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| Dr Michele Callisaya |
Stroke research at the School of Clinical Sciences at Monash
Health has again been recognised by the Stroke Society of Australasia (SSA).
Adjunct senior lecturer with the Stroke and Ageing
Research Group Dr Michele Callisaya won the top Investigator Award at the
SSA Scientific Meeting earlier this month in Melbourne.
Dr Callisaya’s oral presentation, ‘Subcortical infarcts and the risk of falls: combined results
of TASCOG and Sydney MAS’ earned her the prestigious Peter Bladin New
Investigator Award.
“We aimed to examine whether tiny strokes occurring deep in
the brain, known as small subcortical infarcts, increase the risk of falls in
older people,” said Dr Callisaya.
As people age, they tend to have an increasing number of
such small subcortical infarcts even without knowing it. Older people are also at risk of falling and
suffering serious injuries but until now, there has been no data on the role of
small subcortical infarcts leading to falls.
“Our investigation found there is almost double the risk of
falls in older people who have three or more small subcortical infarcts,” said Dr Callisaya.
It is
likely that a large burden of such infarcts disrupts the wiring in the brain
and leads to impaired balance.”
The
study also found that having weak leg muscles and poorer vision amplified this
risk.
“Apart
from trying to prevent such infarcts from occurring, interventions aimed at
strengthening leg muscles and improving vision may offset the risk of falling
in older people.”
“This award is also an important recognition of Associate Professor Velandai Srikanth’s mentoring, the support of others in the Stroke and Ageing Research Group, and interstate collaborators,” added Dr Callisaya.
Dr Callisaya is Associate Professor Srikanth's fourth past student to win this prestigious award. Previous recipients include Dr Lauren Sanders, Dr Philip Choi, and Dr Chris Moran.
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