Identifying EHealth Literacy And Readability Issues For Palliative Care Consumers
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$29,375.00
Summary
Access and use of health information can affect a patient’s health experience and potentially their health outcomes. Increasingly health information is being provided and sought through the internet and online resources. Palliative care patients and their carers have specific information needs relating to the nature and progress of their disease, their symptoms and their current and pending quality of life. However, their ability to find and use information relies on many factors such as individ ....Access and use of health information can affect a patient’s health experience and potentially their health outcomes. Increasingly health information is being provided and sought through the internet and online resources. Palliative care patients and their carers have specific information needs relating to the nature and progress of their disease, their symptoms and their current and pending quality of life. However, their ability to find and use information relies on many factors such as individual skills and experiences and how information is presented and made available. eHealth literacy is a measure of the mix of skills required by consumers to successfully access and understand palliative care information. Readability is one aspect of eHealth literacy and readability scales can be used to identify how effective websites are in providing appropriate written information for palliative care consumers. This research will help assess eHealth literacy levels and hence potential intervention needs of palliative care patients and carers as well as determining whether the readability requirement of palliative care websites and information is too high.Read moreRead less
Targeting The AGE-RAGE Axis In Diabetes Associated Atherosclerosis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$542,859.00
Summary
Based on extensive preliminary data we porpose that the AGE intercation with RAGE plays an important role in diabetes associated atherosclerosis. We will perform studies using a soluble form of the receptor RAGE which will trap AGEs in the blood and tissues and thus prevent diabetes related blood vessel damage. Furthermore, we will investigate if RAGE receptor on inflammatory cells such as macrophages plays a pivotal role in blood vessel injury in diabetes.
Delineating The Role Of Advanced Glycation In Diabetes And Nephropathy
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$631,023.00
Summary
Type 1 diabetes affects more than 140,000 Australians and up to 40% of children and adolescents with the disease develop complications including kidney disease. Excess blood sugar as the result of diabetes can accelerate a biochemical process called advanced glycation, which permanently alters proteins affecting their structure and function, which I have previously shown as contributors to kidney damage in diabetes. Recently, however, I have discovered that this biochemical process is also invol ....Type 1 diabetes affects more than 140,000 Australians and up to 40% of children and adolescents with the disease develop complications including kidney disease. Excess blood sugar as the result of diabetes can accelerate a biochemical process called advanced glycation, which permanently alters proteins affecting their structure and function, which I have previously shown as contributors to kidney damage in diabetes. Recently, however, I have discovered that this biochemical process is also involved in the development of type 1 diabetes itself.Read moreRead less
A Model Of Current & Potential Palliative Care Constituency: Measuring Met & Unmet Needs
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$145,210.00
Summary
Although many health care providers believe palliative care should be offered to all Australians who need it, there is no population-based data to support this claim. This study will provide much needed population-based evidence by measuring the levels of met and unmet needs of people with active, progressive, advanced disease in the last 12 months of their lives. A model of current and potential palliative care constituency will be developed that will lead to improved access to palliative care ....Although many health care providers believe palliative care should be offered to all Australians who need it, there is no population-based data to support this claim. This study will provide much needed population-based evidence by measuring the levels of met and unmet needs of people with active, progressive, advanced disease in the last 12 months of their lives. A model of current and potential palliative care constituency will be developed that will lead to improved access to palliative care for people who do not traditionally access specialist palliative care services.Read moreRead less
Chemoradiation And Adjuvant Chemotherapy Versus Radiation Alone In High Risk And Advanced Endometrial Cancer
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$460,832.00
Summary
This trial is evaluating whether adding chemotherapy during and after radiotherapy is better than giving radiotherapy alone in patients who have advanced or high risk endometrial cancer. One group of patients will be treated after surgery with both radiotherapy and chemotherapy, followed by additional cycles of chemotherapy and the other group will receive the standard treatment which is pelvic radiation alone. This study may result in a change in the management of these patients.
Role Of Circulating Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs) In Diabetic Nephropathy: Effect Of Benfotiamine Intervention
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$465,000.00
Summary
Advanced glycation products (AGEs) are compounds formed by the addition of sugars to amino acids (the building blocks of proteins). The addition of sugars to proteins induces biological changes that have been implicated in the development of diabetic complications, especially diabetic kidney disease. AGEs are a diverse group of compounds and to date the exact role that specific AGEs play in the causation of diabetic kidney disease is still unclear. However, new methods are now available that all ....Advanced glycation products (AGEs) are compounds formed by the addition of sugars to amino acids (the building blocks of proteins). The addition of sugars to proteins induces biological changes that have been implicated in the development of diabetic complications, especially diabetic kidney disease. AGEs are a diverse group of compounds and to date the exact role that specific AGEs play in the causation of diabetic kidney disease is still unclear. However, new methods are now available that allow the comprehensive quantification of individual AGE levels in blood. Our study involves the comparison of AGE blood levels, as a group or as specific AGEs with markers of diabetic kidney disease such as albumin (protein) excretion in the urine and the rate that the kidney filters the blood to form urine (glomerular filtration rate). Benfotiamine is a thiamine (vitamin B1) derivative that has been shown to decrease the formation of AGEs and to prevent kidney disease in diabetic animals. The present clinical study will assess whether benfotiamine has similar effects on AGEs and kidney disease in patients with type 2 diabetes. If successful, this study has the potential to provide a new treatment strategy for diabetic kidney disease in humans.Read moreRead less
Does Palliative Chemotherapy Improve Symptoms In Women With Recurrent Ovarian Cancer?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$521,878.00
Summary
This is a study in women who have relapsed ovarian cancer, and who are about to start further chemotherapy. Subjects will answer questions about their quality of life in order to measure any improvement in their symptoms and well being in response to palliative treatment. The study will relate subjects own reporting of improvement with their actual clinical response. The aim of this study is to develop an optimal palliative chemotherapy regime for use in future clinical trials.
Circulating Low -molecular Weight AGEs In The Development And Progression Of Diabetic Complications
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$297,523.00
Summary
High levels of sugars seen in patients with diabetes leads to damage of many organs including the heart, the eyes and the kidneys. These high sugars cause damage through a number of mechanisms, one being the formation of advanced glycation end products or AGEs, formed by the irreversible reaction between proteins and glucose. This reaction leads to a change in the shape and function of AGE-modified molecules that progressively contributes to organ damage. AGEs also bind and activate specific rec ....High levels of sugars seen in patients with diabetes leads to damage of many organs including the heart, the eyes and the kidneys. These high sugars cause damage through a number of mechanisms, one being the formation of advanced glycation end products or AGEs, formed by the irreversible reaction between proteins and glucose. This reaction leads to a change in the shape and function of AGE-modified molecules that progressively contributes to organ damage. AGEs also bind and activate specific receptors that promote the damage and scarring of tissue. Where the glucose concentration is high, AGEs accumulate much more quickly. This is one reason why patients with good sugar control do better than those who are unable to control their blood sugars. The importance of this AGE pathway is illustrated by the fact that blocking the formation of AGEs is able to prevent kidney damage in animals with diabetes. In addition, exposure to AGEs can cause diabetes-like changes in the absence of high sugars. Our laboratory is a world leader in the study of the advanced glycation and methods blocking this process. The research proposed will investigate circulating levels of AGEs in experimental animals and patients with diabetes, and correlate them with the development and progression of complications of diabetesRead moreRead less
Dietary Intake Of Highly Processed Foods As A Contributor To Type 1 Diabetes
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$558,953.00
Summary
Modern food processing imparts desirable functional properties such as emulsification and longer shelf life. These biochemical modifications in our food may cause the body to turn on itself and destroy the cells which produce the sugar storage hormone insulin. This is important for survival and characterizes childhood onset diabetes and can also be seen in type 2 diabetes. This research will test some dietary and pharmaceutical interventions to slow the development of diabetes.