ANZCTR search results

There is emerging evidence that people who break up their sitting time with activity breaks (such as light walking) may have better blood glucose and blood fat levels than people who sit for prolonged periods without activity breaks. This study aims to test the cumulative effects of three consecutive seven hour days of prolonged sitting on blood glucose and blood fat levels with and without intermittent breaks of light-intensity activity.

The C-Pulse System is a new Heart Assist Device that is currently being studied in seven hospitals in the United States under the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines

Emerging evidence has suggested that the sensation of breathlessness includes domains for intensity, sensory quality (descriptors) and unpleasantness).The sensation of breathlessness differs between people with and without chronic medical conditions and is thought to reflect the different mechanisms initiating the sensation. While breathlessness is common in people who are overweight/ obese, to date, no previous study could be found which specifically describe the sensory quality of breathlessness in this population. It is unclear whether the sensation of breathlessness experienced by people who are overweight/obese is unpleasant and if so, does this unpleasant sensation encourage early cessation of physical activity. There is a difference in the sensory quality between recall and exercise-induced breathlessness in people with chronic pulmonary disease. This might be simply due to the difference in the context under which breathlessness was recalled or induced. However, influence of the memory, emotion, expectation, and other psychological factors could very well play a role. This uncontrolled pre-post design aims to determine whether the recalled sensation of breathlessness differs from the sensation induced by exercise in adults with overweight or obesity. Sixty people between the ages of 18 and 80 years with overweight /obesity (BMI kg/m2 >25) will be invited to participate in this study. Participants will be excluded if they have a prior diagnosis of heart disease, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, memory or cognitive disorders or a visual disorder which limits the ability to interpret visual analogue scales. After height, body mass and body mass index have been assessed, participants will complete a structured interview for the sensation of breathlessness before and immediately after breathlessness in induced by a 2 minute step test. This interview includes assessment of breathlessness intensity (visual analogue scale), unpleasantness(visual analogue scale) and sensory quality (descriptors volunteered and selected from a pre-existing list of 15 breathlessness statements). Descriptive analysis (e.g. mean, standard deviation, frequency) are planned for age, gender, weight, height and BMI. Paired t-test will be performed between baseline and exercise-induced VAS scores to determine the degree of breathlessness induced by the 2-minute step test. The frequency of descriptors volunteered and endorsed by each subject will be allocated into sensory categories. Language data will then be converted to a binary form (subjects do or do not volunteer or endorse a particular language category). Within each sensory category, the difference between the recalled and exercise-induced language will be compared using McNemar’s test, with p < 0.05 regarded as significant.

Weight gain has been associated with increased inflammation and n-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (fish oil) supplementation have been shown to possess anti-inflammatory properties. This study is investigating whether presupplementation with fish oil, then followed by supplementation with fish oil while following a weight loss program, may assist weight loss and reduce inflammatory biomarkers

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether a cognitive activity program, specifically designed for people with mild AD and their companions can reduce or slow further cognitive decline and improve quality of life for people with AD. It will also investigate the benefits of this type of program to the companion.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common behavioural disorder of childhood with negative adult outcomes. The disorder is characterised by problems of attention, impulsivity (e.g., acting without thinking) and hyperactivity (e.g., being constantly on the go). The disorder appears to be strongly genetic with the most likely situation being one in which many genes each contribute a small amount of risk for the disorder. ADHD is also associated with a range of cognitive problems (i.e., problems of concentrating, planning etc). This project takes an imaging genetics approach, using functional MRI to understand the functional effects for brain and cognition of a genetic risk factor for ADHD- the dopamine transporter gene (DAT1) - which we have previously shown to influence attention. It is also well-established that not all children with ADHD achieve equal benefit from stimulant medications, such as methylphenidate (MPH), either in terms of behavioural, cognitive or academic outcomes. We will therefore examine the interaction of DAT1 genotype and MPH treatment on the neural correlates of spatial attention using fMRI. This project will help to elucidate the neurobiological mechanisms of ADHD.

There are various agents used as injectable bulking agents for the the treatment of faecal incontinence. They are usually injected into the submucosa of the anus or at the site of sphincter defect . The aim of this randomised control trial is to compare the effectiveness of two of those agents, namely PTQ (Uroplasty BV, Geleen, The Netherlands), a silicone based implant, and Durasphere (Carbon Medical Technologies, St. Paul, MN), a pyrolytic carbon. As yet the two treaments have not been directly compared. The effectiveness of each technique will be assessed with pre- and post-proceedure incontinence scores (Wexner) and quality of life scoring (SF36) The results of the trial will indicate which of the two agents is more effective in the treatment of faecal incontinence.

The main objective of the study is to determine whether use of a phosphate binder (lanthanum carbonate) in subjects with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stages 3b and 4 will reduce the risk and burden of cardiovascular disease. Patients with CKD 3b and 4 have a substantially higher incidence of cardiovascular disease contributing to significant morbidity and mortality. Phosphate imbalance is a putative non-traditional risk factor for cardiovascular disease in this population (association studies) and lowering of serum phosphate levels with a phosphate binder may be associated with reduced morbidity and mortality. The use of lanthanum carbonate to reduce phosphate and calcium-phosphate product may improve arterial compliance and attenuate the development and/or progression of vascular calcification, reduce the incidence of secondary hyperparathyroidism, and potentially reduce the rate of CKD progression.

One of the ways to treat colorectal cancer that has spread to to the liver is by surgery to remove the tumours. Because surgery alone may not prevent the cancer from returning, chemotherapy may be given. The standard timing of the chemotherapy is to give all of the drugs after liver surgery. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether giving chemotherapy both before and after surgery is better at keeping the cancer from returning than giving all of the chemotherapy after surgery only.

Current cross sectional studies indicate that adolescents with CP perform on average significantly less PA, at a lower intensity, than typically developing adolescents, for all time periods of the week, including during structured physical activity classes (van den Berg-Emons et al. 1995; Bjornson et al. 2007; Maher et al. 2007). A study by Bjornson (2007) indicates that youth with cerebral palsy record on average 2000 steps less per day than youth who are developing typically (Bjornson et al. 2007). Due to these factors the promotion of PA in children and adolescents with CP has become a public health priority (Hogan et al. 2000). To date, there have been no studies evaluating the efficacy of a community based intervention for the promotion of physical activity in adolescents with cerebral palsy. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of a novel, stage matched; community based intervention for; increasing habitual physical activity (HPA) counts (measured by the ActiGraph); increasing time spent in moderate intensity physical activity and; decreasing time spent sedentary in adolescents with cerebral palsy. The second aim of this study is to evaluate whether the novel stage matched, community based intervention increases; perceived quality of life; physical capacity; participation in life situations and self efficacy in adolescents with cerebral palsy. Finally this study aims to qualitatively evaluate the participants and parents/guardians perceived effectiveness and acceptability of a stage matched, community based intervention. In order to evaluate the efficacy of this intervention, the intervention will be compared to a health behaviour intervention comprising of oral health, sun safety and sleep. Participants enrolled in the intervention will be told that they are participating in a program that aims to investigate their thoughts and feelings regarding four health behaviours; physical activity, sun safety, oral health and sleep. All of the activities and discussions undertaken in the intervention will be introduced and facilitated based on this premise. This technique was chosen in order to facilitate discussion regarding physical activity without pushing the participant to discuss directly, or commit to, change. Parents will be informed that this type of discussion can lead to behaviour change.