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Cannabis is often a difficult drug to stop, and its regular use often causes dependence and withdrawal symptoms when attempting to stop. In Australia, the major treatment available for cannabis dependence is counselling, but many individuals find that counselling for cannabis use is not effective, particularly because of the withdrawal symptoms that occur. This project will assess a new treatment for cannabis dependence in patients who are seeking treatment to stop their cannabis use, and uses a combination of medications that aim to block the effects of cannabis withdrawal in the brain, and so reduce the severity of cannabis withdrawal symptoms. The three medications used in combination are tiagabine, acamprosate and mirtazapine. Participants will be allocated to one of two treatment groups. One treatment group will receive a combination of the three active medications, tiagabine, acamprosate and mirtazapine for a period of 12 weeks. The second treatment group will receive placebo (dummy) medications for 12 weeks. Allocation to either group will be by a randomisation process – like flipping a coin. All patients in the trial will also receive a program of weekly counselling and support. Patients will participate in the trial for a period of six months.

A new simple method of looking at the upper digestive tract has been developed. This is a capsule that has a camera inside it called PillCam ESO. The aim of this study is to compare the diagnostic effectiveness of PillCam ESO endoscopy with standard endsocopy in people with gastrointestinal bleeding.

The aim of this project is to determine the best way to harvest an artery that is commonly used in cardiac surgery from behind the chest bone to allow best possible result.

This study will compare the safety and efficacy of the mixture formulation consisting of liposomal and free ciprofloxacin for inhalation to placebo for inhalation in patients who have a confirmed diagnosis of non-CF bronchiectasis with a history of chronic Pseudomonas Aeruginosa infections.

This is a phase I trial to assess the safety and tolerability of a new anti-anxiety drug over a wide range of doses. This will enable doses, that are safe and produce good levels of drug in the body, to be selected for further studies in which measurement of anti-anxiety activity may be done.

Randomised double-blind placebo controlled study to measure the effect of antiretroviral therapy (ART) intensification with raltegravir and/or hyper-immune bovine colostrum on CD4+ T cell count in ART treated, HIV-1 infected individuals who have failed to achieve a CD4+ T cell count greater than 350 cells/µL despite persistent HIV plasma viraemia below 50 copies/mL on cART.

This study aims to identify whether the use of chlorpromazine is more effective than standard therapy at treating vomiting associated with Cannabis Hyperemesis Syndrome. The cause of this condition is unknown but similar syndromes of Adult Cylclical vomiting are thought to be related to migraines. Chlorpromazine has been chosen because it is both an antiemetic and anti-migraine therapy.

To assess the effect of the pre-anaesthetic consultation on patient anxiety prior to a planned general anaesthetic.

A research project is currently being undertaken looking at Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccination in special risk groups. It aims to see if young women with a chronic illness respond well to the HPV vaccine or whether they may require additional doses to ensure protective immunity. The four valent HPV vaccine protects against HPV types 16 & 18, cervical cancer and HPV types 6 & 11, anogenital warts. The six special risk groups include: Paediatric Rheumatalogical Disease Inflammatory Bowel Disease Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia Solid Organ Transplant Recipients (kidney and liver) Chronic Renal Disease Bone Marrow Transplants This immunity is measured by antibody levels of the HPV types, which requires a single blood test one month after the final dose of HPV vaccine. This is compared to healthy controls using antibody response to HPV vaccine. This will assess directly whether these special risk groups respond as well to the HPV vaccine.

The project is investigating the effectiveness of pure, high strength lavender oil in reducing physical agitiation in persons with dementia who are residing in aged care facilities. If our results demonstrate the efficacy of lavender oil it will potentially provide a safer and more pleasant treatment option for agitation rather than reliance on pharmacology alone