World Parkinson’s day - “Not just motor symptoms”

Back row (L-R): Pakeeran Siriratnam, Kelly Bertram (Head), James

Strathdee, Melissa Tang. Front row (L-R): Mia Wu, Sue Varley

Monday 11 April was World Parkinson’s Day. This day is held annually to shine a spotlight on the lived experience of people with Parkinson’s Disease and their families to raise public awareness globally and also push forward future research to prevent and cure the disease.

Movement disorders clinicians and researchers in the Department of Neuroscience, Central Clinical School and Department of Neurology, Alfred Health participated in the day by wearing purple in their clinic and performing the hand gesture used for assessing one of the signs in Parkinson’s Disease.

MRFF Clinician-Researcher grant successes for CCS researchers

L-R: Prof Anne Holland, Prof Natasha Lannin &
Adj A/Prof Charles Pilgrim

Congratulations to Professors Anne Holland and Natasha Lannin, and to Adjunct Associate Professor Charles Pilgrim on their successful applications for MRFF Clinician-Researcher funding. A/Prof Pilgrim was successful earlier this year for this project under the MRFF RCRDUN scheme.  

See the Monash story, "Monash awarded $5.9m for rehabilitation research projects" for detail of Professors Lannin's and Holland's projects, and summaries below.

Leader in lymphoma bolsters Monash’s blood cancer research

Professor Con Tam

by Anne Crawford

When haematologist Professor Constantine (Con) Tam joined the Central Clinical School and The Alfred last month he brought with him a wealth of expertise in blood cancers, some Australia-firsts in treatments for them and a new vision for Monash University.

Professor Tam was recruited to become the inaugural Head of the Lymphoma Service at Alfred, a unit that will push the boundaries of treatment for the diverse forms of the disease.

Scientists expose the lethal link between irregular heartbeats and epilepsy

How it works: an implanted cardiac monitor records continuous ECG data, which is transmitted during follow-up visits at the cardiology clinic. The data are reviewed together with patient-reported seizures, giving a detailed clinical picture for tailoring preventive treatment. Schematic image: Dr Shobi Sivathamboo

Uncovering the mechanisms linking epilepsy and Alzheimer’s Disease with computational genetics

Study overview

by Dr Loretta Piccenna, Department of Neuroscience

People living with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) have an increased risk of developing seizures, in fact a 10-fold risk which grows higher in people with early onset or familial AD. Conversely, people with epilepsy have a high risk of developing dementia*, suggesting a bidirectional relationship between the two neurological diseases.

Researchers from the Kwan group within the Department of Neuroscience have found two synaptic signalling-associated modules driven by the SCN3B and EPHA4 genes and and two neurogenesis-associated modules driven by the GABRB3 and SCN2A to be dysregulated in brain tissue samples of people with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), indicating similar rewiring that may be involved in the molecular mechanisms.

Congratulations to Anne Holland on TSANZ appointment!

Professor Anne Holland

Congratulations to Professor Anne Holland, Head of the Department of Respiratory Research@Alfred in Central Clinical School, who has been appointed as the President-Elect for the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand (TSANZ). 

The TSANZ is the peak body representing health professionals and researchers working in respiratory medicine, with key roles in advancing clinical practice, research and advocacy for respiratory health in Australia and New Zealand. 

Prof Holland will be the first allied health professional to serve as President of TSANZ. She will serve a 2- year term as President, beginning in March 2023. 

29 Mar - 4 Apr 2022 Central Clinical School recent publications

Where dietary lifestyle management for primary care of people
living with multiple sclerosis is up to - no specific guidelines
exist and there is a need for evidence-based, consistent information.
AJGP article co-authored by Louise Rath and Anneke van der Walt.

Recent publications featuring research as notified by PubMed during 29 March - 4 April 2022 from Central Clinical School affiliated researchers in the following departments. The below is not a comprehensive list.

The most recent validated publications for the school and departments can be seen on their publications pages, linked to from the headings below. Otherwise, read down the entry for recent notifications.