Overview
Improving patient outcomes
AAA-Medical is an integrated lab and clinical research program dedicated to advancing abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) care by moving beyond surgical repair as the sole option. Our mission is to develop innovative drug therapies and implement personalised, targeted treatment to improve patient outcomes. Our values prioritise on innovation, patient-centered care and global adaptability.
Clinical context
What is AAA?
Abdominal aortic aneurysm
An aneurysm occurs due to weakness in blood vessel integrity. When this appears in the aorta (one of the main blood vessels in the body) near the abdominal area, it is called an abdominal aortic aneurysm. The bulge in the aorta happens when part of the blood vessel wall grows weak. While AAAs often grow slowly and remain asymptomatic, they can sometimes cause abdominal or back pain, a pulsating sensation near the navel, or sudden severe pain if they rupture, a potentially fatal event due to internal bleeding.
Risks factors and diagnosis
Risk factors include smoking, advanced age, male gender, family history, high blood pressure, and peripheral artery disease. Diagnosis is typically via ultrasound or CT scans often during unrelated medical examinations. If untreated, AAA may rupture leading to internal hemorrhage and high mortality.
Treatment options
Treatment ranges from monitoring small AAAs to surgical interventions like open repair or minimally invasive endovascular aneurysm repair for larger aneurysms. There is a need for better understanding and more evidence on how or why the rate of aneurysm growth is different between individuals, why AAA ruptures and at what point surgery should be recommended to avoid rupture. Advancements in screening, surgical methods, identifying effective drug treatment, and targeted, personalised AAA management are critical to improving patient outcomes and reducing fatal complications.
Research aims
Bench-to-bed
Approximately 20M people worldwide have an AAA (including 100,000 in Australia), causing ~200,000 deaths each year globally due to rupture or surgical complications. Despite this burden, there are currently no pharmacological treatments available for AAA, leaving surgical repair as the only option.
Over the last decade, we have identified four pathways as highly promising targets for AAA. Our multidisciplinary team spanning Australia, United States and Europe has designed a comprehensive, integrated ‘bench-to-bedside’ program to test these targets. This innovative approach aims to become the first effective pharmacological therapy for AAA, potentially transforming AAA management and improving patient outcomes worldwide.
In numbers
The human and economic cost
75%
3 out of 4 people die from AAA, often before reaching hospital
4:1
AAA is around four times more common in men than women
$4bn
AAA repair device market will be US$4 billion by 2030
20m
Approximately 20 million people affected worldwide
10+
>10 Investigators partnering worldwide on the project
200K
200,000 deaths per year worldwide
100K
100,000 Australians affected
$150m
Over AU$150 million per year spent treating Australians
Funding
NHMRC Synergy Grant
This research is supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Synergy Grant (Grant ID: GA351440), awarded to AAA-Medical. The Synergy Grant scheme supports outstanding multidisciplinary teams of investigators to work together to answer major questions that cannot be answered by a single investigator.
Collaboration
Research partners
