Power PD: powerlifting as a treatment for adults with young onset Parkinson’s disease
The main findings were as follows: 1. Safety Validation: The program confirmed that gym-based progressive resistance strength training for individuals with early-onset Parkinson’s disease is safe when overseen by trained health professionals such as registered physiotherapists and guided by robust safety protocols. 2. Participant Engagement: The intervention achieved an 88.5% adherence rate in attended sessions, […]
Targeting the gut bugs to enhance cognition in Huntington’s disease
Findings from this project are promising since people living with HD experience important gastrointestinal dysfuntion. With the BGRF support researchers uncovered a new potential direction of study for these disabling symptoms in HD. By targeting the inflammasome in HD patients, this research identified opportunities to modify the gastrointestinal dysfunction present in this devastating disease.
How gene-environment interactions and brain immune cells affect Alzheimer’s disease
The findings from this project provide critical insights into how environmental factors and immune cells interact in the brain. They highlight the potential of environmental interventions in improving motor and cognitive functions, offering promising strategies for mitigating neurodegenerative symptoms. Although microglia manipulation showed limited direct effects on these behaviours, the research opens new avenues for […]
Understanding why treatments to restore blood flow after stroke may not work
This project provided insight into the phenomenon of cerebral no-reflow in stroke patients. It showed that no-reflow is a dynamic and potentially reversible pathology in the human brain that may be amendable to treatment. By comparing existing imaging definitions of no-reflow, the team established the gold standard to identify and define this phenomenon using clinical […]
Developing a diagnostic tool for Motor Neurone Disease using protein metabolism
In a significant leap forward for neurodegenerative disease research, a team of scientists, led by researchers at the Florey Institute in Melbourne, has achieved a major milestone in understanding and potentially treating conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and motor neuron disease (MND). The study focused on developing a groundbreaking “autophagometer” — a minimally invasive tool […]
Personalising pain relief- the right opioid for the right person at the right time
The way cancer pain is managed in palliative care has not changed significantly for many decades. This project has helped progress knowledge on the use of opioids in cancer pain, through the interrogation of a novel longitudinal study looking at the possibility of how genes interact with how people respond to opioids at a cellular […]
Understanding the mechanisms of Multiple Sclerosis disease flares
The team were able to show that P2X7R is expressed in peripheral monocytes of MS patients and that its channel function is intact. Importantly the channel response was more pronounced in MS patients versus healthy control monocytes. Steroids are generally used to treat MS relapse and their mechanism of action is not entirely clear. We […]
