ANZCTR search results

To evaluate the effects of oral care agents on white spots, healthy human participants will wear appliances with tooth enamel slabs containing artificially-created early decay (white spots) attached. During one of the two treatment periods, a gel containing oral care agent will be applied to the surface of enamel slabs on the appliance. For each of the two treatment periods, participants will also be required to apply an oral care tooth crème on the enamel slabs on their appliances three times per day for 14 days. After completion of each treatment, the enamel slab surface colour change and mineral content in the white spots will be analysed. The study hypothesis will be that topical application of oral care agents on white spots will have no effects on colour changes and mineral content change in enamel in situ.

Footwear has the potential to influence balance in either a detrimental or beneficial manner, and is therefore an important consideration in relation to falls prevention. The objective of this study is to evaluate balance ability and gait patterns in older women while wearing prototype footwear and insoles designed to improve balance.

The ENJOY IMP-ACT project is an implementation research project designed to increase participation in physical activity to improve health outcomes for older people in Victoria. The project is built on an evidence-based physical and social activity program utilising specialised outdoor exercise equipment (the Seniors Exercise Park) for older people. By using an effectiveness–implementation hybrid II pre-post study design, we aim to evaluate (1) the effectiveness of the implementation framework on increasing uptake and usage of the Seniors Exercise Park across several local government areas (2) the impact of the ENJOY Seniors Exercise Park on older people’s physical activity and wellbeing and (3) the social return-on-investment (economic evaluation). Five local governments (6 public sites/parks) will undergo a 9-month implementation intervention incorporating key elements of Training, Engagement, Resources development, and Marketing and promotion. The program aims to enhance the physical and mental wellbeing and social connectedness of older people and build capacity and community engagement.

The use of computer aided design and computer aided manufacturing dental prosthodontics have reduced the need for skilled manual work and removed the need for multiple fittings of the prostheses. The use of a framework made of milled material called polyetheretherketone (PEEK) is a common method of reinforcement to increase the strength of the dental bridge/prosthesis and reduce fracture incidence. Polyaryletherketone (PAEK) materials are semi-crystalline aromatic polyetherketones with excellent mechanical properties. Polyetherketone (PEK) and PEEK belong to the group of PAEK, and was developed for the use in 3D printing. Considerable scientific evidence currently exists to support the biocompatibility of PEEK and PEEK has been applied extensively in dental prostheses and a variety of surgical fields. In this study, we investigate the efficacy of using a novel 3D printed PEK substructure to reinforce the standard 3D printed resin bridge/dental prosthesis to minimise the risk of prosthetic fracture.

This study aims to assess the feasibility of an online group exercise and education program for women with breast cancer who are receiving chemotherapy treatment. Who is it for? You may be eligible for this study if you are a female aged 18 or older, you have been diagnosed with early stage breast cancer (stage I, II or IIIA), you are scheduled to undergo chemotherapy but you have not yet started, or you have started chemotherapy within the last 4 weeks, and you have a reliable internet connection together with devices to enable video-conferencing. Study details All participants who choose to enrol in this study will undergo a 12 week exercise and education program that is delivered entirely by telehealth. Participants will attend two weekly exercise classes which run for 45 minutes and one educational class each fortnight, which runs for 1 hour including a 15 minute Q&A component. Exercise classes will include a combination of aerobic and resistance training exercises, while the educational sessions will cover topics including how to exercise safely while you are receiving chemotherapy, how to look after your mental health and strategies that may assist you, guidance on maintaining a healthy diet while you are receiving chemotherapy and after treatment has finished. Once this 12 week exercise program is completed, you will receive 12 weeks of tapered phone calls from the research assistant involved in this study to encourage you to maintain exercise levels. It is hoped this research will demonstrate that it is possible and acceptable to deliver these therapies to breast cancer patients remotely via telehealth. If this study shows that delivery of this program by telehealth is successful, it may lead to a larger future study of telehealth delivery of these therapies to a greater number of breast cancer patients, and would particularly benefit those patients who are not able to travel to hospital on a weekly basis.

The fundamental premise underpinning the research is that exposure to PAC, combined with genetic and lifestyle factors, creates chronic and systemic inflammation that underpins cardiometabolic conditions. The challenge is to demonstrate that decreasing exposure to PAC will reduce inflammation, and there are methodological issues to overcome. In this study, we will implement interventions to determine if removing putative sources of PAC exposure found in food and personal care products results in reduced excretion of PAC in urine. The interventions will be carried out in the participants’ homes with the support of registered dietitians under the supervision of a senior dietetic researcher. Sixty participants will be randomised into one of the following groups: Group 1: low PAC food only; Group 2: low PAC food + low risk utensils + low risk food preparation practices; Group 3: low PAC personal products only; Group 4: low PAC food + low risk utensils + low risk food preparation practices + low PAC personal products; Group 5: Control group. We hypothesise that this approach will demonstrate whether intervention A (low PAC ‘diet’) has an impact on urinary excretion of PAC (the response), whether intervention B (low PAC personal products) has an impact on the response, and whether there is any synergistic or antagonistic impact on the responses from combining the two interventions. That is, we will determine whether both intervention A and intervention B together provide a larger/smaller impact than the sum of the impact from each intervention alone. This design is statistically and economically efficient as it reduces the number of replicates needed and addresses many statistical hypotheses including the potential interactive effect of both interventions. The findings of this trial are expected to inform the optimal design for a future disease-focused randomised controlled trial testing the hypothesis that decreasing PAC exposure reduces risk factors for cardiometabolic disease.

This study will investigate the safety and efficacy of Tadalafil when given to women with an overactive bladder. We aim to investigate if women who receive this therapy have a decrease in urinary incontinence both during the day and night. All participants will receive six weeks of Tadalafil and six week of placebo in random order.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) has been established as a safe, effective and well-tolerated treatment for depression in patients who do not get better with other therapies. Although rTMS is an effective treatment, only about 50% of patients get a substantial clinical response and for some this can take a considerable period of time. Over recent years we have conducted extensive research developing methods to both enhance and accelerate treatment response including helping to develop the use of a novel form of rTMS, intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS), which can be applied in a far more efficient manner. The overall objective of this research is to try to maximize the number of patients who respond to treatment and to ensure that these benefits are achieved as quickly and as efficiently as possible. This project aims to optimise the application of TBS therapy by exploring the optimal dose and schedule of treatment.

Endoscopic surgical resection for early cancer of the oesophagus (involving insertion of a camera via the mouth rather than open surgery) is a widely accepted technique, allowing for complete removal of pre-cancerous tissue in this region. However this technique can lead to a narrowing or tighening of the oesophagus which may lead to difficulty swallowing and subsequent malnutrition. This study aims to investigate what effect injecting autologous (from your own body) fat cells into the surgical site has on the occurrence of oesophageal narrowing post-surgery. Who is it for? You may be eligible for this study if you are aged 18 years or older, you have been diagnosed with Squamous cell oesophageal cancer, Barrett’s oesophagus with dysplasia or oesophageal intramucosal cancer and you are scheduled to undergo a surgical resection to remove cancerous tissue. Study details All participants who choose to enrol in this study will have approximately 20mls of fat tissue taken (as one sample) harvested from them prior to the procedure. Participants will then undergo the endoscopic surgery as planned, and these fat samples (following cleansing, approximately 2 - 5mls will be re-injected) will then be injected directly into the oesophageal tissue prior to the end of the surgery. The study investigators will follow up all participants for 3 months post-surgery to determine any adverse events or complications that may arise after the procedure, and will also assess swallowing ability and cancer recurrence. It is hoped this research will demonstrate that it is safe and technically feasible to inject autologous fat cells during an endoscopic oesophageal resection procedure. If this technique is found to be safe and shows signs of reducing oesophageal narrowing, a larger randomised study may be conducted at a later date which could provide a better quality of life for future oesophageal cancer patients.

This Research Project will be conducted in two parts. The first part will involve a randomised control trial of an online mindfulness training program (MTP) designed specifically for junior doctors, delivered to interns and resident medical officers working within Fiona Stanley and Fremantle Hospitals to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of the program with regards to reducing perceived stress and improving mindfulness, self-compassion and work engagement. The second part of the study will be qualitative in nature, involving an initial qualitative survey on junior doctor self-care strategies followed by interviews and focus groups with participating junior doctors to assess the underling factors contributing to their stress, as well as the barriers to and perceived benefits of participating in self-care strategies, including the online MTP. The MTP has been developed to include brief, daily mindfulness meditation practices and brief, weekly video teachings on the applications of mindfulness meditation for junior doctors. The program will be delivered via an online platform. This delivery mode aims to minimise the time required by busy junior doctors to invest in the program while providing stress management and self-care skills that are traditionally not taught as part of junior doctor training. The program will be evaluated using both quantitative and qualitative methods, including quantitative surveys before and after the program (part one) as well as qualitative data collection in the form of a pre-intervention survey and post-intervention interviews and focus groups (part two).