Research News

Couples sought for pregnancy risk study

Monday, 18 April 2011 16:14

Participants are needed for a Robinson Institute study to determine which couples are more at risk of pregnancy complications.

A diagnostic test being developed by the Institute will identify couples at high risk of pregnancy problems, helping to alleviate complications which occur in 20% of first pregnancies.

Lead researcher Professor Claire Roberts says couples planning to become pregnant, or those less than 12 weeks pregnant, are needed for the study to help researchers understand why some women develop complications in pregnancy and not others.

"The most common difficulties are miscarriage, preeclampsia (high blood pressure in pregnancy) and pre-term births," Professor Roberts says.

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

Couples involved in the study will undergo a number of blood tests checking their folate, vitamin B and D levels, hormonal levels and immune system. Researchers will also examine any genes associated with blood clotting, which are known to cause pregnancy complications.

The time commitment for the study will be limited to two visits at most - for blood tests and to undertake a medical and lifestyle questionnaire.

"By learning more about risk factors we can help prevent and treat these problems for future pregnant women and their babies," Professor Roberts says. "We can also save the community millions of dollars in healthcare costs."

The study, called Predicting Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes (PAPO), is linked to an international obstetrics program SCOPE (SCreening fOr Pregnancy Endpoints), which aims to recruit 10,000 patients globally to build a pregnancy biobank.

Professor Claire Roberts is a Senior Research Fellow within the Robinson Institute and Scientific Director of the SA SCOPE Study.

For more information about taking part in the study:

Please contact Dr Denise Furness from the Robinson Institute on (08) 8313 1433 or (08) 8303 4086.
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Web Site: www.RobinsonInstitute.edu.au

New Robinson Foundation Newsletter

Friday, 25 March 2011 13:30

Welcome to the first issue of the Robinson Foundation Newsletter!

In this issue:

Australia day honour for cerebral palsy researcher
Peter Couche awarded Pride of Australia Medal
Major IVF breakthrough to hit the world market
Fertility preservation closer to reality for female cancer survivors
Governor tours the Robinson Institute
New technologies advancing reproductive health

Download or read online

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Australia Day honour for cerebral palsy researcher

Wednesday, 26 January 2011 08:24

Professor Alastair MacLennan has been appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for his 40 years’ work in women’s and children’s health, in particular unravelling the causes of cerebral palsy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Congratulations Alastair!

alastair

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

IVF breakthrough to hit the world market

Thursday, 06 January 2011 09:51

Research from the Robinson Institute has achieved a major breakthrough in IVF technology that is expected to help millions of women around the world who have suffered previous miscarriages after IVF treatment.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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