ANZCTR search results

This study is a randomised controlled trial involving 50 patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease (aged 50-85), that aims to investigate the efficacy of Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (tACS), a gentle non-invasive brain stimulation technique, in reducing symptoms of Alzheimer’s. Patient and carer experience with the tACS treatment will also be examined. Participants will be randomised to either active or placebo tACS, and will receive 20 treatment sessions over four-weeks. Clinical symptoms, cognition and quality of life will be assessed pre-treatment, at the end of the treatment course, and at 6 week and 3 month follow-ups. At the conclusion of the study, participants who initially received placebo tACS will be given the option of receiving active treatment.

The two primary aims of this project are to 1. Understand the anxiety experiences of children with cystic fibrosis (CF) and their parents, and 2. Determine whether the Fear-Less Triple-P Online Workshop is a viable and effective treatment option for anxiety in the child CF population. All children aged 6-14 with CF and their parents will be invited to participate. The project will involve 1. Pre- and post-intervention survey measures investigating anxiety, depression, procedural anxiety, health-related quality of life, fear of disease progression, and pre-measures for the Fear-Less program; 2. A six-module online parenting workshop on Fear-Less Triple-P; and 3. Follow-up surveys and measures at 3, 6 and 9 months. It is anticipated that the surveys and pre-measures will reveal significant challenges for both the children with CF and their parents, potentially affecting their treatment adherence and quality of life. It is also anticipated that the online Fear-Less Triple-P workshop will provide a viable, sustainable, and effective intervention option for anxiety among children with CF.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a severe mental illness that affects 1-2% of the Australian population (Crino, Slade, & Andrews, 2005). There is currently no cure for OCD and current interventions are not effective to relieve symptoms in many people. The disorder is characterised by marked symptom heterogeneity that map onto distinct alterations in fronto-striatal brain networks activity (Harrison et al., 2013). While specific OCD symptoms are likely to correlate more strongly with a given pathway, a diagnosis of OCD is associated with changes in all major fronto-striatal networks. Non-invasive brain stimulation techniques such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) are gaining acceptance as safe and potentially effective treatments for patients with OCD by altering network dysfunction. With current treatment approaches, the choice of which frontal brain regions to be stimulated by TMS is largely decided using trial-and-error. These shortfalls limit the efficacy and reliability of proposed TMS interventions. A way to bypass the arbitrary choice of the frontal cortical region to target using TMS is to stimulate all frontal regions encompassing the three main fronto-striatal pathways affected in OCD. Thus, simultaneous stimulation of the three cortical regions, each belonging to a main fronto-striatal pathway, should result in reduced response variability and better efficacy of TMS in alleviating the severity of OCD symptoms. The proposed study combines behavioural analyses, neuroimaging, and TMS to test this hypothesis.

The primary aim of the Barwon Joint Replacement Registry is to monitor patients following joint replacement surgery that occurs at University Hospital Geelong and St John of God Hospital Geelong. All patients undergoing joint replacement are routinely seen in pre-operative clinics as part of surgical planning. An Orthopaedic Coordinator will discuss the Registry with eligible patients and assist them, as required, to complete the relevant pre-operative assessment forms. Post-operative follow-up procedures vary between Barwon Health and SJOG. At Barwon Health, study participants will be assessed in-person at University Hospital Geelong (UHG) 3-6 months following the operation. Participants will then be assessed via mail-out at 1 year, 5 years and 8 years post-op and then biennially thereafter. Participants with complications or suspected complications identified via mail-out will be invited to the UHG for in-person review. At SJOG, study participants will be assessed via mail-out at 12 months following the operation. Patients will also undergo clinical review with their surgeon at intervals decided by the surgeon, which is not considered part of the current study.

Unhealthy pregnancy lifestyle behaviours and excessive gestational weight gain are associated with negative pregnancy-related and long-term health outcomes for both mothers and infants. The present study is an evaluation of a mHealth (mobile health) intervention called txt4two, an evidence based strategy for promoting healthy nutrition, physical activity and gestational weight gain in pregnancy through the use of interactive mobile phone text messages, video messages and an information website. Participation in this evaluation study will be offered to pregnant women with BMI’s >25 and own a mobile phone. The primary aim of this study is to assess whether participants receiving the txt4two program in combination with routine dietetic care have better fruit and vegetable intake and diet quality, physical activity levels, and appropriate gestational weight gain than participants who receive routine dietetic care alone. Surveys measuring these health parameters will be collected at participant registration to the study (first booking into hospital), and again at 36 weeks gestation.

The UPWARD study is a National Health and Medical Research Council funded project being carried out by Neuroscience Research Australia and Western Sydney University. It is a long-term study (5 years) that will follow participants for 6 months from the onset of their low back pain in order to understand why some individuals get better after hurting their back while others do not. This information will help clinicians design more appropriately timed and targeted therapies for people with low back pain.

This pilot study aims to investigate the physiological and timed responses of participants in a can't intubate, can't oxygenate (CICO) airway crisis comparing the use of standardised institutional equipment versus a pre-packaged kit. It is hypothesised that a pre-packaged kit will reduce the time for airway rescue and reduce the stress on participants, which would improve their overall performance during such crises.

This project is testing the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics (PK, the amount of study drug in your blood) and pharmacodynamics (PD, how the study drug affects your body) of multiple subcutaneous (into/under the skin) injections or single intravenous (IV) infusions (into the vein) of a new formulation of a drug called KZR-616.

The purposes of this study is to assess the urinary function of men undergoing a prostatectomy with and without a 'RoboSling', which is a thin piece of the patient's abdominal lining tissue that is stitched to the pubic bone during surgery to support the bladder. Who is it for? You may be eligible for this study if you are aged at least 18 years and are undergoing a prostatectomy for prostate cancer with one of the participating surgeons involved in this study. Study details Participants in this study will be randomised (by chance) into two groups. Both groups will undergo their planed prostatectomy procedure. One group will have a standard procedure, and the other group will have a standard procedure with the creating of a ‘RoboSling’ from their abdominal lining tissue during surgery. All participants will complete a number of questionnaires at 7 timepoints over the weeks and months just prior to and following their surgery. It is intended that this study will help to improve urinary continence in men after prostatectomy surgery in the future.

The aim of this study is to investigate the feasibility of delivering intensive meal preparation retraining using a group therapy model in a public health setting for people with a brain injury. The study will explore whether providing more intensive retraining in meal preparation in a group context provides equal or better outcomes for patients than current individual intervention (current usual practice). The participant will be randomly assigned to receive either group based meal preparation (breakfast group) or individual meal preparation retraining (usual practice). The breakfast group involves a 5 day per week (Monday to Friday) breakfast preparation group based program facilitated by a minimum of one occupational therapist and one occupational therapy assistant. Usual practice involves one to one therapist to patient sessions with frequency determined by the therapist based on capacity and outcomes of assessments completed. The participant will be asked to complete an assessment with an occupational therapist involving the participant completing a simple meal preparation task three times during the study: 1) before receiving the meal preparation intervention, 2) at the end of the intervention (four weeks) and 3) at the end of 12 weeks. The assessments include: the Perceive, Recall, Plan and Perform (PRPP) System of Task Analysis and the Functional Autonomy Measurement System (SMAF). The participant may also be invited to participate in a one hour individual interview with a member of the research team, about four weeks after commencing the intervention. This study will identify the feasibility of intensive group based breakfast preparation retraining in an inpatient setting. The impact of treatment mode and intensity on functional outcomes will provide opportunities for clinical recommendations and identification of patient satisfaction.