The University of New South Wales

$2M funding for carers of CALD people with dementia Independent non-profit National Ageing Research Institute (NARI) has received federal grant funding for its project enabling digital support for culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) people with dementia. It obtained A$2.9 million ($1.8 million) from the Medical Research Future Fund for its five-year project, which will trial the iSupport program, an online skills and training program for informal carers of people with dementia developed by the World Health Organization. NARI will convene an advisory group of carers, policymakers, and service providers who will govern and facilitate access to iSupport. The digital intervention program is available in six languages, including English, and comes with a companion version for carers. "We're working to address challenges for CALD Australian carers of people with dementia who lack caregiving skills and have trouble accessing culturally appropriate services," explained Tuan Nguyen, associate professor and NARI principal research fellow and project lead. AI-powered silicosis breath test developed in NSW Researchers from the University of New South Wales have developed an AI-enabled breath test for the early diagnosis of silicosis. The lung disease caused by inhaling large amounts of silica dust has been a major occupational health concern in Australia. UNSW Sydney researchers created the rapid breath test, which combines mass spectrometry and AI, to support large-scale silicosis screening of the increasingly incurable yet preventable condition. They demonstrated through a study the ability of the breath test to differentiate between individuals with silicosis and those who are unafflicted with high accuracy. The screening process takes less than five minutes, showing potential use for routine check-ups of at-risk workers in mining and construction. The research team at UNSW Sydney are now validating the AI-driven silicosis test further in a study involving larger cohorts. Wellumio enters AI integration partnership New Zealand-based medical device company Wellumio has partnered with stroke AI solution provider Nicolab from the Netherlands for technology integration. Under their memorandum of understanding, the companies will integrate Nicolab's AI-powered clinical decision support system for diagnosing stroke into Wellumio's portable MRI device. The Nicolab stroke AI platform was recently deployed across Queensland public hospitals as part of the statewide telestroke service. They will also explore funding opportunities and regulatory pathways for the potential deployment of their integrated solution. Queensland startup to roll out eye screening AI in India TeleMedC, an eye health startup in Queensland, has recently entered into a strategic partnership to expand across India. With backing from Trade and Investment Queensland, its partnership with local startup AND Healthcare aims to promote and deploy its AI-powered solution for screening eye diseases, including diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, and macular diseases. TeleMedC has also recently formed collaborations with Aravind Eye Hospital and other medical institutions in the country through the support of the Australia-India Strategic Research Fund. Moreover, the startup is in talks with small and medium enterprises to integrate AI-based eye screening into their corporate social responsibility programs.

FRIDAY, Dec. 6, 2024 -- Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) reduce the risk for clinically important kidney and cardiovascular disease outcomes in individuals with type 2 diabetes, according to research published online Nov. 25 in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology . Sunil V. Badve, Ph.D., from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, and colleagues conducted a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials that compared a GLP-1 RA to placebo among participants with type 2 diabetes. Post hoc, the SELECT trial, which enrolled participants with cardiovascular disease and a body mass index of 27 kg/m 2 or greater without diabetes, was included. The meta-analysis included 11 trials with 85,373 participants (67,769 with type 2 diabetes). The researchers found that GLP-1 RAs reduced the composite kidney outcome, kidney failure, major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), and all-cause death compared with placebo (hazard ratios, 0.82, 0.84, 0.87, and 0.88, respectively) in participants with type 2 diabetes. On inclusion of the SELECT trial, the effect on the composite kidney outcome, kidney failure, MACE, and all-cause death was similar (hazard ratios, 0.81, 0.84, 0.86, and 0.87, respectively), with no evidence of heterogeneity between the trials. The GLP-1 RA and placebo groups had no differences in the risk for serious adverse events, including acute pancreatitis and severe hypoglycemia. "Taken together, these results and the breadth of the benefits observed support an important role for GLP-1 receptor agonists as kidney-protective and heart-protective medications that could play an important role in addressing the global burden of noncommunicable diseases," the authors write. Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

FRIDAY, Sept. 6, 2024 -- Sports concussions in older nonprofessional athletes are not linked to any negative long-term cognitive effects, according to a study published online Sept. 4 in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry . Matthew Joseph Lennon, Ph.D., from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, and colleagues assessed the cognitive effects of sports-related concussion (SRC) in nonathletes. The analysis included 15,214 U.K. community-dwelling adults (aged 50 to 90 years) followed annually for four years. The researchers found that at baseline, the SRC group had significantly better working memory (B = 0.113) and verbal reasoning (B = 0.199) versus those without concussion. Additionally, those who had suffered one SRC at baseline had significantly better verbal reasoning (B = 0.111) and attention (B = 0.115) versus those with no SRC at baseline. However, participants with three or more non-SRCs had significantly worse processing speed (B = −0.082) and attention (B = −0.156), as well as a significantly worse trajectory of verbal reasoning with increasing age (B = −0.088). "While these results do not indicate the safety of any sport in particular, they do indicate that overall sports may have greater beneficial effects for long-term cognitive health than the damage it causes, even in those who have experienced concussion," Lennon said in a statement. Abstract/Full Text Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.