ANZCTR search results

This project aims to understand how certain factors like age and PCOS impact the endometrium by using menstrual fluid. Like all tissues in the body, the endometrium also changes over time. In Australia, more women are getting pregnant for the first time later in life. However, as we age, fertility naturally declines and the endometrium changes as well. As the endometrium plays a key role in pregnancy, we want to understand how aging affects it and the impacts this may have. Similarly, people who have been diagnosed with PCOS, typically have longer, irregular menstrual cycles. We think this could impact the endometrium in a similar way to aging. We will assess markers of ageing in endometrial cells isolated from menstrual fluid. This research is important because if the endometrium isn’t functioning properly, it can impact fertility, regular menstruation and reproductive health overall.

Historically, AS severity has been assessed using transvalvular gradients and valve area estimates derived from echocardiography, however, cardiac MRI provides more precise assessment of LV systolic parameters which are more accurate measures of pressure overload. Systolic LVWS, calculated using a combination of TTE and cardiac MRI data, has been demonstrated to be a helpful adjunct to echocardiography and symptom assessment in aortic stenosis. This study aims to investigate the correlation between TTE and MRI derived systolic LVWS and symptom status, traditional echocardiographic markers of AS severity, and clinical outcomes including progression to SAVR or TAVI.

This is an open label, short term, ascending multiple dose study to investigate the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of guanethidine in patients with pulmonary hypertension heart failure and a preserved ejection fraction (PH-HFpEF). The primary objective of this study is to determine if guanethidine can reduce exercise-induced increases of central venous pressure (CVP) and pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP) in patients with PH-HFpEF. The secondary objectives of this study are to: • Evaluate the safety and tolerability of guanethidine in patients with PH-HFpEF. • Determine the optimal dose for phase II-III trials of guanethidine in PH-HFpEF. Up to 15 patients will be enrolled in this study. The duration of individual patient participation will be a maximum of 5 months, including up to a 4-week screening period, up to 3 months of daily administration of guanethidine after the initial catheterization, and telephone follow-up contact 4 weeks after the second catheterization and discontinuation of guanethidine. Eligible participants will be administered escalating doses of guanethidine daily, starting at 5 mg/day. Drug dose will be increased every 2 weeks as tolerated by orthostatic blood pressure evaluations, symptomatic orthostasis, a blood pressure not less than 120 mmHg or dose limiting toxicity (DLT), sequentially, to 10, 15 and 25 mg/day. If a dose is not tolerated, it will be decreased to the prior tolerated dose. A repeat exercise hemodynamic assessment will be performed on the final tolerated dose of guanethidine (up to 25 mg daily) which has been administered for at least 2 weeks.

Existing small portable oxygen concentrators use pulsed delivery that claim some equivalency to continuous flow. This is an area of study that has little to no clinical validation and continuous flow (primarily from cylinders and large home stationary concentrators) is considered the gold standard by the medical community. This pilot study will evaluate oxygen saturation and six-minute walk distance in patients requiring ambulatory oxygen. Two six-minute walk tests will be performed with the subjects using both the battery powered Juno delivering continuous oxygen flow and the continuous flow oxygen cylinder in randomized order. The study aims to establish non-inferiority between the new battery powered device and the current oxygen cylinder gold standard. A non-inferiority margin of 7% will be evaluated, as this was the mean difference in repeat 6 minute walk tests in a large cohort study. (Hernandes 2012) This study will inform future product development and a larger follow up study as a genuine, renewable alternative to oxygen cylinders.

This study aims to investigate whether the pharmacokinetics of pazopanib (i.e., the amount of pazopanib in the blood) changes when pazopanib is given alone and when given with a green tea extract tablet. Pazopanib is an anti-cancer drug that is approved by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration and has been used clinically in Australia since 2010. Many patients living with cancer are reported to use complementary and alternative medicines in conjunction with their anti-cancer treatment, with green tea commonly used. Who is it for? You may be eligible for this study if you are a healthy adult aged 18 to 60 years old and are of European ancestry. Please note that this study will NOT be enrolling patients with cancer. Study details Participants will receive a single oral tablet of pazopanib on 2 separate occasions, separated by 14 days. The first dose is on Day 1 and the second dose is on Day 15. Participants will also be asked to take a single daily green tea extract tablet for 9 days (from Day 10 to Day 18). All participants will provide blood samples over a 96-hour period after each pazopanib dose for the measurement of pazopanib pharmacokinetics. All participants will be monitored to check for changes to their health, questioned about their wellbeing and will have their vital signs checked (e.g., heart rate, blood pressure, temperature). An electrocardiogram (ECG) will also be performed and blood samples will be collected for safety testing. It is hoped that this research will help to understand whether the effectiveness and safety of pazopanib could be impacted in patients consuming green tea with their anti-cancer medication.

The composition, diversity, and function of gut bacteria collectively referred to as the gut microbiome undergo notable changes with ageing. These changes can have significant impacts on overall health. For example, ageing is associated with an increased abundance of potentially harmful bacteria, such as Enterobacteriaceae, while certain beneficial bacteria such as Bifidobacterium often decline. These shifts can contribute to chronic low-grade inflammation and adverse health outcomes. The gut microbiome can be influenced through the use of supplements called prebiotics, probiotics and postbiotics. Multiple health benefits have been reported in response to supplementation with postbiotics in adults, however, most of the existing work has been done in assessing the health benefits in young adults, with very few studies specifically targeting older adults. The aim of this study is to identify whether supplementation with FloraSMART A17 blend reduces gastrointestinal symptoms and improves quality of life in older adults.

Investigating whether a short course of treatment with hCG will speed up the recovery of the suppressed reproductive system in men who have been using androgens (“anabolic steroids”) without medical reason or prescription. In men who have previously used androgens but have stopped within the last month or are planning to stop soon. Participants will be randomly allocated to receive either the active drug or an identical placebo.

The project aims to identify whether gut microbiota (bacteria) are either disrupted (dysbiotic) or resistant (resilient) to heat stress. The study will also explore how microbiota composition influences cognitive abilities, physical performance, and well-being during heat stress by analysing a range of biological (i.e. stool, blood, and urine) and non-biological (i.e. cognitive assessment and questionnaires, physical function and performance analysis) outcomes. We hypothesize that two days of simulated heat stress will negatively alter the intestinal microbiota composition in healthy adults, reducing diversity, increasing pro-inflammatory taxa, decreasing beneficial taxa, increasing intestinal permeability, and impairing cognitive, physical, and well-being outcomes.

This study is investigating how children with juvenile arthritis experience pain after receiving a steroid injection into their joints. We are testing whether it is practical and reliable to collect information about their pain and recovery directly from children and their parents. The study will also explore how factors like anxiety or previous experiences affect pain perception. We hypothesise that it is feasible to collect meaningful patient- and parent-reported data following intra-articular steroid injections.

In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 100 adults aged 18 to 75 years with self-reported GI complaints will be randomly assigned to receive a probiotic and digestive enzyme combination (Weizy + Poolzyme MULTI) or a placebo for 4 weeks. Changes in self-reported gastrointestinal symptoms, stool consistency, and general well-being will be assessed for 6 weeks to examine changes in symptoms during and 2 weeks after the cessation of supplementation. It is hypothesised that compared to the placebo, supplementation with the probiotic and digestive enzyme combination (Weizy + Poolzyme MULTI) will result in greater improvement in gastrointestinal symptoms, stool consistency, and general wellbeing.