Now, stem cell therapy is increasingly on offer in many countries, including China, Germany and India.  Is Australia lagging behind international medical advances—or is this technology too new and unproven to be trusted? What motivates someone to travel abroad to try therapies that haven’t yet been fully tested in the lab? What lessons might be learned from people who travel abroad for reproductive therapies?

This RiAus talk from November 2011 explored the reality and potential for stem cell science, and looked at how long Australians may have to wait.

ABC Radio National’s Norman Swan and a panel of experts—Stephen Couche (Peter Couche Foundation), Simon Koblar (Robinson Institute), Megan Munsie, and Robert Norman (Robinson Institute)— weighed up the pros and cons of travelling abroad for experimental treatments.

Listen to panel discussion

Learn more about the RiAus lecture

Professor Debbie Lawlor

With Debbie Lawlor, Professor of Epidemiology, University of Bristol, UK

The association between pregnancy diabetes and having a heavier and fatter baby has been recognised for many decades.

There is good evidence that the mechanisms underlying this association are the free transfer of glucose across the placenta, which results in ‘overnutrition’ of the developing fetus and stimulates greater fetal insulin secretion that acts as a growth hormone, further increasing the size of the infant at birth.

The seminar will summarise current evidence related to the developmental overnutrition hypothesis and also introduce some novel methodological approaches to assessing causality, with an emphasis on the logic (and also limitations) behind these.

Date: Tuesday 24th January 2012, 4-5:30pm (registration from 3:45pm and networking from 5-5:30pm)

Venue: Napier Building, 102 Lecture Theatre, North Terrace Campus, University of Adelaide

Register online – http://lawlorseminar.eventbrite.com.au/

Download flyer

This event is co-hosted by the:

• Robinson Institute
• School of Population Health and Clinical Practice
• Healthy Development Adelaide

The article focuses on our innovative Stroke Research Program, lead by Associate Professor Simon Koblar (right), which is using adult stem cells from teeth as a potential therapy for brain repair in stroke victims. 

Research to date has indicated that dental pulp stem cells have an intrinsic ability to produce neurons (brain cells) and make a range of growth factors which are likely to help repair the brain.

Read full article

Learn more about supporting Stem Cell for Stroke Research through the Peter Couche Foundation

The study sought couples planning to become pregnant, or those less than 12 weeks pregnant.

Couples involved in the study underwent a blood test checking their folate, vitamin B and D levels, hormonal levels and immune system. A confidential dietary and medical health questionnaire was also completed and was able to be provided to the participants GPs on request. The researchers also examined any genes associated with blood clotting, which are known to cause pregnancy complications.

“The most common difficulties are miscarriage, preeclampsia (high blood pressure in pregnancy) and pre-term births. At present there is no way to predict which couples will develop these pregnancy problems,” Study Coordinator Dr Denise Furness says.

All of these can threaten the life of both mother and baby. Pre-term births alone can cost the healthcare system up to $5000 a day for neonatal intensive care and if a baby is born three months early it is a huge cost to the community, not to mention the parents’ emotional wellbeing.

The expected outcomes of the research are to be able to come up with diagnostics and tools to predict which couples are at risk of developing these adverse pregnancy outcomes.

“By learning more about risk factors we can help prevent and treat these problems for future pregnant women and their babies,” Denise says.

The PAPO study is coordinated through the Robinson Institute’s clincial trial facilities at the Women’s and Children’s and the Lyell McEwin Hospitals.

Learn more about the study

Click Here to watch a recent Channel 7 news segment about the predicting adverse pregnancy outcomes research

The 2009 South Australian Scientist of the Year for Public Good has an international reputation for leading the world’s largest research group into the causes of cerebral palsy, which affects more than 30,000 people in Australia.
 

Professor MacLennan and his team of researchers have recruited thousands of Australian families to provide cheek swabs and blood samples to help unravel the mystery of how genetic mutations are linked to cerebral palsy.

The study is the largest of its kind in the world and seeks to find genetic answers to a disability which affects the neuro-motor region of the brain at birth, resulting in poor muscle co-ordination and even quadriplegia.

Professor MacLennan has conducted feto-maternal research since 1970, is the author of more than 340 publications, books and scientific chapters and has also presented at hundreds of international conferences throughout his career.

Apart from his reputation as one of the world’s foremost cerebral palsy researchers, Professor MacLennan is also an international expert on menopause and women’s health.

He has received millions of dollars in Federal Government health funding for his research into both cerebral palsy and the role of hormone replacement therapy in treating menopausal symptoms.

Professor MacLennan heads the South Australian Cerebral Palsy Research Group, a multidisciplinary group headquartered at the University of Adelaide’s Robinson Institute, which collaborates with national and international researchers.

The Acting Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Adelaide, Professor Mike Brooks, says the Australia Day honour conferred on Professor MacLennan is “highly deserved recognition for a lifetime body of work”.

“Professor MacLennan has spent more than 40 years improving the standards of obstetrics and gynaecology around the world. In that time he has made significant breakthroughs in helping to pinpoint the causes of cerebral palsy, as well as making an outstanding contribution to women’s health.”

Congratulations Alastair!

Further information:

To learn more about Cerebral Palsy Research and how you can support the research of the Robinson Institute visit:

• www.RobinsonInstitute.edu.au
• www.RobinsonFoundation.org.au
• View Cerebral Palsy Video

Professor Sarah Robertson, Co-Director of the Robinson Institute’s Research Centre for Reproductive Health, has partnered with a Danish company to develop a product which improves IVF embryo implantation rates for some women by up to 40%.

In the world’s largest clinical trial on IVF media, Professor Robertson and ORIGIO a/s – a European company specialising in assisted reproductive technologies – have shown for the first time that growth factor molecules are critical to ensuring optimal embryo development.

The resulting product, EmbryoGen, to be released in 2011, contains a signalling molecule called GM-CSF found naturally in the mother’s tissues which protects the embryo from stress, making it stronger and more robust in the early implantation period.

The clinical trial, involving 1319 IVF patients exposed to either EmbryoGen or standard IVF embryo media, resulted in an average 20% improvement in embryo implantation rates at 12 weeks for all IVF women whose embryos developed in EmbryoGen. The effect is primarily due to benefits for women who had previously miscarried, who showed an impressive 40% increase in implantation success.

“This is a wonderful advance for couples undertaking IVF, particularly those who have previously lost babies in the first trimester,” Professor Robertson says.

It is also the culmination of more than two decades’ work for Professor Robertson, who based her PhD on the role of growth factors in healthy pregnancies and then worked with Swedish colleagues to explore applications in IVF embryos.

“This breakthrough has been 20 years in the making,” Professor Robertson says. “It’s enormously rewarding to see one’s basic research translate into practical outcomes that will benefit so many families”.

Read more..

Professor Julie Owens, has been awarded the University of Adelaide’s largest single project grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council of $891,732 to investigate the link between growth-restricted babies and diabetes and obesity in later life.

Associate Professor Michael Davies received an ARC Fellowship of $789,196 for his project ”Building child health through maternal wellbeing” and Professor Ray Rodgers received a $765,370 NHMRC Research Fellowship to help prevent and treat ovarian diseases, which are a major cause of infertility.

For more information on funding achievements visit the Robinson Institute web site

Date: Friday 3rd December 2010
Time: Commences 4:30pm – ENTRY FREE
Wine Maker: Tim Adams
Venue: National Wine Centre of Australia, Hackney Road, Adelaide

50c from each glass and $3 from each bottle sold will go to the Robinson Foundation to support the research of the Robinson Institute at the University of Adelaide!

The food… Complimentary Cheese Platters & Meze menu available

The wine… Celebrate the end of the week and enjoy a selection of sparklings, white and red wines. Make your way through the list and try something new or purchase a tasting flight, which includes a selection of wines.

The experience… For a true wine experience, Meet the maker, and enjoy a guided tasting of their wines – cost: $15 per person commencing at 5:00pm. Limited spaces, bookings essential.

For more information visit: http://www.wineaustralia.com.au/news/ or http://www.facebook.com/nationalwinecentre (under events)

The ISSHP was held in Melbourne, Australia from 3-6 October 2010. The congress featured the very latest in basic science and clinical research on hypertension in pregnancy and comprised workshops, scientific forums and scientific communications addressing the latest clinical controversies and research advances in the field.

I attended the pre-congress workshop on predicting preeclampsia using maternal plasma soluble Flt-1 (sFlt-1) and Placental Growth Factor (PlGF) in early pregnancy. This forum was attended by many experts in the field of research on preeclampsia and raised issues on new screening tests in predicting preeclampsia and the applicability of research findings in clinical practice. The workshop provided a comprehensive discussion on the role of sFlt-1/PlGF in predicting preeclampsia, early onset preeclampsia and severe preeclampsia. The workshop specifically reviewed the potential limitations of these biomarkers in a clinical setting and the future research requirements in selected areas. I found this discussion extremely useful for my PhD studies as my research focuses on genetic variations in these biomarkers and their potential role in predicting pregnancy complications.

The congress comprised 21 plenary lectures, 128 oral presentations in 28 concurrent sessions and 128 poster presentations in the field of hypertension in pregnancy. I submitted four abstracts to this congress and all four were selected for oral presentations. Furthermore, I won two awards at this congress.

1. The “Zuspan Award” – This was awarded for being judged to have undertaken and then presented the most outstanding work in Basic Science in relation to the study of hypertension in pregnancy. The award is named after Frederick P Zuspan a distinguished founding member and a Past President of ISSHP

2. “Young Investigator Award” – This was a Young Investigator Travel Award of which 54 were awarded to eligible researchers

Overall the conference provided latest knowledge from around the world on research in hypertension in pregnancy and provided the opportunity to meet international clinical and research leaders in the field.

Dr Rumbold, a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and a member of the Robinson Institute, has been awarded a 2010 Future Justice Medal for demonstrating leadership and initiative in Australia’s most disadvantaged sector.

For the past five years Dr Rumbold has worked with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, researching why indigenous women are more susceptible to reproductive cancers and other health problems.

Dr Rumbold said indigenous people faced health setbacks on a day-to-day basis, with sexually transmitted infections such as gonorrhoea and Chlamydia unacceptably high in Aboriginal communities, compounded by other health problems such as diabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome and obesity.

“These are all having a marked impact on the reproductive health of Aboriginal women, particularly in pregnancy outcomes,” Dr Rumbold said.

“Infertility, pelvic inflammatory disease and ongoing pelvic pain are the end result of these health issues and the tragedy is that most of these conditions are largely preventable,” she said.

The Director of the Robinson Institute, Professor Rob Norman, said Dr Rumbold demonstrated leadership and achievement “beyond her years” as a researcher.

Dr Rumbold is currently chief and associate investigator on several NHMRC grants that total more than $2.4 million and was South Australia’s Tall Poppy of the Year for 2009.

Story Candy Gibson for the Adelaidean, Nov 2010