Antiplatelets For Prevention Of Pre-eclampsia: An Individual Patient Data Review
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$274,000.00
Summary
High blood pressure is a common complication of pregnancy affecting ~20,000 Australian women each year. Although most women and their babies do well, pre-eclampsia, defined as high blood pressure together with protein in the urine is a more serious problem. Severe pre-eclampsia is associated with 10-15% of maternal deaths. Fetal and newborn baby deaths are also increased. Mother and baby morbidity is high principally due to the associated complications in pregnancy, increased obstetric intervent ....High blood pressure is a common complication of pregnancy affecting ~20,000 Australian women each year. Although most women and their babies do well, pre-eclampsia, defined as high blood pressure together with protein in the urine is a more serious problem. Severe pre-eclampsia is associated with 10-15% of maternal deaths. Fetal and newborn baby deaths are also increased. Mother and baby morbidity is high principally due to the associated complications in pregnancy, increased obstetric interventions, fetal growth restriction and preterm birth. As yet we have no safe and effective way of preventing this life threatening condition. Aggregation of platelets (involved in blood clotting) is known to be part of the disease and could lead to the disturbances in the circulation of the mother and the placenta. Antiplatelet agents, low dose aspirin in particular, might prevent or delay the development of pre-eclampsia. Some trials and a Cochrane systematic review of all trials (involving over 30,000 women) suggest that pre-eclampsia, preterm birth and perinatal death could be reduced. However, it is still not clear which women will benefit, when in pregnancy the treatment should start and what dose of aspirin is both effective and safe. This proposed individual patient data review in which data on all women who have been entered in trials is gathered from the original investigators, including missing information on potential harms. This proposal represents a good investment of resources to obtain the information needed by women and health professional to make decisions about the use of aspirin. International investigators from all the primary trials have already formed a collaboration to oversee the project: the Perinatal Antiplatelet Review of International Studies (PARIS) Collaboration Furthermore, working through an international collaboration will ensure the highest quality in data availability, as well endorsement and implementation of the results in practice.Read moreRead less
A Practical New Method Of Measuring Population Salt Intake
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$327,193.00
Summary
The World Health Organization has set a target for member countries to reduce salt intake by 30% by 2025. Key to this is measurement of population salt intake. Collection of 24-hour urine samples is the gold standard used to estimate salt intake but this method is burdensome. Collection of a single urine sample is an alternative method. This project will bring together all of the available data worldwide to assess the reliability of using a single urine sample to measure population salt intake.
This fellowship will allow the applicant to continue to study the major musculoskeletal diseases in Australia (osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis) using a combination of observational and interventional studies.
Prediction And Prevention Of Spontaneous Preterm Birth: An Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis Comprising Of Prognostic And Therapeutic Data
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,118,718.00
Summary
Spontaneous preterm birth is an important issue in obstetric care. Since potential treatments (pessary, progesterone) are available, accurate prediction is of imminent importance. We have established a collaborative network of >100 investigators (IPPIC-2) involved in primary studies with data on more than 1.2 milli women. We will estimate the value of individual clinical, biochemical and ultrasound markers for predicting preterm birth, and integrate that with therapeutic interventions.
Evidence Innovation: Transforming The Efficiency Of Systematic Review
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$928,417.00
Summary
Australia invests considerable resources developing reliable summaries of research evidence to understand the benefits and risks of drugs and health programs. We will use information technologies and ‘crowdsourcing’ to improve the production of evidence summaries, evaluate this approach in a randomised study, and facilitate implementation throughout Australia. This will improve the translation of research into health practice and policy, reducing research waste and improving health outcomes.
Generating Evidence Of Reduced Rates Of Overweight/obesity In Children: Value Adding To Four Established Australasian Early Intervention Trials
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$193,758.00
Summary
Childhood obesity is a major health problem. Trials are now being done to see whether helping families when their baby is young will reduce the rate of overweight children. We will combine data from these trials (1800+ children) to see if the programs work. To get maximum information we need to combine the line-by-line raw data from each patient in each trial. This is called an individual patient data meta-analysis. It is the best method for finding reliable answers to important health issues.
Large-scale Randomised Evidence: The Reliable Detection Or Refutation Of Treatment Effects Through Large, Simple Randomised Trials And Collaborative Meta-analyses Of Trials Using Individual Participant Data
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$425,897.00
Summary
Randomised controlled trials are the most reliable scientific method of studying medical treatments. Well-designed trials are thus needed to confidently guide doctors, other health professionals and policy-makers, particularly for common conditions such as cardiovascular disease. This Fellowship will study how we can better prevent and treat cardiovascular disease through the design, conduct and analysis of such trials at the University of Oxford, a world-leader in randomised controlled trials.
Development Of A Unified List Of Drugs Associated With Drug-induced Cognitive Impairment
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$443,573.00
Summary
This research will develop a comprehensive list of drugs probably impairing cognition. These drugs will be identified from a large spontaneous reporting system in combination with those from published literature. The association of identified drugs and cognitive impairment will be tested using prescription sequence symmetry analyses in Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme claims database and validated through formal epidemiological studies in Australian ongoing longitudinal population-based cohorts.
Prediction Of Response To Neoadjuvant Breast Cancer Therapy By Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$67,321.00
Summary
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) has a well-established role in the management of breast cancer. Various roles have been proposed for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the NAC setting, including its application in prediction of final pathologic response when undertaken early during a planned NAC course; the detection of residual disease after completion of NAC; and the measurement of residual tumour extent. The present study aims to determine the accuracy of MRI (relative to other imaging and cl ....Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) has a well-established role in the management of breast cancer. Various roles have been proposed for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the NAC setting, including its application in prediction of final pathologic response when undertaken early during a planned NAC course; the detection of residual disease after completion of NAC; and the measurement of residual tumour extent. The present study aims to determine the accuracy of MRI (relative to other imaging and clinical tests) in these clinical scenarios.Read moreRead less