CLINICAL SCHOOL

Potent Glioma Tumour Inhibitor Discovery

Gliomas account for 80% of all brain tumours, with the most agressive form, glioblastoma, killing some 225,000 people globally each year. A new technique developed by Ms Liyen Katrina Kan (pictured), a PhD student in Dr Mastura Monif’s research group, has led to renewed hope for patients. Read more…

Genetic Predisposition to MS Mapped Throughout Immune System

Prof Helmut Butzkueven, Department of Neuroscience at Monash CCS, has been investigating Multiple Sclerosis for many years, seeking to find the ‘big picture’. It is hoped that the research will help answer the big question all patients ask: ‘What causes MS and why did I get it’?”. Read more…

Clinical Trial for Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP)

Professor Terry O’Brien, Dr Lucy Vivash and colleagues from the Department of Neuroscience at Monash CCS have been awarded more than $2.6 million from the Medical Research Future Fund to study a trial of sodium selenate as a disease-modifying treatment of PSP. The trial will involve 70 patients across Australia. Read more…

How Multiple Sclerosis Changes the Brain’s Venous Rhythms

Monash researchers have discovered both a unique signal within the brain’s veins and how Multiple Sclerosis (MS) changes that venous rhythm. The research opens a new window into a part of the brain researchers didn’t know existed, and could shine a light on the importance of veins in MS symptoms and treatment. Read more…

Microbiome Key to Skin’s Immunological Landscape

Monash immunologists have published a study following earlier research on the use of emollients to address atopic dermatitis in infants. The paper suggests the microbiome – the family of all the microbes that live on and inside the human body – is a key determinant of the immunological landscape of the skin. Read more…

MONASH PUBLIC HEALTH & PREVENTIVE MEDICINE

$2.55 Million MRFF Grant for Women’s Health Project

Women’s health received a boost recently with a $2.55 million Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) grant for a project led by Prof Helena Teede (pictured) and colleagues to improve healthy lifestyle in preconception, pregnancy and postpartum stages of life. Read more…
BURNET INSTITUTE

Rapid Point-of-Care Test for COVID-19 Under Development

Burnet Institute’s Global Health Diagnostic Development Group, led by A/Prof David Anderson, is developing a rapid point-of-care test to identify people who have been infected and cleared of COVID-19, enabling them to safely return to work post-infection. To find out more about this, and other COVID-19 projects underway at Burnet, read more here…

Community Rules on World Hepatitis Day

The importance of community engagement, empowerment and leadership was the recurring theme of Burnet Institute’s World Hepatitis Day Webinar: Eliminating viral hepatitis and adapting to COVID-19. Burnet Deputy Director, Prof Margaret Hellard AM identified a number of common threads in the presentations, including the problems of stigma and racism, but said community engagement and leadership topped the list. Read more & watch the video here…

A/Prof Joshua Vogel Nominated for Prestigious Award

Burnet Institute Principal Research Fellow, Associate Professor Joshua Vogel (pictured) has been shortlisted for a prestigious Nature Research Award for Driving Global Impact. A/Prof Vogel is a nominee in the Healthcare Interventions category for his scientific achievements and current research program, focused on helping low- and middle-income countries in the Asia Pacific region to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Read more here…

Wider repercussions for COVID focus

Burnet Institute Director and CEO Professor Brendan Crabb AC has warned that the broader health impacts of the fight against COVID-19, particularly among developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region, could be as serious as the virus itself. “In developing countries, in circumstances of crisis, the indirect effects are far worse than the direct effects. There’s no doubt that will be the case with COVID-19,” Professor Crabb told The Guardian. Read more…

BAKER INSTITUTE

2019 Impact Report Released

The Baker Institute 2019 Impact Report is now available online. This report, with the theme ‘Behind the Discoveries’, showcases the Institute’s supporters and talented scientists, including researchers of the future who are helping drive discoveries, and is a valuable source of information about the relevance of the Institute’s work. Read it here…

Women Left Behind by Treatment to Correct Heart Rhythm

New research has highlighted a significant gender treatment gap for atrial fibrillation (AF), showing a potential cure – known as catheter ablation – is significantly less effective for women than men. Read more…

Gene Variations at Birth Reveal Origins of Inflammation & Immune Disease

A study published this week in the journal Nature Communications has pinpointed a number of areas of the human genome that may help explain the neonatal origins of chronic immune and inflammatory diseases of later life, including type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and coeliac disease. Read more here…