About 1 in 10 Australians have persisting or chronic low back pain. Most are managed in primary care and the most frequently prescribed treatment is exercise. Chronic low back pain remains a major health problem because not all patients respond to each treatment so on average treatment effects are small. At present there are no guidelines to help clinicians select the best treatment for a patient. As a result a lot of time and money is wasted on treatments which ultimately fail to help the patie ....About 1 in 10 Australians have persisting or chronic low back pain. Most are managed in primary care and the most frequently prescribed treatment is exercise. Chronic low back pain remains a major health problem because not all patients respond to each treatment so on average treatment effects are small. At present there are no guidelines to help clinicians select the best treatment for a patient. As a result a lot of time and money is wasted on treatments which ultimately fail to help the patient. We have begun a research program to solve this primary health care problem. We have focussed on exercise because the treatment is widely available in primary care and of modest cost. The program includes basic research to understand the mechanism of action of exercise and clinical trials testing the effectiveness of different types of exercise. The proposed study falls into the latter category, and is a direct comparison of the two most promising types of exercise used in Australia. The study will also identify clinical features that modify treatment effects, a finding that will allow clinicians to identify which type of exercise is more likely to be effective for an individual patient. This study offers a potential solution to a major health problem with enormous economic and social costs.Read moreRead less
Effects Of Laterally Wedged Insoles On Symptoms And Disease Progression In Knee Osteoarthritis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$480,850.00
Summary
Knee arthritis is a painful, disabling, costly condition particularly affecting the elderly. As there is presently no cure for knee arthritis, strategies that slow progression of the disease will reduce the personal and societal burden of arthritis. Most research has focussed on drug therapies, which are effective in reducing pain and disability but have side effects and are expensive. Insoles worn inside the shoes are a simple, cheap, self-administered intervention with the potential to slow di ....Knee arthritis is a painful, disabling, costly condition particularly affecting the elderly. As there is presently no cure for knee arthritis, strategies that slow progression of the disease will reduce the personal and societal burden of arthritis. Most research has focussed on drug therapies, which are effective in reducing pain and disability but have side effects and are expensive. Insoles worn inside the shoes are a simple, cheap, self-administered intervention with the potential to slow disease progression in certain patients, in addition to managing symptoms. However, to date there has been little quality research investigating the effectiveness of insoles in knee arthritis. This study aims to see whether 12 months of wearing insoles can lead to improvements in knee pain and function and slow disease progression in 200 people with knee arthritis. It will use state-of-the-art technology, magnetic resonance imaging, to measure changes in the amount of knee cartilage. This research is timely and the findings will be of major significance as there is increasing world-wide attention on slowing progression of knee arthritis. Insoles are one of the few non-drug therapies with the potential to influence both symptoms and disease progression. If the results show that insoles are beneficial, then this research will: 1. Better inform clinical guidelines to firmly recommend insoles to manage knee arthritis 2. Provide the basis for developing education strategies for health care practitioners and patients about the benefits of insoles 3. Provide the impetus to make insoles more readily available directly to patients 4. Ultimately lead to better patient outcomesRead moreRead less
Presynaptic mechanisms of general anaesthesia in the fly brain. General anaesthesia is a routine procedure for both human and veterinary surgery and for any experimental paradigms requiring immobilization of animals. By abolishing consciousness, these drugs provide practitioners with an ideal way of manipulating subjects under conditions when responsiveness might be undesirable. Understanding how manipulating synaptic release mechanisms might modulate anaesthetic potency will be valuable for eve ....Presynaptic mechanisms of general anaesthesia in the fly brain. General anaesthesia is a routine procedure for both human and veterinary surgery and for any experimental paradigms requiring immobilization of animals. By abolishing consciousness, these drugs provide practitioners with an ideal way of manipulating subjects under conditions when responsiveness might be undesirable. Understanding how manipulating synaptic release mechanisms might modulate anaesthetic potency will be valuable for eventually being able to better control the anaesthetized state in human and animal subjects. By understanding general anaesthesia across multiple levels of brain function, we will at the same time be answering fundamental questions pertaining to mechanisms of perception and awareness. Read moreRead less
Investigating Linguistic Factors Associated with Stuttering in Cantonese. The aim of this research is to gain new knowledge about the cause of stuttering. The project is a collaboration between experts in stuttering in Australia and Hong Kong. Despite decades of study, the cause of stuttering is still not well understood. Research in English has suggested that changes in emphasis from syllable to syllable can trigger individual moments of stuttering. However, Cantonese is very different from Eng ....Investigating Linguistic Factors Associated with Stuttering in Cantonese. The aim of this research is to gain new knowledge about the cause of stuttering. The project is a collaboration between experts in stuttering in Australia and Hong Kong. Despite decades of study, the cause of stuttering is still not well understood. Research in English has suggested that changes in emphasis from syllable to syllable can trigger individual moments of stuttering. However, Cantonese is very different from English, being a tonal and syllabic language, and uncovering the linguistic triggers of stuttering in Cantonese will yield new insight into the complex causality of this disabling condition.Read moreRead less
Coupling biophotonic modalities with machine based recognition systems for disease diagnosis. This project will develop new ways to diagnose canine cancer, malaria and atherosclerosis using infrared-based technology and sophisticated pattern recognition techniques in the hope to discover infrared biomarkers that will lead to early diagnosis of the disease and ultimately save lives.
Defining the molecular and cellular mechanisms of beta cell dysfunction. This project will investigate the influence of environment in the functional adaptation and maladaptation of pancreatic beta cells in diabetes. The research will define the molecular and cellular mechanisms linking environmental triggers such as obesity, high fatty acid levels and hyperglycaemia to beta cell dedifferentiation and dysfunction.
Effective Management Of Acute Whiplash Injuries Requires A Pragmatic Approach: An RCT With Stratified Treatments
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$382,550.00
Summary
Whiplash injuries from a motor vehicle crash continue to incur substantial personal and financial costs to the community and the insurance industry. The current approaches to an acute whiplash injury in Australia and internationally have failed to lessen the rate of how many people develop chronic neck pain. Between 40 and 60% still have pain 6 months after injury. Motor Accident Insurance Commission (Qld) figures indicate that 20% of patients with chronic whiplash account for 60% of the costs. ....Whiplash injuries from a motor vehicle crash continue to incur substantial personal and financial costs to the community and the insurance industry. The current approaches to an acute whiplash injury in Australia and internationally have failed to lessen the rate of how many people develop chronic neck pain. Between 40 and 60% still have pain 6 months after injury. Motor Accident Insurance Commission (Qld) figures indicate that 20% of patients with chronic whiplash account for 60% of the costs. Transition from an acute to a chronic condition must be prevented. A new direction in management in the acute stage is urgently required as once the pain has become chronic, it is difficult to help. This research will conduct a novel randomised controlled trial for acute whiplash. It will test individually prescribed multi-professional management against usual care with the aim to lessen the numbers who go on to develop chronic pain. It will be the first clinical trial that acknowledges from the outset that the whiplash injuries and affects people in different ways. Our previous research with acute whiplash patients has documented the variations in presentation from physical, physiological and psychological perspectives. In this trial, management will be prescribed as directed by measurable pain, muscle and psychological impairments in the individual, rather than regard all patients as the same as in other trials. This trial will offer individualised treatments; medical, physiotherapy and-or psychological using an empirically derived treatment algorithm. Cost-effectiveness of the program will be evaluated against that incurred during usual care. It is predicted that early multi-professional management will be less expensive in the long term than existing approaches. This RCT stands to extend knowledge in the management of whiplash associated disorders (WAD).Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120100402
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
The effectiveness of intervention in communication and safety climate in the operating room. This project will evaluate the effectiveness of an educational intervention on teamwork behaviours in surgery. It will deliver beneficial effects for communication in service delivery, safety and patient care in support of health care in high risk environments.