ANZCTR search results

We plan to study 20 patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease with complications of orthostatic hypotension and nocturia. In an 8 week double-blinded, crossover study design, we will study the effects of oral desmopressin (or matching placebo) on orthostatic hypotension, nocturia, and sleep.

The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of delivering electrical stimulation in conjunction with traditional strength training in the quadriceps muscles of people with incomplete spinal cord injuries. The study will be undertaken over an eight-week period. This research can help physiotherapists understand how best to strengthen weak muscles in persons with incomplete spinal cord injuries. The quadriceps muscles are being used as a model to determine the effectiveness of regular electrical stimulation and strength training to all large muscle groups.

This study will provide ongoing supply of Cpn10 for people with RA who have participated in an earlier 6 month trial with Cpn10. Many treatments for RA lose their effectiveness over time and are associated with side effects that limit their use. The primary purpose of this study is to establish if Cpn10 is safe and effective in RA over a long period.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a debilitating and life-threatening vascular disease affecting the lungs. Exercise training has traditionally had little role in the management of patients with PAH due to fears that it may cause disease progression and increase the risk of sudden death. However, this assumption may no longer be valid in patients who are stabilised on new medical therapies. We hypothesise that a supervised exercise training program conducted in the outpatient setting is safe and feasible, and improves exercise capacity, strength and quality of life in people with PAH. People with PAH will undergo 8 weeks of supervised exercise training in the outpatient setting. We will record any adverse events that ocfur during training. Before and after the training we will measure exercise capacity, strength and quality of life. the results of this study will indicate whether exercise training is safe for people with PAH and whether it has potential as a new treatment to improve exericse capacity and wellbeing.

The proposed study examines the impact of a specific telephone coaching intervention on HbA1C. HbA1C reflects average glucose concentration over ~3months. Secondary outcomes will include fasting glucose, lipids and blood pressure. Adherence to monitoring requirements will also be measured e.g. regular checks of HbA1C, lipids, feet & eyes. The intervention in question is currently in use in the cardiac population where its efficacy has been demonstrated by two Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs).

This study is aimed to evaluate the role of acupuncture treatment for menstrual disorder in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome.

Patients undergoing ECT often experience postprocedure myalgia. There is also a published range of muscle relaxant doses to minimise this occurrence. It is the purpose of this study to compare the higher and lower recommended doses to see if there is a difference in postprocedure myalgia between the two doses.

Pain, particularly neuropathic pain, is a common and debilitating consequence of spinal cord injury. Despite the high prevalence and severity of pain, there are currently no available treatments that provide consistent or satisfactory relief. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a safe non-invasive brain stimulation technique that may be helpful in reducing pain following spinal cord injury. This study is aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of tDCS as a treatment for spinal cord injury neuropathic pain. Subjects will undergo 10 tDCS treatment sessions over a period of 5 weeks as well as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans prior to and immediately following each treatment week, and at 10 weeks and 6 months after study commencement. The technique is not painful and no serious side effects have been reported. Our hypothesis is that tDCS will provide relief of neuropathic pain following spinal cord injury. If proven effective, tDCS may provide a much needed non-invasive alternative treatment for patients with persistent spinal cord injury neuropathic pain.

Bedwetting affects 10% school aged children and 2% adults. It impacts on sleep, concentration, learning and self esteem. First line treatment is with a bedwetting alarm. The Children’s Hospital at Westmead has designed a bedwetting alarm which is more effective, including in those who had previously failed alarm therapy. This alarm incorporates the latest technology with a new concept in treating bedwetting. The predicted success rate is 80-95% (compared with 65-75% for standard alarms).We aim to further refine the proof of concept alarm and compare it to standard alarms.

Cefepime is a broad spectrum antibiotic used as part of the Alfred Intensive Care Unit (ICU) antibiotic guidelines at a dose of 1g every 12 hours in combination with other agents, higher doses are used (eg 2g every 12 hours) in many international centres. Conventional administration is via short infusion over a few minutes. However the antibacterial effect is dependent on adequate drug concentrations being maintained over most of the period between doses. Extended infusions have been shown in computer modelling to achieve this for cefepime. Clinically, extended infusions have been shown in intensive care patients to be more effective for other antibiotics of similar class to cefepime. This study will be a randomised controlled trial in intensive care patients which aims to compare the pharmacokinetic profile (blood concentrations of the drug over time) of conventional administration of cefepime over a few minutes at the dose of 1g every 12 hours (the dose routinely used in The Alfred ICU) and the higher dose of 2g every 12 hours against an extended infusion of 1g given over 6 hours every 12 hours. Cefepime blood concentration will be obtained from analysis of blood samples taken at predetermined time points over two 12 hour periods on Day 1 and Day 3 (steady state) of therapy. This will allow determination of the pharmacokinetic profile of cefepime in intensive care patients for each of the three dosing regimens. Comparison of these profiles will provide evidence of any advantage of extended infusions in intensive care patients leading to larger scale clinical investigations of this administration method.