Funding Awarded

Multi-markers risk assessment of kidney sensitivity to injury to personalize prevention of acute kidney injury "SpareKid"

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a life-threatening disease with high mortality characterized by an abrupt decrease of the kidney glomerular filtration rate, extra-kidney consequences (cardiovascular diseases, lung injury, neurological impairment) and high risk of secondary chronic kidney disease (CKD). The cost of AKI is very high and...

Co-creation of a cookery book - pathways to making changes in diet

Personalized nutrition is based on the idea that individualizing nutritional advice will be more effective than more generic approaches. Studies are showing successful outcomes by applying such methods. Our group has been involved in several human intervention studies where dietary advice is given to participants based on their...

Pandemic Resilience- translating knowledge for improved future pandemic preparedness.

Since 2015, the HRB-Irish Critical Care-Clinical Trials Network has established a research program in preparation for pandemics. As part of this, we assessed the barriers and developed solutions to conducting research during a future global pandemic. This work led to a coordinated Irish and global response to COVID-19 with a programme...

TAME-Translation: Translating the TAME cardiac arrest trial results to public, policy, clinicians and researchers.

People who survive sudden out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) usually require intensive care unit (ICU) treatment. The ‘TAME’ cardiac arrest trial, co-led by the Irish Critical Care-Clinical Trials Network (ICC-CTN), has just completed, including 1700 ICU patients from Ireland and 17 countries worldwide. TAME looked at a novel...

Retinal Dystrophy in Ciliopathies (RDCilia): modelling patient mutations to decipher disease mechanisms, interpret Variants of Uncertain Significance, and uncover therapeutics

Retinal dystrophies (RD) are inherited disorders characterised by degeneration of light sensing retinal cells (photoreceptors). Affecting approximately 2 million people worldwide, RD causes chronic and gradual sight loss. A major research issue is that RD is rarely investigated in the context of the gene mutations found in patients....

Long non-coding RNAs: regulators of epileptogenesis and potential targets for therapy

Temporal lobe epilepsy is the most common type of epilepsy in adults, with seizures being the major symptom although individuals with this disease may also have anxiety, depression and/or memory disturbances as a result of their condition. Temporal lobe epilepsy is very difficult to treat and about 30% of individuals with this type of...

Hepato-Flame: Studying the interaction of diet, obesity, microbial translocation and inflammatory pathways in hepatobiliary cancer development: A European prospective cohort study

In many world regions including Ireland, the incidence of liver cancer and nearby cancers of the biliary tract (together termed hepatobiliary cancers) is rising steadily, and these deadly cancers have limited available treatments. Increasing rates may be linked to obesity and other components of unhealthy lifestyles which cause...

Neutrophil Plasticity in Infection and Inflammation

Neutrophils make up 40-60% of all white blood cells. They arrive as the first cell type wherever viral, bacterial, or fungal infections occur, or when tissue damage and injury happen. In severe and longer lasting incidents neutrophil numbers go up due to increased release from the bone marrow. Neutrophils detect, swallow up and destroy...

A realist process evaluation of an intervention to promote competencies in interprofessional collaboration among interdisciplinary integrated care teams for older people

Government policy in Ireland recognises the importance for older people to live well in their homes and their communities. This means that the right healthcare is available for older people and their family carers in their communities as and when they need it. The government have a plan to develop healthcare teams called Integrated...

PRedicting Onset, Variation and Effect of treatment in Rheumatoid Arthritis (PROVE-RA)

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common, autoimmune disease affecting synovial joints that may result in cartilage damage, joint destruction, and disability. Treatments available for patients with RA have improved a lot over the last two decades with the result that many patients will go into remission. However, a significant number of...

Discovering and modulating mechanisms by which Peptidylglycine alpha-Amidating Monooxygenase (PAM) influences the risk of genetically inherited tissue damage in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a disease in which the immune system attacks the body and affects around 50,000 people in Ireland. This results in swollen and painful joints, which can be severely debilitating. The underlying cause is a mixture of nature (genetics) and nurture (environment). The genetic site rs26232 has been found to be...

"Euro Public Health + Consortium: reaching the future through research partnerships"

"Dublin 2023: First joint Euro Public Health + Consortium research seminar: reaching the future through research partnerships": 

The European Public Health Plus program is an intercultural, multidisciplinary master's degree in public health delivered by eight European universities (EHESP School of Public Health, Andalusian...

Neurodevelopmental ciliopathies: a multimodel approach from molecular mechanisms to patients variant interpretation and treatment strategies "NDCil"

Nervous system malformation and neurodevelopmental defects (ND) are common hallmark features of genetically inherited diseases called ciliopathies. All ciliopathies are caused by abnormalities in tiny hair-like extensions called primary cilia (Cil), which are found on the surface of most cell types, including neuronal and glial cells....

UCD Clinical Research Centre

No summary available

Uncovering the neural architecture underlying decisions abstracted from movements

Decision making is a core component of normal and abnormal cognitive function. Understanding the neural mechanisms of decision-making will lead to advances in the diagnosis, classification and future treatments of disorders affecting thought and control. Mathematical models of the decision process, based on bounded evidence...

Randomised controlled trial of reduced versus standard volume platelet transfusion in preterm babies with thrombocytopenia (with add-on studies to explore mechanisms of harm)

Platelets are cells which help blood clot but they also have other effects such as directing pathways of inflammation.  Premature babies often have low platelets, particularly if they have an infection or bowel inflammation. Doctors give platelet transfusions because they think that this prevents bleeding but there is no evidence...

European Blood Pressure Intensive Control after Stroke-Pilot trial (EPICS-Pilot)

Stroke is the second leading cause of death, the leading cause of new disability and a major contributing cause of dementia and healthcare costs in the world. About one-third of recovered stroke survivors will have second stroke or heart attack by 5 years. High blood pressure (hypertension) is the leading treatable condition...

Randomised Placebo-Controlled Trial of Early Targeted Treatment of Patent Ductus Arteriosus with Paracetamol in Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants

Patent Ductus Arteriosus (PDA) is common in newborn infants, especially premature infants. During pregnancy, the Ductus Arteriosus is an open channel between the two main blood vessels coming from the baby's heart. After birth it usually closes during the first few days. For very premature babies it may take longer to close, or may not...

Building research capacity, harnessing data and strengthening health systems to improve outcomes in community emergency & unscheduled care in Ireland

This research project aims to improve systems of community emergency care by focusing on a condition called Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA). OHCA is an emergency where a person’s heart suddenly stops pumping blood around the body. It happens without warning, often because of an abnormal heart rhythm. In Ireland 2500 people suffer...

Hip fracture outcome recording and geographic equality

Hip fracture is a serious event in the lives of older people with around one in five individuals dying in the first year after their injury and many more losing their independence. Currently in Ireland, little is known about how people recover in the longer-term after hip fracture and many do not receive routine follow-up. In the last...

Food-based biomarkers, diet quality and cardiometabolic health

Accurate assessment of human diet is the cornerstone of nutritional epidemiology. Biomarkers that are sensitive and specific to food intake can provide objective information that improves the characterization of diet. Advances in metabolomic profiling techniques now permit the discovery of novel food biomarkers, although, thus far,...

Embedding collective leadership to foster collaborative inter-professional working in the care of older people (Eclectic)

Recent government policy in Ireland has emphasised the importance of supporting older people to live well in their homes and communities. This would mean fewer older people will have to go to hospitals to receive health care. In order to do this it is necessary for healthcare professionals to work as a team to manage the care of...

Evaluation of the clinical, psychological and economic effects of the Cystic Fibrosis Newborn Screening Programme: the Irish Comparative Outcomes Study of CF (ICOS) Part 2

This is a national programme of research which addresses key outcomes in the recently established Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Newborn Screening programme (NBS). Ireland has the highest prevalence of CF worldwide. NBS for CF was introduced in 2011. The Irish Comparative Outcome Study (ICOS) Part I was conducted in 2013-2017 and studied...

Switching on the light: Reprogramming T cell metabolism for novel HIV Cure interventions

With 37 millions people currently living with HIV and 2.6 million people newly infected worldwide, the AIDS pandemic is a global health crisis. In Ireland, the HSE and the HSPC have made HIV/AIDS "a notifiable disease and a major public health importance". 30 years of intense HIV/AIDS research have provided efficient antiretroviral...

NK cell RESTORE - Can GLP-1 therapy restore tumour immunity in severely obese patients?

Obesity has recently over taken smoking as the number one cause of preventable deaths worldwide. This is because obesity causes many serious diseases such as heart disease and cancer. Recent reports suggest that up to 50% of all cancers are now due to obesity. Obesity is linked to cancer through many avenues from inflammation, hormonal...

COIchine for prevention of Vascular Inflammation in Non-CardioEmbolic stoke- a randomised clinical trial of low-dose colchicine for secondary prevention of Stroke. European and Canadian extension

Inflammation of the lining of arteries is an important factor contributing to clots,leading to heart attacks and strokes.Current studies are testing medicines traditionally used for inflammation of joints (arthritis) to prevent strokes and heart attacks. One such clinical trial has shown that an anti-inflammatory drug used for...

A prospective, multicentre, randomised, double-blind placebo-controlled, phase III trial of EPOetin alfa vs, placebo in critically ill TRAUMA patients

Trauma-a major public health problem

Trauma is a global health problem with estimates of more than five million deaths per year (WHO). Trauma includes road traffic accidents, falls, assaults and crush injuries. Patients who suffer major trauma are often critically ill and require breathing support. Despite...

The GENIE fellowship: Gauging the Effectiveness of Novel computer-support technologies for Implementing Evidence in healthcare

Healthcare professionals must keep pace with a rapidly growing knowledge base. By 2020, the quantity of medical evidence is expected to double every 73 days. Typically, healthcare professionals leverage 'systematic review' articles to tackle this issue. A systematic review is a consolidated summary of evidence that healthcare...

The APART Study Public Participation Initiative for Knowledge Exchange

The APART Study is exploring an important, low-cost intervention that may limit bone loss associated with initiation of antiretroviral therapy to treat HIV. Results from this trial may have significant implications for how HIV is managed both in Ireland and internationally. We will use this KEDS award to develop a research partnership...

TeamTalk: Interactive Resource Hub for Healthcare Teams

Healthcare teams who are interested in improving how they work together to deliver better patient care often struggle to find the time to learn and implement new practices. Teams rarely have the opportunity to attend training courses or other learning events together. This makes it difficult to transfer their newly acquired knowledge...

Access to primary and emergency care for children with intellectual disabilities: utilisation, decision making, parental preferences and disparities

The aim of this research is to learn about the inequalities faced by children with intellectual disabilities (ID) in Ireland in relation to healthcare and to find out the reasons why these inequalities occur. In many other countries around the world, children with ID do not receive the same standard of healthcare as children without...

Multi-Domain Lifestyle Targets for Improving ProgNOsis in Huntington?s Disease

Huntington?s Disease (HD) is a progressive, life-limiting neurodegenerative disease. It has devastating consequences for the individual and their families. No current treatment to modify the course of the disease exists. Improved evidence-based symptom assessment is crucial to optimising disease management. This project aims to...

How can a multi-disciplinary prescribing strategy support appropriate prescribing of oral nutritional supplements (ONS) by Irish general practitioners (GPs)?

Malnutrition is a major burden to the Irish health service as malnourished patients have poorer health and are more expensive to treat than patients who are well-nourished. The annual cost of healthcare associated with malnutrition is approximately €1.4 billion in Ireland (10% of our total healthcare budget). Oral nutritional...

Cancer Prevention Fellowship 2018

Research Programme for mid-career researchers working in Republic of Ireland (RoI) to become NCI Cancer Prevention Fellows at the prestigious National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the USA.
This programme provides training at post-doctorate level from the health professions, biomedical, and behavioural sciences to become leaders in the...

How can mental health services and primary care best collaborate to enhance physical health outcomes among patients presenting with first episode of psychosis? A mixed methods study

For people who experience a first episode psychosis, this is a critical event in their life. If they do not receive the appropriate treatment at an early stage of the illness, they will experience potentially serious health consequences - both physical and mental. Good collaboration between specialist mental health services and primary...

Family carer knowledge exchange project

We are interested in how family carers of people with dementia develop and maintain resilience in the care giving role and we are designing a project to help family carers to be more resilient and to better cope with the demands of care giving. As a team of researchers, we have reviewed studies of family carers'experiences in other...

Non-motor symptoms in dystonia and musician's dystonia

Our multidisciplinary Irish Dystonia Research Group, combining the expertise of Bioengineers in Trinity College Dublin and a network of Clinical Neurologists, has been working to determine the cause of a disabling movement disorder, adult onset dystonia, characterised by abnormal postures and excessive muscle activity. The causes of...

Speaking Up About Safety (SUAS)

Speaking up about safety concerns is an important aspect of a healthcare professional's role. Our research has shown that in comparison to nurses, junior doctors are particularly poor at speaking up and tend not to report incidents and adverse events, in many cases because they believe it is not their responsibility to do so. Yet, a...

Targeting adipose tissue inflammation by intermittent hypoxia: towards personalised medicine in obstructive sleep apnoea

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a very frequent condition, which is strongly linked with obesity and associated with the development of various heart conditions, such as high blood pressure, heart attack or stroke. It also leads to diseases which are associated with abnormalities in blood glucose levels, such as type 2 diabetes...

Alpha melanocyte stimulatory hormone and improvements in glucose tolerance in humans: Role of enhanced skeletal muscle glucose uptake and utilisation

Patients with diabetes show significant impairements in the control of blood levels of nutrients such as sugars and fats after eating. This causes excessive levels of nutrient to circulate (e.g. high blood sugar-hyperglycaemia) and over time this phenomenon can injure cells and tissues of the body resulting in complications such as...

Targeting HIV persistent reservoirs: Evaluation of new classes of latency reversing agent as part of novel strategies for HIV cure approaches

With 37 millions people currently living with HIV and 2.6 million people newly infected worldwide, the AIDS pandemic is a global health crisis. In Ireland, the HSE and the HSPC have made HIV/AIDS "a notifiable disease and a major public health importance". 30 years of intense HIV/AIDS research have provided efficient antiretroviral...

Gastric cancer risk: The influence of selenium status and selenoprotein genetic variation

Dietary and lifestyle factors and infection with the bacterium Helicobacter pylori play important roles in the development of different types of stomach (gastric) cancer (GC), one of the top ten most serious cancers in Europe. Selenium is a micronutrient needed in small amounts for important proteins, called selenoproteins, countering...

Skin in Parkinson's disease - a potential biomarker?

Parkinsonism is characterized by slowness, stiffness, tremor and poor balance. Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive, incurable neurological disease and the most common cause of Parkinsonism. PD is caused by a reduced level of a chemical (dopamine) in an area of the brain responsible for automatic movement control. Current...

Epigenetics in the pathogenesis of pseudoexfoliation glaucoma

Glaucoma is a common cause of blindness, which affects approximately 60 million people worldwide. There are many causes and risk factors for developing this disease but pseudoexfoliation (PXF) syndrome is currently the single most important identifiable risk factor for developing glaucoma (PXFG). A build up of certain proteins...

PPI Ignite Award - University College Dublin

UCD in collaboration with 10 partner organisations will develop a PPI network and resource platform called UCD PPI Ignite Connect that will seek to firmly embed patient and public involvement in UCD's research,learning and teaching activities and in its academic processes. The partner organisations include the Ireland East Hospital...

Children's unscheduled primary and emergency care in Ireland: decision making, trends, outcomes and parental perspectives (CUPID)

The Irish healthcare system is partly publicly funded by government spending and partly privately funded by out-of-pocket payments and private health insurance. Universal healthcare coverage is a situation where all people who need health services receive them, without undue financial hardship, based on need, not income. In 2011 the...

Colchine for prevention of vascular inflammation in non-cardioembolic stroke (CONVINCE) - a randomised clinical trial of low-dose colchicine for secondary prevention of stroke. Northern Europe extension

Inflammation of the lining of arteries is an important factor contributing to clots, leading to heart attacks and strokes. Current studies are testing medicines traditionally used for inflammation of joints (arthritis) to prevent strokes and heart attacks. CONVINCE is a clinical trial, testing colchicine in low doses, a medicine used...

Promoting Assisted Decision Making in Acute Care Settings (PADMACS) for care planning purposes

This project aims to produce an educational interactive game which will support health and social care professionals working in acute hospitals to include their patients in decisions about treatment and care plans. Decision-making capacity is the ability to make decisions for one-self. In some cases an older person may experience...

Targeted therapeutic mild hypercapnia after resuscitated cardiac arrest: A phase III multi-centre randomised controlled trial

A cardiac arrest occurs when the heart stops pumping blood to the brain and other major organs. Approximately 10,000 people die from cardiovascular disease every year in Ireland. It is estimated that 5,000 of these deaths are from a sudden cardiac arrest. Early resuscitation (CPR) can get the heart pumping again but in many cases the...

Patients'satisfaction in a nurse-led oral chemotherapy clinic

No summary available

Application of state of the art raman chemical imaging and chemometrics to accelerate and improve patient prostate biopsy assessment for cancer.

A pathologists' task in assessing a prostate biopsy for cancerous tissue is of prime importance since failure to correctly identify tissue can lead to a failure to accurately diagnose the patient and predict their likely prognosis. Histological staining assists in the assessment of prostate biopsies by making important features of the...

Developing the oncology practice context for pain assessment and pain registration in Ireland: an action research project

Pain is one of the most prevalent symptoms of patients with cancer, which hampers daily activities and quality of life. Systematic pain assessment and documentation using a validated pain assessment tool at each visit in patients with cancer are key recommendations in the most recent clinical practice guidelines on cancer pain...

To determine how the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines for tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors (AIs) can be adapted to address the symptom burden for women with breast cancer in the follow up phase of treatment, who are receiving care in the North East of Ireland

No summary available

Building a risk calculator to inform prostate cancer diagnosis

Patients and clinicians are faced with the dilemmas associated with the detection and treatment of Prostate cancer. One such dilemma is in the early stages of diagnosis when men are referred by their GP for suspicion of prostate cancer but it is not clear if they need a biopsy or not. This is because PSA in not specific for prostate...

Institutional Strategic Support Fund (ISSF)

The Wellcome Trust ISSF scheme will help UCD's researchers to overcome systemic barriers to career and network development that will unlock future research potential within the University and beyond. The fund will support outstanding research in biomedical sciences, clinical sciences and the medical humanities that will enable UCD to...

SAFE: Systematic Approach to improving care for Frail Elderly patients

Much recent attention has focused on the problem of older people being treated in overcrowded emergency departments. Studies have clearly demonstrated an association between hospitalisation in older people and poorer outcomes, including loss of independence, admission to long-term care and mortality. Frailty, a state of increased...

Anti-inflammatory therapy for preventing stroke and other vascular events after ischaemic stroke or transient ischaemic attack

To systematically review the randomised clinical trials evaluating anti-inflammatory medications plus standard medical therapy for the prevention of recurrent vascular events after ischaemic stroke / transient ischaemic attack compared with standard medical therapy.

Uncovering the role of ER-shaping proteins in neurodegenerative disease

WT Scheme: Seed Award in Science

Hereditary spastic paraplegias (HSPs) are a group of neurodegenerative disorders characterised by degeneration of the longest motor neurons which leads to muscle weakness and spasticity in the lower limbs. There are currently no treatments to cure or even to slow the course ofthese diseases. In...

An investigation of the mechanisms lining C5orf30 with tissue damage in RA

Around 40,000 Irish people have rheumatoid arthritis (RA), around half being adults of working age. Advances in our understanding of the how joint inflammation develops in RA have resulted in greatly improved treatments with improved outcomes for most patients, particular those with severe disease. Despite these remarkable achievements...

The ExACT Trial

Exercise therapy is a well established, effective treatment for individuals with chronic pain and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a promising new approach in the management of chronic pain. ACT helps people with chronic pain to focus on awareness of personal values and promotes activity that will enhance their quality of...

Towards personalised therapy in stricturing crohn's disease- exploring and exploiting the role of NADPH oxidase in intestinal fibrosis

Crohn's disease, a member of the family of inflammatory bowel diseases, causes inflammation throughout the digestive tract and frequently results in fibrosis (scarring) of the intestine, which will cause narrowing and ultimately bowel obstruction. Available treatments can dampen the inflammation, but do not prevent fibrosis. It is...

Translational analyses of ingestive behavior after gastric bypass

Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) decreases appetite, caloric intake, glycemia, and body weight, all of which are maintained long-term. It is controversial whether, after RYGB, patients choose to eat less highfat and sugary foods in favor of lower energy dense alternatives. If true, this could conceivably contribute to improved glycemia...

Attenuation of exaggerated post-prandial gut hormone response: A novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of excessive weight loss among disease-free post-oesophagectomy patients

There is increasing incidence of cancer of the oesophagus (the gullet or swallowing tube). Improvements to treatment strategies for oesophageal cancer have produced an increasing population of patients who remain free from the disease recurrence in the long-term. Optimising long-term outcomes for these patients after treatment...

Integrative genomic, epigenetic and functional studies in diabetic kidney disease

Kidney disease is a common and devastating complication of diabetes, and represents a major public health problem worldwide. The inherited, genetic factors that play a role in determining who will get this complication are beginning to be discovered, creating opportunities to understand the underlying biological basis of diabetic...

PAPRICA: Protein biomarker assays for psoriatic arthritis - Clinical evaluation and validation of multiplexed panels for diagnosis and prognosis

During the treatment and management of disease important clinical decisions are made, including deciding whether a patient has a particular illness and whether they may benefit from a specific treatment. These decisions are often made with the assistance of information from different measurements including patient details, scans,...

SOLAS.net: Development and pilot implementation of an e-learning physiotherapist training programme for self-management of chronic musculoskeletal pain in primary care

As part of the original award, an evidence-supported group treatment approach for clients with persistent musculoskeletal pain termed SOLAS: Self-management of Osteoarthritis and Low back pain through Activity and Skills was developed. Also, a two day face-to-face physiotherapist training programme was developed and delivered to HSE...

Irish Dystonia Research Group: Innovation through collaboration

Our research group of Irish consultant neurologists (with an interest in movement disorders) and laboratory based scientists (engineers in the Department of Neural Engineering in Trinity College Dublin) have been involved in finding the cause(s) of a movement disorder which affects about 600-800 individuals in Ireland. This...

Enhancing awareness of the socio-economic impact of inherited blindness

In Ireland, many devastating diseases have an inherited cause and are passed onto further generations. Blindness due to inherited degeneration of the retina at the back of the eye is an excellent case-study with which to explain the basis of inherited disease, the socio-economic impact and the research required to generate new...

Enhancing awareness of blindness resulting from diabetes. Understanding treatments & preventative interventions

In Ireland, Diabetic Retinopathy is a leading cause of blindness. The number of people becoming blind due to diabetes is set to rapidly increase as the "diabetes epidemic" unfolds. In general, there is a lack of awareness as to the social, economic and health impact of diabetic blindness.
Here, we generate short 3D-animations that...

Development of The STOP-HF network for community based prevention of Heart Failure

STOPHFnet will create a virtual community of practice which will utilize the results of research from our HRB funded Natural History of Diabetic Cardiomyopathy grant to allow rapid dissemination to general practitioners in the community. This is particularly timely as diabetes will for the first time be nationally managed by GPs under...

Thrombosis risk in pregnancy: what you need to know

Venous thromboembolism (VTE; deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism) remains a leading cause of death in pregnant and recently delivered women. Surviving mothers may have long-term disability. If VTE risk factors are identified, then preventative measures may be put in place . These interventions can be potentially life-saving....

Translating critical care research into clinical practice

We are currently funded by the HRB to conduct clinical trials to determine which treatments may help patients who are critically ill. We have recently completed important research and the results will be published in a highly regarded medical journal in October. However it can take a long time between publication and improvements in...

A user-friendly database of genetic dependencies in cancer

A major challenge in cancer therapeutics is to kill tumour cells without harming other cells in the body. One means to achieve this is to exploit the genetic changes that distinguish cancer cells from normal cells and that may leave them vulnerable to targeted treatments.
A promising approach to developing such targeted treatments...

Towards treatment stratification for successful smoking cessation: Harnessing predictive neurocognitive models

Smoking is the single biggest preventable cause of death in Ireland. There are many reasons why someone might remain addicted to nicotine and many factors affecting each individual's response to withdrawal. For example, socioeconomic status, gender or life stress can all play a role. Ultimately, nicotine has its effects by altering...

Professional interventions to improve the detection of depression among adolescents in primary care

Depression is common in adolescence - studies show that 3% - 8% of adolescents suffer from depression at any one time, and that there is a lifetime prevalence of approximately 20% by the end of adolescence, which is similar to that of adulthood. Adolescent depression is associated with considerable impairment in social, academic and...

Connected HEalth Supporting home Stay with dementia (CHESS)

Dementia is an umbrella term for a condition in older people where memory loss, deterioration in mental function and ability to make decisions or carry out activities of daily life independently and safely occurs. When dementia progresses, care in a nursing home may be necessary, but most people with dementia and their caregivers want...

Towards resilience in family caregiving for people with dementia

Dementia affects almost 47,000 adults in Ireland. Dementia affects a person's mental and social abilities, including the ability to think clearly, remember, form lasting relationships and has a subsequent decline in physical health. Most people with dementia are cared for at home by a family member. Caring for someone with dementia can...

Collective leadership and safety cultures (CO-LEAD)

There is a growing body of evidence of how poor leadership has contributed to system failures that have resulted in a range of errors from misdiagnoses to failure to recognise and respond to patient deterioration. A key challenge for healthcare organisations is to develop and support cultures that ensure the delivery of continuously...

The Irish Stroke Clinical Trials Network

Background: Stroke is the second leading cause of death in the world, leading cause of new disability, and a major cause of dementia and health costs. Stroke Research Networks have been established in the UK, North America, and Australia, leading to improvements in stroke treatments.
Aim: We aim to set up a Stroke Clinical Trials...

HRB Ireland Perinatal Clinical Trials Network

This application to support an all-island of Ireland clinical trial network for mothers and babies represents a new and exciting collaboration between two established research groups; the Irish Centre for Fetal and neonatal Translational Research (INFANT) and Perinatal Ireland. The main aim of INFANT is to develop novel therapies and...

Cancer Prevention Fellowship

Research Programme in Cancer Prevention and Control

Irish Primary Care Trials Network (IPC Trials Network)

Primary care, provided mainly by your local general practitioner (GP), is the first port of call for most patients when sick, and is where over 90% of all health problems can be addressed. GPs and their team make decisions every day on how best to treat each patient they meet. It is important that GPs can draw on firm evidence to make...

Improving outcomes after critical illness

Doctors, nurses and scientists in Ireland who work with critically unwell patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) have come together so that they can find new treatments for patients in Ireland. A group like us working in Australia, discovered simple treatments that have saved lives while reducing costs (by over half a billion...

Exploring clinical learning environments for postgraduate medical education and training

After graduation from medical school, doctors continue to train under the supervision, for several years, until they are ready to practice independently. These trainee doctors learn while they work, providing care to patients. Their working environments, therefore, need to support learning. It is difficult for those charged with the...

Neuroexercise: The effects of an extensive exercise program on the progression of mild cognitive impairment (MCI)

Joint Programme on Neurodegenerative Disease (JPND)

A lack of physical exercise plays a major role in the pathophysiology of vascular, metabolic, and metastatic diseases. Regular physical exercise has been successfully proven to counteract this deconditioning. Human and animal studies have demonstrated that regular...

Neuroexercise: The effects of an extensive exercise program on the progression of mild cognitive impairment (MCI)

Joint Programme on Neurodegenerative Disease (JPND)

A lack of physical exercise plays a major role in the pathophysiology of vascular, metabolic, and metastatic diseases. Regular physical exercise has been successfully proven to counteract this deconditioning. Human and animal studies have demonstrated that...

Imbuing Medical Professionalism (IMP)

This project aims to encourage and support medical graduates to become good doctors. Medical professionalism is essentially a set of values, enacted through behaviours and relationships, which underpin the public's trust in doctors. Employers and healthcare organisations govern the settings where doctors train and work and they have a...

Methods to improve physical health and their efficacy and effectiveness in people with schizophrenia: An overview of Cochrane and non-Cochrane systematic reviews

Schizophrenia has been termed the "abandoned illness'' (http://www.schizophreniacommission.org.uk/) and can be a devastating diagnosis for individuals, their families and carers. Over time this disease can cause a significant erosion of physical health and well-being. As well as the human suffering associated with this
illness,...

Can implementation of an emergency department monitoring and escalation protocol of adult patients in a large teaching hospital reduce the number of critical incidents and improve timely intervention in patients requiring a high level of care and improve

The HIQA Report on the investigation into the quality, safety and governance of the care provided by Tallaght Hospital for patients requiring acute admission has recommended that an Emergency Department-specific system of physiological monitoring and triggered responses comparable to the National Early Warning Score (NEWS) should be...

Supporting work participation through early intervention in patients with regional MSK pain

Background: Patients with regional musculoskeletal pain (RMSKP) are at risk for work disability and instability and associated social and financial deprivation. Early intervention targeting prevention of work disability has potential to enhance patient outcomes and the effectiveness of care, with positive spill over effects for...

Interventions for fatigue in inflammatory bowel disease

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) represents a group of chronic, progressive, complex
inflammatory disorders of the digestive tract, with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis the two most commonly recognised forms of IBD. These debilitating diseases are characterised by periods of relapse and remission, where...

Botulinum toxin for sialorrhea in people with Parkinson's disease

The objectives of this review are to establish the efficacy and safety of BoNT aimed at reducing sialorrhea in people with PD and to provide the best evidence to inform clinical practice. Furthermore the review aims to identify clear directions for future clinical trials and intervention studies in this area.

Use of fresh frozen plasma to prevent intraventricular haemorrage in premature neonates

Premature infants are at risk of a range of morbidities which impact significantly on prognosis and outcome,
including intraventricular haemorrhage, sepsis and DIC. Advances in neonatal care have led to improved survival rates of VLBW and ELBW infants, but they remain at risk of morbidity and mortality associated with IVH and other...

Different insulin types and regimens for pregnant women with pre-existing diabetes

Diabetes is the most common pre-existing medical condition complicating pregnancy. Pregnant women with pre-existing type 1 or type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) are at an increased risk of several adverse maternal, fetal and neonatal complications including preterm delivery, pre-eclampsia, macrosomia, intra-uterine death as well as cardiac,...

Parent training to promote spoken language in preschool children with Down Syndrome

This review aims to systematically inspect the current evidence for parent training aimed at improving the spoken language skills of preschool children with Down syndrome. Experts in the field of Down syndrome argue that "speech and language therapy is the most important part of intervention services for children with Down...

Irish cancer survivors' knowledge and perceptions of their lifestyle risk factors for cancer

The cancer landscape is changing and the picture emerging is a complex one that recognizes that some types of cancer are preventable. Empiric research has identified a number of lifestyle risk factors for cancer. Previous international and Irish research has explored the public's knowledge of cancer lifestyle risk, but to our knowledge...

Pneumococcal vaccination for prevention of Streptococcus pneumoniae in HIV infected persons

The purpose of this review is to determine the efficacy and effectiveness of the pneumococcal vaccine as well as different vaccine schedules in HIV-infected individuals (over the age of 2 years) in preventing pneumonia, bacteremia and death. Primarily, this review will study the quality of the evidence base for pneumoccal vaccine...

The cognitive thalamus: more than a relay.

WT Scheme: Investigator Award in Science.

How do brain circuits support different but complementary aspects of event memory? The answer lies in distributed networks across the medial temporal lobe, prefrontal cortex and parietal cortex. Via their widespread connectivity, nuclei within the rostral thalamus support these memory...

The impact of genetic heterogeneity on synthetic lethality in cancer

WT Scheme: Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowship

Synthetic lethal interaction occurs when the function of one gene only becomes essential for viability in the presence of a mutation in another gene. In cancer treatment this phenomenon can be exploited to selectively kill tumour cells that have specific genetic mutations....

Inequalities in access to GP care in Ireland: An analysis using longitudinal data

The principle of equal treatment for equal need is a key component of health policy. However, Irish and international evidence shows that factors other than health need are important in determining healthcare use. For example, there is extensive evidence that those who must pay for general practitioner (GP) care have fewer visits than...

Genetic basis of reflux nephropathy-related hypertension and renal failure in children

Vesicoureteric reflux (VUR) is the backflow of urine from the bladder towards the kidneys. It is a common disorder in children, but is often not diagnosed because it may have no symptoms. In some children, it stops happening as they grow, and they suffer no ill effects. However, it can be associated with kidney damage, and is a major...

The CHARMS Intervention to improve sexual assessment and counselling in hospital cardiac rehabilitation: A pilot study

Sexual problems are particularly common among people with cardiovascular disease, and have been shown to negatively impact quality of life, psychological wellbeing (anxiety and depression) and relationship satisfaction.

A prospective assessment of the biological burden of stress in caregivers: Impact on cognitive performance, mood and the benefits of mindfulness

The age structure of the population in Ireland is changing rapidly and the HSE predicts that the 65+ year old age group will contribute 20% of the population by the year 2036. Already, nearly 5% of the population are engaged as caregivers for ill elderly relatives and this is particularly stressful for those whose spouses or parents...

INCA SUn: A prospective randomised multicentre study to optimise the management of symptomatically uncontrolled asthma.

Inhalers are used in the treatment of patients with severe asthma. About 10% of people with asthma fail to achieve control of their asthma symptoms with inhalers. These patients with severe asthma, are often treated with extra medications or have severe attacks. One reason why these patients may not achieve control of their asthma is...

Examining the effects of S1P receptor drugs in Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimers disease (AD) represents one of the major brain illnesses that we now face. Treatments against this disease are limited and offer little in terms of cure. With the global population age now rising, AD is suggested to affect 1 in every 3 people. If left untreated, AD has potential to bring about collapse in healthcare,...

The heme oxygenase system as a therapeutic intervention for psoriasis

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that causes cells to build up rapidly on the surface of the skin, forming thick silvery scales that become itchy, dry and sometimes painful. Current treatments for psoriasis depend on disease severity and include topical ointments, light therapy and systemic medications which are...

HRB Centre for Primary Care Research

The HRB Centre for Primary Care Research (CPCR- www.hrbcentreprimarycare.ie) is focussing on improving the quality and safety of medicines to vulnerable patient groups in Ireland, building upon observational epidemiology completed and published during the first phase of funding. Information and Communication Technology (ICT)...

Single blind randomised trial of supportive text messages for patients with alcohol use disorder and a comorbid depression

Most patients who present with problem drinking also present with mood problems. Problem drinking and mood problems co-occurring together in individuals lead them to have more severe symptoms, greater disability and poorer quality of life than individuals with only problem drinking, and they pose a greater economic burden to society...

Functional as well as structural brain connectivity and epigenetic changes in major depressive disorder associated with remission and persistence of symptoms over a 5 year course

Still less than one third of patients with MDD achieve remission with an adequate trial of a standard antidepressant after 10 - 14 weeks of treatment. This project will provide a crucial part of the research required for the development of more effective therapy strategies and for understanding the backgrounds for achieving remission...

Unlocking HIV-1 latency with metabolic cues

With 35 million people currently leaving with HIV and 1.6 million people worldwide who died from HIV in 2012, the AIDS pandemic is a major health crisis. In Ireland, the HSE and the HSPC have made HIV/AIDS a notifiable disease and a major public health importance. 30 years of intense HIV/AIDS research have provided efficient...

A multi-pronged translational approach towards testing a novel JAM-A inhibitor to reduce aggressive HER2-dependent breast cancer progression

Although breast cancer surgery and treatment have greatly improved in recent years, certain types of tumours are much more aggressive than others and therefore represent a greater risk to the patient. One such type of breast tumour is identified by the fact that it has high levels of a specific tumour marker called HER2. Therapies...

Rehabilitation following oesophageal cancer: Idenfitying rehabilitative needs and strategies

The treatments used to cure cancer of the oesophagus (food pipe) are usually twofold. Patients may first receive chemotherapy (drug treatment) to shrink the cancer followed by surgery to remove the oesophagus from the body. Patients who undergo this treatment for oesophageal cancer experience a number of weakening side-effects which...

The STRIDER Trial: A randomised controlled trial of sildenafil therapy In dismal prognosis early-onset intrauterine growth restriction

Severe early-onset in utero growth restriction (IUGR) affects babies in womb and is caused by reduced blood flow through the placenta. There is no treatment or cure for IUGR and the current clinical management involves intensive fetal surveillance with elective delivery performed when there is evidence of fetal distress and before the...

Hypotension, vasoreactivity and white matter intensities in the ageing brain: The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA).

High blood pressure (hypertension) is known to cause brain ageing, from memory problems through to frank dementia, and is common in older age, affecting 70% of people over 70 years of age. Low blood pressure (hypotension) may be an even greater risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia; as it is an easily treatable condition this...

Proof of concept studies to validate clinical microsensors for the real-time detection of oxygen and pH

Currently there is no efficient method of continuously measuring oxygen or pH in real-time in hospitals. Existing techniques suffer from slow, indirect recordings and require the undesirable removal of a blood sample from patients. Doctors are extremely interested in measuring both of these parameters since they provide important...

Alendronate for Prevention of AntiRetroviral Therapy-associated bone loss (APART study)

Over six thousand people have been diagnosed with HIV infection in Ireland. People living with HIV are now living longer because of effective therapy. However, therapy is life-long and is associated with significant side effects. In addition, immune damage induced by HIV persists even with effective therapy. As a result, people with...

Investigate the impact of bile aspiration on chronic respiratory infection - bile paradigm

This study proposes to investigate the unexplained link between gastro-oesophageal reflux (GOR) and severe respiratory disease. During GOR, bile, normally found in the duodenum and stomach, is refluxed to the throat and subsequently aspirated into the airways and lungs of patients. A high prevalence of this phenomenon is seen in...

Ketamine for depression relapse prevention following electroconvulsive therapy: A randomised pilot trial with blood neuroplasticity biomarker evaluation

Depression affects up to 20% of people in their lifetime and can be a severe debilitating illness. Indeed, the World Health Organisation has estimated that depression will soon be the second leading contributor to the burden of disease worldwide. One of the big problems for patients and doctors is that currently available...

An antimicrobial susceptibility testing-based approach for Helicobacter pylori eradication: will tailored therapy overcome the increasing failure of standard empirical therapy?

Helicobacter pylori infection is a public health issue. It remains one of the most common infections in adults in Ireland (22%) and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality as the primary cause of stomach ulcers and stomach cancers. Infection is more common in lower socioeconomic groups and increases with age. Despite...

Identification of drugs that can safely and effectively maintain visual function in models of inherited retinal degeneration

Inherited Retinal Degenerations (IRD) are a diverse group of conditions resulting in blindness. This is often traumatic to the affected patient and families, and can cause significant socio-economic impact. Gene or stem-cell therapy show promise as treatments for IRD. However, these approaches are hampered by high costs and treatment...

Inherited retinal degenerations: All Ireland Retinal Degenerations Partnership (AIRDP)

Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) is the most common inherited disorder of the retina affecting approximately one in 4000 people. The symptoms of RP are night blindness, tunnel vision and reduction of central vision. Although the symptoms of RP are broadly similar in most people, the genetic causes are complex with over 50 genes being...

Evaluating the impact of the systematic implementation of advance care directives and palliative care education on quality of care at end of life in long term care settings

It is essential that nursing home staff are equipped to provide high-quality end-of-life care, while it is also essential that the wishes of the older person about their care are taken into account. Many nursing home residents develop dementia, which can interfere with their ability to make healthcare decisions and to communicate...

Disease modification in rheumatoid arthritis using AMPK directed therapies: Resoring metabolic balance to innate immune pathways

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting 1-2% of the population. Over time, RA causes joint destruction, chronic pain and lifelong disability. In addition to these effects, increased resistance to the effects of insulin and alterations in glucose handling mimicking effects seen in type II diabetes occur in...

Resistant hypertension in general practice: prevalence, prognosis, description and development of platform cohort for future research

High blood pressure causes, or helps to cause, almost two-thirds of all strokes and half of all heart attacks. Most people with high blood pressure can be treated by changing what they eat, doing more exercise or taking medications. However, among people with high blood pressure are some whose blood pressure remains too high despite...

Preventing chemotherapy resistance in triple negative breast cancer

Background: Breast cancers that lack the three molecules used to classify breast cancers; the oestrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), are described as triple negative breast cancers. Approximately 15 per cent of all breast cancers are triple negative. Triple negative...

STandaRd Issue TrANsfusion versuS Fresher red blood cell Use in intenSive carE (TRANSFUSE) - a randomised controlled trial.

Red blood cell (RBC) transfusion is required to treat a number of life threatening conditions within the general hospital setting and Intensive Care Units (ICU). Red blood cell units represent a very limited but essential resource. Given the value and relative scarcity of RBC, it is important to ensure its use in the optimal way. A...

Development of bioactive therapeutics harnessing stem cell mechanobiology

Tissue engineering is an emerging field of medicine that aims to treat diseased or damaged tissue through regeneration, rather than replacement. In order to achieve this, implantable scaffolds, that act as templates for tissue formation, are designed so that they not only provide structural support but also provide signals to cells...

Splintcost - Sensor providing longitudinal information on nocturnal toothgrinding and compliance of splint therapy

Many people grind their teeth at night, and may not be aware of it. Tooth grinding can cause headaches, facial pain or severe damage to the teeth. To prevent these problems, dentists often prescribe a mouthguard to use at night. Mouthguards are effective but few patients use them enough. Patients often wrongly believe that their...

Altered lipid raft cholesterol content contributes to the dysregulated activity of neutrophils in alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency

Alpha-1-antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency (AATD) is largely unrecognized and under diagnosed. This hereditary disorder results in the rapid progression of lung disease, especially in smokers. Specific treatment for this disorder is available in the form of weekly intravenous injections of AAT. This is referred to as augmentation therapy...

Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency: Which is important phenotype, level, activity or all three?

Alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency (AATD) is generally regarded as a rare condition but more recently, evidence points towards it being a condition that is relatively common but rarely diagnosed. The most severe form of this genetic disorder, where people carry two bad AAT genes (Z) is known as ZZ-AATD and this affects around 2000...

The Low Von Willebrand factor Ireland Cohort (LoVIC) study.

Von Willebrand factor (VWF) is a large plasma protein that plays an essential role in normal blood coagulation. Inherited VWF deficiency is responsible for the commonest inherited bleeding disorder (von Willebrand disease or VWD) that affects up to 1% of the general population. Although substantial progress has been achieved in...

Sodium inTake In Chronic Kidney disease (STICK): A randomised controlled trial

Chronic kidney disease, which affects an estimated 300,000 people in Ireland and over 50 million people in the developed world, is responsible for a considerable burden of premature mortality and morbidity. All patients with chronic kidney disease are recommended low salt diets, i.e. less than a teaspoon of salt per day (which is 5-6g...

Modelling cystinosis with human stem cells and the therapeutic potential of aspartate

Cystinosis is a rare genetic disease that causes the amino acid cystine to accumulate in the body due to mutations in the CTNS gene. In its severest form, cystinosis causes kidney failure before the age of 10. Treatment is limited to cysteamine, a cystine-depleting drug, but this only slows the progression of the disease. The toxic...

Drug eluting contact lenses for cystinosis therapy

Cystinosis is a metabolic disease characterized by accumulation of cysteine crystals in various tissues including cornea. Cystinosis patients begin showing ocular symptoms at the age of 16 months and without appropriate treatment, the entire peripheral stroma and endothelium can be packed with crystals. Eventually complications such...

Effect of glucagon like peptide-1 therapy on obesity driven inflammation and co-morbid inflammatory conditions.

Obesity has been shown to cause and worsen diseases such as diabetes, psoriasis, arthritis, asthma and cancer. Increased inflammation is the basic process, which causes obesity related diseases. Inflammation is the body's normal way of dealing with an infection or injury, but is usually specific and short lived. However, in obese...

HRB Centre for Health and Diet Research

The vision for the Centre for the next five years:
The overall vision for the CHDR over the next five years is to contribute to the promotion of the health and wellbeing of the population through the development of a sustainable and internationally competitive National Research Centre for Public Health Nutrition which will:
...

A systems-based patient stratification tool of Bcl-2 family protein interactions to evaluate acute treatment responses in rectal cancer patients

Cancers of the rectum (the lower part of the large intestine where the body stores stool) are a common cause of cancer-related death in Ireland and cause a significant burden to the quality of life of affected patients. Surgery is the mainstay for the treatment of rectal cancer, but surgeons often prefer to 'downstage' or 'shrink' the...

Enhancing the antimicrobial efficacy of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for eliminating sepsis induced acute lung injury (ALI) using a novel combination of immune-stimulants

Despite advances in medicine, pneumonia is still a common disease accounting for 5% of deaths in Ireland and is the most common cause of acute lung injury and acute respiratory distress syndrome where there currently remains no specific therapy. Studies carried out by this and other research groups have recently shown that bone-marrow...

The natural history of cystic fibrosis liver disease - refining the phenotype

The incidence of Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is very high in Ireland. Survival has improved greatly over the past 30 years. However as longevity has increased so has the development of complications including liver disease. The diagnosis and treatment of liver disease in CF is particularly challenging. We do not understand the cause of liver...

Inhibiting XBP1s production as a novel therapeutic strategy in sepsis

Sepsis accounts for over 18 million deaths annually and is characterised by a severe/hyper activation of the immune system, also referred to as a cytokine storm, which is triggered by infection. In its most severe form sepsis manifests as septic shock and can lead to hypotension and multi-organ failure leading to death. The incidence...

An inter-sectoral analysis by geographic area of the need for and the supply and utilisation of health services in Ireland

The objective of this study is to provide an understanding of the supply of and interaction between health and social care services delivered in different sectors (acute hospitals: primary and community care; long-term care; informal care at home) in Ireland to inform the Governments policy of transferring activity and resources from...

Acute kidney injury (AKI) in the Irish health system; Incidence, severity and clinical consequences

Acute Kidney Injury (AKI), previously called acute renal failure, occurs when kidney function deteriorates rapidly over hours or days and elevated levels of waste products accumulate in the blood. AKI is most common in people who are hospitalized, particularly in critically ill people who need intensive care. AKI may occur in multiple...

Mapping the pathway to universal health care in Ireland

The current Irish Government has committed itself to achieving universal access to health care, free at the point of delivery, by 2016. Yet, at the moment, timely access to essential healthcare in Ireland is often determined by ability to pay, such as with private insurance. Further, those without medical cards or GP visit cards face...

Galactosaemia, translating novel monitoring approaches into improved clinical practice

Galactosaemia is an inherited condition caused by a lack of an enzyme (catalyst) which normally breaks down galactose (the sugar found in milk products). This affects on in 16,000 births annually in Ireland (the highest incidence worldwide), and is screened for by the National Newborn Screening Programme.
When an affected infant is...

Restoring immune balance in patients with patients with primary Sjogrens Syndrome (pSS) by modulating microRNA expression

Sjogren's Syndrome (SS) is an autoimmune disease which affects 0.3-0.5% of people in the developed world. SS can occur at any age but is most common between the ages of 40 and 60. Women are 9 times more likely to suffer from SS than men. Specialised secretory glands that produce saliva, tears, and bowel secretions are targeted for...

Determining the breadth and burden of chronic kidney disease in Ireland: Associations with cognitive impairment, functional decline and quality of life

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major health problem all over the world. At least one in 10 adults are estimated to have kidney disease. Some of these people will progress to end-stage kidney disease which requires dialysis treatment or a kidney transplant for survival. However the majority of people with CKD do not survive long...

HRB Trials Methodology Research Network

These are exciting and challenging times for clinical trials. The number and variety of treatments continues to grow, increasing pressures on researchers to determine how these compare to current treatments, while rising costs and regulation can make trials expensive and complex. However, as pressure on resources grows, there is more...

The cost of survival: Understanding colorectal cancer survivors' quality of life

The lives of people who have completed treatment for colorectal cancer may be affected by physical and psychological disabilities, caused by surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. For those who are cured, their quality of life may be adversely affected by side-effects such as fatigue, pain, sensory neuropathy, sexual dysfunction,...

The role of angiopoietins and their mediators in symptomatic gastrointestinal angiodyslasia; novel diagnostic and therapeutic targets in chronic anaemia and obscure gastrointestinal bleeding

Background: Approximately 5% of patients with gastrointestinal bleeding have no source identified on standard endoscopy and are classified as having obscure gastrointestinal bleeding, of which Small Bowel Angiodysplasia (SBA) accounts for more than 50% of cases. Due to limited understanding of the pathophysiology behind SBA no specific...

Overcoming mechanism of treatment resistance in castration-resistant prostate cancer: Defining a new treatment paradigm

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of male cancer mortality in Ireland: in 2012, 533 men died from this disease.Prostate cancer growth is stimulated by male sex hormones (androgens) e.g. testosterone. The mainstay of initial treatment is to block gonadal production of these hormones. However, with time, cancers develop other...

The use of eccentric exercises and topical glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) in the treatment of midportion Achilles tendinopathy: A randomised placebo controlled trial

Pain in the Achilles tendon is a common condition seen by physiotherapist and doctors. It affects people involved in sports and those who are not. For those who suffer with this condition, it can limit their ability to walk, hop, jump and run. If the pain persists for longer than three months it can become extremely difficult to...

A geographic model for improving out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival in Ireland

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) affects approximately 2,500 people every year in Ireland. Even when resuscitation is attempted, approximately one in fifteen people survive.

An analysis of genetic and environmental modifiers of breast cancers risk

Breast Cancer Susceptibility Genes (BRCA) 1 and 2 are tumour suppressor genes that maintain genomic stability by repairing damaged DNA. Pathogenic mutations in these genes disrupt their role as tumour suppressors and can predispose to various malignancies, in particular those of the breast or ovary. Single gene mutations in BRCA 1 or...

Evaluation of next generation sequencing to investigate the epidemiology of Clostridium difficile infection

Clostridium difficile('C. diff') is a common cause of infectious diarrhoea following antibiotic treatment, sometimes with serious consequences. Although most cases occur in hospital in-patients, they are increasingly seen in the community, without known sources of exposure. 'C diff' can colonise the intestine prior to developing...

The progression of crouch gait in diplegic cerebral palsy

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a neurological condition caused by a lesion to the brain at or near the time of birth. This leads to muscle tightness or weakness as well as general co-ordination difficulties. This commonly results in difficulties with walking and mobility. A common pattern of walking in CP is crouch gait or excessive flexion of...

Environmental and genetic epidemiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rare condition that is thought to be; caused by a combination of genetic and environmental influences. The lifetime risk of the condition is 1 in 300, and approximately 250 people in Ireland suffer from the condition. Ireland has a population based registers of ALS that has captured all new...

Irish Platform for Patients' Organisations, Science and Industry

The purpose of this award is to enable IPPOSI to undertake a work programme providing a forum for patient organisations, scientists and industry to inform and support the advancement of health research for the development of therapies and cures for unmet medical needs specifically but not limited to:
- Providing information for...

Convenor of Cochrane Ireland Award

This initiative will coordinate the activities of the Cochrane community in Ireland will build on the excellent work achieved already by Cochrane locally. The initiative is being funded by the Health Research Board and HSC Research & Development Division, Public Health Agency, Northern Ireland and supported by the UK Cochrane...

Cancer Prevention Fellowship 2013

Research Programme for mid-career researchers working in Republic of Ireland (RoI) to become NCI Cancer Prevention Fellows at the prestigious National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the USA.

This programme provides training at post-doctorate level from the health professions, biomedical, and behavioural sciences to become...

Institutional smoking bans for reducing smoking prevalence and tobacco consumption

Review objective: The objectives of this new review are twofold. The proposed new review will explore evidence specifically focusing on the impact of institutional smoking bans in workplaces, health care facilities and in other public places, so-called meso-level data. The update of the original review will assess the evidence since...

ER stress induced microRNAs in insulin resistance

The obesity epidemic has caused in a substantial increase in the incidence of type two diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Approximately 2.4 million people in Ireland are overweight/obese. Diabetes and its complications take a significant portion of the healthcare budget annually. T2DM results from the inability of the beta-cells of the pancreas...

Nervous system sensitisation in people with osteoarthritis of the knee: A prospective cohort study

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease commoningly affecting the large joints such as the hip or knee. Ostheoarthritis is one of the ten most disabling diseases in developed countries according to the World Health Organisation. Pain and loss of function are the main symptoms. Current treatments including anti-inflammatory drugs,...