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The Live, Eat and Play (LEAP2) study is trialing a family based behavioural intervention for use by General Practitioners (GPs), aimed at reducing overweight in Victorian primary school children.

The ambulance services are conducting a project to compare the pain killing qualities of two medications, ketamine and morphine in people with moderate to severe pain following a traumatic injury. We are hoping to determine which medication is best to use when the ambulance services attend a person with an injury and are in pain.

This study will compare Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) with Non-specific Supportive Clinical Management (NSCM), in a chronic anorexia nervosa (C-AN) sample. Subjects will include 90 females over the age of 18, meeting the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th edition (DSM IV) criteria for AN for more than seven years (even if there have been periods of recovery). Individuals will be randomly assigned to either CBT or NSCM and will receive 30 treatment sessions over 6 months. All patients will be monitored for six months after the end of treatment. Assessments will occur at the start of treatment, 15 weeks into treatment, end of treatment, and six months after treatment. Interpretation of Results This study aims to compare outcomes between individuals with chronic anorexia (C-AN) who receive CBT and those who receive NSCM. It is hypothesised that these treatments will influence an individual's quality of life, level of depression and social isolation. It is also thought that there will be changes in an individual's core eating disorder pathology, in their motivation for change and a reduction in the use of medical services. This innovative project will provide the world's first information about potentially effective treatments for chronic anorexia nervosa. It will be the largest study ever conducted on C-AN anywhere in the world.

Developing recurring mastitis is an area of research where there is little published work. Studying mastitis management after childbirth may lead to improved understanding of the outcomes for breastfeeding duration. We therefore wish to conduct a Randomised Control Trial (RCT) that will examine the outcomes of ‘Self-Management’ of mastitis versus ‘Usual Care’ in breastfeeding women following childbirth. The study intends to: Measure the prevalence of mastitis in a population of breastfeeding women. Measure breastfeeding duration and exclusivity in a population of breastfeeding women. Trial the ‘Self-Management’ of mastitis intervention. Measure women’s beastfeeding confidence. Hypotheses Self management of mastitis lowers the rate of GP visits Self management of mastitis increase breastfeeding confidence Self management of mastitis increase breastfeeding duration Self management of mastitis increase breastfeeding exclusivity

This study aimed to develop and pilot test a computer-based psychological treatment for co-occurring depression and alcohol/other drug use problems. Computer-based treatment was compared with a therapist-delivered treatment that was identical in content, and both of these treatments were compared with a brief treatment control group of one-session. It was hypothesised that people with co-occurring depression and alcohol/other drug use problems would attend and report benefits from a computer-based psychological treatment targeted at their conditions; that people in the therapist- and computer-delivered treatments would report similar reductions in depression and alcohol/other drug use over time, and that participants in both of these treatments would report superior reductions in depression and alcohol/other drug use problems than the brief intervention control group.

Shoulder arthroscopy, or keyhole surgery of the shoulder, has been an accepted form of surgery for many years. The surgery can be performed with the patient sitting upright (beachchair position), or lying on their side. Both techniques have been performed successfully for many years. The choice is usually dependent on the professional experience and preference of the surgeon. One of the research investigators, typically performs this surgery in the upright position. Some medical professionals are of the opinion that performing shoulder arthroscopy in the upright position, can affect flow of blood to the brain. This is not something that has been conclusively demonstrated by research to date. We use a technique of anaesthesia that we believe is very safe and is used widely throughout the world. Further, we are of the opinion that it does not adversely affect flow of blood to the brain. The surgery will be performed using the anaesthetic technique that we use for the majority of the surgeon’s cases. The patient will receive a nerve block that will anaesthetise the arm receiving surgery. This will be combined with either a general anaesthetic or intravenous sedation. We will use an ultrasound probe to monitor the flow of blood in the major arteries in the patient’s neck. This will give us an indication of the flow of blood to the brain. The increased monitoring will ensure patient safety during the procedure, as we will be able to detect previously unknown side-to-side differences in blood flow in the individual patients. The research will help us prove to others unfamiliar with the technique, that it is safe for this surgery.

Aim To investigate the effects of regular consumption of foods enriched in LKF during and following energy restriction on body composition and heart disease risk factors in overweight individuals. Hypotheses Regular consumption of foods enriched in protein and fibre derived from LKF during energy restriction will enhance the loss of body weight and body fat mass and result in greater improvements in heart disease risk factors in overweight individuals Regular consumption of foods enriched in protein and fibre derived from LKF will improve the long-term maintenance of weight loss and cardiovascular health benefits in overweight individuals

There is no known cure for OA and no intervention demonstrated to slow disease progression or delay time to joint replacement surgery. Currently patients are managed symptomatically with all clinical guidelines recommending paracetamol as 'the preferred long term oral analgesic'. This recommendation is based on the increased risk of serious gastrointestinal, cardiovascular and renal diseases with long-term NSAIDs use in older people. However, NSAIDs appear to provide better pain relief for patients with more than mild joint pain. Amongst patients with OA, there is much demand for the dietary supplement glucosamine and chondroitin. Marketing has led to the belief these products are able to slow the rate of joint destruction and cartilage loss and help ease joint pain with little risk of side effects. However, the few trials conducted to date have been inconclusive. A total of 600 patients with knee OA will be randomly allocated to glucosamine sulphate and chondroitin sulphate or matching placebo capsules for two years. Participants will be required to take four capsules, once daily for two years. Clinic visits for assessment, including knee radiographs, will be required at the start of the study as well as 1 year and 2 years later. The main outcomes will be the rate of joint space narrowing, knee pain and physical disability. If glucosamine results in slowing disease progression or in reducing pain, the widespread use of this product would effectively decrease pain, disability and possibly NSAIDs-related illnesses amongst the increasing number of people with OA.

About 1 in 10 Australians have persisting or chronic low back pain. Most are managed in primary care and the most frequently prescribed treatment is exercise. Chronic low back pain remains a major health problem because not all patients respond to each treatment so on average treatment effects are small. At present there are no guidelines to help clinicians select the best treatment for a patient. As a result, time and money is wasted on treatments which ultimately fail to help the patient. Our proposed study is a direct comparison of the two most promising types of exercise approaches used in Australia: a graded activity program where patients perform an individualised, whole body exercise program, and a motor control program, where patients perform a series of specific spinal stabilisation exercises. This study will compare the effects of these two interventions. We will also identify patient features that may predict a patient's response to treatment. Prediction features used will be clinical/demographic data, measures of beliefs and attitudes about pain, measures of physical activity and fitness, measures of control and co-ordination of the lumbar spine and pelvis.