MEDICAL RESEARCH funded by the Health Research Board (HRB) and carried out in the Republic has benefited people's health and impacted positively on the economy, a report published yesterday has found.
Among the benefits seen were an improvement in the dental care of children, better treatment of heart disease and the development of an early intervention programme for people with psychosis.
In addition, four potential new drug treatments are at various stages of development, the report, Health Research - Making an Impact: the economic and social benefits of HRB-funded research, said.
Using a novel approach called the "Payback Framework", the HRB worked with the research institute Rand Europe and the Brunel Health Economics Research Group to assess the impact of the €1.5 million funding awarded to eight separate projects over a 10-year period.
Prof Luke O'Neill and his colleagues at the Department of Immunology at Trinity College Dublin (TCD) discovered a new immune system regulator leading to the development of two new anti-inflammatory drugs. As a result of this discovery, patients with TB, malaria, rheumatoid arthritis and septic shock may benefit in the future.
The economic benefit of the TCD project is reflected in the formation of a spin-off company, Opsona Therapeutics. It has attracted venture capital of €5.25 million from the US and now employs 20 people here.
Researchers led by Dr Eadbhard O'Callaghan at St John of God Hospital and University College Dublin developed a new clinical service leading to the earlier identification and treatment of people with psychosis.
Dr Helen Whelton and colleagues at the Department of Dentistry in University College Cork developed a new test to tell whether children are brushing their teeth. The saliva test will allow disadvantaged groups most at risk from dental complications to be targeted which should reduce the need for dental treatment later in life.
Primary care researchers at the Department of General Practice, NUI Galway used a project grant from the HRB to establish a nationwide Heartwatch programme. As a result, general practice patients with pre-existing cardiac disease are targeted and offered specific secondary prevention interventions.
Over two years, Heartwatch is estimated to have prolonged the lives of 80 people by reducing three of the main risk factors for cardiovascular disease, smoking, elevated cholesterol and high blood pressure.
Speaking to The Irish Times, Dr Andrew Murphy, professor of general practice at NUIG, said the results showed how relevant practice-based research can be.
"It is important that the promised review of Heartwatch by the Department of Health now occurs. The programme must be revised and developed," he said.
Launching the report, Minister for Health Mary Harney said: "There is a growing demand for the public sector to demonstrate the outcomes of their work in terms of impact and value for money. Funding research is a long-term investment and it takes time before you see a return on that investment. In this case, the results speak for themselves."