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Exenatide which is a drug approved for use in Type 2 Diabetes has been shown in animal experimental models of stroke to have neuroprotective effect. Elevated blood glucose level during stroke has been shown to be a cause of bad outcome and this can be seen even in non-diabetic patients as a stress response to stroke. . Exenatide, when administered to stroke patients may control blood glucose levels effectively and reduce insulin resistance, which may help in reducing cerebral inflammation after stroke. On this background we have designed this initial pilot study of Exenatide use in 10 patients with acute ischemic stroke to see the changes in inflammatory level markers and also to look at the safety and feasibility issues before a larger randomized controlled trial can be conducted.

Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) is characterised by symptoms such as obsessions, overeating, rage attacks, skin picking, irregular sleep breathing and temperature control, and impairments in learning and understanding social cues. Evidence from brain studies suggest that such symptoms maybe related to a deficiency of oxytocin, a natural occurring hormone derived in the hypothalamus. This study aims to investigate the efficacy of oxytocin nasal spray on improving behaviour and physical health in PWS.

The Primary Objective of this study is to determine whether treatment of older postmenopausal women (55 to 65 years old) with transdermal testosterone gel (Libigel Registered Trademark) which delivers 300mcg of testosterone/day, improves cognitive performance. Study Hypotheses That restoration of testosterone levels in older postmenopausal women to levels seen in younger women will result in improved verbal and visual learning and memory using a highly sensitive measure of cognitive performance (Cogstate Trademark). That this research will provide the first substantial data indicating that restoration of testosterone levels to those of younger women may protect against/delay the onset of cognitive decline.

This is a study examining the use of a new anti-cancer drug called LBH589 in children with solid and central nervous system (CNS) tumours. It is only for children where a tumour does not respond to initial conventional therapies (refractory). At this time there is no standard treatment available for many children who have a refractory solid or CNS tumour. Faulty regulation of a cell protein (enzyme) in the body called a histone deacetylase (HDAC) is known to be present in many human cancers. It changes cell structures and weakens the activity of good cancer killing genes. LBH589 is a new investigational drug that can increase the activity of these good genes by reacting with the HDAC cell protein. It is hoped it will help kill the tumour. Research studies in the laboratory using LBH589 have shown a strong response against tumour cells. In addition LBH589 has shown anti-tumour activity in studies of adult cancer patients. LBH589 is now being investigated in clinical trials of solid and haematological tumours in adults. LBH589 is an investigational or experimental anti-cancer agent that has not yet been approved by either the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). The drug has however been shown to be safe when given to adults on the schedule that will be used in this study. This study is assessing the dose levels that can be safely tolerated in children with solid and CNS tumours.

This study will investigate a possible therapeutic strategy to modify diet-induced airway inflammation by the use of statins. The regular intake of high fat food directly causes systemic inflammation. This systemic inflammation may lead to asthma or contribute to increased airway inflammation seen in asthma. Statins are a widely prescribed class of cholesterol lowering drugs indicated for the prevention of cardiovascular disease. They have also be shown to reduce or inhibit inflammatory markers (C-Reactive Protein CRP, IL-6) and cytokines associated with innate immunity (Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha TNF-alpha, Interleukin-8 IL-8). We propose that statins, which suppress the innate immune response, will suppress the neutrophilic inflammation that we expect as a consequence of a high fat diet. Hypothesis: A high fat diet causes an increase in neutrophilic airway inflammation. Statins will protect against fat-induced inflammation in asthma.

Type 1 interferons are released by cells in response to viral infections and function to limit virus replication. We propose that lozenges containing low doses of interferon can be used as an effective treatment for influenza. This grant will fund a clinical trial during the cold and flu season in Perth to test the effectiveness of this treatment AIM To conduct a clinical trial for the prophylactic use of Low Dose Orally Administered Type 1 Interferon lozenges for winter colds and flu in Perth, Western Australia The primary objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of orally administered natural human IFNa (150 IU), as compared to placebo, on the frequency and severity of winter cold and flu-like symptoms (WCFLS) during the main winter colds and flu season in Australia. Frequency and severity of WCFLS will be assessed using a questionnaire submitted on a weekly basis by study subjects. The secondary objectives will be to compare IFNa and placebo treatment with respect to changes in - days of work missed - cold/flu medication usage - number of physician visits required due to cold/flu symptoms - number of pharmacy visits required and - rates of 4-fold or greater antibody increases for a panel of respiratory viruses. Estimates of potential cost savings to the West Australian Health system following the use of interferon lozenges will be calculated based on the results of the study.

The successful psycho-physical rehabilitation of stroke victims remains challenging. Recent advances have resulted in progress in acute treatment of stroke, however post-acute rehabilitation remains basically unchanged. One reason for this is the high frequency of emotional and behavioural disorders post-stroke, such as apathy. Apathy is associated with greater deficits in activities of daily living, more severe cognitive deficits, longer hospital stay, and worse rehabilitation and functional outcomes. There are no known effective pharmacological or psychological treatments for apathy after stroke. We aim to determine if treatment with nefiracetam decreases the severity of post-stroke apathy. We will also test whether nefiracetam results in greater improvement on functional and social impairments, quality of life and cognition as compared to placebo.

To determine if recruitment manoeuvres are more effective than standard care in resolving acute lung collapse on chest x-ray.

This trial will examine if providing additional therapy services on a Saturday reduces health care costs, and improves the health of hospital inpatients receiving rehabilitation compared to the usual Monday to Friday service.

This is a cross-sectional longitudinal descriptive study, which collects Quality of Life data alongside socio-demographic and clinical background data for 2 types of proctitis (chronic and acute) at different time points during the patients’ radiation therapy treatment. The same questionnaire will be used for both chronic and acute proctitis.