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The purpose of this study is to determine if new blood testing methods are effective in determining Calreticulin mutation status. Who is it for? You may be eligible for this study if you are over the age of 18, have a known myeloproliferative disorder and are currently undergoing regular blood tests at St Vincent’s Hospital. Study details Participants will continue to undergo regular testing by clinicians. However, an additional 10mL of blood will be collected during your routine venesection. This sample will then be tested for Calreticulin mutation using both of the following tests: 1. Flow cytometry 2. Immunohistochemistry The results will then be compared to results from the current gold standard method used for testing for Calreticulin mutations. It is hoped that results from this study would allow testing for Calreticulin mutation to be done rapidly, locally and non-invasively.

Albumin and dexamethasone are often administered to patients undergoing major surgery. Despite these drugs being commonly used, it is not known how they impact on the stress response to surgery. Albumin is an intravenous fluid made up of a normal physiological protein (albumin) in a salt solution, that is routinely administered to patients having major surgery. It is TGA approved and readily available in Australia. Dexamethasone is a steroid medication, often used in many types of surgery to reduce the risk of nausea and vomiting. It also has anti-inflammatory and pain relieving effects. It is also TGA approved and readily available in Australia. This pilot study aims to determine if giving albumin and dexamethasone immediately prior to surgery can reduce the stress response from surgery. Stress, or the inflammatory response during surgery can result in damage to the microvasculature (the smallest blood vessels in the body). By protecting these small vessels with dexamethasone and albumin, we hope to reduce the effects caused by the systemic inflammatory response that accompanies major surgery. The study is a collaboration between 5 major hospitals that specialize in major abdominal surgery. These are Austin Health, Peter MacCallum Cancer Center, Warringal Private Hospital, Knox Private Hospital and Auckland City Hospital. Importantly, for all patients in the study, standard of care will be maintained during anaesthesia, surgery, and the entire perioperative process and there will be NO deviation at any stage from acceptable routine care. For this pilot study, patients undergoing 3 different types of major abdominal surgery will be randomized (allocated by chance) into two groups. The ‘Treatment Group’ will receive 16mg of dexamethasone and 100ml of 20% albumin solution 30-60minutes prior to the start of surgery, and a solution of 4% albumin to meet their ongoing fluid requirements during surgery. The ‘Control Group’ will receive no dexamethasone and 100ml of a standard balanced salt solution, with further balanced salt solution to meet their fluid requirements during surgery. We will compare levels of Syndecan-1 (a marker of microvascular function) between the two groups at 5 different time points during and up to 48 hours after the operation to assess if microvascular function differs between the groups. A total of 72 subjects will be included in the study.

The main aim of this study is to assess whether consuming a mix of almonds, dried grapes and dried cranberries daily for four weeks can improve recovery from fatigue and exercise performance compared with a control snack. The secondary aims are to investigate the relationship between consumption of these foods and blood and urinary markers of training-induced stress/damage and choice reaction time at rest and during exercise. Additionally, this study aims to evaluate the whether changes in heart rate can be used to predict changes in endurance exercise performance. Almonds are a rich source of arginine and antioxidants, while grapes and cranberries are also rich sources of antioxidants and nitrates. Studies have shown that dietary antioxidants improve endurance exercise performance by reducing exercise-induced damage to muscle. In addition, an increased dietary intake of arginine, nitrates and nitrites has been shown to improve endurance exercise performance in recreational athletes due to increases in blood flow to muscles. Thus, combining almonds, which are a good source of antioxidants and arginine, with grapes and cranberries, which are good sources of antioxidants and nitrates, may reduce exercise-induced damage to contracting muscle and promote increased muscle and brain blood flow. This in turn might reduce fatigue and promote improvements in endurance exercise performance. The period of heavy training is designed to produce negative changes in all of the outcomes discussed above, thus it is desirable for AGC to reduce the magnitude of these negative changes, in addition to resulting in superior changes in the outcomes following the taper training, when measures should be at their peak values.

the study sought to determine whether Cognitive Therapy or Mindfulness-based therapy better assists participants with primary insomnia. Participants were allocated to each treatment or a wait-list control. Those in the wait-list were allocated to an active treatment after the wait-list period. Outcome measures included quality of sleep and amount of time asleep.

This project is a world first and vital step towards developing an effective falls prevention intervention for the large numbers of Australian stroke survivors. Fifty people aged over 50 years old with a diagnosis of first ever stroke will be recruited and monitored for 12 months for falls, falls injury, serum levels of vitamin D, parathyroid hormone, highly sensitive C-reactive protein and triglycerides, and strength, balance and walking in people after stroke. This project will produce detailed information and understanding about the link between vitamin D and falls in stroke survivors, an essential step in enabling the development and evaluation of effective falls prevention interventions (e.g. Vitamin D supplementation) for stroke survivors. The outcomes will enable clinicians and researchers to develop evidence-based interventions that will be implemented and tested in future projects in order to reduce falls and falls injury in older people after stroke and to improve their quality of life. The data produced by this project will mean that future phases of this work will attract government and other funding, such as National Health and Medical Research Funding. Overall impact will be measured by the development of a successful intervention that reduces falls in people with stroke. Aims 1. Describe the trajectory of vitamin D levels in people in the first twelve months after stroke. 2. Describe the relationship between vitamin D levels, physical function (strength and balance), falls and injury in people in the twelve months after stroke. 3. Determine the relationship between other related biochemical markers (parathyroid hormone, C reactive protein and triglycerides) and falls in the twelve months after stroke. Research Questions: 1. What is the trajectory of vitamin D levels in the first 12 months after stroke? 2. What is the current use of vitamin D supplementation in first 12 months after stroke? 3. Is vitamin D deficiency associated with physical function and falls in the twelve months following stroke? 4. Is vitamin D deficiency associated with injury severity following a fall in the twelve months after a stroke? 5. What is the relationship between other biochemical markers (parathyroid hormone, highly sensitive C-reactive protein and triglycerides) and falls in stroke survivors in the first twelve months?

This is a substudy of the Cancer Molecular Screening and Therapeutics (MoST) Program, which is registered on ANZCTR with ID ACTRN12616000908437. The purpose of this is to investigate whether gene or CD31 protein profiles may be used to select the best treatment for participants with advanced cancer. Who is it for? You may be eligible for this study if you are over 18 years old and have CD31 positive advanced and/or metastatic angiosarcoma OR have CD31 positive advanced and/or metastatic sarcomas. Study details All participants will be given eribulin via intravenous administration on Day 1 and Day 8 of a 21 day cycle. Participants will continue to be given the medication in 21 day cycles until the disease has progressed or there are adverse reactions that are not tolerated or the participant withdraws for any reason. Participants will undergo assessments at 6 weekly intervals or as clinically indicated in order to evaluate tumour response. Safety and tolerability of treatment and health related quality of life during treatment will also be assessed via clinical assessment, blood tests and questionnaires prior to each treatment with eribulin. It is hoped that this study will help increase treatment options for participants with advanced metastatic cancer. We cannot guarantee that participants will receive any benefits from this study.

This study aims to examine the effect of a medication called Ribociclib on human prostate cancer Who is it for? You may be eligible for this study if you are older than 18 years and have localised prostate cancer with a planned radical prostatectomy. Study details After the Protocol version 4.0 amendment implementation in August 2022, randomisation to the control group is stopped. All subsequent participants will be recruited to the experimental group. All new Participants post protocol version 4.0 implementation will be assigned to take a tablet of the study medication (in addition to the usual care) for the 21 days leading up to their prostatectomy. At each study visit participants will have various assessments such as blood testing, urine testing, scans, and questionnaire completion. A sample of prostate tissue will also taken during surgery. It is hoped this research will help demonstrate the activity of this medication against prostate cancers, and lay the groundwork for more trials using this drug.

Current best clinical practice for people in inpatient rehabilitation aims to increase physical, cognitive, and social stimulation for patients to promote recovery. The rehabilitation environment, that is, the physical building including the design and facilities/equipment available, and the models of care, potentially impact on people in rehabilitation’s engagement in activities that may potentially contribute to their recovery. This prospective observational study will examine the impact (if any) on patients’ levels of activity that may occur due to a change in physical environment and services when existing rehabilitation services are merged and will in the future be provided in a new rehabilitation facility. Data will be collected at two time points with different patient populations - 2018 at the existing inpatient rehabilitation services at The Canberra Hospital/Calvary Public Hospital and 2019 at the new rehabilitation facility University of Canberra Hospital: Specialist Centre for Rehabilitation, Recovery and Research. This study aims to comprehensively describe the behaviour and activity of inpatients in these rehabilitation units so as to determine how much of the patient’s day is spent in activities that have the potential to contribute to their recovery, and how this may differ (if at all) between the rehabilitation units. Activity types and amounts will be determined through observation using behavioural mapping and accelerometers to measure the physical, cognitive and social activity of patients in patients receiving rehabilitation in inpatient rehabilitation units before and after the move. This research provides a unique opportunity to increase understanding of the potential impact, if any, of building design and models of care on patient activity within rehabilitation units and contribute towards future health service design.

This research project is being conducted to investigate the safety, tolerability, and Pharmacokinetics of Single Ascending Dose and Multiple Ascending Dose of oral ETX0282 when administered alone and in combination with Cefpodoxime Proxetil in healthy adult subjects.

The 'Get Healthy!' program is a 12-week physical activity and nutrition intervention. It has been designed to encourage healthy lifestyle change for adults with intellectual disability. The goal of this pilot study is to assess the feasibility and impact of this program for participants with intellectual disability. The results of this study will be used to refine the "Get Healthy!" program for future use. The primary aim of the intervention is to assess the feasibility of implementing the 'Get Healthy! Physical Activity and Nutrition Program' with adults with intellectual disability. Secondary intervention aims are to determine what, if any, pre-post program changes occur across the following outcome measures: • Body Mass Index • Waist circumference • Cardiovascular fitness • Physical activity (amount and intensity) and sedentary behaviours • Blood pressure • Physical strength • Dietary intake (energy intake, food group consumption and diet quality) • Dietary and physical activity knowledge • Quality of life