The Ludwig Engel Centre for Respiratory Research primarily focus on:

Obstructive Sleep Apnoea Syndrome
Sleep apnoea is a sleep disorder characterised by pauses in breathing during sleep. These episodes, called apnoeas (literally, "without breath"), each last long enough that one or more breaths are missed, and occur repeatedly throughout sleep.

Our researchers are working to understand the processes associated with the occurrence of obstructed breathing during sleep in order to improve the treatment of this important disorder.

Cystic Fibrosis
Cystic Fibrosis is an inherited disorder of the exocrine glands, usually developing during early childhood and affecting mainly the pancreas, respiratory system, and sweat glands. It is marked by the production of abnormally thick mucus by the affected glands, usually resulting in chronic respiratory infections and impaired pancreatic function.

Cystic fibrosis sufferers experience altered salt transport across the lining of the airways. This leads to drying of the airway surface which impedes the processes that remove mucus from the lungs, making them very susceptible to bacterial infections.

Our researchers are working to understand the processes by which mucus retention occurs in CF patients and to develop new treatments that will improve airway function in these patients leading to a longer life expectancy and improved quality of life.

Asthma
Asthma is a common disorder in which chronic inflammation of the bronchial tubes (bronchi) makes them swell, narrowing the airways. Airway narrowing in asthma is due to three major processes acting on the bronchi: inflammation, spasm (bronchospasm), and hyperreactivity (over-reaction of the bronchi to factors that can precipitate asthma).

The incidence of asthma has risen dramatically in the past 20 years, a period far too short to reflect any significant changes in the gene pool. This supports the important role that environmental influences (allergy, infection, lifestyle, and diet) have on the development of asthma.

A major research interest in the Ludwig Engel Centre is the influence of mouth versus nose breathing on the occurrence of asthmatic symptoms in asthma patients. The nose warms, humidifies and filters inspired air, whereas mouth breathing exposes the lungs to unheated, dry, unfiltered air which may contribute to the occurrence or worsening of an asthmatic attack.

Early work has shown that mouth breathing is common during an asthmatic attack and that asthmatic patients will switch easily from nose to mouth breathing. Currently, researchers are investigating whether nose breathing can help to resolve an episode of airway narrowing.

The Centre for Heart Research (CHR) is investigating two major problem areas in Cardiology:

Ventricular Tachycardia
Ventricular tachycardia is most commonly associated with heart attacks or scarring of the heart muscle from a previous heart attack. It is an abnormal rapid heart rhythm originating from the bottom portion of the heart (ventricle) and often causes cardiac arrest and death.

Ventricular tachycardia is life-threatening because it can lead to a dreaded condition, ventricular fibrillation. In ventricular fibrillation, the ventricles beat rapidly in a chaotic, purposeless fashion. The heart cannot pump blood effectively to the body. If untreated, ventricular fibrillation can be fatal within minutes, or even seconds.

Attempts to cure ventricular tachycardia using percutaneous catheters (through the skin) have been hampered by the inadequacies of conventional mapping and ablation techniques (surgical removal).

Researchers at CHR have designed a catheter that could create a deeper ablation lesion than is currently possible.

Atrial Fibrillation
Atrial fibrillation is a condition that results in chaotic beating of the heart and is the most common abnormal rhythm. It is due to abnormal electrical activation of the upper part of the heart called the atria.