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Blastocystis is a common enteric parasite but it is not known if it pathogenic. Many reports suggest that Blastocystis causes Irritable Bowel-like symptoms. In this study we treated 11 patients with gastrointestinal symptoms who were positive for Blastocystis in their stool in order to determine if this therapy made any difference to their symptoms. We also compared Blastocystis subtypes between symptomatic patients and their asymptomatic household contacts (human and animal). We used PCR subtyping tools to assess faecal carriage of Blastocystis which is a more accurate tool than simple smears or culture.

This study will compare treatment at home versus treatment in hospital for low-risk conditions. We wish to find out if treatment at home is better/worse/same in terms of clinical outcomes, acceptability to patients and healthcare costs. The hypotheses tested are that a pathway for paramedic referral of patients to a home-based treatment service for community management of low-acuity injury or illness will: a) lead to clinical outcomes that are equivalent to ED based care; b) have a cost benefit, reducing the costs of healthcare provision for that episode of care; and c) be acceptable to patients and meet high levels of patient satisfaction.

The primary purpose is to assess the ability of new techniques of echocardiographic assessment of heart function in detecting early heart disease in patients with type II diabetes mellitus and to assess the impact of 12 month period of neurohormonal inhibition in improving heart muscle function and degree of scarring in these patients

The purpose of this study is to determine the safety and device performance of the Spinal Modulation Neurostimulation System in the treatment of chronic pain.

This double-blind, randomised, placebo controlled trial will examine the safety and efficacy of intranasal oxytocin for the treatment of alcohol dependence. It is hypothesised that participants randomised to the oxytocin condition, compared to participants randomised to the placebo condition will have a higher rate of treatment completion, experience reduced number, severity, and duration of alcohol withdrawal symptoms and will report fewer days of alcohol use at one month follow-up.

The problem with oxygen: Oxygen (O2) is essential for life but too much (hyperoxia) is toxic and may cause cell inflammation and death. The extremely premature infant is particularly susceptible to O2 toxicity because they do not develop or acquire appropriate defense mechanisms until the 3rd trimester (after 28 weeks gestation). Prolonged or excessive exposure to O2 may, in fact, cause problems like bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) or retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). Children with BPD are in and out of hospitals with chest infections and asthma. They also have lower intelligence and grow more poorly because of repeated episodes of hypoxia (low body O2) from lung damage and steroids. The latter improves lung function but may also impair brain growth. Children with ROP may be severely short-sighted and even blind. Unfortunately, many premature infants, if they survive, still develop BPD and ROP despite considerable advances in prenatal care (e.g. maternal steroids that accelerate lung maturation), postnatal care (e.g. artificial surfactant that aids lung expansion) and an awareness of the profound consequences of O2 toxicity in this population. The use of oxygen during resuscitation: More than 1 million infants around the world do not breathe after birth and require resuscitation. For more than a century, pure or 100% O2 has been given to such infants through breathing masks or tubes. A change in color from blue or white to pink is generally taken to be a positive response to resuscitation. However, recent studies of full-term human newborn infants now advocate caution because there is increasing evidence giving an infant 100% O2 may cause excessive formation of toxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) that injure vital cellular components like membranes and DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid). This may delay the infant’s recovery and even double the risk of death. What about the premature infant? Studies have shown that full-term infants may be resuscitated with room air (RA, 21% O2) with good result. However, premature infants often have some lung immaturity and may need a bit of O2 after birth to prevent hypoxia. How much O2 that is, is not certain. Whether giving a preterm infant lower amounts of O2 during resuscitation may improve outcome is also not known. The aim of the To2rpido study is to see if using RA to start the resuscitation of very premature infants (<31 weeks gestation) reduces oxidative injury and complications such as BPD, ROP, cerebral palsy (CP) and death. Location: This is an international study in Australia (n=3), Malaysia (n=6), Singapore (n=1) and India (n=1). These sites are important to show that the resuscitation techniques used in the To2rpido study may be applied to neonatal intensive care units in both developed and developing nations. How the study will be conducted: We will compare RA to 100% O2 to start the resuscitation of premature infants below 31 weeks gestation in the delivery suite. O2 will be changed depending on the infant’s oxygen saturations (percentage of oxygenated hemoglobin, SaO2) and the infant’s blood will be tested for O2-related stress products. Complications such as death, CP, BPD and ROP will be compared and survivors will be tested at 18-24 months of age for neurological and physical development. Significance: There is still no cure for prematurity, which affects more than 8% of infants worldwide. The number of premature infants has increased by 15% over the last two decades in the USA alone and their care costs more than $30 billion a year. In addition, most of the premature babies are born in non-Western countries and the techniques used in the To2rpido may therefore also have far-reaching consequences for the almost 13 million premature infants born around the world each year.

This project is part of a research program funded by the NHMRC (No. 630560) to develop and evaluate Internet based transdiagnostic education and treatment programs for people with anxiety and depression. This project examines the efficacy of a 5-lesson education course for people with depression, social phobia and/or panic disorder (with or without agoraphobia) and/or generalized anxiety disorder. It also explores the relative effect of different types of reminders (none vs. automatic email reminders) on outcomes and acceptability to consumers. We expect that differences will be observed between groups in symptoms of anxiety and depression (Groups 3>2>1) and in acceptability to consumers (Groups 3>2>1) and in completion rates (Groups 3>2>1).

The major aim of this study is to assess whether rehydration in athletes can be improved by the use of intravenous fluids and/or oral glycerol, compared to oral fluids alone. It was hypothesised that both intravenous fluids or oral glycerol would improve rehydration, but that a combination of intravenous fluids and oral glycerol together would improve rehydration more than either of the interventions alone.

Aims To explore the feasibility and implementation issues of a program to train consumers to use simple consumer questions to enhance their understanding and decision-making in a clinical consultation. Specific aims i) To develop and produce a program to train and support consumers to use consumer questions (the Consumer Questions Program CQP) to elicit information for decision making and to integrate this information with their personal preferences, and; ii) To test the feasibility of consumers using this program in FPNSW consultations. Research questions The effects of the program results on: 1) consumers' knowledge of the questions 2) consumers' understanding of when and why they might want to ask the questions 3) consumers' willingness to ask the questions in the consultation 4) consultation processes, particularly in consultation length and complexity Health professionals' reactions to the questions will also be examined.