ANZCTR search results

This phase 4 clinical trial is to determine whether estradiol valerate (1 or 2 mg daily for 8 weeks prior to hysterectomy) will regenerate the endometrium from postmenopausal women sufficiently to enable endometrial mesenchymal stem cells to be isolated from a biopsy taken during surgery just prior to surgical removal of the uterus. It is a proof-of-principle study to determine if endometrial stem cells can be isolated from postmenopausal women for potential autologous use in tissue engineering as a construct for pelvic organ prolapse repair surgery.

The reponses of the human body to a high fat meal are largely unknown. This study aims to examine the responses of the immune system, fat cells and muscle cells to a breakfast meal containing saturated fats or polyunsaturated fats. This study will specifically investigate the saturated fat that comes fom dairy foods, including milk, butter, yoghurt and cheese. Our hypothesis is that although dairy is rich in saturated fat, many of these fats are beneficial for human health.

Asthmatic airways narrow too easily, a characteristic called airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR). To understand the cause of asthma we need to understand the cause of AHR. Thickened airway walls could amplify airway narrowing and increase AHR. However, thick airway walls are also stiff, and stiff walls could reduce narrowing and AHR. This projnect will examine the relationships between AHR and airway wall thickness and stiffness during and after treatment that reduces airway wall thickness. Airway wall thickness will be measured by high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) scan of the chest. Airway stiffness will be measured using a simple breathing test. Measurements will be made at baseline and after six and twelve weeks of treatment. Treatment with inhaled corticosteroids over twelve weeks will be used to reduce airway inflammation and airway wall thickness. These drugs are recommended in all asthma management guidelines for the treatment of asthma, and will be used in standard, recommended doses.

This study looks at the effectiveness of the drug nimotuzumab in treating people with brain cancer which has spread (metatstases) from non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Who is it for? You can join this study if you have NSCLC and it has spread to the brain where it is not suitable for surgical removal. Trial details Participants will be divided into two groups. One group will receive whole brain radiation therapy (WBRT) in combination with intravenous nimotuzumab administered weekly during radiotherapy and following radiotherapy. The other group will receiver WBRT in combination with a non-active compound (placebo). Treatment and monitoring continues until any progression of disease or unacceptable side effects. Participants will be assessed by laboratory tests, imaging studies, standardized neurologic examination, and neurologic symptoms. Brain metastases are found in 20% to 40% of adult patients with cancer and the current standard treatment is WBRT alone. New therapies are needed, and the current study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of nimotuzumab in treating the disease.

This study will collect information from routine clinical care with the intention of evaluating the effect of Diphereline on the symptoms that are present in many men with prostate cancer, such as difficulty in postponing urination, how often they have a weak urinary stream and/or the need to push or strain to begin urination. These symptoms are referred to as lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS).

This study aims to evaluate the effects of CPAP compared to oxygen on lung function in subjects as they recover from an episode of worsening heart failure. Subjects will be recruited on admission and have serial testing of their lung function early in their admission, just prior to discharge and 30 days following discharge. The effects of posture on lung function will also be evaluated.

This project is part of a research program funded by the NHMRC (No. 630560) to develop and evaluate Internet based transdiagnostic treatment programs for people with anxiety and depression. This preliminary project examines the efficacy of a treatment program for people with depression, social phobia and/or panic disorder (with or without agoraphobia) and/or GAD. The purpose of this study is to see if a brief internet-based intervention is effective at reducing levels fo anxiety and depression.

There has been a recent drive to perform hip replacements through smaller incisions. The question is, does this increase the risk of complications? The primary purpose was to assess whether a hip replaced through a smaller incision produced as good a result as when done through a standard incision. Our hypothesis was that it did, and was possibly more beneficial since fewer tissues were divided.

Knee osteoarthritis (OA), is a painful, chronic and progressive condition. Intense efforts are being directed towards finding the causes and effective treatments. But OA has more widespread consequences, including the loss of muscle mass and function in the affected legs. The loss of muscle is potentially both a consequence of OA, due to reduced limb use, but may also be a direct consequence of inflammatory mechanism set in motion by the knee inflammation. The aims of the current project are: (a) to compare genes which are involved in muscular protein synthesis and degradation in people with knee osteoarthritis (OA) and in asymptomatic older and young people. (b) To investigate the interaction between muscle breakdown and regeneration and impaired gait pattern in people with knee OA. This research is important, as preserving muscle mass is central to regaining effective limb use and reduce disease symptoms. Hypothesis (a) Older individuals with OA will have increased localisation of inflammatory immune cells within the skeletal muscle and increased activation of protein degradation pathways within the muscle cells, compared to asymptomatic older and young people. (b) In people with OA, there is an interaction between muscle protein and gene levels that will be associated with impaired gait measures.

This study looks at the effectiveness of early post-operative enteral (tube) feeding in people with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer. Who is it for? You can join this study if are a woman with primary ovarian, fallopian tube and peritoneal cancer who has undergone primary surgery to reduce the cancer. Trial details Participants will be divided into two groups. One group will receive standard postoperative care combined with early enteral feeding (feeding with a tube into the stomach). The other group will receive standard postoperative care only. Participants will be monitored for quality of life 6 weeks after surgery (at least a 10 point difference on the Functional Assessment of Cancer-General (FACT-G) quality of life instrument). The study aims to determine if early nutrition using a feeding tube has an impact on quality of life, length of hospital admission, recovery from surgery, complications from surgery, need for intravenous fluids after surgery, dosage of chemotherapy, nutritional status and ultimately a reduction in treatment costs.