Mason award landmark grant for CFS research
08 December 2011
Researchers at Bond University have received a landmark grant of over
$800,000 to continue their ground-breaking research into identifying
the cause and possible treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS).
In what is the largest-ever collaborative international CFS project,
Bond=92s Public Health and Neuroimmunology Unit (PHANU), in partnership
with Queensland Health, Stanford University and Incline Village
Medical Centre in Nevada, will receive a total of $831,037 over the
next four years from the Judith Jane Mason & Harold Stannett Williams
Memorial Foundation (the Mason Foundation).
The funding will allow chief investigators Associate Professor Sonya
Marshall-Gradisnik from Bond University and Dr Donald Staines from
Queensland Health =96 to significantly advance their works towards
identifying the cause and developing a treatment for the debilitating
condition which affects a conservative estimate of 250,000
Australians.
=93CFS is characterised by a multitude of severe fatigue-related
symptoms that can leave many sufferers bed-ridden,=94 said Dr Sonya
Marshall-Gradisnik.
=93Unfortunately there is no clear diagnostic test available; with
doctors arriving at a diagnosis by eliminating all other possibilities
and only after the symptoms have persisted for six months or more.
=93As a result, CFS sufferers often encounter stigmatisation and
disbelief as to whether they have a =91legitimate=92 medical problem,=94 sh=
e
said.
Teresa Zolnierkiewicz, Head of Philanthropy at ANZ Trustees which is
trustee of the Mason Foundation, commented: =93This Foundation, informed
by an expert advisory panel, awards strategic medical and scientific
research grants aimed at creating breakthroughs in Chronic Fatigue
Syndrome and Alzheimer=92s disease. It has supported Dr
Marshall-Gradisnik=92s work for a number of years and is pleased to be
providing a significant boost through one of only four Mason Special
Grants awarded this year.
=93We are grateful to the benefactor of this trust, Judith Mason, for
her generous commitment to alleviating the suffering of those with
this illness,=94 she said.
Bond University=92s Vice-Chancellor Professor Robert Stable said this
was one of the largest nationally competitive grants that the
University had received.
=93This is a fantastic achievement for Bond and demonstrated the
credibility and momentum of the CFS research platform at Bond in the
highly contested area of biomedical and clinical research.
=93I applaud Dr Marshall-Gradisnik and her team for their recent success
and their dedication,=94 said Professor Stable.
Funded by a series of grants from the Mason Foundation, the Ramicotti
Foundation, the Alison Hunter Memorial Foundation and a Queensland
Smart State Grant, their research has focussed on abnormalities in the
blood profiles of CFS sufferers and identifying the biomarkers
responsible.
=93Essentially, we=92re looking at the pathology in order to gain insight
into the pathway of how CFS develops,=94 said Dr Marshall-Gradisnik.
=93Recent independent research from Norway has found that it may stem
from an abnormal immunological system which is very much in line with
the research we have been conducting at Bond and indicates that we are
on the right track.
=93This latest grant from the Mason Foundation will allow us to
significantly progress our work by conducting a pilot study which
could then lead to a drug trial.
=93Ultimately our aim is to develop a clear diagnostic test for CFS and
establish a national testing facility here at Bond University, which
we believe could happen within the next five years.=94
While CFS is predominantly recognised in patients over 40 years of
age, it can afflict young adults and teenagers of 17 years or younger,
with a six-to-one ratio of female-to-male sufferers.
It generally follows on from an episode of illness where patients
don=92t =91pick up=92 as well as would be expected and continue to
experience persistent fatigue, restlessness and sleeplessness.
Sufferers find they are unable to do their normal daily activities;
some are forced to give up work and are confined to their house or
even totally bedridden.
Through its ground-breaking research over the past three years, PHANU
at Bond University is now recognised as one of the most successful CFS
research units in the world.
-
About the Mason Foundation
The goal of the Judith Jane Mason & Harold Stannett Williams Memorial
Foundation is to achieve enduring, positive impact in the areas of
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Alzheimer=92s disease through funding
medical research principally into the causes, prevention and/or
management of these diseases.
The Mason Foundation was established in 2003 as a result of a generous
donation by Judith Jane Mason. It provides funding nationally. Since
establishment the Mason Foundation has distributed $6.7 million in
pursuit of its goal. In 2011, the Mason Foundation awarded 23 grants
totalling $3.1 million over the next four years.
Applications guidelines and other information about the Mason
Foundation can be found on the ANZ Trustees website -
www.anz.com/anztrustees
ANZ Trustees is the sole trustee of the Mason Foundation and is a
trustee of over 230 charitable foundations that collectively allocates
over $75 million for charitable purposes annually.
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