ANZCTR search results

The aim of the project is to examine the effectiveness of a PDHPE program. The program will be run as part of the year 8 or 9 curriculum. The overall objective of the project is to investigate the ability of the Insights program to lower intolerance of uncertainty and envy in students.

Aim? To examine whether a targeted and supervised exercise program can suppress tumour formation, growth and activity in advanced breast cancer patients with bone metastases in Humans and examine the feasibility, safety and efficacy of combining spinal isometric training with a modular multi-modal program M3EP program. Who is it for? You may be eligible to join this study if you are a female aged 18 years or more and have histologically confirmed breast cancer with one or more metastatic lesions in the thoracic or lumbar spine. Study details: Participants in this study will be randomly allocated (by chance) to one of two groups. Participants in one group receive a 12 week exercise intervention. The exercise intervention group will receive a 3-month, supervised and individually tailored modular multi-modal exercise program (M3EP) with spinal isometric training (SIT). M3EP component of the program will be comprised of resistance, aerobic and flexibility exercises undertaken 3 times per week in an exercise clinic setting, supervised by an accredited exercise physiologist. The SIT component of the program will comprise of exercises that isometrically load deep spinal muscles. These will be performed 5 times per week (3 in clinic and 2 at home). Participants in the other group will receive usual care for the duration of the trial. Following the trial, the control group will be offered the same exercise program if the intervention is deemed to be feasible and efficacious. All participants will complete assessments at baseline and after 12 weeks in order to evaluate tumour formation and growth, muscle-bone health, adiposity, physical fitness, functional capacity, and psychosocial health.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic disabling autoimmune condition characterized by local and systemic inflammation, joint pain, stiffness and fatigue. RA patients also suffer from so-called ‘extra-articular’ manifestations, affecting several organs and systems such as the skin, eye, lung, heart, kidney, blood vessels, and bone marrow. Patients with RA and cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure and diabetes are known to be at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Since cardiovascular disease is known to be an inflammatory condition, RA patients without cardiovascular risk factors may have an additional increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease. However, some evidence suggests that the use of methotrexate (MTX) drug, a traditional anti-inflammatory drug for use in RA patients, may lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. In order to establish whether MTX lowers specific risk factors for CVD in RA patients, any comparison of risk factors such as blood pressure and arterial function between patients receiving and not receiving MTX must take into account other factors that might influence these risk factors and which may be different between groups of patients receiving and not receiving MTX. These factors include the dose and concentration of MTX, levels of exercise, dietary nutrient intake, alcohol intake, and clinical and biological characteristics. The main aim of our study is to examine whether taking MTX drug can improve blood pressure and arterial function in the RA. The novelty of our results will likely translate into a) substantial changes in clinical practice, in particular cardiovascular risk management in RA patients and, possibly, in the general population; b) high-impact research outputs in leading journals in rheumatology, cardiovascular medicine, pharmacology, molecular biology and chemistry; c) invitations to present data at key national and international meetings; and d) ongoing collaborations with the pharmacological industry in relation to the synthesis and further development of MTX analogues.

The aim of this project is to develop and evaluate, in consultation with stakeholders (Eating Disorder sufferers and recovered individuals), a support program for young people in New South Wales following treatment for anorexia nervosa (AN), Bulimia Nervosa (BN), Other Specified Feeding or Eating Disorder (OSFED) or Binge eating disorder (BED). This study is a mixed methods participatory action research project whereby the participants in the project (Eating Disorder (ED) suffers and their matched mentors) develop a support program that aims to encourage and support the ED sufferer on their road to recovery and to improve the quality of life for people with an Eating Disorder. Quantitative questions will be used to assess the project's success along with a qualitative interviews and/or focus group discussion post intervention.

Lumbar discectomy is the most commonly performed spine surgical procedure. Lumbar discectomy is performed to treat radicular pain (pain radiating along the distribution of a nerve) unresponsive to conservative management, neurological deficit or less commonly cauda equina syndrome. Lumbar discectomy has evolved to a relatively minimally invasive surgical procedure performed as a day procedure in many centres in North America. Traditionally surgeons have advised patients to restrict post-operative activity due to the hypothesis that this may reduce the risk of disc reherniation and progressive instability at the operated level. In contemporary practice many surgeons do not advise any post-operative activity restriction. Observational studies conducted to date investigating the effect of removal of activity restrictions demonstrated similar outcomes to those reported in the literature for traditional post-operative care. No randomized controlled trial has been performed to investigate this question. The purpose of this study is to directly compare in a randomized controlled trial patients following post-operative activity restrictions and those without post-operative activity restrictions for a period of one month following lumbar microdiscectomy. Patients will undergo standard lumbar microdiscectomy and then be randomized into either the treatment (no restrictions) or control (restrictions groups). For a period of one month following their procedure patients will wear an electronic monitoring device that will record activity and posture. Patients will complete surveys pre-operatively and post-operatively at day one, one month, three months, six months and twelve months. Patients will also undergo clinical review at one month following their operation. The primary endpoint is a composite endpoint of change in visual analogue scale for pain (for back and legs), Oswestry Disability Index, absence of disc herniation recurrence or reintervention at six months. Additional secondary endpoints will also be assessed.

The aim of this project is to investigate if humans are able to detect small amounts of carbohydrate orally and investigate links with dietary consumption and weight. Over the past decades, behavioural studies demonstrated that rats are very attracted to starch and that starch is preferred to sucrose at low concentrations, suggesting that rats have different taste receptors for sucrose and starch. Carbohydrates, in the form of sugar and starch, represent a major source of food energy. Except for some fruits, plants contain much more starch than sugar, but it is sugar with its sweet taste that is the most sought after carbohydrate. Compared to sugar, starch is rather bland to the human palate, and has been assumed to be tasteless for other animals as well. However, in the past decades, studies using animal models reported that rats are very attracted to the taste of maltodextrin (starch). The results of these studies suggest that starch and sucrose stimulate different taste qualities, indicating there is an independent taste receptor for polysaccharides. Recent studies investigating carbohydrate sensing in the human oral cavity through exercise performance have also found that exercise performance significantly improved after participants rinsed their mouth with solutions containing maltodextrin (see review by e-Silva et al., 2014). The results suggest that there may be an independent mechanism and pathway for oral carbohydrate detection, but as yet, there is not method for assessing carbohydrate detection thresholds in humans. A total of 30 people will participate in this project and subjects must be over the age of 18 years. It is also preferred that subjects are non-smokers.

Peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) are considered a conventional mode of treatment provision in most hospitals, and mostly favoured by patients and clinicians. However, the effectiveness of PICCs can be offset by complications, most commonly occlusion and bloodstream infections. As a result, PICC technology is advancing and designed to limit complications, hence the hospital currently uses PowerPICC(Trademark). Recently, a newer product BioFlo(Trademark) claims to have better technology, thus hypothesised to have better protection against occlusion and bloodstream infections. The proposed study aims to compare and evaluate the effectiveness two types of PICC lines – BioFlo(Trademark)and PowerPICC(Trademark) - on the incidence of bloodstream infections and the incidence of occlusions in a private haematology/oncology setting. It is anticipated that the results of this study will determine the product to be used across the Mater Misericordiae Limited Brisbane.

The scientific literature shows that there is an increased risk of developing AF in patients implanted with a pacemaker due to sinus node dysfunction. To overcome this, advance algorithms were developed to reduce the AF burden. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether the specific pacemaker algorithms in question contribute to the suppression of AF. It is expected that the finding of this research will aid in the development of best practice guidelines for patients with pacemaker devices.

This study will measure the efficacy of valproic acid (VPA), a well established anti-seizure medication with known histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor activity capable of restricting proliferation and inducing differentiation and apoptosis in cancer cells in patients with brain tumours. Who is it for? You may be eligible to join this study if you are aged 18 years or above, have been diagnosed with high grade glioblastoma and are having surgical therapy. Study details All participants will undergo their standard treatment of resection/ radiation therapy and chemotherapy with temozolomide as usual. Participants in this study are randomly allocated (by chance) to one of two groups. Participants in one group will receive valproate in the standard dose used for epilepsy as well as standard care which includes chemotherapy and radiation therapy and surgery as usual. Whilst participants in the other group will receive usual care which includes chemotherapy and radiotherapy and surgery as usual. Participants will undergo diagnostic imaging using 3,4-dihydroxy-6-[18F]-fluoro-L-phenylalanine (FDOPA) PET post surgery and 4 weeks after radiation/chemotherapy has finished, which is the same time as the end of the valproate treatment. Changes on the PET scan which measures activity of the tumour will be measured. Effects of valproate on brain cancer biology will be measured by examining the brain tissue and by measuring cancer markers in the blood.

The primary purpose of the study is to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of a mindfulness app for weight loss and changing weight related behaviors (diet/physical activity) in college students. This research will aim to determine if a mindfulness app is feasible, acceptable, and effective for weight loss and weight related behaviors than a standard control group receiving an information leaflet on diet/physical activity. The research will also aim to determine if the intervention reduces stress as a secondary outcome of interest. It is anticipated that the mindfulness app intervention will be more effective for improving these outcomes than the control.