ANZCTR search results

To improve the proportion of elderly patients with moderate to severe vitamin D deficiency reaching target levels above 75nmol/L with the implementation of loading dose vitamin D. The aim is to test the hypotheses: Loading dose cholecalciferol 5000units daily will bring higher proportion of patients with moderate to severe deficiency up to target levels(>75nmol/L) compared to 1000units daily.

This study is a multi-center, prospective, open label, safety/efficacy study enrolling up to 30 patients. Safety and efficacy are the primary objectives based on analysis of reported and observed adverse events and the WOMAC validated OA questionnaire(pain component). A series of validated subject-completed questionnaires, a visual analogue scale for pain and formal orthopaedic examination, will be performed over the course of the 60 months at the following intervals: baseline, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6, 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60 months. X-ray and/or MRI data will be collected pre-operatively and the following post operative intervals 6 months, 12, 24, 36, 48, and 60 months.

Baseline mucociliary and cough clearance is very abnormal in asthmatics with excessive secretions and presenting symptoms of chronic cough and sputum production. Inhaled mannitol markedly improves mucociliary clearance and this effect is dose dependent in the large airways. Repetitive voluntary coughing following inhalation of mannitol enhances clearance of mucus. Asthmatics with mucociliary dysfunction, after careful assessement and appropriate premedication may benefit from inhaling mannitol to clear excessive secretions and prevent mucus plug formation in the small airways

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection is commonly used to aid fertilisation rates in men with low sperm counts , poor sperm mobility and high levels of sperm DNA fragmentation. The sperm used to inject into the egg is hand picked by the scientist, based on sperm appearance. However, a scientist is unable to detect poor DNA based on sperm appearance. The PICSI dish contains a substance called hyaluronan that normally exists around an egg. It is proposed that sperm with lower levels of DNA damage are more likely to bind to this hyaluronan. This allows the scientists to be more selective in the handpicking process. By handpicking only that sperm that has bound to the substance, they may be selecting the better sperm for injection into the egg.

Observational studies, mostly from Europe and North America, suggest that people with low vitamin D status may have increased risks of some chronic diseases and death. Given that sunlight is essential for vitamin D synthesis this has prompted calls from some to relax sun protection messages or so increased population-wide vitamin D supplementation through expanded mandatory food fortification. However there is no strong evidence from clinical trials to support these measures and the International Agency for Research on Cancer has specifically called for randomised trials of high dose vitamin D supplementation for prevention of cancer and lowering of total mortality. We propose here to assess the feasibility of such a trial in the four eastern states of Australia. Participants randomly selected from the electoral roll will be invited to participate, and randomly assigned to a monthly intake of one of two vitamin D doses (60,000 IU/month or 30,000 IU/month) or placebo for 12 months. Baseline and post-intervention serum vitamin D levels will be measured. Outcomes will be recruitment rate, representativeness of the general population, change in vitamin D levels according to population subgroup and economics.

The objectives of this study are to assess the bone ingrowth after total hip arthroplasty using the "Short Mini Stem".

It is well known that the chance of live birth in assisted reproduction treatment decreases with increasing female age, and drops markedly after 40 years of age, however, some woman younger than this is an ‘unexpected poor responder’ during their IVF cycle. Tesarik reported in 2005 that the ability of human oocytes to form normal embryos is related to the concentration of different hormones in follicular fluid (Mendoza et al., 1999, 2002). Among the hormones studied, growth hormone (GH) showed the most consistent relationship with different parameters of embryo quality, and higher concentrations of GH in follicular fluid were associated with rapid embryo cell division, good embryo morphology and a high embryo implantation potential (Mendoza et al., 1999, 2002).He also reports a decrease in follicular fluid GH concentration in women aged 40 years as compared with young women. Studies evaluating the benefits of co-treatment with recombinant human Growth Hormone (r-hGH) during controlled ovarian stimulation for human assisted reproduction treatment have reported controversial findings. A Cochrane review (Harper et al. 2008) and updated as part of a review of the management of poor responders (Kyrou et al. 2008), suggest that there exists some evidence for the use of GH in the management of IVF cycles of poor responders. The aim of this study is to determine the influence of GH treatment as an adjunct to stimulation with the maximal dose of Follicle Stimulating Hormone(FSH) stimulation in the unexpected poor responding IVF patient, ie patients requiring maximal dose of stimulation despite being under 41 years of age.

This is a clinical research study to trial a new laser treatment with the aim of slowing or partially reversing the progression Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD), a disease which affects the retina and can ultimately lead to central vision blindness. Curently there is no treatment available for Early AMD. The study device is a laser which has been specially developed to treat retinal diseases and in this setting it is hoped it will target cells involved in the disease process and exhibit a wound healing effect which may lead to a delay or halt in the progression of AMD. The results of the laser will be monitored by asessing clinical markers and measuring visual functions.

To test the benefit of using electroacupuncture for chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting. Specifically test if electroacupuncture has a benefit in delayed chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting, which is defined as after the first 24hours post chemotherapy. Even with our new antiemetic drugs and protocols patient’s still experience nausea and vomiting and is identified as one of the major concerns for patients undergoing chemotherapy. The trial will address areas that need to be investigated as identified by Ezzo et al 2005 in a Cochrane Collaborative Review. These include obtaining data on the effectiveness of electroacupuncture with modern antiemetics, utilising more than one acupuncture point and getting data on delayed nausea and vomiting.

This is a pilot study to assess the fesaibility of a larger study aimed at answering the clinical question: 'In pregnant women with asymptomatic candidiasis does treatment reduce the incidence of preterm birth?'