Funding Awarded

Evidence for Policies to Prevent Chronic Conditions (EPICC)

Chronic diseases like heart disease and diabetes are the most common causes of death in Ireland and Europe. These diseases are becoming more common and they are extremely costly for governments. The costs will continue to increase unless governments can find better way to prevent and treat these diseases.

Moreover, these chronic...

TeenPath: Social Environment, Health and Well-Being Among Adolescents in Ireland

A person's physical growth, psychological development and personal behaviours in adolescence are the foundation upon which the life course is built. Health behaviours established in adolescence will likely continue into adulthood with long-term implications for health and life-expectancy. For example, 80% of teenagers measured as obese...

Development and validation of a risk stratification tool for assessment of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality using data from the National Maternal and Newborn Clinical Management System

Many women and their unborn babies experience problems during pregnancy. Occasionally mothers or babies die. These outcomes vary across hospitals. Currently, there is no accepted method of comparing outcomes between hospitals. Therefore, we do not know if all hospitals are performing to standard, or whether there are worse or better...

Using lessons learned from statutory notifications to improve quality and safety in social care settings

In Ireland, providers of designated centres for older people and people with disabilities are required to inform the Chief Inspector of Social Services in the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) about certain events that occur. For example: serious injuries to residents and allegations of abuse. These are known as statutory...

Disparities in Heath Outcomes of Chronic Kidney Disease between Men and Women in the Irish Health System

It is increasingly recognised that there are differences between men and women in regard to chronic kidney disease (CKD). It appears to be more common in women and they have a shorter survival compared to women in the general population. It is unclear 1) whether these differences are due to biological factors like hormones or due to...

Targeting autophagy in nephropathic cystinosis

Cystinosis is a genetic disorder due to a gene defect called cystinosin, where a toxic metabolite called cysteine collects in the cells due to a defect in lysosomes. This results in the kidneys become leaky to protein, water and salts, which results in growth failure, severe dehydration and developmental delay in children. A subtype of...

MRCG support award

The Medical Research Charities Group (MRCG) is the national organization of 35 patient groups and foundations which promote an improved environment for medical research in general and for charities in particular, obtain funding for research projects, bring together organizations working in the field and disseminate the outcomes. Its...

Building research capacity in the maternal health and maternal morbidity in Ireland study: Second baby follow-up, intervention development and testing, and measurement of costs (MAMMI-SIM)

The MAMMI study (Maternal health And Maternal Morbidity in Ireland), Phase 1, is in progress at present. It will identify how often physical/emotional problems occur in women having their first baby in Ireland, what factors cause problems and what treatments might help. Some conditions affect one-third of women just after having a...

Patients'satisfaction in a nurse-led oral chemotherapy clinic

No summary available

Novel immune targets in Multiple Sclerosis

In Multiple Sclerosis Interferonb has been used as a first line treatment regimen for the past 15 years and many patients have shown therapeutic benefit and continue to do so from this 'natural' immune modulator. However, for others interferonb shows no clear therapeutic benefit and we are looking into how to change these patients into...

Hedgehog control of resident vascular stem cell niches

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major cause of death for Irish people killing 1 in 3 every year. Most of the problems associated with CVD are due to changes in the structural integrity of the blood vessel wall resulting in obstruction of blood flow that can lead to a heart attack or stroke. Key cells involved in this blockage are...

An investigation of the role of Staphylococcus aureus colonisation of healthcare workers in nosocomial transmission of S. aureus to patients in an MRSA-endemic setting using whole-genome sequencing

Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium that frequently causes serious infections among hospitalised patients. This includes methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) that are readily treatable with antibiotics and the so-called antibiotic resistant "superbug"MRSA (methicillin-resistant S. aureus). MRSA have been widespread in Irish...

Symptom management through self-management: Improving the outcomes of patients with relapsed multiple myeloma

The main aim of this project is to develop a symptom management self care tool for patient with relapsed MM. MM is incurable and as a result of all novel treatments available patients live longer but not always with a exceptional QOL due to symptom burden. It is hoped that this project will result in the formation of a tool which...

Methadone substitution treatment: mortality and progression pathways

People who inject heroin have a risk of death six times higher than the general population. The most effective treatment for heroin injectors is the prescription of legal, substitution drugs, most commonly methadone. This is called opiate or methadone substitution treatment (MST). The majority (60%) of patients on MST in Ireland attend...

Development of a mult-faceted approach to reducing and mitigating the risk of foreign object retention (FOR)

Over 1,000 Irish FOR incidents between 2011 and 2015 represent unnecessary suffering patients, reputational cost/damage to the healthcare service, institution and clinician and financial cost in claims and rework.
FOR is an intractable human factors problem because removing materials after a task is not integrated into the natural...

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...

Reducing resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics: A new treatment strategy for MRSA infections

Approximately 5-10% of hospitalised patients acquire an infection in hospital. Serious infections are more likely in intensive care unit (ICU) or high dependency unit (HDU) patients, in whom implanted medical devices are required for life maintaining therapy. Unfortunately such devices also represent an opportunity for pathogens such...

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...

Supporting prescribing in Irish primary care: a non-randomised pilot study of a GP practice-based pharmacist medicines optimisation programme

Medication prescribing is one of the commonest medical interventions and there have been marked increases in patients taking multiple medicines with related adverse effects. We have developed an intervention involving practice based pharmacists working with GPs to optimise prescribing in Irish general practice settings.
Study...

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

A comparison of emotion-focused therapy and cognitive-behavioural therapy in the treatment of generalised anxiety disorder.

Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) is a chronic and debilitating anxiety disorder characterised by excessive worry, anxiety, and somatic symptoms such as tiredness. It is often found alongside other disorders such as depression. Its main features are also important for our understanding of the other anxiety disorders. Alongside...

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...

Irish clinical academic training (ICAT) Programme

WT Scheme: PhD Programme for Clinicians

Ireland's ongoing economic recovery represents a unique opportunity to effect fundamental change in academic medicine that can have lasting societal benefits. We have designed a comprehensive National Programme for Clinician Scientists based at six major Irish universities. Our...

Institutional Strategic Support Fund (ISSF)

These funds will be used to grow and enhance a connected programme of health-related Research, Teaching and Public Engagement in Trinity College. Specific activities will include: (a) seed research support to early stage academics; (b) a programme to stimulate strategic international collaboration and: (c) the creation of a truly...

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.

Hybrid repair versus conventional open repair for thoracic aortic arch aneurysms

To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of hybrid technique versus open arch repair in the management of thoracic aortic arch aneurysms.

Membrane sweeping for induction of labour

The objective of this review is to evaluate the effectiveness of amniotic membrane sweep for induction of labour in women at term gestation.

Neoadjuvant treatments for malignant and metastatic melanoma

The objective of this review is to assess the effects of neoadjuvant treatments for stage III and IV melanoma in adults. Historically stage III and IV melanoma have been associated with a very poor prognosis, and available treatments have had very little impact on the disease course.Various clinical options have been explored,...

Hospital design for supporting people with dementia and their carers

The relationship between health and wellbeing and the design of the built environment is becoming an important area of research that is bringing together the medical/clinical community with design professionals such as architects and urban planners. Evidence based medicine already underpins good healthcare, however, evidence based...

The Irish Longitudinal Study of Ageing Wave 5 and 6 (TILDA)

One of the greatest demographic and social transformations facing Ireland is aging of its population, increased life expectancy and related challenges. Whereas Ireland has one of the youngest populations in the European Union, by 2046 a quarter of our population will be over 65 and the greatest increase will be in those 85 and above...

Interventions for promoting participation in shared decision-making for children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis

To determine the effectiveness of interventions that promote shared-decision making (SDM) for children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis aged 4 to 18 years of age.Shared decision-making (SDM) is defined as a patient centered, collaborative process that enables individuals and their healthcare providers to make decisions together...

Risk prediction models for familial breast cancer: a systematic review

The majority of breast-cancers are sporadic, however, 20-30% are considered familial (occur in the context of a significant family-history of the disease). Women suspected of being at higher risk of breast-cancer than the general-population based on their family-history are frequently referred to a "family-risk" clinic for...

Interventions for improving medication adherence in solid organ transplant recipients

Organ transplantation is the removal of an organ from one individual and placement within another individual. Solid organ transplantation refers to transplantation of the heart, lungs, kidney, pancreas or liver, and successful transplantation involves collaboration across surgical, medical, legal, political and bioethical disciplines....

Interventions for supporting pregnant women's decisions about first caesarean delivery

This cochrane review will collate the best available evidence about interventions for supporting pregnant women's decision-making for first caesarean delivery thereby influencing current clinical practice, local and national guidelines. More evidence is needed to support the promotion of informed choice, involving the woman as a...

HRB Collaboration in Ireland for Clinical Effectiveness Reviews (HRB-CICER)

Through the National Clinical Effectiveness Committee (NCEC), the Minister for Health mandates clinical guidelines as National Clinical Guidelines for use in public healthcare in Ireland. The goal of the guidelines is to promote healthcare that is current, effective and consistent, ensuring best outcomes for patients and service users....

Oral hygiene programmes for people with intellectual disabilities

A systematic review will be undertaken of oral hygiene programmes aimed at training and supporting individuals with an intellectual disability and/or their carers about oral hygiene practices which are likely to improve the oral health of people with an intellectual disability in primary and secondary care settings. These programmes...

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...

Identifying Interventions to prevent and manage chronic kidney disease

WT Scheme: Postdoctoral Training Fellowships for Clinicians

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects almost 500million people worldwide is increasingly prevalent,associated with morbidity and mortality, and interventions (dialysis or transplant) are expensive and unavailable in some regions. Developing programs to reduce CKD...

Role of TWEAK/Fn14 pathway in mediating muscle pathology in SMA

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a devastating disease caused by loss of both nerve cells and muscle function. While the nerve is the major affected cell type, therapies specifically aimed at improving muscle function ameliorate survival and/or symptoms in SMA models. Thus,developing muscle-

Application of next generation sequencing for the genetic characterisation of Irish retinal degeneration patients

A key objective of the current study is to clinically and genetically characterise an extended group of 700-800 Irish patients with inherited retinal degenerations (IRD). The team have significant prior experience in the clinical and genetic evaluation of patients with inherited retinal degenerations. They believe it is timely to...

Resolution of inflammation by metabolic reprogramming in the inflamed joint

Arthritis is a leading cause of disability that affects up to 15% of the population and is the most common cause of pain in Irish society, including children. 2% suffer from inflammatory arthritis (IA) such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA). IA causes joint damage and disability and is associated with...

MicroRNAs in the mechanism of ketogenic diet therapies and as biomarkers in paediatric epilepsy

Epilepsy is a disease caused by imbalances in electrical activity in the brain. Anyone can have epilepsy but it is particular common in children. Patients experience seizures (fits), which disrupt their lives and can be directly harmful to the developing brain. Although we have a number of drugs to stop seizures, they fail to work in...

Peer-to-peer motivational interview intervention for smoking, alcohol and physical activity among at-risk adolescents in low SES communities: A feasibility trial

Unhealthy behaviours established during adolescence often persist into adulthood; we will examine the effects of training adolescents (13-18 years) in a proven method for behaviour change (motivational interviewing) for smoking cessation, alcohol consumption and exercise promotion among adolescents in low SES communities. Peer-led...

Towards host-directed therapies to overcome immune impairment in cigarette smokers during mycobacterial infection

Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infection which causes approximately 1.5 million deaths worldwide each year and it is estimated that one third of the worlds'population is latently infected with TB. In this proposal we aim to investigate the role of alveolar acrophages in the immune response to TB infection. Alveolar macrophages are...

Unravelling the mechanisms of azoospermia and potential future treatments in male cystinosis patients

Cystinosis is a rare inheritable disorder in which cystine, a small protein, accumulates in all cells throughout the body. Patients suffer from progressive renal failure due to extensive proximal tubular and glomerular dysfunction, but also various endocrine organs become affected later in life. Patients can be treated with cysteamine,...

AVERT: Autoimmunity relapse prediction using multiple parallel data sources

In most causes of autoimmune disease, where the body's immune system attacks an individual's own body, the condition relapses and remits. This means that strong medications to suppress the immune system bring the patient into remission, but they remain at risk of suffering a flare of their disease. In the autoimmune kidney condition...

Pioneering advances for control of myopia in children - the SHIELD initiative

Short-sightedness (or myopia) is the commonest eye problem in Ireland and is growing all over the world. It now affects up to 90% of young adults in Asia and up to 50% in Western countries. As well as the costs and frustrations of not being able to see well without glasses, myopia is also bad for the health of our eyes. As we get older...

Ketamine for relapse prevention in recurrent depressive disorder: a randomised controlled pilot trial (The KINDRED Trial)

Depression is projected to become the second greatest cause of disability worldwide by 2020. It can be a chronic disorder, with 5-9 episodes of depression per lifetime. The first six months following successful antidepressant treatment represents the highest risk period for relapse, with 40-60% relapse rates in persons with...

Identifying the aetiology of diabetic progenitor cell dysfunction in osteoporosis

Diabetes changes how a person's body gets energy from the food they eat. When we digest food, sugar is released into the blood and is used by the body's cells for energy. People with type 1 diabetes (T1DM) do not produce insulin and are therefore not able to use the sugar in the blood for energy. Patients with T1DM have to inject...

Comparative mass spectrometric profiling of the dystrophin complexome in normal versus pathological muscles with differing degrees of fibre degeneration

Duchenne muscular dystrophy is the most commonly inherited neuromuscular disease of early childhood. The disorder affects almost exclusively boys due to the fact that the defective gene is located on the X-chromosome. The skeletal musculature, the respiratory system,the heart and the central nervous system are majorly affected in...

Bacteria in human tumours

It is becoming apparent that the relationship between humans and bacteria can influence various diseases. Deeper understanding of the bacteria that live in our body is enabling identification of i) potential causes of and ii) potential treatments for disease. The Tangney lab at the Cork Cancer Research Centre has recently discovered...

MRCG interim support award

The Medical Research Charities Group (MRCG) is the national organization of 35 medical research patient-led charities formed to promote dynamic medical research in Ireland. The MRCG works in partnership with key stakeholders, such as the Health Research Board (HRB), to bring added value to the health research landscape. The MRCG is...

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...

Evaluation of the 'pilot implementation of the framework for safe nurse staffing and skill-mix'

Earlier this year, the Department of Health published a document entitled Framework for Safe Nurse Staffing and Skill Mix in General and Specialist Medical and Surgical Care Settings in Adult Hospitals in Ireland. In this report the Department made a number of recommendations to ensure that the staffing of hospital wards was safe and...

Determining the mechanism of action of a novel histone deacetylase 6 specific inhibitor that kills chemoresistant breast cancer

WT Scheme: Seed Award in Science

The majority of cytotoxic agents used to treat patients kill tumour cells via the mitochondrial pathway of cell death. Previously, the applicant found that primary tumours that are chemoresistant in vivo usually contain mitochondria that are resistant to apoptotic signalling. Therefore, we...

Modelling of pharmacokinetics into ischemic heart tissue from an implantable, replenishable therapy reservoir

WT Scheme: Seed Award in Science

Precisely controlled delivery of drugs, bioagents and cells directly to the heart has the potential to dramatically improve regenerative cardiac therapy for ischemic heart failure. Likewise, localized therapy delivery to ischemic tissue can increase retention at the target site and reduce...

Perspectives of partners of women who experience mental health issues in the postnatal period

For most families having a baby is a happy occasion. A small number of women, however, suffer from mental health issues following the birth of their baby. Often the womans partner can play an important role in seeking help and supporting the woman and the baby. However, we have very little information on how the partners of women who...

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...

SDHB and its role in epigenetic alteration in malignant phaeochromocytoma

A phaeochromocytoma (PC) refers to a tumour located on the adrenal gland, which releases adrenaline and similar hormones and causes high blood pressure (in severe cases this may be fatal). When a similar tumour occurs outside of the adrenal gland it is called a paraganglioma (PGL) and can be located anywhere from skull to pelvis....

The Irish kidney gene project - identification and characterisation of novel genetic causes of familial kidney disease

Certain kidney diseases tend to run in families, suggesting that particular genes are inherited from one generation to the next, causing kidney disease. By undertaking a joint training programme between with Trinity College Dublin and Harvard Medical School Boston, I plan to study these families and seek to identify specific genes that...

Use of software and computer technology in aphasia rehabilitation; investigating issues of efficacy, usability and cost effectiveness

Technology can provide an answer for over-stretched health care provision but will service users, particular older adults, actively engage with it? This research will investigate the benefits of a computer programme on language comprehension abilities (i.e. ability to understand spoken sentences) and explore the user experience of...

Development and validation of metric-based training to proficiency for dental implant placement

Common dental diseases such as dental decay (caries) and gum (periodontal) disease can lead to the loss of teeth, which has detrimental effects on patients chewing ability, speech and smile. While retaining teeth for patients is a primary goal for the dental profession, the replacement of teeth when they are lost is an important role...

Characterisation of polyclonal IgG and paraprotein glycosylation in multiple myeloma to investigate structural and functional insights into stage-specific pathologies

Multiple myeloma is a type of blood cancer characterized by abnormal antibody called paraprotein, produced by the cancerous plasma cells in the bone marrow. Patients develop anaemia (due to bone marrow infiltration by cancerous cells), high calcium, bone destruction, kidney failure and death. Survival has improved since the approval of...

Irish Platform for Patients Organisations Science and Industry

The Irish Platform for Patients' Organisations, Science and Industry (IPPOSI) is a unique organisation in Ireland and abroad. The platform brings together patient groups, scientists, clinicians, industry and other key decision makers to discuss and build consensus on issues relevant to all involved in delivering treatments to people...

Unwrapping the layers of complexity of clinical performance assessment of physiotherapy students and identifying key stakeholders' preferences towards enhancing the process

Clinical performance assessment of health professional students is imperative as it provides a measure of a students readiness to practice within their profession. However, it is widely acknowledged as being inherently problematic. Difficulties reported by clinicians in medicine, nursing, psychology and social work include the...

Caesarean section in nulliparous women: factors influencing decision-making process and outcomes for women- The MAMMI study caesarean section strand

This study will find out the factors, or combination of several factors, that influence the decision to perform a caesarean section (CS) in first-time mothers in Ireland, the health problems women experience in the first year after the birth and what women, midwives and obstetricians believe are the reasons behind the decision to...

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...

An investigation into early adverse life events and psychotic-like experiences in Irish youth

At some time in their life, up to one in six adolescents is likely to have experienced some form of hallucinations or delusions, also known as psychotic-like experiences. These experiences include things like hearing voices, seeing things that are not there and having fixed false beliefs about yourself or the world around you. Most...

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...

The clinical application of immunometabolism to the TB Patient

Recent studies have shown that cells of the immune system change the way that they break down sugars (their metabolism) after they are stimulated, and that this change in metabolism is needed in order to produce specific chemicals (cytokines) that fight infection.
We will study what metabolism changes happen in immune cells from...

Investigating the impact of body composition and nutritional intervention strategies in pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is the 9th most common cancer in Ireland, and the 5th most common cause of cancer related death. Because of its location deep within the abdomen, patients often present with advanced cancer at the time of diagnosis. The options for treatment are limited as surgery is only suitable for patients who don't have spread of...

Overcoming survival signalling in Multiple Myeloma

Multiple Myeloma (MM) is a blood cancer affecting plasma cells, a type of white blood cell located in the bone marrow. It affects the bones, kidneys and causes patients to have frequent infections. There are approximately 250 new cases diagnosed in Ireland annually. MM is not curable and although the treatment for this condition...

Living with Motor Neurone Disease (MND) and Dysphagia -the personal experiences of individuals with MND and their caregivers

Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is one of the most progressive diseases of the nervous system, for which there is no cure. It often leads to weakness in the arms, hands and legs, posing difficulties with daily life activities. Throat muscles can also be affected leading to speech and swallowing problems (dysphagia). Dysphagia can be life...

Development of a core set of clinical care provision indicators for non-specialist palliative care in the acute care hospital setting

Palliative care encompasses the support structure around people facing problems associated with life-limiting illness and includes the support of their families, but this is more than end-of-life care, and is viewed as central component of care for people living with limiting illnesses. Palliative care policies in Ireland draw on these...

The OPTIMAL study: A randomized controlled trial and process evaluation of an OccuPaTIonal therapy led self MAnagement support programme for patients with muLtimorbidity in primary care

Many people with chronic disease tend to have more than one chronic condition, referred to as multimorbidity. It is predicted that the number of individuals with multimorbidity is set to increase substantially in the future due to the growing elderly population. Those with multimorbidity experience poor physical function and find it...

Artificial neural networks, genomic data and case-control classification

WT Scheme: Seed Award in Science

Genome wide association studies have now reached the scale where one can hope to extract information relevant to clinical applications and public health. The large and complex nature of current datasets will benefit from new and more powerful methods of analysis. We propose to investigate the...

Sound-based observation of neonatal brain growth and status

WT Scheme: Seed Award in Science

Neurological problems are more likely to happen in the early neonatal period than at any other time of life. 85% of neonatal deaths worldwide occurred in developing countries with neonatal encephalopathy due to the birth asphyxia being one of the major causes of high child mortality. The lack...

Malnutrition in the elderly joint action call

Joint Programming Initiative: Health Diet of a Health Life

The Joint Action "Malnutrition in the Elderly Knowledge Hub" is part of the Strategic Research Agenda of the Joint Programming Initiative "A Healthy Diet for a Healthy Life". The general objectives of the Malnutrition in the Elderly Knowledge Hub (MaNuEL) are to extend...

Metabolic reprogramming in innate immunity

WT Scheme: Investigator Award in Science.

Immune cells undergo metabolic reprogramming during activation which directly impacts on their phenotype (1,2). Glycolysis is a key feature of M1 macrophages and Th17 cells, whilst oxidative phosphorylation is more apparent in M2 macrophages and Treg cells. Signals regulated by the...

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...

Cancer Prevention Fellowship 2016

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...

ICORG Renewal 2016-2018

In Ireland there are 20,000 new cases of cancer and more than 7,500 cancer deaths each year. A quarter of our annual death toll is cancer related. The number of new cases in the system by 2020 will be 107% of the number in 2000. Since 2005, the HRB has invested in the development of a network of cancer clinical trials in 17 hospitals...

Patient preferences for health

In Ireland we ask society or the general public to state their preferences for descriptions of health. We then use these valuations or preferences to calculate the impact of technologies on quality of life and this informs how decision makers decide what to fund. This is known as the QALY framework and is used in most jurisdictions to...

Irish medical career tracking study (The MedTrack Study)

Hardly a week goes by without a national media report on the medical staffing crisis in the Irish health services, which is perhaps the biggest current threat to the delivery of quality health services to the population of Ireland. With 6- and 12-monthly staff turnovers, employers are forced to recruit staff from abroad to fill posts...

Blood brain barrier dysfunction in Schizophrenia; A molecular genetics based approach to prognosis

Schizophrenia has been estimated to affect up to 1 in 100 people in Ireland. Given its prevalence, the underlying causes of the condition are still far from clear. Intriguingly, there exists a chromosomal abnormality termed 22q11 deletion syndrome (22q11DS), where schizophrenia can manifest 20 times more frequently than in the general...

Early life stress and the etiopathogenesis of auditory hallucinations in young people

This research project aims to look at the relationship between experiencing stressful life events during childhood and experiencing psychotic-like symptoms (like hearing voices that other people can't hear, for example) in adolescence. Researchers have already shown that there is a relationship between these two experiences but, up...

The effects of maternal and foetal stress during pregnancy on adult mental health

The causes of both common mental illnesses like anxiety and depression and more severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are still unclear. We know that these illnesses are most likely a complex mix of environmental factors working in conjunction with underlying genetic vulnerability. The genetic input to these...

An inflammatory biomarker study of psychosis: a longitudinal study in an at risk population

Schizophrenia is among the most expensive disorders in terms of quality of life and societal cost. While treatments are inadequate, early intervention has been shown to be clinically effective. Consequently, there is an urgent need to improve our understanding of the pathophysiology of this disorder so that we can identify and treat...

Evaluating the role of TLR3 L412F in disease progression in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a lung disease of unknown cause which leads to excessive scarring of the lungs, resulting in loss of lung function, respiratory failure and ultimately, death. IPF is believed to be caused by abnormal repair of the lung after a chronic injury by an unknown agent to the lining of the lung (the...

Development of prognostic screening tools to predict patient response to neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy treatment for oesophageal adenocarcinoma

Cancer of the oesophagus, or food pipe, is an aggressive type of cancer with poor outlook and is affecting a growing number of people. The main types of treatments are surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, which may be given alone or in combination. Although chemoradiotherapy treatments work well for some, the majority of patients...

Blood adenosine levels as a novel diagnostic of seizures in humans

Epilepsy is the most common life-long brain disease and its diagnosis remains challenging needing the application of multiple criteria including patient history, seizure type and electroencephalography (EEG) recordings. The most reliable method is long periods under video surveillance during continuous EEG monitoring which is costly...

Disease gene independent generic suppression-based therapies for retinal disorders

Multiple mutations in over 200 genes can cause retinal degeneration, a group of diseases that result in the death of light detecting photoreceptor cells in the retina. Mutations in more than 30 genes can also cause optic neuropathies, a group of disorders that affect retinal ganglion cells, causing the optic nerve to be less capable of...

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,...

Targeting dysregulated bioenergetics in the inflamed RA joint

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a form of inflammatory arthritis that affects approximately 45,000 people in Ireland and bears a high personal, social and economic cost. It is estimated that the cost of treating patients with RA in Ireland is approximately

Targeting NK cells to improve HCV vaccine immunogenicity

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infects over 170 million people in the world. Most individuals go on to develop a chronic lifetime infection that is associated with progressive liver disease. While new drugs have recently been developed, they are very expensive and are not a treatment option for developing countries. In addition, there are...

Breast cancer risk: The influence of blood selenium status and interactions between selenium supply biomarkers and genetic variations in the selenoprotein gene pathway

Hormonal, reproductive, and dietary factors play an important role in the aetiology of breast cancer (BC). Selenium (Se) is an essential micronutrient thought to aid cancer prevention via its incorporation into selenoproteins which help counter oxidative damage to DNA, proteins, and lipids. Such DNA damage also appears to play a...

Defining host and microbe-derived immune targets for development of improved host-directed therapies and vaccines for TB

Almost one third of the world's population is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) with almost 2 million deaths to tuberculosis (TB) annually. Over 400 patients are treated for active TB annually in Ireland, with an increasing number of drug-resistant cases emerging. Currently treatment involves a multi-drug course for 6...

Dysfunctional mItochondria proVokes Inflammation iN prEeclampsia; a novel medical interventional target to improve maternal and foetal diagnosis in preeclampsia. Short title: DIVINE

Pre-eclampsia, a serious condition of late pregnancy, characterised by high blood pressure and proteinuria in the second-half of pregnancy, affects 5% of first time mothers and is associated with significant maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. A quarter of babies born to women with pre-eclampsia do not grow properly, and a...

Parent-adolescent communication and negotiation of self-management responsibilities for adolescents' with Type 1 Diabetes

Poor Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) self-care results in poor metabolic control and is particularly challenging during adolescent years. Good metabolic control of T1D is important to prevent long-term negative outcomes. With parents holding a central role in creating a safe learning environment and motivating adolescents to monitor food intake,...

Profiling receptive and expressive prosodic skills in children with spina bifida and hydrocephalus

This project will advance current knowledge about communication difficulties in children with spina bifida and hydrocephalus (SBH). This condition affects the normal development of the spinal cord and brain and is particularly relevant to the Irish context because of the high incidence in the country - currently at least 500 children...

Urine soluble CD163 as a biomarker of crescentic glomerulonephritis

Crescentic glomerulonephritis (CGN) is a severe form of kidney failure that leaves about one third of sufferers dependent on dialysis or needing a kidney transplant. It is currently difficult to assess the condition without performing a kidney biopsy, which is uncomfortable, expensive and occasionally dangerous to the patient. We have...

Ethnic Minority Health in Ireland - Building the evidence base to address health inequities

International evidence shows that minority ethnic groups have poorer health and more difficulties accessing healthcare than majority ethnic groups. Analysis of existing health datasets and the use of ethnic identifiers in health care systems are promoted internationally as valuable ways to address these differences. It is not possible...

Spectroscopic imaging for prognostic applications in breast and oesophageal cancer treatment (SPECPREDICT)

Each cancer patient has a unique response to cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy. An individual patients response to cancer treatment is to a significant degree determined by their own biology (genetic profile) and other environmental factors such as diet and lifestyle. With the evolution of technologies such as...

NIMBUS group: Neonatal Inflammation and Multiorgan dysfunction and Brain injUry reSearch group

Neonatal brain injury has a many causes and may result in cerebral palsy. Cooling therapy is the only established treatment but 50% of babies treated will die or have disability and so new therapies to reduce brain injury are urgently needed. New-borns who are severely affected also have problems with their heart, liver, lung and...

INCA: interaction analytics for automatic assessment of communication quality in primary care

Communication between physician and patient is crucial to the overall quality of primary care. An important element of this interaction is the physician-patient interview. While there are various opinions on what constitutes effective communication in a medical interview, sometimes supported by formal (qualitative and quantitative)...

Viral hepatitis C associated neurocognitive dysfunction in Ireland in the DAA era

Approximately 30,000-50,000 people in Ireland have hepatitis C. Although the virus mainly affects the liver, in up to 30% of infected people the virus also affects the brain causing poor concentration, difficulties in concentrating, poor memory. Patients often describe this as a "brain fog". These symptoms may lead to forgetting...

A moment for hand hygiene in the Intensive Care Unit: How Can Compliance be Improved?

Healthcare Associated Infections (HCAIs) such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) represent the most frequent complications experienced by hospital patients. Effective hand hygiene practices are considered to be the most important strategy for preventing HCAIs. However, compliance with good hand hygiene practices has...

Research in depression: endocrinology, epigenetics and neuroiMaging: the REDEEM study

Depression is the most common psychiatric disorder in the world, accounting for approximately 90% of deaths by suicide. Rates of depression are rising alarmingly in the OECD countries. Although depression is considered to be a single clinical disorder, it has many underlying causes ranging from childhood abuse through to purely genetic...

Medically licensed mesenchymal stem cells for the treatment of systemic sepsis

Systemic sepsis is a severe condition arising from a bacterial or fungal infection of the blood or lymph. It commonly leads to overwhelming inflammation and multiple organ failure and can kill up to 50% of sufferers. Toxins produced by bacteria are the major trigger for these responses in the patient. There are currently no specific...

Prevention of postoperative persistent bowel symptoms in patients with Hirschsprung's Disease

Hirschsprung's disease (HD) is a relatively common cause of intestinal obstruction in the new-born, occurring in 1 in 4,000 live births. It is characterised by abnormal development of the nerve supply to varying lengths of the large bowel prior to birth. The gold standard treatment for HD is an operation to remove the diseased bowel...

A translational systems biological study to identify molecular predictors for responsiveness to TRAIL-receptor agonists in colorectal cancer

Many patients that suffer from cancer of the colon require chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is supposed to induce the death of cancer cells by a molecularly controlled death process called apoptosis. Apoptosis in response to chemotherapy requires the activation of cell death genes, but colon cancer cells often can prevent these genes from...

Evaluating metabotropic glutamate 5 receptor-selective drugs as a novel therapeutic strategy for Alzheimer's disease

Clinical dementia, the majority of cases being caused by Alzheimer's disease, seriously impairs the lives of over 50 million people worldwide currently (costing ~1% of the aggregated global gross domestic product). There are approximately 48,000 people with dementia and 50,000 dementia carers in Ireland. At present the lifetime...

Traumatic spinal cord injury in Ireland: service planning for changing epidemiology

This project will examine several aspects of traumatic spinal cord injury in the Irish population. The project will look backwards (retrospective) and forwards (prospective). For the years 2010 - 2014 inclusive, the medical records of all patients with traumatic spinal cord injury discharged from the National Rehabilitation Hospital...

Preclinical characterization of fingolimod as a potential therapeutic agent for stroke

Stroke is usually caused by the occlusion of a brain artery with a clot. It is the third most common cause of death and the most common cause of acquired physical disability in Ireland. The only available drug is only used in ~5% of patients (because most patients are either too far, or arrive too late to a specialized treatment...

Preclinical evaluation of a novel therapeutic strategy for Ulcerative Colitis

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a chronic relapsing intestinal inflammatory condition comprising of separate disease manifestations known as ulcerative colitis (UC) and crohns disease (CD). Despite significant advances in our understanding of the basic mechanisms which promote these diseases, current treatment strategies usually...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...