ANZCTR search results

The aim of the study is to examine if an early oral health promotion intervention using a brief motivational interviewing counseling session among parents of new-born children will affect the occurrence of early childhood dental decay. The hypothesis being tested is that the motivational interviewing intervention will reduce the occurrence of early childhood dental decay compared with standard "Lift the Lip" screening program.

Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) is a major public health problem in Australia. The incidence increases with age and an estimated 10-25% of men and women over the age of 55 years are affected. The ageing Australian population will see an increase in the prevalence of PAD and consequently the national annual health expenditure on cardiovascular disease is likely to increase, greatly exceeding the 5.4 billion dollars spent in 2000-01. PAD is preceded by endothelial dysfunction, show an increase in inflammatory markers and failing of the circulation in affected limbs. EPA and DHA have been demonstrated to exert anti-inflammatory effects within the blood vessel wall thus reducing the amount of potent inflammatory markers produced. They also exert anti-thrombotic effects thus increasing the flow of blood within vessels. Dietary supplementation with fish oil rich in n-3 PUFA has been shown to positively impact on vascular function in the setting of atherosclerosis. It is known that there is a heritable basis to PAD, however, little is known whether improvements in endothelial function can be achieved in asymptomatic children of those with established PAD using n-3 PUFA. Early detection and intervention using a non-invasive, readily available, affordable and acceptable supplement such as fish oil has the potential to improve clinical management and prevent or delay the onset of those at high risk of developing symptomatic PAD. The aim of this study is to implement a 12 week, moderate dose fish oil intervention (10ml/day containing ~1.5g EPA and ~1g DHA), that will result in clinically and statistically significant improvements in terms of: a) Endothelial function; b) Inflammation; c) Lipid status (Total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, TG); and d) Omega 3 Fatty Acid levels.

The purpose of this study is to improve the medication management and health related quality of life of a cohort of older Australians by applying a prescribing indicators tool to detect potential and actual drug related problems, and then attempting to correct them by writing to the patients general medical practitioner.

We hypothesise that Mupirocin nasal rinses are more efficacious compared to placebo in patients that are bothered by persistent S.aureus infection despite complete sinus surgery.

Cardiovascular disease is a common major complication in patients with Type 2 diabetes. People with Type 2 diabetes have abnormal blood fat levels which contribute to this risk of heart disease, particularly high triglycerides, low HDL (good) cholesterol and high small dense LDL (bad) cholesterol. Cholesterol lowering medications called ‘statins’ are widely used to treat this abnormal blood fat metabolism found in Type 2 diabetes. Cholesterol guidelines advise that the LDL-cholesterol be treated to a level of less than 2.5mmol/L. However, more than 30% of patients with Type 2 diabetes continue to have high triglycerides at levels greater than 1.7mmol/L even when their LDL-cholesterol is treated to less than 2.5mmol/L. These patients with high triglyceride levels remain at higher risk of cardiovascular disease despite the statin therapy. Vildagliptin is used to lower blood sugar in patients with Type 2 diabetes. It belongs to a class of medicines known as DPP-4 inhibitors (dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors) and is effective in lowering post-meal blood sugar levels. Current evidence suggests that vildagliptin lowers post-meal blood triglyceride levels in patients with Type 2 diabetes not taking statin therapy. It is not known whether vildagliptin improves artery function (a marker of risk of cardiovascular disease) in people with Type 2 diabetes. It is proposed that, for the group of patients with Type 2 diabetes and high blood triglyceride levels despite statin treatment, an improvement of artery function could occur concurrently with improvement of post-meal blood triglyceride levels with vildagliptin treatment. Thus, vildagliptin may help reduce the high risk of future cardiovascular disease in this group of patients. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of vildagliptin on post-meal blood fat levels and post-meal artery function in patients with type 2 diabetes and high blood triglyceride levels despite taking statins. Participating patients will already be receiving metformin to control blood sugar.

This project aims to explore, in a randomised trial, whether a novel training program based on the observation of hand action can influence the early development of hand reaching and grasping in healthy infants and infants with asymmetric brain injury. This study will compare Action Observation Training with standard Observation Training in a population of healthy term infants, as well as in a population of infants with asymmetric brain injury. It is predicted that: (1) Action Observation Training will improve the symmetry of bimanual hand function as measured on the Infant Hand Assesment at 18 weeks, compared to standard Observation Training; and (2) Action Observation Training will have a greater impact on the quantity and quality of reaching and grasping of the impaired hand as measured on the Reach and Grasp Assessment at 18 weeks, compared to standard Observation Training.

The purpose of this project is to explore the relative efficacy of three education programs in reducing PTSD symptoms in a population of adults (aged 18-75), when administered over the internet. A secondary purpose is to determine how acceptable people find each form of treatment. The study will inform how services can best improve future treatment programs for adults with PTSD.

Muscle power is reduced in people with Parkinson’s disease and is associated with reduced walking speed and falls. The aim of this randomised controlled trial is to determine whether the benefits of muscle power training on walking speed and balance demonstrated in the older general population can be gained by people with Parkinson’s disease. Muscle power training deliberately targets the fundamental problem of slowness of movement, making evaluation of the effect of this training an urgent research priority with potential to improve walking and balance in people with Parkinson's disease as well as provide insights into mechanisms underlying effects.

Fever is an adaptive response to infections which occurs widely in the animal kingdom. The suppression of fever increases the risk of mortality in animals, although the effect of antipyretics in critically ill patients is unknown. The objective of this study is to determine whether paracetamol influences the risk of mortality in critically ill patients with fever and known or suspected infection. A phase 2b double blind randomised placebo controlled trial of paracetamol will be undertaken in 700 patients with fever and known or suspected infection in New Zealand and Australia under the auspices of the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Clinical Trials Group (ANZICS CTG). If either the aggressive or permissive antipyretic regimes influence outcomes including survival in patients with fever and infection, the findings will have a major impact on the burden of infectious disease in New Zealand and internationally.