Kolling Achievements

 

For over 80 years researchers at Kolling have been at the forefront of health and medical research discovery, often leading the world in developing new ways to treat and manage disease.

Achievements include: 

 

LIFE SAVING TREATMENTS

·         life-saving treatment for a devastating condition called Proteus Syndrome [Catalyst Story]

 

DISCOVERIES

  • a new therapeutic agent for burn and wound healing
  • a gene mutation that causes Parkinson’s disease that will help in diagnosis
  • genetic markers that more accurately identify people at risk of tumours
  • a new method of minimising kidney damage in diabetes
  • prognostic markers in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and in vitro assays to measure response to novel therapies - these assays can now be applied in early-stage clinical trials
  • molecular markers of myeloproliferative disease, to aid in early diagnosis. In vitro testing of novel therapies as above
  • novel markers of stem cell viability to improve transplant outcomes in patients with haematological malignancy
  • a substance that promotes blood vessel growth is greatly increased in the circulation of pregnant women from very early in pregnancy. This substance (angiopoietin-2) is very much lower in the blood stream of women at 10 weeks of pregnancy if they are destined to have a baby that fails to grow properly in the uterus. These findings suggest that some problems of pregnancy have their origin in the first few weeks of gestation. Further work is now underway to see whether this test will be useful for clinical practice and whether the baby's growth can be improved.

 

DEVELOPMENTS

 

·         a new test to predict the outcome of patients with brain cancer.

·         new clinical tests to improve outcomes of abnormal pregnancies.

·         new tests for breast and pancreatic cancer.

·         a new method to prevent damage from heart failure.

·         global tests of coagulation to detect patients with hypercoagulable states, validation of assays in pregnancy and disease states and ability to measure anticoagulant effect.

·         a novel assay for heparin-induced thrombosis/thrombocytopenia, allowing rapid diagnosis of pathogenic antibodies.

 

IMPROVEMENTS

  • treatment of chronic pain by discovering how the body’s “natural painkillers” work.
  • clinical management through the ability to more accurately identify malignant or benign adrenal gland tumours.

·         treatments for degeneration or inflammation of bones and joints.

 

With your help Kolling can continue to make a world of difference. Donate now