Over $800,000 committed to neurological research across NZ

PRESS RELEASE

For immediate release: 15 July 2013

Neurological Foundation Announces
July 2013 Grant Round Recipients

Over $800,000 committed to neurological research across New Zealand

The Neurological Foundation is pleased to announce that funding of $821,902 for neurological research, an educational fellowship and travel grants has been approved in its July 2013 grant round. The Neurological Foundation is the primary non-government sponsor of neurological research in New Zealand.

Neurological Foundation Executive Director Max Ritchie says “This grant round’s recipients continue to demonstrate the highly innovative thinking that enables New Zealand to remain at the leading edge of research into the understanding, prevention and treatment of neurological disorders. Furthermore, this innovation provides hope for the one in five New Zealanders across all age groups who will be diagnosed with a brain disorder in their lifetime.”

In addition to the seven project grants listed below, the Neurological Foundation V J Chapman Fellowship has been awarded to neurologist Dr Teddy Wu, the current chief resident for medicine at Auckland City Hospital. The Fellowship will enable Dr Wu to undertake his PhD at the University of Melbourne, furthering his stroke treatment research under the supervision of leading stroke authority Professor Steve Davis. Dr Wu will return to New Zealand after completion of his PhD.

Genetic profiling features in Professor Winston Byblow’s Parkinson’s disease research project “Falling off the curve: the link between impulsivity and dopamine” which will be carried out at the University of Auckland. Professor Byblow says “Through a combination of genotyping and behavioural measures, our project aims to predict Parkinson’s disease patients most at risk of developing impulse control disorders such as pathological gambling, hypersexuality and compulsive shopping as an adverse response to particular medication. Ultimately, this study aims to inform clinicians so they can provide an alternative, individualised treatment plan and remove the risk of the adverse response.”

Over $180,000 has been awarded to 2009 Neurological Foundation Repatriation Fellow Dr Andrew Clarkson so he can continue his headline-making stroke research at the University of Otago. Dr Clarkson will assess new drug compounds to see if they can be protective when given early after stroke and promote functional recovery when given at a delay.

All grant details follow.

The Neurological Foundation is an independent body and charitable trust and its funding has facilitated many of New Zealand’s top neuroscientists’ pioneering breakthroughs. Without the ongoing support of individual New Zealanders, the Foundation could not commit to progressing research to the high level that it does. The Neurological Foundation receives no government funding.

www.neurological.org.nz

Neurological Foundation research approved July 2013

Research grants totalling $821,902 were approved by the Neurological Foundation Council on 5 July 2013.

NEUROLOGICAL FOUNDATION V J CHAPMAN FELLOWSHIP

Advanced imaging in the evolution of primary intracerebral haemorrhage

Dr Teddy Wu
Neurology Department
Auckland District Health Board

$180,000

Stroke caused by brain haemorrhage is an important cause of death and disability in New Zealand and worldwide. There is no effective treatment for acute intracerebral haemorrhage and the brain swelling associated with the haemorrhage. Dr Wu’s project uses advanced MRI brain scans to study the area surrounding the brain haemorrhage and the safety of a diabetic drug, glibenclamide, in these patients. This study has the potential to contribute current knowledge about this devastating form of stroke, clarify the cause of the deterioration that happens in many people and lay the basis for further research into effective treatments.

PROJECT GRANTS

Falling off the curve: the link between impulsivity and dopamine

Professor Winston Byblow
Centre for Brain Research
University of Auckland

$52,682

Dopamine agonist medications are commonly prescribed to alleviate Parkinson’s disease symptoms and avoid some of the problems associated with levodopa medication. However, about one in five patients (20 %) prescribed dopamine agonist medications for Parkinson’s disease develop impulse control disorders including compulsive shopping, hypersexuality and pathological gambling. This project will evaluate tests to measure impulse control. Professor Byblow’s team proposes that when such measures are combined with information about a person’s dopamine gene profile, this knowledge can be used to identify individuals at risk of an adverse response to dopamine agonist medication. This could lead to better individualised treatment of Parkinson’s disease.

Unravelling the functions of delta-containing GABAA receptors after stroke

Dr Andrew Clarkson
Department of Anatomy
University of Otago

$182,835

Injuries to the brain as a consequence of a stroke impair cognition and behaviour, typically with limited recovery. Dr Clarkson’s laboratory has recently shown that inhibition within the brain is changed after stroke and essentially silences brain cells. By alleviating this inhibition Dr Clarkson and his team can kick start those silent brain cells and connections, which in turn give back functions previously impaired. The present studies aim to assess novel drug compounds that alter inhibition in the brain and assess whether they can be protective when given early after stroke whilst promote functional recovery when given at a delay of three to five days post-stroke.

Identifying the mechanism by which clozapine reduces central nervous system inflammation

Associate Professor Anne La Flamme
Victoria University of Wellington

$124,017

Multiple sclerosis (MS) affects 1 in 1400 New Zealanders of whom one third suffer from moderate to severe disability. There is no cure for MS and current FDA-approved disease-modifying treatments are limited in terms of efficacy, mode of administration, availability due to cost, and concerns regarding potentially fatal side effects. Therefore, there is an urgent need for more effective and more easily tolerated treatments and for therapies that not only halt disease progression but also may reverse the neurological damage sustained. Determining how psychoactive drug clozapine can reduce central nervous system inflammation and damage will provide novel insights into immune dysfunction and its contribution to disease pathogenesis will emerge. It is also anticipated that the results of Associate Professor La Flamme’s study will contribute to the understanding of the cause of MS, which remains unknown.

Identifying cell-type specific molecular pathways as new targets for treatment of dyskinesias in Parkinson’s disease

Associate Professor John Reynolds
Department of Anatomy
University of Otago

$194,124

Parkinson’s disease is a common neurological disorder that causes, amongst other symptoms, movement difficulties due to a loss of a brain chemical called dopamine. Treatment aims to replace dopamine, however with prolonged treatment, patients can develop severe unwanted movements called ‘dyskinesias’. It is still not understood why this happens. Associate Professor Reynolds’ research, using a model of dyskinesias and state-of-the-art methods, will look at which cells in the brain are affected by dyskinesias, and how changes within these cells can affect their function in the brain. This will also help to identify new pathways that could be targeted for novel dyskinesia therapies.

The effect of a clinical care protocol on the rate of pneumonia in patients with dysphagia following stroke

Dr Maggie-Lee Huckabee
University of Canterbury and
Christchurch Hospital

$10,550

Swallowing impairment (dysphagia) is a common consequence of stroke and can lead to life-threatening
pneumonia. In New Zealand, the rate of pneumonia in these patients is 27%. Lower pneumonia rates (less than 5%) have been reported for this population when managed using strict clinical protocols and cough reflex testing. This pilot study will evaluate the effect of a rigorous stroke management protocol on the rate of pneumonia in a large hospital. This project is a key step towards identifying and changing factors that contribute to the unacceptably high pneumonia rates in patients with stroke in New Zealand.

Enhancing cognitive performance using transcranial direct current stimulation

Dr Liana Machado
Department of Psychology
University of Otago

$12,000

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has been successfully used to improve cognitive performance (e.g., memory and attention) in healthy and patient populations. Research indicates that increasing stimulation levels can produce stronger cognitive benefits; however, this increases the risk of side-effects.
Dr Machado’s study will investigate if the cognitive benefits of tDCS can be enhanced by applying tDCS preconditioning prior to low-level stimulation. The aim of her study is to determine the optimal preconditioning parameters for producing the maximum cognitive benefits. This research will be carried out in healthy young adults. Once a more effective tDCS protocol has been identified, it can then be tested in patient populations.

Phosphatidic acid as a target to treat cerebellar neurodegeneration

Dr Andrew Munkacsi
Victoria University of Wellington

$11,694

Niemann-Pick type C (NPC) disease is a fatal, pediatric neurodegenerative disease due to the accumulation of cholesterol in the liver and brain. Currently, there is no effective therapy to treat NPC disease. Dr Munkacsi’s previous work has shown that phosphatidic acid (PA) levels are significantly increased in the cerebellum, the brain region most affected in NPC disease, in a model of NPC disease at the onset of disease and further increased with disease progression. This study proposes to inhibit the major routes of PA synthesis and determine if PA metabolism is a target to treat the cerebellar neurodegeneration in children affected with NPC disease.

ENDS

© Scoop Media