Annual Report 2005 - Westmead Millennium Institute

Liver and MetabolicThe NHMRC Centre of Clinical Research Excellencein Liver Disease has successfully recruited over threehundred and fifty subjects for their clinical projects intoearly detection and screening for liver cancer andlifestyle intervention for patients with early stagesof liver disease. These ground breaking studies areexpected to provide new insights on the efficacy ofscreening for liver cancer in Australia, to improvetreatment algorithms for these individuals and toimprove the long term outcomes for patients withnon-alcoholic fatty liver disease.Researchers from the Storr Liver Unit began work ontheir NHMRC funded research program into themolecular and cellular basis of common liver diseasesincluding hepatitis C, hepatic fibrosis and non-alcoholicsteatohepatitis (NASH), the outcomes of which areexpected to improve our knowledge of thepathogenesis of liver injury.Researchers from the Unit published the first book onnon alcoholic fatty liver disease, the commonest causefor liver damage in developed nations.Research focused on bile acid metabolism andelimination has defined additional drug targets for thetreatment of cholestatic liver diseases anddemonstrated that different treatment approaches arerequired depending on the severity of obstruction to bileflow. This work, done in collaboration with the SalkInstitute, has yielded high impact publications inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA.Neuroscience and VisionAnalysis of retinal photographs taken as part of therenowned Blue Mountains Eye Study identified linksbetween retinal microcirculation changes and systemicvascular diseases including stroke.Researchers on the Sydney Myopia Study completedassessments of the prevalence of myopia and othervisual impairments in children aged 6-12 anddemonstrated that levels of myopia were muchlower than previously thought. Funding was receivedin 2005 to extend this research to young children frombirth to five years.Ground-breaking gamma phase synchrony (brainimaging) research demonstrated for the first time thebrain disconnections associated with first episodepsychosis and the onset of schizophrenia.Demonstration of a clear and early separation betweenschizophrenia and bipolar disorder, highlighting theimportance of early diagnosis and treatment in youngpeople with psychosis.The awarding of a significant ARC-linkage grant resultedin a novel collaboration between the Brain DynamicsCentre and the Universities of Sydney and NSW linkingbrain imaging with genetics. This will allow theidentification of disease polymorphisms, integration ofdisease phenotypes with genotypes and prediction ofresponse to treatment.Cardio-respiratoryThe Ludwig Engel Centre continued their world leadingstudies into sleep disordered breathing with newprojects established into the genetic basis ofobstructive sleep apnoea and the identification ofintermediate phenotypes.A new NHMRC funded project was established intoimproving the mapping procedures to determine theunderlying mechanisms of ventricular arrhythmias. AnARC funded collaboration with the University ofTechnology began to investigate alternative energysources for the treatment of abnormal heart rhythms.