ANZCTR search results

This study has been undertaken to see whether adding early aquatic physiotherapy to usual physiotherapy will make any difference to arm function, movement, symptoms and quality of life for adults who have had shoulder operations

The primary objective of this study is to establish if glucagon-like peptide-1 (a hormone released from the gastrointestinal) has an effect on blood sugar levels in patients who are critically ill

The study aim is to evaluate the efficacy of selected Chinese therapeutic food (an extract combining Hawthorn fruit and Chinese Kiwi fruit) for dyslipidemia treatment. It is the hypothesized that the therapeutic food may have a positive effect on the treatment of dyslipidemia, and that it may improve participants’ general well-being.

It is well known that certain exercises can help increase muscle strength, power and endurance, but a lot of these exercises can prove hard to complete for some people with cystic fibrosis (CF). Recent research has been looking at this new form of exercise (vibration training), and it’s been proven to have positive impacts on muscle in animals and certain human populations. It has not yet been tested with CF patients. It is hoped that the vibration platform training will not only benefit muscle strength and power, but also respiratory function and overall quality of life in CF patients.

Pulmonary emboli (PE) are common and overlooking the diagnosis can result in serious harm and death. Various imaging modalities including ventilation-perfusion (V/Q) scanning and Computed Tomography Pulmonary Angiography (CTPA) are used. These imaging tests are imperfect and, even when combined with pretest stratification, often leave the clinician uncertain as to the presence or absence of PE. Initial studies have suggested that Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) V/Q scintigraphy may be more sensitive and specific than planar V/Q scintigraphy, and have higher intra-observer reproducibility and fewer non-diagnostic studies. Studies also suggest that SPECT V/Q scintigraphy may be safer than CTPA for patients with contrast allergy and for young or pregnant women.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a significant health issue and the burden of disease represented by OA is likely to escalate with the aging of the population OA of the hand is a common form of OA but has received much less research attention than OA of the hip or knee. While various treatments exist for OA, interest is increasing in those provided by naturally occurring compounds. These compounds, while safe, are often largely untested with respect to the claims made about their efficacy in the market place. We will examine whether curcumin (a derivative of tumeric) can provide pain relief and increased mobility of the thumb joint.

Obstructive sleep apnoea is a common and treatable condition characterised by upper airway (throat) collapse which results in the repeated cessation of breathing during sleep. It is associated with disrupted sleep and excessive daytime tiredness and lethargy, which have major consequences for social well-being and productivity in our community. It is association with hypertension and is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Upper airway muscle activity is important in the pathogenesis of obstructive sleep apnoea, both in the development of upper airway collapse and in the restoration of an open airway. The gold standard method of measuring muscle activity by the use of intramuscular electrodes. This technique while relatively painless is invasive as the skin must be punctured. A catheter based technique may allow non-invasive measurement of muscle activity without puncturing the skin. The purpose of this study is to (i) compare the effectiveness of intramuscular recordings of muscle activity with catheter-based recordings of muscle activity and (ii)to determine the role of the upper airway muscles (specifically the genioglossus, geniohyoid, tensor palatini and levator palatini) in maintaining an open airway with inspiratory loading (i.e. increased effort to breathe) during wakefulness and sleep in normal, healthy individuals and individuals with sleep apnoea.

This is a Phase 1a, single-center, randomized, double blind, placebo controlled, dose escalating study to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and Pharmacokinetic (PK) profiles of a single, intravenous dose of KDF-07002 in healthy adults. Up to 54 subjects will be sequentially enrolled into one of nine cohorts. Each cohort will be randomised to receive KDF 07002 or placebo at a 2:1 ratio. All eligible subjects will be assigned an enrollment number in sequential order beginning with 01. After completion of screening, eligible subjects will be randomized to receive KDF-07002 or placebo at a ratio of 2:1. Each cohort will receive KDF-07002 in the following ascending dose order: 0.013, 0.026, 0.053, 0.105, 0.158, 0.237, 0.356, 0.533, 0.800 mL/kg of bodyweight. Safety and tolerability will be assessed immediately after dosing until Day 7.

The study is designed to provide information about the way the gastroinstestinal tract responds to the treatment of herbal medication Iberogast.We seek to determine the effects of Iberogast on symptoms and stool frequencey as well as immunologic function.

Physiotherapists sometimes use passive positioning of the body (positioning of the patient’s body by the physiotherapist without the patient helping) to treat for pain and loss of movement. When using such a passive positioning technique, Strain-Counterstrain, digitally tender points are used for assessment and treatment (Jones, Kusunose et al. 1995). This technique has not been researched and so there is little support for its continued use. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of passive body positioning treatment for low back pain in a clinical population. Subjects are to be randomly assigned to either a treatment group or a control group. The treatment group are to receive passive-positioning treatment (Strain-Counterstrain) in addition to exercise instruction while the control group is to receive only exercise instruction. Interventions are to be provided twice in a week for two weeks. Treatment and control interventions are to be provided within half an hour on each occasion. To find digitally tender points and assess these during treatment interventions, it will be necessary for the experimenter to press gently with thumb or forefinger at sites in the lower back, loin, buttock, abdominal, anterior pelvic and pubic areas (Jones, Kusunose et al. 1995) (Kusunose and Wendorff 1990). Subjects may be required to lie on their back or stomach for up to 15 minutes at a time. In this study there is little or no risk of injury if subjects have met the selection criteria for entry into the study. Subjects in the treatment group may experience some temporary discomfort at digitally tender point sites that are pressed during assessment and intervention. Approximately a third of clients have been found to experience a muscle-ache type of discomfort in the day following passive body positioning. Subjects may experience a reduction in low back pain as a result of participating in this study. The study may provide evidence for the effectiveness of passive positioning treatment for low back pain.