ANZCTR search results

Investigating factors that influence taste perception provides an insight why individuals may over consume certain foods. There are a number of factors which influence taste perception, including environmental (dietary) and genetic factors. In this study we will be investigating the influence of frequent oral (mouth) exposure to certain taste stimuli on taste perception. As certain genes have been found to be associated with individual differences in taste perception, it is also of interest to investigate the role genetics has in taste perception particularly following oral exposure to certain taste stimuli. It is hypothesised that oral exposure to certain tastants will reduce participants taste sensitivity, that is make them less sensitive, to that specific tastant.

Subjective and objective cognitive impairments are core features of youth depression. These are experienced as distressing, are associated with poorer functioning and may limit the benefits of psychological treatments such as cognitive behavioural therapy. Based on effectiveness in improving cognitive function in conditions such as schizophrenia and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, research has begun to investigate cognitive training as a potential approach to improving cognitive functioning in depression. A recent meta-analysis of nine trials of cognitive training for adults with depression found significant post-training improvements in attention, working memory and global cognitive function. Nevertheless, few studies have explored the potential effectiveness of cognitive training apps in young people, especially with depression. The aim of this study is to investigate the acceptability, safety and potential effectiveness of app-based cognitive training relative to an active control for young people with depression receiving treatment in a primary health care setting (headspace).

Necrotising Enterocolitis (NEC) is a devastating neonatal disease associated with high risks of death and disability. The pathogenesis of NEC is incompletely understood but we know there is a temporal association between red cell transfusion and NEC. There is uncertainty about the impact of feeding during red cell transfusions and how this affects the chance of developing NEC. WHEAT aims to answer: In infants born <30 weeks (Patient), does withholding enteral feeds around the time of blood transfusion (Intervention), versus continued feeding around the time of blood transfusion (Comparator), reduce the rate of NEC after the first transfusion (Outcome)? Design/methods: Randomised, controlled, unblinded, multi-centre, comparative effectiveness superiority trial of two clinical care pathways. The two care pathways are: (1) Withholding feeds around transfusion; (2) Continuing feeds around transfusion. Expected outcomes: If withholding or continuing feeds during transfusion reduces the incidence of NEC, adopting this practice will help to improve preterm outcomes.

Alcoholic hepatitis (AH) poses a significant burden on public tertiary hospitals. Medication for AH has recently been demonstrated to be ineffective in a large high-quality study. Sustained alcohol abstinence is the strongest predictor of long-term survival. Behavioural interventions to promote abstinence in AH have not been systematically assessed. We propose to trial an early and intense Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) program for patients at high risk of poor outcome of alcohol-related liver disease/severe AH and evaluate treatment outcome as a matter of quality assurance.

Background: Self-compassion is a psychological skill associated with good mental health and adjustment to illness in the second half of life, but to date few self-compassion-based interventions have been developed specifically for use in midlife and older adult cohorts. Aims: The purpose of this study was to develop and test the feasibility of a four-week group self-compassion-based intervention, designed to improve self-report and biological markers of well-being in midlife and older adult patients living with chronic illness. Methods: Treatment development drew on existing literature, expert input, and qualitative interview data. Patients in outpatient treatment for a chronic illness were recruited from a rehabilitation hospital to test feasibility. Participants attended a one-hour group self-compassion-based intervention once per week for four weeks. Feasibility was assessed on six domains. Measures of well-being and heart rate variability (HRV), an index of nervous system functioning, were also collected.

Our aim was to determine a sensitive clinical measure of change, in patients with CF and severe airways disease as measured by an FEV1<40% when stable, following treatment with Lumacaftor/Ivacaftor. We assessed response with spirometry and compared this to changes seen in exercise capacity as measured by the six minute walk test (6MWT), the nitrogen multi-breath washout test, the carbon monoxide gas transfer factor and lung volumes measured by plethysmography.

The purpose of this trial is to determine the comparative effects of intraduodenal versus intragastric bolus administration of quinine on gut and gluco-regulatory hormones, antropyloroduodenal motility, blood glucose and appetite responses.

The study focuses on applying a new assessment technology to better detect and monitor pain in older people with dementia living in the community. Elderly people, particularly those with dementia frequently suffer from painful conditions that are poorly treated. This may be because dementia makes it difficult for people to remember and tell their doctors how bad their pain was and is, or in some cases when or where pain exists. Although tools exist to assist people in documenting their pain experience these are often not designed to meet the needs of people living with dementia. PainChek® has been designed to assess pain in people with dementia who are unable to verbalise their pain and it has been suggested by people living with dementia that it might be a valuable tool for documenting their pain experience to allow them to better interaction with those caring for their chronic pain. For this reason, this study aims to evaluate the use of the PainChek® app by people with mild dementia as an aide-memoir. It is hoped that the findings of this study will contribute to better pain management among this community-dwelling vulnerable population.

This project will aim to determine the effectiveness of an instructed facial mimicry to improve facial emotion recognition in Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD’s) and in Alexithymia, a personality trait. Participants will be asked to copy, or mimic facial expressions presented on a computer and the number of correctly identified facial expressions will be compared to when the expressions are not copied or mimicked. We hypothesize that when participants mimic the facial expressions, the number of correctly identified expressions will increase.

This study aims to compare different methods for the evaluation of peripheral lung lesions. Who is it for? You may be eligible to join this study if you are aged 18 years or above, and plan to undergo endobronchial ultrasound with guide-sheath (EBUS GS) biopsy of a peripheral lung lesion requiring tissue diagnosis at The Prince Charles Hospital. Study details All participants in this study will undergo bronchoscopy, to be performed by a respiratory physician or supervised advanced trainee. If an adequate ultrasound image is obtained, tissue sampling will then be undertaken using two different methods in a random order: standard methods (forcep biopsy and brush) and transbronchial needle aspiration. In patients where no adequate ultrasound image can be obtained, only EBUS GS procedure will be undertaken. Diagnostic methods will be compared for accuracy and participants will be monitored for any adverse events. Costs and timing of the procedure will also be evaluated. It is hoped that this research will add useful information for respiratory physicians in increasing the number of diagnostic procedures performed, which in turn may reduce uncertainty and diagnostic delay.