ANZCTR search results

Week bones (osteoporosis) are an emerging problem in children and adults with cystic fibrosis (CF). When present, osteoporosis can cause bone pain, bone fragility, fracture and decrease quality of life. Bones develop during childhood and adolescence, however in CF the amount of bone that is made is reduced. Many factors work together to reduce the amount of bone made in children with CF. One major factor is that children with CF have less muscle than healthy children. The amount of muscle a child has affects the amount of bone that child can make. This is because the amount of bone made depends on the forces it is placed under and the greatest forces come from muscle pull on the bone during every day activity. One way to think of it is that the bigger the muscles the bigger and stronger the bones. As such, activity that increases the amount of muscle will increase the amount of bone. This may be because they do not participate in as much exercise as healthy children and cannot exercise as long as healthy children. Whole body vibration training (WBVT) using vibration plates can increase muscle with minimal effort required by the user. It may therefore be a very good way to increase the amount muscle and bone in children with CF, who often have difficulty exercising. WBVT has been shown to increase the amount of bone and muscle function in different groups of children and adults, including adults with CF. With this in mind, we plan to do a home base WBVT program in children and adolescents to see if WBVT increases the amount of bone and muscle they have. We will also look at muscle function and respiratory function.

Individuals with chronic post-stroke hemiparesis commonly face physical disability and some form of emotional or mood imbalance. Persisting physical and psychosocial disabilities could further worsen the individual’s condition due to reduced physical activity, leading to increased risk of fall and increased risk for chronic conditions. Yoga presents a novel means of addressing post-stroke disabilities since it has the potential to both enhance motor function and mood. An intervention program that includes meditation training may potentially lend to larger improvements in mood, which in turn, may further enhance motor function recovery of balance and gait. Thus, this research hopes to be able to provide evidence that participation in yoga and meditation program may be a cost-effective and low risk approach to addressing physical and emotional disabilities in stroke survivors.

The main purpose of the study is to compare the difference, if any, in the appearance of the surgical scar between the the diathermy blade and the standard surgical steel scalpel. The blunt diathermy blade produces a cutting effect by passing electric current and vaporise the skin cells while the standard surgical scalpel physically cuts the skin. Anecdotal experience suggest there is no difference in the appearance of the scar between the two instruments. However, the sharp surgical blade remains in common use, albeit almost exclusively for skin incision only in modern day abdominal surgery, because the general perception is that the diathermy will cause charring of the skin and thus results in poorer scar appearance. The presence of the sharp blade poses significant and potentially avoidable risk of sharps injury to the entire surgical team. The study hypothesis is that there are no visible difference in the appearance of the scar between the diathermy and the scalpel.

Children receiving cancer therapy are at an increased risk of illness and death due to Invasive Pneumococcal Disease (IPD), caused by the bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae. This study aims to determine the immune response in the blood (immunogenicity) of pneumococcal vaccination given as soon as possible after diagnosis in children and adolescents with leukaemia. A 10-valent conjugate pneumococcal vaccine (10vPCV), marketed as Synflorix(Registered Trademark), came onto the National Immunisation Program in 2009. The latest Australian Immunisation Guidelines (9th edition) recommend that those who develop haematological malignancies, such as leukaemia, have pneumococcal vaccine boosters according to their age. It is recommended that the pneumococcal vaccines be given as early as possible after diagnosis and ideally before chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy is started. This study aims to protect leukaemia patients from IPD as soon as possible after diagnosis. The study patients will be divided into two groups: Group 1: 1 dose of 10vPCV vaccine for those children & adolescents who have already completed their childhood primary pneumococcal conjugate vaccine course (3 doses) Group 2: 3 doses of 10vPCV vaccine 2 months apart for all other children & adolescents The endpoint is a blood test 1 month after each dose. That is Group 1 is assessed once and Group 2 is assessed 3 times. The blood test is to determine if the participants have responded as well as healthy subjects to at least 5 of the 10 serotypes in the Synflorix(Registered Trademark) 10vPCV vaccine.

This study assesses the clinical performance of implants used to treat osteoarthritis using total knee replacement. Highly-accurate X-rays will be used to measure any small motions of the implant components at regular intervals after the knee replacement operation. The health status of patients and ability for them to perform activities of daily living will also be measured. This information will be used to confirm that new methods of securing the knee replacement components to the bone are clinically effective.

This study tests whether a course of oxytocin over 8-weeks improves the social communication problems in young people with autistic spectrum disorders. It is predicted that individuals from the community diagnosed with autism or asperger's disorder and within ADOS assessment criteria for autism who receive a course of oxytocin nasal spray will show improved social functioning on self-report, diagnostic and experimental measures, in comparison to participants assigned to placebo admistration. Two single session assessment administered participants. All participants, therapists, assessors, and data entry staff are blind to condition.

This research study will investigate using advanced prostate localisation x-ray imaging to make sure the radiation beams are on the target every day. This imaging is called Cone Beam Computed Tomography (or CBCT for short)

Selective attention is a cognitive skill that allows us to interpret and act in our environment. Although this skill is important, little is understoond about the neurochemical processes that are important to attention. This study will allow us to assess the importance of different brain chemicals in contributing to selective attention function.

This trial aims to assess whether metformin during ivf treatment and in the first trimester of pregnancy increases livebirth rate and reduces miscarriage rate in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.

Overweight individuals typically possess metabolic and vascular problems. Most overweight individuals have high levels of fat and sugar in their blood and also typically carry a lot of fat around their abdomen. Overweight individuals also possess problems in their arteries and veins which become stiff and are unable to stretch easily. Thus, the purpose of the study is to examine cardiovascular function following green tea supplement and its combination with exercise both acutely and chronically. It is hypothesised that (1) green tea supplement will reduce cardiovascular dysfunction in overweight males; (2) a combination of green tea supplement and exercise will normalize cardiovascular dysfunction possessed by the overweight males.