ANZCTR search results

The primary purpose of this trial is to evaluate whether 18FGE-180-Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scans can predict response to steroid treatment for acute gastrointestinal graft versus host disease (GI-GVHD) following haematopoietic progenitor cell transplantation (HPCT) for a haematological cancer. Who is it for? You may be eligible to enrol in this trial if you are aged 18 or over and have been referred for diagnostic endoscopy within the previous 7 days for suspected GI-GVHD following HPCT in the previous 100 days for a haematological cancer. Study details All participants enrolled in this trial will receive standard treatment for their condition. In addition, they will all receive two 18FGE-180-PET scans at enrolment (within 7 days of referral for endoscopy) and another scan 7-14 days after the first. The scans will last approximately 30 minutes and will involve receiving an intravenous injection of 18FGE-180 waiting 60 minutes and then proceeding to have a PET/MRI of 30 minutes duration. Researchers will compare the results of these scans to results of the endoscopy procedure by reviewing each patient's medical records. It is hoped that the findings from this trial will provide information on whether 18FGE-180-PET may be useful for predicting response to steroid treatment in these patients

Studies examining psychosocial and depression assessment programs in maternity settings have not adequately considered the context in which psychosocial assessment occurs or how broader components of integrated care, including clinician decision-making aids, may optimise program delivery and its cost-effectiveness. There is also limited evidence relating to the diagnostic accuracy of symptom-based screening measures used in this context. The Perinatal Integrated Psychosocial Assessment (PIPA) Project was developed to address these knowledge gaps. The PIPA Project will provide evidence relating to the clinical- and cost- effectiveness of psychosocial assessment integrated with electronic clinician decision making prompts, and referral options that are tailored to the woman’s psychosocial risk, in the maternity care setting. It will also address research recommendations from the Australian (2011) and NICE (2015) Clinical Practice Guidelines.

The part A of the Safe-D study involves recruitment of participants into a cross-sectional study in order to investigate the association of vitamin D (25-OHD) levels with clinical health indices and related laboratory measures: musculoskeletal health (bone density, bone turnover markers, muscle function); mood/mental health; body composition and weight; and atopic/allergic symptoms. This study recruited 411 young healthy female aged 16 to 25 years old and living in Victoria, Australia through Facebook advertisement. Wide range of data were collected through completing on line survey questionnaires, attending site visit and wearing of a UV dosimeter.

Australia has an ageing population with an associated increase in people living with multiple chronic diseases. There has been a major increase in polypharmacy (multiple medicines use) in Australia over the past decade and the prevalence continues to rise, especially in older adults. Polypharmacy can lead to medication errors, adverse drug reactions, falls, confusion, frailty, loss of independence, hospitalisation and mortality. Evidence is emerging that supervised withdrawal of harmful or unnecessary medicines (deprescribing) is safe and may improve quality of life in older people. Over 90% of older adults surveyed in a range of settings, including Royal North Shore Hospital inpatients stated they would like to stop one of their medicines if their doctor said it was possible. An acute hospital stay represents a missed opportunity to review a patient’s medicines and reduce polypharmacy. In the Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) inpatient aged care service, the prevalence of hyperpolypharmacy increases from 45.8% on admission to 60.4% on discharge. Involvement of clinical pharmacists has been shown to improve care of hospitalised patients. The main barriers to optimising medicines during admission are a focus on the acute presenting problem; inadequate information on the patient’s comorbidities and medications prior to admission; difficulties reaching consensus between the patient, multiple specialists and general practitioner; inadequate time with short length of stay; and lack of expertise by junior medical officers, who do most of the prescribing. Failure to address polypharmacy in hospital results in longer lengths of stay due to adverse drug events, and a higher likelihood of readmission. We propose testing a new service at RNSH to improve Quality Use of Medicines by older patients across the continuum of care. Quality Use of Medicines, which is a pillar of Australia’s National Medicines Policy, is best achieved through partnership between consumers, clinicians, academics and policy makers. Such partnership is central to the Multidisciplinary Multiple Medicines Management Service (4MS) that will be tested in this proposal.

This research will compare the individual bacterial taxa between 2 orthodontic appliances, the fixed self-ligating bracket system and Invisalign clear aligners. The association of individual taxa and the presence or absence of white spot lesions and gingivitis for both orthodontic techniques will be analysed.

People all over the world do not meet the recommended intake for fruit and vegetables. New strategies and options are needed to help people to boost their vegetable consumption. Carrots are an exceptional source of carotenoids, as well as fibre. Carotenoids are a precursor for vitamin A, one of the most common deficiencies worldwide, essential for eye health and may have various other health benefits through their antioxidant activity. The primary hypothesis of the study is that daily consumption of processed carrot powder added to foods is an effective, convenient and consumer accepted strategy to supplement vegetable intake, as shown by greater increases in carotenoid status after 4 weeks compared to daily consumption of carotenoid-rich vegetables.

Specific amino acids (i.e. proline and glycine) and/or sequences of these amino acids (i.e. peptides) play a supportive role in the synthesis of collagen, the predominant protein found within connective tissues. Recent work by our team has shown a dose response relationship between amino acid availability and collagen content, and tissue mechanics in engineered ligaments following the ingestion of gelatin (a food form of collagen). However, it is not currently known whether other foods/supplements containing relevant amino acids/ peptides have the potential to support collagen synthesis. Furthermore, the bioavailability (i.e. timing and peaks of appearance within the blood) of varying collagen and non-collagen containing food sources is currently unknown. Therefore the goal of this study is twofold; Part a) Determination of the plasma amino acid response to dietary and supplemental sources of non- collagen and collagen containing foods while measuring potential biomarkers of collagen intake urinary HYP. Part b) Investigation of the effect of dietary and supplemental sources of non-collagen and collagen containing proteins on in-vitro collagen synthesis in engineered ligaments and cultured fibroblast cell lines.

This study aims to look at the inflammatory processes in patients with kidney disease who require haemodialysis. It has been shown that there is a pro-inflammatory process in this cohort of patients and this study intends to look at the specific mechanisms, immune cellular function and inflammatory molecules involved in this process. It also intends to look at the effect of Colchicine, an anti-inflammatory agent on the level of inflammatory molecules

Arthritis is a major cause of illness and disability, particularly among older people. It is estimated that 70% of community dwelling older people experience unrelieved arthritic pain. As with any other chronic conditions, people living with chronic arthritic pain are required to self-manage their condition adopting various pharmacological and non-pharmacological strategies. Therefore, innovative and cost-effective approaches are necessary to build older people’s pain self-management capabilities. One of such approaches is the use of digital technologies such as smartphone apps. In this study we aim to explore the suitability of a pain self-management App in assisting older people living in the community to more effectively manage their arthritic pain. English speaking older people (i.e. those aged 65 years or over); living with arthritis related pain in the community; who use a smartphone or a tablet-computer, will be invited to participate. Interested older people will be asked to sign a written consent form. A meeting (M1) will be organized with consenting participants for App download and study questionnaire completion. With the assistance of one of the researchers, participants will be asked to download the freely available Pain self-management App to their smartphone or tablet, and to complete a questionnaire. Participants will be instructed to use the App for Two weeks, after which another meeting (M2) will be scheduled for completion of the follow-up questionnaire. It is estimated that this meeting will take up to 45 minutes and can be carried out face-to-face or via telephone. Face-to-face meetings will take place at a mutually convenient location. This will be followed by data analysis process and reporting the results. We expect that the results of this study will help develop recommendation for future pain interventions designed to optimise older people’s pain management capabilities in the community

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a highly prevalent condition affecting approximately two million Australians (14% of the population over 40 years). It is estimated that the overall costs of COPD is $8.8 billion per annum in direct health costs and indirect costs such as lost productivity. One of the most effective interventions for managing COPD is pulmonary rehabilitation which reduces symptoms of breathlessness and fatigue, increases functional exercise capacity, improves quality of life and reduces hospital admissions. To ensure that pulmonary rehabilitation programs are achieving appropriate outcomes, valid but easily available and inexpensive tests are needed. The Glittre ADL test is a relatively new test of functional activities. However, to show improvement on the Glittre ADL, patients need to be able to increase the speed of activities. Often people with COPD after a pulmonary rehabilitation program, cannot significantly improve the speed with which they perform activities but may be able to perform the activities for longer (i.e greater endurance), with less breathlessness and fatigue. We are interested to trial a modification of the Glittre ADL test to better reflect endurance capacity for functional tasks. We also wish to determine how this measure relates to levels of daily activity since higher levels of physical activity have been associated with better health outcomes in people with COPD. The aims of this project are: a) To develop and evaluate the a new test, the Glittre Endurance test, in people with COPD; b) To determine the relationship between the Glittre Endurance test and levels of daily physical activity measured by an activity monitor; c) To evaluate the responsiveness of the Glittre Endurance test as an outcome measure following pulmonary rehabilitation.