Footwear For Self-managing Knee Osteoarthritis Symptoms: The Footstep Trial
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$590,532.00
Summary
Self-management of symptoms is an important part of treatment for people with knee osteoarthritis. Footwear influences forces across the knee joint and it is unclear which types of shoes are best to minimise arthritis symptoms. This study will compare the effects of flat flexible shoes to stable supportive shoe styles on pain and physical function over 6 months in people with painful knee osteoarthritis.
Addressing Evidence Gaps And Developing A Novel Treatment To Reduce The Burden Of Post-traumatic Knee Osteoarthritis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$645,205.00
Summary
Arthritis caused by knee injury has a devastating personal and economic impact. Research is needed to develop strategies to prevent arthritis and improve outcomes for people living with arthritis. This research will improve treatment of knee injury to reduce arthritis risk, understand why some people are more likely to get knee arthritis, and develop a new treatment to improve outcomes for people living with knee arthritis. A clinical trial will determine if this treatment achieves this aim.
Reduction Of Chronic Post-surgical Pain With Ketamine - ROCKet Study
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$4,823,395.00
Summary
Chronic post-surgical pain (CPSP) is a common complication of major surgery, and a significant burden on quality of life and ongoing health costs. Ketamine is a drug used by anaesthetists to treat severe acute surgical pain. Various small studies suggest that it may be unique in its ability to reduce the risk of CPSP. We propose a large trial of ketamine during & after anaesthesia for major surgery to test this. Demonstration of effectiveness would promote widespread change in clinical practice.
Discovery And Development Of Better Pain Treatments
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$9,613,850.00
Summary
Many forms of pain remain poorly treated, leading to significant quality of life and economic losses. This Program grant will discover and characterise new peptides from cone snails and spiders that modulate specific channels in nerves that are critical to the transmission of pain signals to the brain. Using advanced chemical and structural approaches, promising leads will be optimised for potency and stability and evaluated in disease and pathway-specific models of pain to establish their clini ....Many forms of pain remain poorly treated, leading to significant quality of life and economic losses. This Program grant will discover and characterise new peptides from cone snails and spiders that modulate specific channels in nerves that are critical to the transmission of pain signals to the brain. Using advanced chemical and structural approaches, promising leads will be optimised for potency and stability and evaluated in disease and pathway-specific models of pain to establish their clinical potential.Read moreRead less
Molecular Targets Of Amino Acid/neurotransmitter Conjugates Of Fatty Acids
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$846,390.00
Summary
This project investigates endogenous chemicals that affect cells important for detecting and responding to pain. We aim to discover how these compounds affect proteins important for nerve cell function, particularly proteins that have a prominent role in detecting and transmitting painful events. The compounds we examine are not themselves likely to be drugs, but future therapies may involve manipulating the levels of these chemicals in the body, or using drugs that mimic the activity of these c ....This project investigates endogenous chemicals that affect cells important for detecting and responding to pain. We aim to discover how these compounds affect proteins important for nerve cell function, particularly proteins that have a prominent role in detecting and transmitting painful events. The compounds we examine are not themselves likely to be drugs, but future therapies may involve manipulating the levels of these chemicals in the body, or using drugs that mimic the activity of these compounds.Read moreRead less
Spinal Cord Injury Pain: Understanding Mechanisms To Develop Treatments
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$597,675.00
Summary
Spinal cord injury has devastating effects on health and quality of life. Many of the major consequences of injury, such as chronic pain and loss of voluntary voiding, are "invisible" – i.e., they are not as visible as limitations of mobility. Our study aims to define the neurobiological changes that cause development of persistent pain after spinal cord injury and use pharmacological tools to attenuate the development of pain.
A Randomised Controlled Trial Of Exercise Programs For Preventing Knee Injuries
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,160,491.00
Summary
The promotion of physical activity, either through organised sport or active recreation, is a key public health strategy in this country. However, there is a risk of injury during this participation and efforts need to be undertaken to reduce this risk so that spor is safe for all. Sports injury prevention efforts to date in Australia have been severely hampered by a lack of evidence supporting currently advocated countermeasures. This concern has been recognised by both the NHMRC and the Common ....The promotion of physical activity, either through organised sport or active recreation, is a key public health strategy in this country. However, there is a risk of injury during this participation and efforts need to be undertaken to reduce this risk so that spor is safe for all. Sports injury prevention efforts to date in Australia have been severely hampered by a lack of evidence supporting currently advocated countermeasures. This concern has been recognised by both the NHMRC and the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing. It is imperative that we formally evaluate the effectiveness of sports injury countermeasures in the context of broad community level participation in sport, in contrast to previous research focussed on professional sport, and begin to deliver the preventive measures to the community. Australian football is a popular sport throughout Australia and it is associated with more medically-treated injuries than any other sport. Knee injuries are particularly common and can have severe consequences. One of the most commonly recommended knee injury prevention strategies is a well-designed exercise training program. Despite their potential to significantly reduce injury rates, the effectiveness of exercise training programs to prevent knee injuries in football, and indeed in most other sports, has not previously been assessed but has been identified as a priority research area by the NHMRC. This project will determine the effectiveness of exercise training programs for preventing knee injuries in community-level football players by monitoring injury rates, player behaviours and player attitudes before and after the training programs are implemented.Read moreRead less
Use Of Analgesics To Reduce Agitation And Agression In Older Persons With Dementia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$552,556.00
Summary
Understanding the causes of Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD) provides a potentially remedial target for interventions. The current study will undertake the first ever trial of analgesics to reduce the frequency of agitation/aggression and other BPSD. By completion we will have new insights into the relationship between pain and various sub-types of BPSD and robust evidence on the best class of analgesics to treat BPSD
Neurobiological mechanisms of the interaction between pain and sleep. The project aims to reveal the brain mechanisms behind the interaction between such fundamental biological phenomena as sleep and pain. This highly interdisciplinary project expects to deliver significant insights into how poor sleep changes the brain to increase pain sensitivity in healthy adults, by combining novel lab-based mechanistic sleep and pain manipulations and naturalistic longitudinal observation. The rich multimod ....Neurobiological mechanisms of the interaction between pain and sleep. The project aims to reveal the brain mechanisms behind the interaction between such fundamental biological phenomena as sleep and pain. This highly interdisciplinary project expects to deliver significant insights into how poor sleep changes the brain to increase pain sensitivity in healthy adults, by combining novel lab-based mechanistic sleep and pain manipulations and naturalistic longitudinal observation. The rich multimodal dataset generated by the project will be made publicly available to enhance research transparency and international collaboration. This should provide significant benefits, ultimately opening up ways to improve quality of life and wellbeing of the Australian population.
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A Randomised Clinical Trial To Test A Pain Education Program For Patients With Cancer And Their Family Carers
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$150,000.00
Summary
This study seeks to improve cancer patients' and family carers' knowledge and attitudes toward pain management. A pain education program will be offered to patients with recurrent or progressive cancer and their primary family carers. The study addresses a palliative care concern that impacts upon a large number of Australians each year. The study has the potential to provide a brief, standardised protocol that could be taught and integrated into usual practice and to reduce health care costs fo ....This study seeks to improve cancer patients' and family carers' knowledge and attitudes toward pain management. A pain education program will be offered to patients with recurrent or progressive cancer and their primary family carers. The study addresses a palliative care concern that impacts upon a large number of Australians each year. The study has the potential to provide a brief, standardised protocol that could be taught and integrated into usual practice and to reduce health care costs for advanced cancer patients.Read moreRead less