Otago University further highlighted its standing as a leading research university by gaining $553,692 of the $942,818 provided to health researchers throughout the country in the latest Neurological Foundation of New Zealand annual funding round.
Dr Istvan Abraham, a Hungarian-born researcher who became an Otago lecturer in physiology last year, was delighted to gain $179,737 from the foundation to explore a novel approach in Alzheimer's therapy.
Alzheimer's disease was a serious health problem in New Zealand and around the world, Dr Abraham, the project's principal investigator, said.
In the disease, the cholinergic neurons in the brain - which were important in learning, memory and maintaining attention - were affected, causing loss of cognitive function.
The female hormone estrogen provided some protection for these cells but had several serious side effects.
Dr Abraham hoped to avoid the side effects by investigating the use of drugs which selectively activated the protective mechanisms.
"We will investigate estren, a synthetic estrogen that has selective actions, to determine whether it protects cholinergic brain cells," he said.
The research would help assess the potential of this approach as a future treatment, he said.
Prof Wickliffe Abraham and Sarah Hulme, of the Otago psychology department, gained a $181,937 grant to investigate "mechanisms of neural plasticity and protection".
Prof Abraham noted that many neurological diseases impaired the ability of nerve cells to exhibit changes necessary for learning and memory.
This led to cognitive deficits such as memory loss in Alzheimer's disease.
The planned research would investigate the mechanisms by which nerve cells controlled their own memory-related functions, and would help guide development of future therapies, the researchers said.
Dr Margaret Ryan (anatomy and structural biology) and fellow researchers Dr Joanna Williams and Prof Warren Tate received $89,298 to investigate the underlying mechanisms of a protective peptide's effects in the brain and its therapeutic potential in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
Prof George Lees (pharmacology and toxicology) and a research team gained $102,720 to investigate how drugs which activate or block a newly discovered histamine-binding protein, called the H4 receptor, regulate nerve cell activity in parts of the brain involved in sleep disturbances, Alzheimer's disease and psychiatric illness.
