ANZCTR search results

Breast milk is the optimal form of infant feeding, and it is recommended that all infants should be exclusively breastfeed for the first 6 months after birth. Breast milk contains the essential nutrients, immune factors and hormones to support infant growth and development. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that the levels of these factors vary considerably between mothers, and that these differences may affect the short and longer-term health of the child. Maternal diet is thought to be an important determinant of the breast milk composition, however there is very little known about how changes to the maternal diet while breastfeeding can impact on breast milk composition. Many women in Australia currently consume poor quality Western diets that contain excess amounts of fat and added sugars, and there are suggestions that this might be having a negative effect on the quality of the mother’s milk. However, no studies have determined whether and to what extent improving dietary quality during breastfeeding can affect the composition of human milk. The aim of this research study is to determine the effect of improving dietary quality during breastfeeding on the concentrations of macronutrients (fat, sugar, lactose) and metabolic hormones (leptin, adiponectin, insulin, ghrelin) in breast milk.

The aim of this pilot study is to evaluate the relationship between intraoperative blood pressure and brain metabolism during heart surgery using an advanced non-invasive optical imaging technique . We hypothesise that drops in perfusion pressure (below the limit of cerebral autoregulation) which are frequently encountered in heart surgery, not only impair cerebral haemodynamics, but also affect brain metabolism. This research will extend this extensive programme of research for the first time to the cardiac surgical population. This pilot study will inform the feasibility of future studies comparing [oxCCO] with clinical outcomes following cardiac surgery.

This research is motivated by the notion that we feel alive and valued when we can make and share things. It looks at the benefits of a purposefully designed makerspace and arts in health intervention for long-term patients in assisting them to deal with the change and challenges they face. It examines the experience of a group of adult hemodialysis patients and their interaction with a mobile makerspace, created for this project, the ‘Makeway Lab’. The project will consider the participatory act of ‘making’ and the impact of the Makeway Lab in a hospital setting and deliver a series of digital maker activities with a group of people on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. For the participants the project provides them interesting and engaging activities, to stimulate them socially, cognitively and physically. For the hospital the project accounts for the social and mental health of the participants and provide an innovative arts in health intervention. At a time of growing international acceptance of the notion that participation in the creative arts can be beneficial for wellbeing and health (Clift, 2012), this study will provide a unique hospital inquiry and patient testimonies for the value of a makerspace for human health.

PTSD can be characterised by reactivation of memories of past events, which were viewed as being severe and possibly life threatening at the time. The study looks to evaluate if reframing the original memory, creating a vision of a happy and ptsd free future and then reinforcing this with listening to a meditation twice a day for 8 weeks will result in short term and then long term improvements of the symptoms of PTSD.

The underpinning pathophysiologic basis for the study is that elevated left atrial pressure is often observed in patients with AF. The hypothesis for the current study is that left atrial decompression using an IASD may improve hemodynamic and electrophysiologic outcomes in patients undergoing repeat pulmonary vein isolation for AF treatment. This study is a pilot study to assess safety and feasibility, together with exploratory hemodynamic and electrophysiologic end-points.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the feasibility and safety of a randomised controlled trial (RCT) to examine the effectiveness of isometric exercises in the management of de Quervain's syndrome, and compare low load to high load exercises. All participants will receive a thermoplastic orthosis and education regarding the condition. Participants will then be randomised into low load (25% of max) or high load (70% of max) thumb extension exercises.

Psoriasis is an immune-mediated disease that causes raised, red, scaly patches to appear on the skin as a result of a sped-up skin production process. The typical life cycle of a skin cell is 1 month (www.healthline.com/health/psoriasis). Typically, skin cells grow deep in the skin and slowly rise to the surface and eventually fall off. In people with psoriasis, this production process may occur in just a few days resulting in rapid overproduction and build-up of skin cells. This study is investigating a new vaccine called FPP003 which is being developed to treat patients with moderate - severe psoriasis. This study will investigate the safety and tolerability of FPP003. It will also look at the pharmacokinetics (how much of the drug remains in the blood at certain timepoints) of the drug and how effective it is with escalating dose levels. These investigations will be compared with placebo under the same conditions. This study will be conducted in 4 successive, dose escalated, cohorts. In each cohort, participants will receive a subcutaneous dose of the study drug (FPP003 or placebo) on Day 1, Day 15 and Day 29. The study will be divided into a screening phase lasting up to 28 days. The total duration of the study for participants completing the study is about 5 months, with a total of 8 visits to the study unit.

Childhood nutrition is intricately tied to trajectories of health, growth and wellbeing across the life-course. Children from low-income backgrounds have been found to be more likely to experience poor nutrition and attendant consequences including obesity. Childcare services are potential sites for intervention prior to school entry. International studies have highlighted that poor quality mealtime interactions between educators and children, including low sensitivity and mealtime rigidity, inhibit a child’s learning to like a variety of nutritious foods. This study will apply direct in-situ observation methodologies and parent survey to 1) observe mealtimes in childcare in low income communities; and 2) identify how childcare settings can support healthy food environments. The key hypothesis, tested within this study, is that positive feeding practices in childcare moderates the relationship between parent feeding practices and child eating behaviour in preschool aged children.

Few cases of periodontitis continue to have residual periodontal pockets with bleeding on probing despite well performed non-surgical periodontal therapy. It is unclear if the use of adjunctive systemic antimicrobials can provide clinical benefits in these cases. If the adjunctive systemic antimicrobial has additional anti-inflammatory properties it may help in the modulation of the host response. Azithromycin is one such antimicrobial with additional anti-inflammatory and host-modulating properties. Although the anti-microbial properties of azithromycin have been studied extensively, there are few studies on its host-modulating and anti-inflammatory properties in the treatment of periodontitis. It is hypothesized that adjunctive administration of azithromycin results in a gain in clinical attachment levels, decreased probing depths, decrease in Periodontal Inflammatory Surface Area (PISA) scores, decreased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and decrease in the number of pathogenic bacteria in the periodontal pockets among patients non-responsive to initial periodontal therapy.

Occupational therapists and physiotherapists face challenges to providing evidence-based rehabilitation and require support to implement clinical practice guidelines. The aim of this study is to test the feasibility of two different implementation packages which aim to improve guideline adherence, and to explore effect on patient upper limb outcomes. Using a non-randomised clustered design, the study recruited occupational and physiotherapy rehabilitation services (n=3 inpatient and n=3 outpatient services) which were allocated to one of three groups: (Group A) Facilitator-mediated implementation package, (Group B) Self-directed implementation package, or (Group C) Usual care (control); we recruited n=1 inpatient and n=1 outpatient service per Group. Outcomes of feasibility, adherence to guidelines (medical file audits), and patient upper limb impairment (Fugl-Meyer Upper Extremity Assessment), activity (Box and Block Test), and practice (minutes/week) were collected at baseline and after 3-months of intervention.