Pregabalin And Speech Pathology Treatment For Refractory Chronic Cough With Laryngeal Hypersensitivity
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$155,747.00
Summary
Persistent cough that does not respond to medical treatment is debilitating and frustrating for the sufferer and very expensive for the Australian government. This research will provide a new and effective treatment option and extend our current reputation as the world leader in the identification and treatment of refractory chronic cough. This treatment strategy has not been trialled before and the findings will change current medical practice and significantly reduce community health costs.
Low oxygen levels during exercise occur in over half of all people with lung fibrosis and this is associated with poor outcomes. Low oxygen levels are sometimes treated by breathing extra oxygen during physical activity, but a lack of evidence has given rise to wide variations in practice and policy. This study will examine the benefits and costs of ambulatory oxygen therapy for people with lung fibrosis in a multi-site randomised controlled trial.
Diet Exercise And ARmodafinil For Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) Patients Who Cannot Use Standard Treatments. (DEAR)
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$95,313.00
Summary
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) affects over 3.5 million Australians and is associated with marked daytime sleepiness and decreased concentration. It is also a common health complication of obesity. Many people are unable to use standard treatments for OSA in the form of a mouth splint or mask worn at night. This study will look at treating the daytime sleepiness with a stimulant medication, Armodafinil, whilst reducing OSA severity gradually with diet and lifestyle modification.
Improving Functional Capacity In Patients With Chronic Lung Disease With High Intensity Respiratory Muscle Training
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$340,880.00
Summary
Patients with chronic respiratory disease have limited exercise capacity, which severely impairs their quality of life. The mechanisms responsible for this impairment may relate to their lung disease, or to the long-term effects that inactivity has on the cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems. Pulmonary rehabilitation programs involving whole-body exercise are now widely used as an addition to standard medical therapy as a way of decreasing symptoms and optimising function. While these gene ....Patients with chronic respiratory disease have limited exercise capacity, which severely impairs their quality of life. The mechanisms responsible for this impairment may relate to their lung disease, or to the long-term effects that inactivity has on the cardiovascular and musculoskeletal systems. Pulmonary rehabilitation programs involving whole-body exercise are now widely used as an addition to standard medical therapy as a way of decreasing symptoms and optimising function. While these generalised, broad-based programs result in modest improvements in peripheral muscle function, cardiovascular function, functional exercise capacity and quality of life, it is now apparent they have little or no effect on respiratory muscle function, which is also greatly impaired in COPD. The aims of this study are to answer two longstanding questions that are fundamental to rehabilitation programs in patients with COPD (i) does a program of specific respiratory muscle training alone improve whole-body exercise capacity, dyspnoea, and-or quality of life? and (ii) does the addition of a program of specific respiratory muscle training to a standard whole-body exercise rehabilitation program result in improvemed exercise capacity, dyspnoea and-or quality of life to a greater degree than a program of whole-body exercise training alone? The study is of importance to patients with COPD by investigating the mechanisms underlying the improvement in exercise capacity following a rehabilitation program and the role of respiratory muscle training in such a program. By more accurately defining the mechanisms of exercise limitation we may be able to maximise the benefits obtained during a rehabilitation program, including improved work capacity, reduction in the degree of breathlessness and improved quality of life.Read moreRead less
Novel Interventions For The Diverse Population Of Australians With Bronchiectasis
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$726,822.00
Summary
Bronchiectasis is a chronic lung condition in which infection causes wheeze, breathlessness, fatigue and sputum production - markedly reducing quality of life and requiring repeated hospital admissions. Risk of hospitalisation due to the disease is up to 9-fold higher in Indigenous vs other Australians. This research will examine two new, low-cost therapies with excellent potential to treat bronchiectasis: a new antibiotic, Azithromycin, and a mucus-clearance agent, hypertonic saline.
Recognition And Management Of Sleep Apnea In Primary Care
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$650,866.00
Summary
Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA, ie frequent choking episodes during sleep, associated oxygen deprivation and sleep disturbance) affects at least 4% of the adult population and leads to serious health problems if untreated. These health problems include excessive tiredness, fall-asleep accidents, and premature stroke and heart attacks. Currently patients suspected of OSA are referred for management to specialist sleep centres, where sleep specialists order overnight laboratory tests to confirm the ....Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA, ie frequent choking episodes during sleep, associated oxygen deprivation and sleep disturbance) affects at least 4% of the adult population and leads to serious health problems if untreated. These health problems include excessive tiredness, fall-asleep accidents, and premature stroke and heart attacks. Currently patients suspected of OSA are referred for management to specialist sleep centres, where sleep specialists order overnight laboratory tests to confirm the diagnosis and test the effects of treatment (CPAP via a nasal mask) and thereafter direct management. These centres are not coping with current demand because of too few specialists and too few testing facilities. But worse than this up to 85% of cases in the community are not being identified. Many patients with OSA attend general practitioners for sometimes related conditions such as hypertension, diabetes and obesity, but are unrecognised for having a serious sleep disorder. This study will develop new and simplified methods of home diagnosis of OSA suitable for general practice. It will then use these methods to identify patients in general practice with moderate to severe OSA who will then enter a study that compares the effectiveness and the cost effectiveness of two models of care where the principle treatment will be CPAP: One is a new model which will be based in patients homes and general practice surgeries, the other, will be current standard care in our specialist sleep centre. We postulate that general practice based care will be as effective for patients as specialist sleep centre care but will be less costly. If this proves to be the case the study results will open the possibility for easier access to care for a larger number of patients with moderate to severe OSA, which will result in significant health benefits for the community.Read moreRead less
A Randomised Controlled Trial Of The Effect Of Substantial Weight Loss On Obstructive Sleep Apnoea.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$404,061.00
Summary
Obstructive sleep apnea is now commonly recognized as a major health problem and frequently ocurrs in overweight or obese individuals. Several studies have now demonstrated that weight loss can be an effective treatment for sleep apnea in those with a weight problem. But, it is extremely difficult to achieve and sustain the major weight loss required to adequately treat this condition. Modern obesity surgery is the only reliable method of achieving and sustaining major weight loss in very obese ....Obstructive sleep apnea is now commonly recognized as a major health problem and frequently ocurrs in overweight or obese individuals. Several studies have now demonstrated that weight loss can be an effective treatment for sleep apnea in those with a weight problem. But, it is extremely difficult to achieve and sustain the major weight loss required to adequately treat this condition. Modern obesity surgery is the only reliable method of achieving and sustaining major weight loss in very obese individuals, and several studies have found that along with weight loss there are major improvements in sleep symptoms, and sleep apnea following weight loss surgery. Despite these findings surgery is rarely advised and has never been formally tested as a therapy for sleep apnea. We propose to formally test, for the first time, the effectiveness of weight loss surgery, as an addition to best conventional therapy, in those individuals with the combination of problems; obesity and significant sleep apnea. We propose that significant weight loss, following surgery, may indeed be the best therapy for those with these combined problems, and that weight loss may have additional benefits for other common problems related to obesity, including high blood pressure, poor body image and impaired quality of life. Forty appropriate patients who suffer these combined problems will be randomly allocated to either conventional therapy for their sleep apnea and weight problems or to a similar program that includes placement of a Lap-Band, a minimially invasive form of obesity surgery. We will follow the patients for 2-years and serially measure a broad range of health and quality of life outcomes and compare the effects of each program. This study will help us assess the role of obesity surgery in this group of patients with major health problems.Read moreRead less