Neuroscience:

1
Neuroscience
The future in treating and preventingbrain and
mind disorders
2
Brain and Mind Working Group
Dr Leanna Read CEO, TGR BioSciences Pty Ltd Prof
Fred Mendelsohn Director, Howard Florey
Institute Prof Max Bennett AO Dept Physiology,
Univ Sydney Prof Edward Byrne Centre for
Neuroscience, Univ Melbourne Prof Ian Hickie CEO,
beyondblue Prof Assen Jablensky School
Psychiatry Clinical Neurosci, Univ WA A/Prof
Christos Pantelis Dept Psychiatry Univ
Melbourne Prof Peter Schofield Neurobiology Res
Program, Garvan Inst Med Res With assistance
from Department of Health, and Michael Healy,
Office of the Chief Scientist
3
Aims of This Presentation

• To demonstrate
• The impact of brain mind disorders on Australia
• The urgent need for solutions
• The pivotal role neuroscience will play in those
  solutions
• To show the way forward

4
Causes of Disability
Australia, 1996
Years of Healthy Life Lost (thousands)
5
Psychiatric Neurological Disorders
Depression and Addiction Afflict Our Young,
Dementia and Stroke the Elderly
Total disability
Years of Age
6
In any one year, over3 million
Australiansexperience one or moreepisodes of
majorbrain or mind disorder
7
Counting the Cost
Brain and Mind Disorders Impose High Health Costs
and Productivity Losses
Annual Costs to Government ofMental Disorders
PBS Spend
8
Increasing Costs of Dementia
2001/02
9
What If We CouldPreventThese Disorders
orControl ThemCost-effectively?
10

• Eliminating Alzheimers disease by 2042 would
  save over 20 billion pa in health and business
  costs
• If the onset of disease was delayed for five
  years the direct and indirect health savings
  would be
• 5 billion pa for Alzheimers disease
• 1 billion pa for stroke
• If the incidence of schizophrenia was reduced by
  25, we would save 500 million pa

11
Neuroscience research offers a real opportunity
to achieve impressive savings
12
Improved Health Care Alone isNot the Answer
13
1. Sequencing the Human Genome

• Greatest single advance for neuroscience
• More than half of known genes are expressed in
  the brain
• Accelerating discovery of chemical basis of
  brain function
• New targets for disease prevention and treatment

DNA chip microarray
14
2. Cellular and molecular neuroscience
15
3. Multidisciplinary Approaches
Early Changes Detected in the Brain
Schizophrenia Brain Imaging plus GenomicsReveal
a Fundamental Problem With Synapses New therapy
targets
Pantelis co-workers, Lancet 10 Dec 2002
16
4.Stem Cells in the Adult Brain
Rietze co-workers. Nature Aug 2001. Walter
Eliza Hall and Howard Florey Insts
17
5. Alzheimers Disease
AlzheimersSufferer
Normal
Brain Affected byAlzheimers
NormalBrain
Mouse Model of Alzheimers
Treated Mouse
18
Recap

• Brain and mind disorders impose the highest
  health burden of any disease group
• Early intervention strategies needed
• The neuroscience revolution offers great promise
  brain and mind are coming together
• Australia can tap its world-class research
  capability and growing industry sector

19
Australias Neuroscience Capability
Neuroscience Capability
20
How do we optimise this opportunity?

• Cross-disciplinary research networks - national
  and international
• National network funding for neuroscience
  research
• Outcome focus through community and industry
  partnerships
• Provide the means to identify the big research
  priorities and to evaluate outcomes
• Pro-active consideration of ethical issues

21
Recommendation Establish a Brain and Mind
Research Alliance
Cross-disciplinaryResearchPartnerships National
International
Cross-AgencyNational Network Research Funding
Brain and MindResearchAlliance
Policy Research Priorities Outcome
Evaluation Ethics
Community and IndustryPartnerships
22
Outcomes for Australia

• Curing some major brain and mind disorders
• A significant improvement in the health and
  well-being of Australians
• Retain international leadership in neuroscience
  research
• Build an internationally competitive
  neuro-biotechnology industry

23
Bringing Brain and Mind Together
24
(No Transcript)
25
Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
Functional neuroimaging
26
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
Structural and functional neuroimaging
27
Reorganisation of the Brain Following Injury
Speech
Normal Child
Left Sided Brain Damage
Right
Right
Left
28
Brain Activation in Mathematically Gifted and
Normal Children During a Mental Task
Gifted
Control
29
Schizophrenia
Functional Brain Imaging and GenomicsReveal a
Fundamental Problem With Synapses