ANZCTR search results

Currently all patients about to undergo elective surgery in common law countries are required to give their informed consent to proceed. However, the literature suggests that many participants are not well informed when they give their consent. The aim of this study is to assess baseline knoweldge of elective procedures. The secondary aim is to see if baseline knowledge can then be improved through the use of an operation-specific instructional tool

Approximately 11% of all psychiatric outpatients and 19% of psychiatric inpatients meet the criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD). People with this disorder are high utilisers of mental health services and medical services as their condition often involves problems with interpersonal relationships, impulsivity in self-damaging areas such as substance abuse and reckless driving, recurrent suicidal threats and self-harming or self-mutilating behaviours. Approximately 9% of all individuals with BPD commit suicide. DBT has become the gold standard of psychotherapeutic treatment of BPD. Results across a number of trials have consistently shown significant reductions in suicidal and self-mutilating behaviours as well as improvement in quality of life. To date, there have been very few RCTs comparing DBT to other active treatments and very few trials conducted in real world settings. This trial compares DBT with CM, a psychodynamic model, developed specifically for treatment of BPD that has some empirical support, but has not been evaluated against another active treatment. It is hypothesised that DBT will be more effective at reducing self-harm and suicidal behaviour than CM, but less effective at reducing depression.

FODMAPs are poorly absorbed sugars that putatively contribute to gastrointestinal symptoms in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Supporting evidence comprises confirmation of mechanisms of action, effects of acute challenge with individual FODMAPs/foods, observational studies in IBS and quiescent Crohn’s disease, randomised controlled trials of fructose and fructan rechallenges in IBS patients with controlled symptoms on a low FODMAP diet and a non-randomised comparative study. We aim to fill evidence gaps regarding effects on symptoms over the longer term with the low FODMAP diet compared to the moderate FODMAP intake on a typical Australian diet by comparing GI symptoms in unselected IBS patients consuming such diets with those in healthy and disease controls (quiescent Crohn's disease).

A study to find out if it is medically appropriate, and acceptable to the woman to use a balloon catheter as an outpatient improve the chances of a successful induction of labour.

The main goal of the study is to grow cells in the laboratory from tumours of patients with diffuse brainstem glioma and similar brainstem tumours. The aim of the results of the study is to help develop new and better treatments for patients with these types of tumours and help in choosing the right treatment for each patient and be able to predict which patients are more likely or not to respond to a certain type of treatment

The trial is a randomised controlled study into the effect of applying non-invasive brain stimulation to the cerebellum on the symptoms of cervical dystonia.

Atopic dermatitis, or eczema, is a chronic, inflammatory, itchy skin disease that affects 15-30% of children and 2-10% of adults. This condition is highly distressing and affects the quality-of-life of its sufferers and their families. Unfortunately, there is currently no adequate treatment for atopic dermatitis. Traditional Chinese medicine has had a long history of treating various conditions, including skin conditions such as atopic dermatitis. However, evidence is lacking. In attempt to find a better form of management for atopic dermatitis, we have formulated a new Chinese herbal formula, RCM-106, using Western and Chinese medicine theories. It is anticipated that RCM 106 would be able to reduce the severity of atopic dermatitis and possibly improve the quality-of-life of sufferers. The efficacy and safety of RCM-106 will be evaluated in a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Participants of the trial have a 50-50 chance of being allocated to receive RCM-106 capsules or the inactive placebo capsules for 8 weeks. The progression of participants’ atopic dermatitis will then be observed and recorded to see how well RCM-106 works. Positive results from the trial may result in a better form of treatment for atopic dermatitis.

Eighty percent of adults will suffer back pain at some time during their life. More than one in three will develop chronic back pain and cost Australia about $9 billion per year. We can now identify those who will develop chronic back pain early. This project will test a new method of treating these people who are risk of chronic back pain. We predict that our short and targeted intervention will stop these people from developing of chronic back pain and this will lead to massive savings to the Australian community

We will collect placenta samples from both normal pregnancies and those complicated by preeclampsia (PE) or intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). RNA will be extracted from these samples and will be used for whole transcriptome gene expression profiling including both coding and non-coding RNA. This will provide insight into differences between normal and PE and IUGR pregnancies in which the placenta is key to maternal and neonatal outcomes.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is the fastest growing chronic disease in Australia today with an estimated 275 new cases every day. Currently 1.7 million Australians have diabetes and it is thought that up to half of these individuals are as yet undiagnosed. The annual cost of diabetes to the Australian healthcare system is estimated at least $3 billion. Diabetes was the underlying cause for 3.0% deaths registered in Australia in 2009 and additionally contributed to 10.1% deaths as either an underlying or associated cause of death. Worldwide it is anticipated that by the year 2025 there will be 300 million people with the disease especially given the epidemic of obesity and impact of sedentary lifestyles. It is known that individuals with diabetes have a significantly increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Recent data showed that this condition is underappreciated with 48% of all diabetic individuals, who had no previous history of structural heart disease, having evidence of Diabetic Cardiomyopathy echocardiographically. In diabetics, a complex series of metabolic disturbances results in heart fibrosis and enlargement. which ultimately leads to clinical heart failure. Despite 4 decades of research there are currently no specific treatments for diabetic cardiomyopathy. Prevention of this condition requires its early identification and treatment. Early treatment with medications known to improve heart failure outcome such as angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) and beta-blockers has been suggested from meta-analysis data specifically looking at diabetic subjects in the major heart failure trials to be beneficial . There is yet to be a long term follow-up study to definitively confirm this. Much of the previous work focusing on the early identification of this condition has been carried out by the Cardiovascular Imaging Research group through involvement in an NHMRC Centre of Clinical Research Excellence Award (455832). Work initiated in 2003 studied a large cohort of T2DM patients in a randomized controlled trial of lifestyle intervention. The results of this research were groundbreaking, proving that diabetic cardiomyopathy was able to be identified using novel echocardiographic imaging techniques. The proposed project aims to provide long term (10 year) follow up data on these original participants. To our knowledge this will be unique data within the literature allowing identification of markers of long term adverse prognosis and information about the factors affecting the progression of diabetic cardiomyopathy over time. Hypotheses The following hypotheses will be tested: 1. Diabetic cardiomyopathy is prevalent and progressive over time. Clinical and widely available testing including echocardiography and cardiopulmonary exercise testing is able to identify long term risk markers for diabetic cardiomyopathy which result in adverse cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. 2. Novel echocardiographic techniques, are superior to current echocardiographic techniques for the detection of diabetic cardiomyopathy and are better able to assess cardiac risk as evidenced by subclinical left ventricular dysfunction. 3. ACE inhibitor/Angiotensin Receptor Blocker (ARB) therapy and/or beta-blocker therapy will prevent the progression of DCM over long term follow-up.