Awards made during 2005-06
During this a shortened financial year there was only one grant-awarding meeting.
£66,210 to Dr Keith Kelso Hussey, Miss Julie Brittenden (Vascular Surgery Unit, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary), Dr Isobel Ford, Dr Frank Thies & Professor Michael Greaves (Department of Medicine & Therapeutics, University of Aberdeen) for a one-year randomised controlled trial of oral L-arginine supplementation on platelet and endothelial function and walking distance in patients with peripheral arterial disease.
People with peripheral arterial disease (hardening of the leg arteries) tend to have 'sticky' blood and, as well as this increasing their risk of death from heart disease, they also have difficulty walking any distance. This project will investigate the benefits of adding the semi-essential amino acid, L-arginine, to the diet.
£77,636 to Dr Sally L. Pimlott (Department of Clinical Physics, University of Glasgow) & Dr Andrew Sutherland (Department of Chemistry, University of Glasgow) for a two-year project to develop a molecular imaging tracer for the noradrenaline transporter.
Noradrenaline is one of the substances in the brain that allow signals to pass from one nerve to another. At present, no suitable tracer molecule exists to enable the study of noradrenaline in brain disorders, or in some types of cancer treatment. This project aims to develop a new tracer, use of which will lead to better understanding of the processes involved.