ANZCTR search results

This research project is testing whether a medication called Saxenda (also known as Liraglutide) can help you lose more weight. Saxenda is approved for use as a weight loss therapy in Australia because it has been shown in obese people to cause weight loss after one year of between 5% and 10% body weight. We hypothesize pharmacotherapies can be used to improve weight loss following LAGB

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of Bromelain (Br) and Acetylcysteine (NAC) on mucinous tumour in patients that are unsuitable for repeat surgery. Who is it for? You may be eligible to join this study if you are aged between 18 and 80 years and have pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP) or other mucinous tumour and you are not suitable for surgery. Study details All participants in this study will receive the treatment under investigation. This will involve injection of the combination drug treatment Bromelain and Acetylcysteine directly into the tumour via a drain. The drain will be aspirated 24 hours after the injection is administered. Repeat drug treatments will be considered. Efficacy will be assessed by volume aspirated and repeat radiological imaging. This study will assist with establishing the how well the drug works (efficacy) and its safety when injecting it into mucinous tumours in patients that are unsuitable for surgery.

Hip pain is a common condition that results in a reduction of activity, reduced work participation and reduced quality of life. Greater trochanteric pain syndrome (GTPS), considered to be primarily due to gluteal tendinopathy, is a common cause of hip pain in women over the age of 45. Women with GTPS have been shown to have an altered gait which is thought to aggravate, if not perpetuate, the pathology. Cortsone injection is the most common form of treatment for this condition, however, cortisone can cause tissue damage and is frequently associated with poor long term results. We need an alternative to cortisone that will provide pain relief without the long term negative consequences. We plan to undertake a study to test if flexible Dynamic sports tape is able to correct the gait changes seen in this population, and if it can reduce the associated pain reported by people with GTPS. 35 women with a 3 month history of GTPS will be recruited. Their gait will be evaluated via VICOM motion analysis system under three conditions: 1) base line gait, 2) Dyanamic tape applied with a 30% stretch, and 3) Dynamic tape applied without stretch. The latter two will be undertaken in random order. The final application of tape will be left on the participant for one week. One of the researchers will call the participants at the end of the week to ask them to report the level of their hip pain. The main outcome measurement is the amount of hip movement towards the midline – during the standing phase of gait. This is measured in Nm/WB.Ht. We will assess if the Dynamic tape can change this in women with GTPS. The second outcome measure is pain. We will measure this via a verbal rating score of 0 to 10, with 0 being no pain, and 10 being the worst pain imaginable. Women will be asked to rate their pain prior to walking, during each trial, and one week post walking.

Gynostemma pentaphyllum (G. pentaphyllum) is a plant species originating in Asia. Animal and human studies have shown that extracts from the leaf of this plant can decrease fat mass. Evidence from cell culture studies indicates that the decrease of fat mass is mediated via the AMP Kinase (AMPK) signalling pathway, a key pathway involved in both energy supply and performance of muscle. However, it is still unknown whether the supplement of this extract in humans influences the AMPK pathway. Therefore, the aim of this study is to examine the effect of supplementation with a dried leaf extract of G. pentaphyllum for 4 weeks on muscle AMPK activity. Since AMPK is involved in energy supply and performance, and its activity is also altered following exercise, participants following supplementation will undertake aerobic exercise performance tests using two different measures: a combined steady state and time to fatigue test (TtE) and a 20km time trial. Muscle samples will be collected at different times during the steady state exercise to allow measurement of changes in AMPK activity during exercise, while the TtE and the 20km time trial will provide markers of performance. As AMPK also alters glucose uptake in muscle, we will also measure glucose uptake by the muscle. Blood and muscle samples will be collected by an experienced medical doctor following the supplementation period. This study will help to identify whether the leaf extract alters AMPK activity in muscle, which will determine if the extract would be beneficial for improving exercise performance as well as metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes.

The aim of this project is to evaluate the efficacy of the Inroads program, an innovative, therapist-supported, 5-session cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)-based online intervention for young adults aged 17 to 24 years that simultaneously targets anxiety symptoms, alcohol use, and the interconnections between them. The impact of the Inroads program on reducing symptoms of anxiety, hazardous alcohol consumption, negative consequences from drinking, and functional impairment will be compared to an assessment and alcohol information control condition. Assessments will be at 8-weeks post-baseline to assess short-term intervention effects, as well as 6-months post-baseline in order to examine the durability of the intervention effects. The project is innovative in two ways: (1) it is the first study of its kind to test the efficacy of an age-appropriate, visually appealing, integrated treatment for co-occurring anxiety and alcohol problems, and (2) it capitalises on the potential of internet-delivery to circumvent common barriers to treat-seeking, and combines this with therapist support to enhance participant engagement and retention.

The study aims to examine the rate and type of microbial contamination rate of silver impregnated and non-silver contact lens storage cases. This study is a prospective, randomized, double-masked, crossover clinical trial with three scheduled visits. A total 51 soft contact lens wearers will be recruited to use the silver impregnated lens cases and non-silver lens case (each for one month) along with a recommended multipurpose disinfecting solution. Participants will be allowed to use their existing lens brand. There will be total 3 visits within 2 months (baseline, 1st month and 2nd month). Routine assessment of contact lens fit and anterior eye health will be conducted at each visit and lens cases will be collected for microbial analysis at the 1st and 2nd month visits. At the end of 1st and 2nd month visits participants will be requested to complete a questionnaire relating to their contact lens use and we expect this activity will take approximately 20-30 minutes to complete. The contact lens case and solution will be provided free of charge during the study and at the end of 3rd study visit when the last lens case will be collected a replacement contact lens case will be provided. Participants will be provided with a $10 vouchers on 2nd and 3rd visits to compensate for their costs incurred in attending the study visits.

The proposed research project will answer the key question whether Botulinum toxin injection in post stroke lower limb spasticity improves walking and other functional activities, and quality of life. In addition to injections of the toxin/placebo people, the participants who have had a stroke will also participate in a structured physiotherapy program and a home exercise program (standard care). The research project is designed to show whether, following stroke, botulinum toxin injection in the lower limb spastic muscles combined with an exercise program helps people to walk faster and longer and improves their quality of life.

Social isolation is a major health risk and for many is associated with psychological distress. A new social group intervention, Groups 4 Health (G4H), has strong potential to address this problem. G4H is a five-module, manualized program that seeks to increase social connectedness by building group-based social identifications in the context of an in-vivo group experience. Its effectiveness has already demonstrated in a proof of-concept study (Haslam et al., 2016), but it has yet to be systematically trialled. This randomised controlled trial of G4H will recruit 130 adults presenting with psychological distress (i.e., elevated symptoms of depression or a mental health diagnosis) due to social isolation who will be randomly assigned to G4H or to a wait list control. The primary outcome against which the intervention will be assessed is loneliness and secondary outcomes include depression, social anxiety, and multiple group membership. We hypothesize a greater reduction in loneliness, depression, and anxiety and increase in multiple group membership for those receiving G4H compared to the wait list control.

Little is known about dietary intake at the level of an “eating occasion (EO)”, which includes meals and snacks. Current dietary advice is framed around the amount and types of food populations should consume, rather than a consideration of eating patterns. Eating patterns describe the frequency and temporal distribution of meals and snacks. Eating patterns are likely to be important determinants of adults’ health; however, the cardiometabolic health impacts of EO, meal and snack frequency and temporal eating patterns are inconclusive. The aim of this secondary analyses was to investigate associations of different eating patterns (e.g. frequency of all EOs, meals and snacks; temporal eating patterns) with risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases. The Census and Statistics Act 1905 provides ethics approval for the Australian Bureau of Statistics to conduct household interview components of national surveys, including the National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey (NNPAS). Participants from the NNPAS were invited to participate in the National Health Measures Survey (NHMS) and were required to give their informed consent to participate in the collection of biomedical blood samples for which ethics approval was granted in February 2011 by the Department of Health and Ageing’s Departmental Ethics Committee. As part of the ethics approval, participants were ensured that they (or their nominated doctor) would be notified of any critical or clinically significant blood test results. As this is a secondary analysis of the NHMS data which is de-identified, an exemption for ethics approval was granted by the Deakin University Human Research Ethics Committee on April 16, 2015. (Project number: 2015-073).

In 1989 Professor John Newnham and colleagues invited more than 3000 pregnant women to join a National Health and Medical Research Council funded research study at King Edward Memorial Hospital to examine the possible beneficial effects of repeated fetal ultrasound imaging studies. Women were allocated at random into one of two groups – Regular Care or Intensive Care. Those in the Regular Care group had a single ultrasound imaging study at 18 weeks gestation, with further scans only if clinically indicated. The women in the Intensive Care group had ultrasound scans at 18, 24, 28, 34 and 38 weeks gestation. Along with Professor Newnham, a group of prominent investigators (Professor Fiona Stanley, Professor Lou Landau and Professor Con Michael) formed a group to establish these families into a cohort study, focusing on the child, to determine how events during pregnancy and childhood influence health in later life. This was initially supported with funding from the Raine Medical Research Foundation. The original cohort of 2868 children (Generation 2), is one of the largest, most successful prospective cohorts of pregnancy, childhood, adolescence and now adulthood to be carried out anywhere in the world. This cohort has provided environmental, developmental and health information over the past 27 years providing a unique and valuable resource covering a wide range of health areas. Follow-up assessment of the cohort has been conducted at birth, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 10, 14, 17, 18, 20, 22, 27 and currently 33 years of age by a collaborative team of researchers from The University of Western Australia, Women and Infants Research Foundation, Telethon Kids Institute, Curtin University, Edith Cowan University, the University of Notre Dame, Murdoch University, the Lions Eye Institute, and many other national and international collaborators. The original parents (Generation 1) participated in the assessments as well, providing information about their children and about themselves. Generation 1 has recently participated in assessments of sleep, obesity and activity. In addition, the off-spring (Generation 3) of the original cohort (Generation 2) are currently being recruited and participating in assessments of developmental ability and physical activity. The other (non Raine Study) parent of the Gen 3 participant is also being recruited (Gen 2B).