ANZCTR search results

Airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) is an important feature of asthma, but its cause is unknown. Recently, we discovered that uneven distribution of air within the lungs is a strong predictor of AHR. We hypothesise that structural changes in the airways cause this uneven distribution and make the airways prone to AHR. Older people with asthma, particularly those with permanently narrowed airways, have more structural changes in their airways, whereas people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have a different pattern of structural changes from that in asthma. Evidence that there is a consistent relationship between AHR and uneven ventilation in these populations would support our hypothesis

To date, intervention foci to improve neurobehavioural outcomes in preterm infants have been primarily medical. The intervention developed for this study is based on the observation of severe dysregulation in premature infants and the potential of sensitive maternal-infant interaction to modulate the damaging effects of stress on infants' general and brain development. In essence we aim to train mothers to be therapists to their own hospitalised preterm infant. The development of infants of intervention and control mothers will be assessed and compared at several ages until 24 months corrected age.

Hepatic steatosis (fatty liver) is now the most common liver disease in western countries and NASH (fatty liver with inflammation) related cirrhosis and its complications is set to become one of the most important causes of liver related morbidity and mortality. It is clear that treatment and control of predisposing factors such as obesity and diabetes can lead to improvement in liver fibrosis (scarring) in patients with NASH however this is not possible in many patients. At present there are no established drug treatments which have been able to prevent liver fibrosis due to NASH. The renin-angiotensin sysytem (RAS) plays a central role in controlling blood pressure and sodium balance. Angiotensin II (the effector molecule) is a regarded as a key player in the general response to tissue injury in a number of organ systems, including the liver. A number of studies (experimental and human) have shown an improvement in fibrosis when the effects of AII are blocked. This study will assess the ability of telmisartan therapy to decrease the formation of fat and scar tissue in the liver in patients with fatty liver disease. It will also study the effects of telmisartan on other factors commonly found in patients with fatty liver including obesity and insulin resistance. Telmisartan will be given for a period of 12 months. A liver biopsy will be performed prior to enrolment and then at 12 months. At each visit (3 monthly after the first month) a blood sample and medical consultation will be performed.

The aim of the project is to determine whether a water-based exercise training program is effective in improving exercise capacity and health related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in whom co-morbidities may affect participation in land-based exercise. Hypothesis: On completion of an eight-week water-based exercise program, subjects with COPD and co-morbid condition/s will demonstrate significant improvements in exercise capacity and HRQoL. These improvements will be comparable to COPD subjects with co-morbid condition/s completing an eight-week land-based exercise program.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and feasibility ofa new Patent Foramen Ovale (PFO) closure device. The foramen ovale is a hole in the wall that divides the two sides of the heart. It’s present in the heart of a developing fetus, but normally it closes up soon after the baby is born. If it doesn’t close up, it’s known as a patent foramen ovale (PFO).

To determine the clinical efficacy and safety of moxifloxacin (1.0%) in patients treated with bacterial keratitis compared with patients treated with ofloxacin (0.3%) or fortified tobramycin (1.33%)/cephazolin (5%).

This is a randomised placebo-controlled trial of testosterone undecanoate in obese men with obstructive slee apena as adjunctive therapy for a weight loss programme. The aim of the study is to evaluate the additional effect of testosterone replacement on weight loss and motivation in obese (BMI>30kg/m2) men with obstructive sleep apnea undergoing a weight reduction program. The primary endopint is weight loss after 4.5 months with other secondary endpoints including body composition, anthropometry, physical activity, metabolic markers (eg insulin sensitivity, basal metabolic rate) and blood hormone concentrations.