ANZCTR search results

Suicide is the most common cause of death in Australians aged 15 to 44 years, however, only 28% of adolescents and young adults with suicidal thoughts and/or attempts sought help from health professionals. Smartphone app-based psychological treatments for suicidal thoughts have the potential to reduce obstacles in help-seeking by providing accessible, anonymous, and timely support. As such, Black Dog Institute has developed the LifeBuoy app, which was developed based on Dialectical Behaviour Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and was informed by young people with lived experience of suicidal thoughts and/or suicidal behaviours. The aim of this trial was to evaluate whether the app is effective in reducing suicidal ideation, depression and anxiety symptoms among young people. It is hypothesized that participants who used the app will report greater reductions in suicidal ideation, depression, and anxiety symptoms compared to those in control condition.

This study aims to establish a clinical registry, encompassing patient data from men with prostate cancer undergoing focal LDR brachytherapy. Who is it for? You may be eligible for this study if you are man aged between 40 and 85, with a diagnosis of Prostate cancer, clinical stage T1c or T2a. Study details The study visits will be 6 weeks following treatment, then three-monthly for 24 months following treatment, then six-monthly until five years following treatment. At these visits, various clinical assessment and blood tests will be performed. In addition, the study will also involve collecting data from multi-parametric-MRI scans, biopsies and questionnaires relating to quality of life and functional outcomes, particularly in the domains of urinary, gastro-intestinal and sexual function. It is hoped that the registry can establish an evidence base for the national uptake of focal LDR brachytherapy, in addition to provider greater insight into the global body of data regarding primary focal therapy for PCa.

This pilot trial will determine whether noradrenaline, a medication commonly used to treat low blood pressure in hospitals, could benefit patients undergoing major surgery. There is new evidence in the literature to suggest that targeting a higher blood pressure during surgery might be associated with improved patient outcomes. The aim of the study is to determine whether a larger definitive trial is worthwhile and feasible. The results from this study will be used to guide the development of a larger study across many hospital sites.

Recent studies have demonstrated that specific nutrients, including lauric acid and L-tryptophan, have energy intake-suppressant and blood glucose-regulatory effects via several pathways, including stimulation of gut hormones and motility, and the slowing of gastric emptying. We aim to investigate the hypothesis that the combined intraduodenal administration of lauric acid and tryptophan, compared with the individual nutrients, will more potently stimulate gut functions, including gut hormones, and gastric emptying, associated with reduced postprandial blood glucose

Anastomotic leakage (AL) is the most significant complication in any intestinal operation with an anastomosis. Much work has gone into identifying patients at higher risk of AL pre-operatively . Early post-operative detection is also important, and a body of work has examined inflammatory markers, lipopolysaccharides and drain fluid proteins in patients undergoing colorectal anastomoses. In patients undergoing restorative proctocolectomy and ileal pouch anal anastomosis (RP A drain is commonly placed to the pelvis during RP IPAA. This provides an opportunity to study the contents of the drain fluid in a simple and non-invasive way. As the luminal contents of the small intestine are high in amylase, we wished to study its measurement in drain fluid as a biomarker of AL. Ileal pouch surgery presents a unique opportunity to utilize drain fluid amylase (DFA) as a biomarker to detect anastomotic leakage when a defunctioning ileostomy is not employed. We hypothesize that a substantial rise in DFA is a sensitive biomarker of anastomotic leak. The primary aim is to evaluate the utility of measuring amylase in drain fluid and to relate this to the clinical post operative course. The secondary aim is to quantitate the intra-luminal values of amylase within the ileal pouch.

The purpose of this study is to examine the feasibility and safety of a device for ablating cancerous lung tumors using a technique called radiofrequency ablation. Who is it for? You may be eligible for this study if you are aged 18 or older and are a suitable candidate for resection of a lung cancer tumor. Study details All participants will receive one treatment of radiofrequency ablation via a bronchoscope (tube down the throat), 2-14 days before undergoing their scheduled surgical lung resection. The treatment takes place under general anaesthetic in a day surgery procedure area. All participants will be followed-up using standard hospital procedures. It is hoped that this research will provide information into the non-surgical treatments of lung cancer, thereby providing future non-surgery related options for the disease.

This study aims to investigate the effects of an online dementia education course on carers’ stress, and whether stress can be reduced by providing dementia education and engagement in a course with participants with similar experiences of care. The study also aims to examine whether participation in dementia education can lead to improved quality of life for dementia carers and people with dementia for whom they care. The effects of education will be examined using a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) design where those completing the online course will be compared with a comparison group that receives different information.

Research has shown that exposure-based treatments are the most effective in treating anxiety and fear-based disorders. However, this treatment has been stuck with its improvement in efficacy for years and more than one third of patients do not respond to treatment or experience a relapse of symptoms. Evidence from human and animal studies have shown that acute stress has the potential to add value to these exposure-based treatments by enhancing the learning and memory process. That is, heightened stress states (induced via pharmacological or behavioural interventions) have been shown to enhance treatment outcomes ( reduce fear symptoms). There is evidence from laboratory studies that stress-related adjuncts to therapy can generalize learning and reduce relapse. However, this has not been investigated in clinical patients and the mechanisms of these effects are unknown. Therefore, this research aims to investigate the use of stress enhancers to optimising exposure therapy for anxiety disorders and it’s potential to reduce relapse. It will aim to investigate the mechanisms of these effects in order to inform their clinical application. In this study we will determine whether stress may aid psychotherapy of fear and anxiety disorders by modulating attentional processes, stimulating emotional arousal systems (noradrenaline and cortisol) and by acting as an excitatory stimulus to maximise learning (increasing prediction error) . Therefore, this research offers a promising therapeutic tool to improve symptom remission, relapse rates and cost of psychotherapy for anxiety and fear-based disorders.

The primary purpose of this investigation is to determine the safety of the remote care paradigm where we evaluate if a clinician can reasonably assess a patient’s Parkinson’s Disease symptoms and adjust their therapy over a mobile platform. We hypothesize that this is safe mode of adjusting therapy.

The ACTIVate Study is a joint project between the University of South Australia, the University of Newcastle, the University of Adelaide, Flinders University and the University of Illinois. Our aim is to investigate the effect of different lifestyle patterns on brain function in older adults. Specifically, we're interested in activity and diet compositions, and how these might influence our risk of developing dementia. Four hundred and fifty participants will be recruited in Adelaide and Newcastle and followed over 3 years to monitor changes in lifestyle factors, brain structure and function, and overall health. From the information we collect we will develop a tool that will enable older adults to tailor their ‘best day’ of activity and diet compositions to reduce dementia risk.