Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Amla Enhances Autophagy And Modulates Beta Amyloid Metabolism In An In Vitro Model Of Alzheimer’S Disease, Elham Teimouri, Prashant Bharadwaj, Stephanie R. Rainey-Smith, Paul Fraser, Giuseppe Verdile, Ralph N. Martins

ECU Posters

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive, fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by extensive neuronal loss associated with increased accumulation of the beta amyloid (Aβ) protein. Reducing production, preventing aggregation and improving clearance of Aβare areas of active research in the development of therapeutic agents to ameliorate neurodegeneration in AD. The Indian plant amla (Emblicaofficinalis), commonly known as Indian gooseberry, has widely been utilized in traditional Ayurvedic medicine preparations in the treatment of a variety of disease conditions including cardiovascular disease and diabetes: accumulating evidence also suggests that amla may be beneficial in AD. Amla exhibits antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic mechanisms and …

The Association Between Environmental Cadmium Exposure And All-Cause Mortality And Cardiovascular Disease In A Cohort Of Elderly Western Australian Women, Kane Deering

Theses : Honours

Introduction: Recent research suggests an association between environmental cadmium exposure and increased risk of, and death from, cardiovascular disease, the number one cause of mortality in Australia and worldwide. However, the research to date is neither comprehensive nor have there been any studies conducted on an Australian population. This study identified whether increasing concentrations of urinary cadmium in elderly West Australian women was associated with an increased odds of incidence of, and deaths from CVD, as well as all-cause mortality.

Method: Cadmium excretion was measured in urine samples collected at baseline (1998) from 1359 women from Perth who …

Risk Factors Of Myopic Shift Among Primary School Children In Beijing, China: A Prospective Study, L.-J. Wu, Y.-X. Yang, Q.-S. You, J.-L. Duan, Y.-X. Luo, L.-J. Liu, X. Li, Q. Gao, H.-P. Zhu, Y. He, L. Xu, M.-S. Song, J.B. Jonas, X.-H. Guo, Wei Wang

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Objective: To evaluate factors associated with myopic shift among primary school children. Methods: In a one-year prospective school-based study, 5052 children from ten schools were enrolled using a multi-stage random cluster approach. The baseline examination included non-cycloplegic auto-refractometry and questionnaire interview. Measurements were repeated at the follow-up. Results: Among 5052 students at baseline investigated, 4292 students (85.0%) returned for the follow-up examination. The mean refractive error (-1.13±1.57 diopters) had changed -0.52±0.73 diopters from the baseline to the follow-up examination. 2170 (51.0%) had a rate of significant myopic shift (significant myopic shift is defined as the change of spherical equivalent of …

Butyrylated Starch Intake Can Prevent Red Meat-Induced O6-Methyl-2-Deoxyguanosine Adducts In Human Rectal Tissue: A Randomised Clinical Trial, Richard K. Le Leu, Jean M. Winter, Claus T. Christophersen, Graeme P. Young, Karen J. Humphreys, Ying Hu, Silvia W. Gratz, Rosalind B. Miller, David L. Topping, Anthony R. Bird, Michael A. Conlon

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Epidemiological studies have identified increased colorectal cancer (CRC) risk with high red meat (HRM) intakes, whereas dietary fibre intake appears to be protective. In the present study, we examined whether a HRM diet increased rectal O⁶-methyl-2-deoxyguanosine (O⁶MeG) adduct levels in healthy human subjects, and whether butyrylated high-amylose maize starch (HAMSB) was protective. A group of twenty-three individuals consumed 300 g/d of cooked red meat without (HRM diet) or with 40 g/d of HAMSB (HRM+HAMSB diet) over 4-week periods separated by a 4-week washout in a randomised cross-over design. Stool and rectal biopsy samples were collected for …

The Relationship Between The Halosperm Assay And Semen Analysis Performed According To The 4th And 5th Editions Of The World Health Organization Guidelines, Ashleigh Mcevoy, Peter Roberts, Kailin Yap, Phillip L. Matson

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Background: As a standard reference to evaluate male factor infertility, the majority of fertility laboratories use the 4th or 5th Editions of the World Health Organization’s semen analysis guidelines. Following the release of the 5th Edition, debate over its legitimacy has resulted in some laboratories using the 4th and others the 5th Edition. DNA integrity tests have been shown to be a valuable adjunct to semen analysis and have subsequently been adopted by many fertility laboratories. This study explored the prevalence of samples with high DNA fragmentation levels according to semen analysis categories using both the 4th and the 5th …

Amyloid-Related Memory Decline In Preclinical Alzheimer's Disease In Dependent On Apoe Ε4 And Is Detectable Over 18-Months, Christine Thai, Yen Ying Lim, Victor L. Villemagne, Simon Laws, David Ames, Kathryn A. Ellis, Stephanie Rainey-Smith, Ralph Martins, Colin L. Masters, Christopher C. Rowe, Paul Maruff, Australian Imaging, Biomarkers And Lifestyle (Aibl) Research Group

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

High levels of β-amyloid (Aβ) in the brain and carriage of the APOE ε4 allele have each been linked to cognitive impairment in cognitively normal (CN) older adults. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between cerebral Aβ level, APOE ε4 carrier status, and cognitive decline over 18 monthes, in 317 cognitively healthy (CN) older adults (47% males, 52.4% females) aged between 60 and 89 years (Mean = 69.9, SC = 6.8). Cognition was assessed using the Cogstate Brief Battery (CBB) and the California Verbal Learning Test, Second Edition (CVLT-II). Planned comparisons indicated that CN older adults …

Alzheimer's Disease Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers Are Not Influenced By Gravity Drip Or Aspiration Extraction Methodology, Alan Rembach, Lisbeth A. Evered, Qiao-Xin Li, Tabitha Nash, Lesley Vidaurre, Christopher J. Fowler, Kelly K. Pertile, Rebecca L. Rumble, Brett O. Trounson, Sarah Maher, Francis Mooney, Maree Farrow, Kevin Taddei, Stephanie Rainey-Smith, Simon Laws, S. Lance Macaulay, William Wilson, David G. Darby, Ralph N. Martins, David Ames, Steven Collins, Brendon Silbert, Colin L. Masters, James D. Doecke

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Introduction Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers, although of established utility in the diagnostic evaluation of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), are known to be sensitive to variation based on pre-analytical sample processing. We assessed whether gravity droplet collection versus syringe aspiration was another factor influencing CSF biomarker analyte concentrations and reproducibility. Methods Standardized lumbar puncture using small calibre atraumatic spinal needles and CSF collection using gravity fed collection followed by syringe aspirated extraction was performed in a sample of elderly individuals participating in a large long-term observational research trial. Analyte assay concentrations were compared. Results For the 44 total paired samples of gravity …

Inflamation And Oxidative Stress : The Molecular Connectivity Between Insulin Resistance, Obesity And Alzheimer's Disease, Guiseppe Verdile, Kevin N. Keane, Vinicius F. Cruzat, Sandra Medic, Miheer Sabale, Joanne Rowles, Nadeeja Wijesekara, Ralph Martins, Paul E. Fraser, Philip Newsholme

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Type 2 diabetes (T 2 DM), Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and insulin resistance are age-related conditions and increased prevalence is of public concern. Recent research has provided evidence that insulin resistance and impaired insulin signalling may be a contributory factor to the progression of diabetes, dementia, and other neurological disorders. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common subtype of dementia. Reduced release (for T 2 DM) and decreased action of insulin are central to the development and progression of both T 2 DM and AD. A literature search was conducted to identify molecular commonalities between obesity, diabetes, and AD. Insulin resistance …

Hclp46 Increases Smad3 Protein Stability Via Inhibiting Its Ubiquitin-Proteasomal Degradation, Yingying Xing, Qiaoyun Chu, Run Feng, Wei Wang, Lixin Liu, Zhongbing Lu

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

hCLP46 (human CAP10-like protein 46 kDa) was initially isolated and identified from human acute myeloid leukemia transformed from myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS-AML) CD34⁺ cells (Teng et al., 2006) and we demonstrated previously that hCLP46 is abnormally expressed in many hematopoietic malignancies (Wang et al., 2010). Studies fromits Drosophila homolog, Rumi, suggested that Notch is a potential target of hCLP46 (Acar et al., 2008). We also found that overexpression of hCLP46 enhances Notch activation and regulates cell proliferation in a cell type-dependent manner (Ma et al., 2011; Chu et al., 2013). However, hCLP46^−/− embryos show more severe phenotypes …

Saying ‘No’: A Biographical Analysis Of The Experiences Of Women With A Genetic Predisposition To Developing Breast/Ovarian Cancer Who Reject Risk Reducing Surgery, Doreen Molloy

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Background: Genetic technologies have identified some of the genes implicated in cancer susceptibility. Women with mutations in breast/ovarian cancer-susceptibility genes (BRCA1 and 2) have a lifetime combined risk of breast/ovarian cancer of more than 80%. Risk reducing surgery (RRS) reduces cancer risk by as much as 90% in high risk populations. Despite this, some BRCA1/2 mutation-positive women say no to RRS.

Purpose: To illuminate an understanding of why women at high risk of developing breast/ovarian cancer say no to risk reducing surgery (RRS).

Design: Denzin’s (1989) interpretive biography was combined with Dolby-Stahl’s (1985) literary folkloristic methodology to provide a contextualised …