(Formerly known as Central Clinical School)
Dr Emily Edwards shares how her work as a research scientist at the Alfred Hospital and Monash University is improving the health of Victorians.
After completing her PhD in Wales, Emily moved to Brisbane and research immune responses to viruses, then to Sydney to begin her Primary Immunodeficiency research. She joined Associate Professor Menno van Zelm's group in the Department of Immunology and Pathology in 2018 to continue her research in Primary Immunodeficiencies.
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| Image by Annie Jen, © The New Yorker |
Christine Keneally describes the experience of Rita Leggett, who has epilepsy, participated in a trial called Neurovista. An implant gave her to advance warning of impending seizures so she could ensure she was safe when they happened.
Prof Terry O'Brien is quoted: "Specialists know [a seizure] when they see one, he said, but ... nobody ha[s] come up with a unifying description. At the most basic level, he said, a seizure is a rogue electrical discharge, an oscillation that moves in time and space, a bit like a tornado. Understanding isn’t helped by the fact that epilepsy is not a single disease, but rather the brain’s response to a variety of pathologies. Consequently, people with epilepsy often struggle with other conditions."
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/04/26/do-brain-implants-change-your-identity
Like turning the bulky CD player into the Apple iPod, Monash University researchers have developed a small device that can perform molecular testing within minutes – making it possible to test people quickly outside traditional laboratories at the point-of-care/need.
Professor Patrick Kwan, from Monash University’s Central Clinical School, and Dr Tuncay Alan, from Monash University’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, have developed an ultra-portable, self-contained, nucleic acid amplification test device.
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| Why is the brain a major target for SARS-CoV2 infection? ACBD haematologists @dr_maithili & Prof Harshal Nandurkar hypothesise that it could be the cerebral endothelium (lining of the inner surface See their review article in Stroke |
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Donuts are don'tnuts, being high in pro-inflammatory compounds. A Monash led team has published research on not only how diet leads to chronic kidney disease, but also how diet can reverse the damage. A/Prof Melinda Coughlan explains: see video |
A recent study led by Monash University diabetes researchers has shown that a diet high in processed foods brings on leaky gut syndrome, which in turn increases the risk of kidney disease.
In particular, the findings revealed that certain harmful chemical compounds called Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs), triggered by a process called the Maillard reaction, switch on the body's danger signals leading to an inflammatory response and chronic kidney disease, but by introducing foods containing a specialised fibre, the effects can be improved.
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| COVID-19 transmission model. The study concludes that "The degree to which the US population can relax social distancing restrictions and face mask use will depend greatly on the effectiveness and coverage of a potential COVID-19 vaccine if future epidemics are to be prevented. Only a highly effective vaccine will enable the US population to return to life as it was before the pandemic." Or presumably any population. |
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| A/Prof Anne Abbott busts medical myths around stroke treatment in her Nature Reviews Cardiology paper |
A/Prof Abbott has an adjunct appointment in the Central Clinical School's Department of Neuroscience. She says misconceptions, or ‘furphies’, remain widespread, and their continued acceptance by medical practitioners is damaging people’s health and wasting billions of healthcare dollars around the world every year.
