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Research

Increasingly, preterm-born children are entering adulthood as survival at earlier gestational ages improves. However, there is little understanding of the lived experience in preterm-born adults.

Research

Pathogenic variants in the cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 (CDKL5) gene are associated with CDKL5 deficiency disorder (CDD), a severe X-linked developmental and epileptic encephalopathy. 

Research

Healing Right Way (HRW) aimed to improve health outcomes for Aboriginal Australians with stroke or traumatic brain injury by facilitating system-level access to culturally secure rehabilitation services. Using a stepped-wedge randomised controlled trial design, a two-pronged intervention was introduced in four rural and four urban hospitals, comprising cultural security training for staff and training/employment of Aboriginal Brain Injury Coordinators to support Aboriginal patients for 6-months post-injury.

Research

Despite the volume of accumulating knowledge from prospective Aboriginal cohort studies, longitudinal data describing developmental trajectories in health and well-being is limited.

Research

Intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are varied in their nature and presentation. Barriers to oral healthcare are reported in studies of general populations with IDD but these may not reflect the barriers experienced by individuals with rare disorders such as Rett syndrome.

Research

Septo-optic dysplasia (SOD) is a congenital disorder affecting 1 in 10,000 births, defined by the presence of at least two of a clinical triad, consisting of optic nerve hypoplasia, midline brain defects and pituitary hormone deficiency. Children with SOD may have vision impairment, hormonal deficiencies, developmental disorders, or epilepsy, but the clinical picture is highly variable. The complexity of SOD, its interplay with family factors, and the need for multiple specialty commitments can make the diagnosis period a challenging time for families.

Research

Clinical utility of home polysomnography in children with neuromuscular disorders is limited by lack of evidence that sleep-disordered breathing can be reliably identified and inability to diagnose hypoventilation because carbon dioxide is not measured.

Research

The transport of sick newborn infants with respiratory distress leads to unwanted stress at time of physiological instability. There is dearth of studies to evaluate these stress levels. This pilot prospective observational before-after study aimed to evaluate the plasma cortisol levels (as surrogate marker of stress) in infants with respiratory distress during different phases of neonatal transport.

Research

Rett syndrome is associated with severe functional impairments and many comorbidities, each in urgent need of treatments. Mutations in the MECP2 gene were identified as causing Rett syndrome in 1999. Over the past 20 years there has been an abundance of preclinical research with some studies leading to human clinical trials.

Research

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) is a lifelong disability of varying severity that occurs among individuals prenatally exposed to alcohol. Among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Indigenous) Australians, the effects of colonisation and ongoing racism could increase the risk of alcohol consumption during pregnancy.