Hunter researchers move into phase two of brain injury study

BY JARROD MELMETH

Researchers from the University of Newcastle and Hunter Research Medical Institute have received funding from the federal government to investigate brain injuries in elite athletes.

The research, in conjunction with the Australian Institute of Sport is comparing the brain health of retired elite athletes who were involved in contact sports such as Rugby League to athletes from non-collision sports.

Concussion is the leading form of brain injury and occurs when athletes are hit in the head. The concern here is that concussions are often associated with being knocked out however, most of the time they occur without loss of consciousness. 

Researchers are hoping to understand concussion and head injuries to better understand how they can be prevented. By doing this appropriate care plans can be developed to minimise lasting effect.

Phase one of the study looking at athletes from collision sports has already been undertaken, with phase two set to get underway courtesy of the new funding.

Associate Professor Andrew Gardner of HMRI and University of Newcastle has been leading one of the largest and most comprehensive brain health research programs for retired athletes in the world, involving in-person evaluations of more than 150 players.

Professor Gardner says HMRI and the University of Newcastle are combining with the University of Canberra to take the research further, reducing recruiting a control group of retired non-collision athletes.

"We are aiming to collect data on the brain health of more than 40 retired athletes from non-collision sports every year. This study is available to former elite level men and women," Prof Gardner said.

Mystery Donor Hands over $5 Million Cheque to HMRI

BY JESSICA ROUSE

An anonymous donor has handed over a $5.2 million cheque to the Hunter Medical Research Insitute.

The generous philanthropic gift will go towards advancing emergency out-of-hospital patient treatment over the next five years.

The HMRI will work jointly with NSW Ambulance and Hunter New England Health to improve patient care, particularly in rural areas.

When asked if we could get a hint as to who the mystery donor was, Professor Michael Nilsson, the Director of the HMRI just laughed and said they're simply over the moon.

"We need to keep the secret, that's how it is when it's annonymous! But a fantastic transformational transofrmation, the largest in HMRI history by far," said Professor Nilsson.

"Sometimes donations at this level have great rings on the water effect and we are really hopeful that it will increase the focus on the good job we are doing here with all of the partners. It's fantastic and we are so happy today."

NSW Ambulance will be able to extend their training services from facilities, to upgrading and renewing education euqipment, including advanced technology simuulation mannikins which will all make emergency service care even more effective than it already is.

It aims to benefit regions outside of metropolitan cities to guarantee the same level of training, knowledge and service as bigger regions.

"I'm particularly happy that it's going to an area that is in defiente need, out-of-hospital careand upscaling of the ambulance to another level, that's fantastic and really proves the dedication of the communtiy I think," said HMRI Director Dr Nillson.

Image supplied.

Exercise could be the key to a good nights sleep

BY JESSICA ROUSE and TYLER FARDELL

We all love a good nights sleep, but often it can be hard to find.

But better sleep could be just around the corner and it could be easier than we think.

The University of Newcastle is holding a nationwide clinical trial, called the REFRESH Study, aiming to find whether or not regular exercise can help insomniacs get a good nights sleep.

The study is looking to recruit around 300 people aged 40-65 who have poor quality sleep, but don't have a sleeping disorder and do less than 90 minutes of physical activity each week.

Associate Professor Mitch Duncan from the Hunter Medical Research Institute's Cardiovascular Program says the trial is as much about improving sleep as it is fitness.

"It's important that we try to improve both physical activity and sleep quality because they both have profound benefits not only on our physical health but also on our mental health as well."


Half of the people who report poor sleep health often fail to get enough exercise, which increases their risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, depression and anxiety. Not only that work productivity is impacted costing the global economy $680 billion annually.

Mitch Duncan says the results could change the way people view sleep and exercise.

"But what we haven't really tested yet  in studies is the exact benefit that enhancing physical activity and providing a dedicated physical activity intervention has on sleep relative to a traditional approach which doesn't emphasise the increase of physical activity as much."

The study will also use a smartphone app called "Balanced" and researchers will compare the effectiveness of a sleep plus increased physical activity intervention with a sleep-only intervention.

Anyone interested in participating in the study can take part in a short eligibility survey at
http://tinyurl.com/refreshstudy

Exceptional Hunter research rewarded

BY IAN CROUCH and JESSICA ROUSE

The Hunter's exceptional medical research was today recognised by Federal Assistant Minister for Health David Gillespie who visited the Hunter Medical Research Institute this morning.

The visit came with some gifts including the Hunter Institute of Mental health receiving $5 million in collaboration with the Black Dog Institute and $225,000 in seed funding will be used to help turn pure scientific research being conducted by the Hunter Medical Research Institute into practical treatment outcomes for patients.

NSW Regional Health Partners has also been accredited by the National Health and Medical Research Council as one of Austrlaia's first Centre's for Innovation in Regional Health.

David Gillespie believes the funding will help turn pure research into real medical outcomes for patients.

Federal Assistant Health Minister
David Gillespie

"Well the scientists do pure research and develop really new things but then you've got to translate it into a practical application and that's what we're focusing on with this funding. It's translating pure research into applied treatments."

He also says there are often gaps in treatment options for patients struggling with anxiety and depression, so it's just another area the funding will greatly help.

"Mental health is a big issue in the community, it's been hidden behind closed doors for many years but now people are aware of how common it is, people are speaking up but we need to translate all this research into anxiety and depression and into practical treatments," said David Gillespie.

There could be an end to the sniffles!

BY JESSICA ROUSE

The common cold has long eluded scientists, but researchers from Newcastle have teamed up with Melbourne researchers in a bid to use a molecule which could block the virus responsible for giving us the sniffles.

Based at the Hunter Medical Research Institute (HMRI), the groundbreaking research has been given a $6.3 million funding boost for trials which will use a molecule called 'TLR agonist' to stimulate the body's innate immune system and protect it against rhinovirus, better known as common cold infections.

The molecule goes directly into the respiratory tract and aims to block viral infections at their source whereas traditional cold remedies only dampen the symptoms. The rhinovirus has also been found to trigger common respiratory diseases such as asthma where symptoms can be severe and life-threatening.

Dr Nathan Bartlett.

Head of the viral immunology group at the University of Newcastle based at the HMRI Dr Nathan Bartlett, says the flu gets a lot of attention in the public but the rhinovirus is also causing lots of problems including costing society money due to a loss in productivity and is even more troublesome for people already suffering from respiratory problems.

"We've been working on the site where the virus replicates and that's the airway epithelium, or the cells lining the airways, so this is where the virus replicates and really its the event that triggers a cascade of inflammation that makes these chronic airway diseases worse and that's what we call the exacerbation or an asthma attack for example," said Dr Bartlett.

Dr Bartlett's reputation has impressed researchers throughout the country after spending 13 years in London where he perfected a way of producing the rhinovirus in a laboratory. He was then contacted by a Melbourne microbiologist who asked him to join his project developing the TLR agonist molecule.

The TLR agonist molecule isn't a new discovery, Dr Bartlett says it's really just taken time to identify the right molecule into a format that can target viruses such as the rhinovirus directly at the site of airway infection.

"We're in a really exiting phase here and I think the data we've got to date looks extremely promising. I've been working in this field going on 20 years now and certainly the most promising anti-viral I've had the opportunity to be working with so we're very optimistic and I think it's an excellent molecule," said Dr Bartlett.

He says he's confident the TLR agonist molecule will provide protection against all of the known subtypes of the common cold as well as other respiratory infections such as influenza and that if all goes according to plan, clinical trials could start as early as next year.

"We could really have a target candidate molecule identified before the end of the year hopefully, and then be looking to getting this into man clinical trials in 2018 and then hopefully have it approved and ready a small number of years after that - it's hard to predict exactly."

Ovarian Cancer Fellowship

BY RACHEL STORER

University of Newcastle Research Fellow, Dr Nikola Bowden

University of Newcastle bioscientist, Dr Nikola Bowden is the proud recipient of an unprecedented 10-year Hunter Medical Research Institute Fellowship dedicated to ovarian cancer study.

The fellowship is jointly funded by the university and well-known Hunter winemakers Brian and Fay McGuigan, and honours their daughter Vanessa who tragically lost her battle with the disease in 1990.

Dr Bowden also has a personal connection with ovarian cancer after losing a hockey teammate in 2012 which spurred her study of the mechanisms causing chemotherapy resistance.

"I hadn't actually done any ovarian cancer research before Judy fell ill," she said.

"After a few conversations with her, she asked me why I wasn't working on ovarian cancer and I realised there was actually no reason why I couldn't start."

Dr Bowden is grateful for the fellowship and says it will help accelerate the results of her work by removing the need to apply for lengthy funding applications.

The end goal for Dr Bowden is seeing ovarian cancer diagnosed much earlier and to develop chemotherapy treatments that cater to the specific needs of each patient.

She said she would like to thank the McGuigan family and the HMRI for getting onboard.

Cancer Study Hits a Nerve

BY RACHEL STORER

Professor Hubert Hondersmarck and his team have made incredible discoveries in the field of cancer. 

A team led by University of Newcastle Biochemistry Professor, Hubert Hondermarck has found links between tissue regeneration, nerve growth and tumour development.

The study confirms which was once thought impossible - the nervous system is strongly involved in the onset and spread of cancer.

"What was shown in our lab and simultaneously in other labs is that the nerves are necessary to cancer," said Professor Hondermarck.

"Cancer growth did not occur if the tumour was denervated and does not metastasize," he said.

The phenomenon has been demonstrated by several teams around the world including Professor Hondermarck's in prostate, gastric, breast and pancreatic tumours.

This new research could be the future of the fight against cancer and Professor Hondermarck believes they can start to block the invasion of nerves in cancer to prevent growth.

"Now the challenge for the coming years is to translate into clinical practice and see if it works," he said.

One aspect that Professor Hondermarck found particularly interesting from the study was that the role of nerves in cancer progression is very similar to what is observed during regeneration.

"As we know, humans have very little regeneration capacity. If you take a salamander for instance, and they lose a limb or tail it regrows.

"In cancer, if there are no nerves, there is no regeneration in the tumour. We found that there are links between cancer and its ability to regenerate," he said.

This research has opened the door to potential development in diagnostic and prognostic tools for cancer.

New brain cancer fellowship for Hunter- based doctor

BY LAUREN FREEMANTLE

Nationally renowned radiation oncologist Dr Mike Fay has been named the inaugural recipient of a three- year fellowship funded by the Mark Hughes Foundation.

The fellowship will allow researchers from the Hunter Medical Research Institute, spearheaded by Dr Fay, to use imaging technology in order to determine reasons why some brain tumour treatments fail.

In addition to this, Dr Fay is hoping to develop scanning markers and targeted therapies for cancer cells that resist current treatments.

Dr Fay believes a fellowship program, where doctors concentrate solely on research rather than seeing patients, will allow advances to be made. "We've been hamstrung previously as most of us [the research team] work in the public health sector and there's just not enough time for research. This fellowship will free people up to do that."

It is understood that the Mark Hughes Foundation accepted many applications for the funding before deciding on Dr Fay.

"I've been involved with the Mark Hughes Foundation for a while," Dr Fay explains, "They're an amazing organisation and it's wonderful that this is happening in brain tumours, which have been a bit of a forgotten area."

Dr Fay and his team are currently carrying out their research at Newcastle's Calvary-Mater Hospital in collaboration with associates in Brisbane.

Image sources: HMRI and Mark Hughes Foundation websites