ANZCTR search results

The aim of the study is to test the effectiveness of an online resource to increase physical activity (primarily walking) and improve diet among cancer survivors living in South Australia. Who is it for? You may be eligible to join this study if you are aged 18 years or above and have any type of cancer (except skin cancer) treated with curative intent. You need to be a permanent resident of South Australia, and you should not be undergoing any active treatment. You will also require access to the internet. Trial details Participants in this trial will be randomly (by chance) allocated to one of two groups. Participants in the intervention group will take part in a 12-week lifestyle program during which they will wear a pedometer and use an online resource. The main focus of the online resource is a step log where participants enter their daily step counts, perception of exertion and feeling daily. Based on this information they will be emailed weekly step count goals. The website will also include an interactive forum that links participants to other cancer survivors. There will be a virtual notice board where community service organisers can advertise events and activities relating to physical activity and healthy eating. Information on healthy eating will be provided based on the Cancer Council Australia's nutrition guidelines which supports the recommendations in The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating (developed by the Australian Government, Department of Health and Ageing). Participants are free to use (or not use) the program at their discretion. Participants in the other group will receive a pedometer only for the first 12 weeks, after which time they will be offered the full program. Health measures such as height, weight, blood pressure, waist and hip girth will be collected from each patient at the start and end of the program, and 3 months after program completion. Participants will also be asked to fill out questionnaires relating to their physical and psychological health.

Asthma affects approximately 20% of children, is a common cause of hospital admissions, and we do not know how to stop children developing it. Infantile eczema is also common, affecting about a third of children. Infants with eczema often later develop asthma. It is hypothesised sensitisation to allergens can occur via damaged skin associated with eczema, which then increases the risk of asthma. If this hypothesis is correct, it may be possible to prevent asthma by improving the skin barrier function in infants. There is evidence that a ceramide based emollient (which contains the major components of skin) can improve skin barrier function, while current treatments for eczema do not. This study is aims to determine if twice daily application of a ceramide dominant emollient can improve infant skin barrier function and prevent the development of eczema in high risk children.

Peripheral intravenous cannulation is a commonly performed procedure. The insertion of an intravenous cannula is usually uncomplicated, however it can be difficult in certain patients, including hypovolemic or critically ill patients, IV drug users, patients having repeated courses of chemotherapy, and obese patients. Perceived ease and efficiency of cannulation is related to the experience of the cannulator. It has been shown that, when certain manoeuvres are performed, for example, warming the skin prior to insertion of a peripheral venous cannula, both the time taken for insertion and number of attempts required for cannulation are reduced. A randomised controlled trial evaluated ultrasound guided peripheral venous cannulation in patients with a history of difficult intravenous cannulation, however it found no significant difference between the two groups in time to successful cannulation, number of attempts or number of subjects in whom IV cannulation was successful on the first attempt. It is common practice for health professionals to tap a vein, prior to cannulation, on the assumption that it will improve the perceived ease of cannulation and therefore the likelihood of successful cannulation. This assumption is based on anecdotal evidence and a rigorous investigation of the effect of tapping of the vein on the time taken and the number of attempts required to cannulate has not been undertaken. The optimisation of conditions is important for this commonly performed procedure. Failed attempts at cannulation can lead to fear induced vasoconstriction by activation of the sympathetic nervous system, resulting in subsequent attempts being more difficult. Multiple attempts at cannulation are also unpleasant for the patient. We investigated whether or not tapping of a selected vein prior to cannulation improved the perceived ease of cannulation and the success of cannulation.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of an online intervention in improving the sun protective behaviour of Australian adults. Who is it for? You may be eligible to join this study if you are aged 18 years or above and live in metropolitan, regional or coastal areas of Queensland, Australia. Trial details: Participants in this trial will be randomly (by chance) allocated to one of three groups: the intervention group, the information only group, or the control group. Participants in the intervention group will receive the online intervention which focuses on encouraging supportive sun protective attitudes and beliefs, fostering perceptions of normative support for sun protection behaviour and increasing perceptions of control/self-efficacy over using sun protection. It will be delivered during one online session lasting between 20 and 25 minutes. Participants in the information only group will be asked to view a short online DVD and three fact sheets relating to sun-protective behaviour which are currently available from Cancer Council Queensland’s website. Data on intentions to sun protect and sun protection behaviour will be collected via questionnaire immediately prior to the intervention (Time 1), immediately following the intervention (Time 2) and at one week (Time 3) and four weeks (Time 4) post-intervention. The control group will not be asked to do anything beyond completing the 3 questionnaires. The study will provide valuable information about the effectiveness of the intervention in improving the sun protective behaviour of Australian adults – a population which has the highest incident rates of skin cancer in the world (Queensland).

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of Vitamin C in patients with cancer pain. Who is it for? You may be eligible to join this study if you are aged 18 years or above and have pain related to cancer or its treatment, for which you are receiving regular daily opioids (painkillers). Trial details All participants in this trial will take two 1 gram tablets of vitamin C daily for 3 consecutive days in addition to your normal pain medications. You will be asked to complete some forms regarding pain medication use and pain relief over this 3 day period. This will enable us to determine whether there is any benefit in pain relief and/or your need to take extra or breakthrough pain medications.

Laparoscopic appendicectomy is one of the most commonly performed urgent abdominal operations. Current practices of Irrigation or Suction-only are largely determined by individual surgeon’s bias based on intra-operative findings. To date, there is only one randomized, controlled trial comparing irrigation with suction only in children and none in adults. There is some retrospective data in children and adults. All of the existing data suggests “no difference” between these operative methods; in fact, some retrospective data suggest higher intra-abdominal abscess rates in irrigation groups, however there has never been a randomized trial in adults. There remains clinical equipoise and current practice is widely varied. Our hypothesis is that there is no difference between the two surgical methods and we aim to demonstrate that it doesn't matter to the patient which method is used.

People with knee osteoarthritis (OA) often have leg muscle weakness and difficulty moving and walking. Impaired muscular performance is a major determinant of daily function and disability. However, it is not known if loss of muscle mass and strength in knee OA occurs as an indirect result of reduced limb use, or if muscle itself is a direct target of the degenerative processes active in OA. Given that personal mobility is an essential factor for healthy independent living of those who suffer from this chronic degenerative condition, research into the preservation of muscle mass is essential for developing successful therapy to restore and maintain effective limb use. In this study we aim to determine the effect of muscle inflammation on muscle function and impaired walking pattern relative to OA joint degeneration.

Obesity is a major health issue that is currently affecting millions of Australians, in addition to having a high economic cost both in this country and around the world. Some individuals are more susceptible to obesity than others; one factor may be variance in the taste system due to genetic and environmental factors such as diet. The present study aims to identify and investigate the mechanisms linking individual differences in taste with obesity. The mechanisms thought to be in play relate to our sense of taste, including taste receptors and their responsiveness to fatty acids, satiety levels resulting from consuming high fat foods, and food preferences. It is predicted that for susceptible individuals, consuming a high fat diet will negatively influence their responsiveness to fatty acids, increase their preference for high fat foods and decrease their hormonal and perceived satiety levels following food consumption. Each of these mechanisms has the potential to lead to an increase in dietary fat consumption, and BMI. Previous research has indicated that within pairs of BMI discordant monozygotic twins, the twin with the higher BMI has significantly lower taste responses to fatty acids, indicating that their diet may be related to their fatty acid taste sensitivity. This study aims to include 100 twin pairs (half monozygotic and half dizygotic) recruited from the Australian Twin Registry. These participants will be over 18 years of age. Twin pairs will be randomized into one of two weight maintenance diets (high- or low-fat). Participants will consume this allocated diet for eight weeks, with weekly diet diaries being assessed for compliance, in addition to weekly satiety questionnaires. Prior to baseline testing, participants will complete a four-day diet diary, the Cancer Council of Victoria food frequency questionnaire, the restrained eaters questionnaire, and a like-dislike questionnaire. Further testing will occur at baseline, week four and week eight. Each testing session will include a 24-hour dietary recall, taste function assessment, a fat-ranking task using custards, saliva samples, papillae density testing, preference testing for seven regular and low fat foods, anthropometry and a fungiform papillae biopsy. During baseline testing, participants will also be tested for PROP sensitivity, which is a heritable trait. Results will be compared at each time point to determine the effect of a high- or low-fat diet on fatty acid taste responses and satiety.

The ApolipoproteinE-e4 allele is the most consistent genetic risk factor associated with sporadic Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). ApolipoproteinE has an important influence on beta-amyloid clearance and recent studies have shown that while there are no differences in beta-amyloid production between healthy controls and sporadic AD patients, in the latter beta-amyloid clearance is reduced by 30%. Novel therapeutic approaches targeting beta-amyloid clearance are being tested. A single oral administration of bexarotene, an FDA approved anti-cancer drug, to a mouse model of AD resulted in enhanced clearance of soluble beta-amyloid in an ApoE-dependent manner and a >50% reduction of beta-amyloid plaque area within just 72 hours. In vivo imaging of beta-amyloid pathology by positron emission tomography (PET) is facilitating research into causes, diagnosis and treatment of major dementias, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), where beta-amyloid plays a role. This project aims to use brain amyloid imaging NAV4694 PET scans, for the in vivo assessment of the effect of bexarotene treatment on beta-amyloid burden and its relation to cognition in very early AD and mild AD patients.

The study aims to measure blood levels of Chrome and Cobalt in patients with an ASR Hip replacement in situ and to see if these patients have visual disturbances