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Dr Nguyen, Mr Rodriguez and
Prof Ebeling in Hobart |
Congratulations to our Department of Medicine researchers
whose research was widely acknowledged at the Australian and New Zealand Bone
and Mineral Society (ANZBMS) Annual Scientific Meeting last week in Hobart.
Monash Health Endocrinologist and Post-doctoral Research
Fellow at the Hudson Institute of Medical Research Dr Phillip Wong received the
prestigious Osteoporosis Australia / Amgen Research Grant.
Dr Wong, who recently completed his PhD at Hudson, has
uncovered a potentially important relationship between
deferasirox (iron chelator) with kidney stones and osteoporosis through
increased hypercalciuria in patients with thalassaemia.
“The aim of my current research is to determine whether reversing hypercalciuria in people taking
deferasirox can lead to a reversal in loss of bone mineral density,” said Dr
Wong.
“This grant is a great honour for me and will allow me to devote
important time and resources to my research and enable me to be competitive in
obtaining peer-reviewed funding over the next 12 to 24 months.”
Dr Hanh Nguyen, Endocrinology Research Fellow and PhD
student in the Bone and Muscle Research Group received the Clinical Research
Excellence Award for her study, ‘Delay in oestrogen commencement is associated
with low spine and hip bone mineral density in Turner Syndrome’.
Turner Syndrome is the most common chromosomal abnormality
in females, and is associated with gonadal failure, osteoporosis and fragility
fractures. Gonadal failure, resulting in chronic oestrogen deficiency, is a
major risk factor for osteoporosis and can be treated with oestrogen therapy.
“Monash Health has the only multidisciplinary Adult Turner
Syndrome Clinic in Australia, and our study investigated the prevalence and
risk factors for low bone mass in Turner Syndrome patients,” said Dr Nguyen.
“We found that gonadal failure affected close to 90% of
patients but that there was a delay in starting oestrogen therapy, associated
with lower bone density in the spine and hip.”
Dr Nguyen’s study has been valuable in identifying the risk
factors for osteoporosis in Turner Syndrome.
“We have shown that it is important to ensure timely
oestrogen commencement and encourage continuous oestrogen therapy compliance to
avoid oestrogen deficiency and thus optimise bone health in this
population.”
Also from the Bone and Muscle Health Research Group, PhD
student Alexander Rodriguez received a plenary poster presentation at the
Annual Scientific meeting.
“My study showed that in otherwise healthy older Australians, low
muscle mass was associated with more calcification in the aorta,” said Mr
Rodriguez.
“Aortic calcification is an important risk factor for cardiovascular
disease, possibly even more important than blood pressure because calcified
arteries may cause a rise in blood pressure and thus precede hypertension.”
Mr Rodriguez said as a junior researcher he was very
grateful to have received his award and was pleased to establish two potential
collaborations with colleagues interested in his poster at the meeting.
