Project Details
Description
20 million people worldwide have weakening of their main abdominal artery (abdominal aortic aneurysm; AAA) and are at high risk of both major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) and AAA events (AAA repair and rupture-related death). Most AAAs are identified at a small size when their risk of rupture is low. Management of small AAA focuses on repeat aortic imaging every 6-12 months to identify when the threshold diameter is reached for elective surgical AAA repair. Most small AAAs continue to grow in size and eventually undergo repair. No drugs have been shown to limit AAA growth and the clinical pathway focuses on identifying those needing surgery rather than medical management or individualised care to reduce the risk of MACE and AAA events.
Our interviews with patients and health professionals indicate that the number one deficiency in current AAA management is the lack of individualised medical management to reduce the high incidence of MACE and AAA events. Our international AAA alliance is uniquely placed due to our resources (biobank, registry) and IP (bioinformatics, biomarkers, clinical, engineering software, genomics, machine learning and pathogenesis) to addresses this unmet clinical need.
The aims are to:
1: Identify/validate prognostic blood/imaging biomarkers of major adverse events and incorporate them in two models that estimate the risks of MACE and AAA events;
2: Develop/test user-friendly applications for health professional to use in every day practice which incorporate the two models developed in aim 1 to inform management;
3: Test in an RCT if treatment with telmisartan for two years (vs placebo) reduces the risk of AAA rupture estimated from our imaging biomarkers;
4: Test if allopurinol prescription is associated with reduced risk of AAA events and if this is affected by biomarkers.
This project will identify key clinical roles for biomarkers within apps and perform the first ever evaluation of the benefits of drugs in reducing AAA rupture risk.
Our interviews with patients and health professionals indicate that the number one deficiency in current AAA management is the lack of individualised medical management to reduce the high incidence of MACE and AAA events. Our international AAA alliance is uniquely placed due to our resources (biobank, registry) and IP (bioinformatics, biomarkers, clinical, engineering software, genomics, machine learning and pathogenesis) to addresses this unmet clinical need.
The aims are to:
1: Identify/validate prognostic blood/imaging biomarkers of major adverse events and incorporate them in two models that estimate the risks of MACE and AAA events;
2: Develop/test user-friendly applications for health professional to use in every day practice which incorporate the two models developed in aim 1 to inform management;
3: Test in an RCT if treatment with telmisartan for two years (vs placebo) reduces the risk of AAA rupture estimated from our imaging biomarkers;
4: Test if allopurinol prescription is associated with reduced risk of AAA events and if this is affected by biomarkers.
This project will identify key clinical roles for biomarkers within apps and perform the first ever evaluation of the benefits of drugs in reducing AAA rupture risk.
| Acronym | MRFF (JCU led) |
|---|---|
| Status | Active |
| Effective start/end date | 1/01/22 → 31/05/25 |