List of Titles

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Is isolated systolic hypertension an indication for renal denervation?

- Wang, Yutang

Authors: Wang, Yutang
Date: 2014
Type: Text , Commentary
Relation: Frontiers in Physiology Vol. 5, no. 505 (2014), p. 1-2
Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1062671
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Description: Ewen et al. recently reported in the journal Hypertension that they investigated, for the first time, the effect of renal denerva tion on blood pressure in 63 patients with isolated systolic hypertension (Ewen et al., 2014). The authors concluded that renal denervation reduced office and ambula- tory blood pressure in patients with iso- lated systolic hypertension (Ewen et al., 2014). However, this conclusion may not be drawn, as renal denervation may not decrease ambulatory blood pressure in these patients. The potential risk of renal denervation may overweigh its benefit in patients with isolated systolic hypertension. Therefore, adjusted drug treatment may be recommended to these patients before renal denervation.

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Automated segmentation of mouse OCT volumes (ASiMOV): Validation & clinical study of a light damage model

- Antony, Bhavna, Kim, Byung-Jin, Lang, Andrew, Carass, Aaron, Prince, Jerry, Zack, Donald

Authors: Antony, Bhavna , Kim, Byung-Jin , Lang, Andrew , Carass, Aaron , Prince, Jerry , Zack, Donald
Date: 2017
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: PLoS One Vol. 12, no. 8 (2017), p. e0181059-e0181059
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Description: The use of spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) is becoming commonplace for the in vivo longitudinal study of murine models of ophthalmic disease. Longitudinal studies, however, generate large quantities of data, the manual analysis of which is very challenging due to the time-consuming nature of generating delineations. Thus, it is of importance that automated algorithms be developed to facilitate accurate and timely analysis of these large datasets. Furthermore, as the models target a variety of diseases, the associated structural changes can also be extremely disparate. For instance, in the light damage (LD) model, which is frequently used to study photoreceptor degeneration, the outer retina appears dramatically different from the normal retina. To address these concerns, we have developed a flexible graph-based algorithm for the automated segmentation of mouse OCT volumes (ASiMOV). This approach incorporates a machine-learning component that can be easily trained for different disease models. To validate ASiMOV, the automated results were compared to manual delineations obtained from three raters on healthy and BALB/cJ mice post LD. It was also used to study a longitudinal LD model, where five control and five LD mice were imaged at four timepoints post LD. The total retinal thickness and the outer retina (comprising the outer nuclear layer, and inner and outer segments of the photoreceptors) were unchanged the day after the LD, but subsequently thinned significantly (p < 0.01). The retinal nerve fiber-ganglion cell complex and the inner plexiform layers, however, remained unchanged for the duration of the study.

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Brain motor control assessment post early intensive hand rehabilitation after spinal cord Injury

- Zoghi, Maryam, Galea, Mary

Authors: Zoghi, Maryam , Galea, Mary
Date: 2018
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: Topics in Spinal cord injury rehabilitation Vol. 24, no. 2 (2018), p. 157-166
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Description: The Brain Motor Control Assessment (BMCA) is a surface electromyography (sEMG)-based measure of motor output from the central nervous system during a variety of reflex and voluntary motor tasks. The aim of this study was to assess the pattern of voluntary movements in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) to investigate whether BMCA could add more resolution to clinical assessments and the recovery path of these patients. Ten participants were recruited from the Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre as part of a multicenter randomized controlled trial. Four participants received usual care while the other 3 participants received usual care plus an intensive task-specific hand training program in conjunction with functional electrical stimulation for 8 weeks. BMCA assessments were completed for 7 participants at this center 4 times over a period of 1 year. Generalized linear model analysis showed a significant main effect of task ( < .001) and assessment time ( = .003) on the Similarity Index. However, there were no significant interactions among the factors ( > .05). Based on ARAT or summed upper limb strength scores, some participants showed significant improvement after 8 weeks of rehabilitation, however this improvement was not reflected in the pattern of muscle activation that was captured by BMCA. The quantifiable features of BMCA through surface EMG may increase the resolution of SCI characterization by adding subclinical details to the clinical picture of lesion severity and progression during rehabilitation.

Maternal and child health nurses' experiences of implementing two community-based breastfeeding interventions in Victoria, Australia: A mixed methods process evaluation

- Cramer, Rhian, McLachlan, Helen, Shafiei, Touran, Amir, Lisa, Cullinane, Meabh, Small, Rhonda, Forster, Della

Authors: Cramer, Rhian , McLachlan, Helen , Shafiei, Touran , Amir, Lisa , Cullinane, Meabh , Small, Rhonda , Forster, Della
Date: 2019
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: Australian journal of child and family health nursing Vol. 16, no. 1 (2019), p. 4-14
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Description: Despite high rates of breastfeeding initiation in Australia, there is a significant drop in breastfeeding rates in the early postpartum period, and Australian government breastfeeding targets are not being met. The Supporting breastfeeding In Local Communities (SILC) trial was a three-arm cluster randomised trial implemented in 10 Victorian local government areas (LGAs). It aimed to determine whether early home-based breastfeeding support by a maternal and child health nurse (MCH nurse) with or without access to a community-based breastfeeding drop-in centre increased the proportion of infants receiving 'any' breast milk at four months. Focus groups, a written questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were undertaken to explore the interventions from the perspective of the SILC-MCH nurses (n=13) and coordinators (n=6), who established and implemented the interventions. Inductive thematic analysis was used to identify themes, then findings further examined using Diffusion of Innovations Theory as a framework. SILC-MCH nurses and coordinators reported high levels of satisfaction, valuing the opportunity to improve breastfeeding in our community and having 'focused breastfeeding time with women in their own homes'. They felt the SILC interventions offered 'benefits to women, nurses and the MCH service'. Implementing new interventions into existing, complex community health services presented unforeseen 'challenges', which were different in each LGA and were in part due to the complexity of the individual LGAs and not the interventions themselves. These findings will help inform the planning and development of future programs aimed at improving breastfeeding and other interventions in MCH.

Comparing the effects of multi-session anodal trans-cranial direct current stimulation of primary motor and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices on fatigue and quality of life in patients with multiple sclerosis: a double-blind, randomized, sham-controlled trial

- Mortezanejad, Marzieh, Ehsani, Fatemeh, Masoudian, Nooshin, Zoghi, Maryam, Jaberzadeh, Shapour

Authors: Mortezanejad, Marzieh , Ehsani, Fatemeh , Masoudian, Nooshin , Zoghi, Maryam , Jaberzadeh, Shapour
Date: 2020
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: Clin Rehabilitation Vol. 34, no. 8 (2020), p. 1103-1111
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Description: Objective: To compare the effects of anodal trans-cranial direct current stimulation (a-tDCS) over primary motor and dorsolateral prefrontal cortices on Fatigue Severity Scale and its lasting effect on fatigue reduction and improvement in quality of life in patients with multiple sclerosis. Design: A randomized, double-blinded, sham-controlled parallel clinical trial study. Setting: Neurological physiotherapy clinics. Subjects: Thirty-nine participants were randomly assigned to three groups: dorsolateral prefrontal cortex a-tDCS, primary motor a-tDCS (experimental groups) and sham a-tDCS. Finally, 36 participants completed the whole study (n = 12 in each group). Interventions: Participants in the experimental groups received six-session a-tDCS (1.5 mA, 20 minutes) during two weeks (three sessions per week). The sham group received six sessions of 20-minute sham stimulation. Main measures: The Fatigue Severity Scale and quality of life were assessed before, immediately and four weeks after the intervention. Results: Findings indicated a significant reduction in the Fatigue Severity Scale and a significant increase in the quality of life in both experimental groups, immediately after the intervention (P < 0.001), while Fatigue Severity Scale and quality of life changes were not significant in the sham a-tDCS group (P > 0.05). In addition, improvement of the variables remained four weeks after the intervention in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex a-tDCS (mean differences (95% confidence interval): 0.03 (−0.63 to 0.68) as compared to primary motor (−0.62 (−0.11 to −1.14) and sham a-tDCS groups (−0.47 (−1.37 to 0.43)). Conclusion: Both primary motor and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex a-tDCS as compared to sham intervention can immediately improve fatigue and quality of life. However, the effects last up to four weeks only by the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex a-tDCS.

Video chat therapist assistance in an adaptive digital intervention for anxiety and depression : reflections from participants and therapists

- Andrews, Brooke, Klein, Britt, Corboy, Denise, McLaren, Suzanne, Watson, Shaun

Authors: Andrews, Brooke , Klein, Britt , Corboy, Denise , McLaren, Suzanne , Watson, Shaun
Date: 2023
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: Professional psychology, research and practice Vol. 54, no. 6 (2023), p. 418-429
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Description: The purpose of this article is to qualitatively explore participant and therapist experiences of the therapeutic alliance, perceived benefits, challenges, and areas for improvement when using video chat as a mode of therapist assistance within an adaptive digital mental health intervention. In total, 74 semistructured interviews were completed with participants and therapists who participated in an adaptive clinical trial. The participant interviews explored experiences of attending a clinical assessment via video chat and experiences of receiving low- or high-intensity therapist assistance via video chat. Interviews completed with therapists explored their experience of administrating a clinical assessment tool and delivering therapist assistance, both via video chat. Reflexive thematic analysis identified four themes: using video chat, characteristics of therapeutic relationships, task-specific experiences, and utility and adoption of video chat. Both participants and therapists were able to adapt to the modality of video chat and develop positive therapeutic alliances. They reported satisfaction with video chat for conducting clinical assessments and delivering therapist assistance. Concerns were identified by both participants and therapists with low-intensity therapist assistance. This study identified elements of task-specific experiences and human characteristics as more influential in participant and therapist experience than the modality of video chat technology. Implications for assessing suitability for the modality of video chat and low- and high-intensity models of therapist assistance are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)

The effects of unihemispheric concurrent dual-site transcranial direct current stimulation on motor sequence learning in healthy individuals: A randomized, clinical trial

- Talimkhani, Ailin, Abdollahi, Iraj, Zoghi, Maryam, Talebi Ghane, Elaheh, Jaberzadeh, Shapour

Authors: Talimkhani, Ailin , Abdollahi, Iraj , Zoghi, Maryam , Talebi Ghane, Elaheh , Jaberzadeh, Shapour
Date: 2018
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: Iranian red crescent medical journal Vol. 20, no. 7 (2018), p.
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Description: Background: Unihemispheric concurrent dual-site anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (a-tDCSUHCDS) of primary motor cortex (M1) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) are introduced as effective techniques on M1 corticospinal excitability enhancement and its after-effects. Objectives: The current study aimed at investigating the potential effects of multiple sessions of a-tDCSUHCDS of M1-DLPFC on motor skills learning in healthy individuals. Methods: The randomized, clinical trial was conducted on a total of 37 volunteers completed all sessions of the study and were randomly divided into two groups of a-tDCSUHCDS and sham stimulation by the block randomization method. The current study was performed from January to May 2017 in Iran. Participants attended daily 20-minute motor training sessions for three consecutive days, while they concurrently received a-tDCS. Motor skills were assessed before the intervention (day 1), immediately after the intervention (day 3), and one week after the completion of the intervention. Results: A total of 37 participants were included in the data analysis. Immediately after the completion of the intervention on day 3, mean skills in the experimental and control groups were 0.33 and 0.30, respectively. One week after the completion of the intervention, mean skills in the experimental and control groups were 0.36 and 0.29, respectively. The trend of motor learning considerably increased in the experimental (0.17 P < 0.001) and control (0.11 P < 0.001) groups. No significant difference was observed in motor learning immediately after the intervention between the groups (P = 0.23), while there was a significant difference in long-term offline learning between the groups (P = 0.04). Conclusions: Greater motor skills in the a-tDCSUHCDS group compared with the sham tDCS group at one week retention indicated the robustness of the a-tDCSUHCDS effect.

Efficacy of a transdiagnostic cognitive-behavioral intervention for eating disorder psychopathology delivered through a smartphone app: a randomized controlled trial

- Linardon, Jake, Shatte, Adrian, Rosato, John, Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, Matthew

Authors: Linardon, Jake , Shatte, Adrian , Rosato, John , Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, Matthew
Date: 2022
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: Psychological Medicine Vol. 52, no. 9 (2022), p. 1679-1690
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Description: Abstract Background Although effective treatments exist for diagnostic and subthreshold-level eating disorders (EDs), a significant proportion of affected individuals do not receive help. Interventions translated for delivery through smartphone apps may be one solution towards reducing this treatment gap. However, evidence for the efficacy of smartphones apps for EDs is lacking. We developed a smartphone app based on the principles and techniques of transdiagnostic cognitive-behavioral therapy for EDs and evaluated it through a pre-registered randomized controlled trial. Methods Symptomatic individuals (those who reported the presence of binge eating) were randomly assigned to the app ( n = 197) or waiting list ( n = 195). Of the total sample, 42 and 31% exhibited diagnostic-level bulimia nervosa and binge-eating disorder symptoms, respectively. Assessments took place at baseline, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks post-randomization. Analyses were intention-to-treat. The primary outcome was global levels of ED psychopathology. Secondary outcomes were other ED symptoms, impairment, and distress. Results Intervention participants reported greater reductions in global ED psychopathology than the control group at post-test ( d = −0.80). Significant effects were also observed for secondary outcomes ( d 's = −0.30 to −0.74), except compensatory behavior frequency. Symptom levels remained stable at follow-up. Participants were largely satisfied with the app, although the overall post-test attrition rate was 35%. Conclusion Findings highlight the potential for this app to serve as a cost-effective and easily accessible intervention for those who cannot receive standard treatment. The capacity for apps to be flexibly integrated within current models of mental health care delivery may prove vital for addressing the unmet needs of people with EDs.

Reliability of motor evoked potentials induced by transcranial magnetic stimulation: The effects of initial motor evoked potentials removal

- Hashemirad, Fahimeh, Zoghi, Maryam, Fitzgerald, Paul, Jaberzadeh, Shapour

Authors: Hashemirad, Fahimeh , Zoghi, Maryam , Fitzgerald, Paul , Jaberzadeh, Shapour
Date: 2017
Type: Text , Journal article
Relation: Basic and clinical neuroscience Vol. 8, no. 1 (2017), p. 43-50
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Description: Introduction: Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a useful tool for assessment of corticospinal excitability (CSE) changes in both healthy individuals and patients with brain disorders. The usefulness of TMS-elicited motor evoked potentials (MEPs) for the assessment of CSE in a clinical context depends on their intra-and inter-session reliability. This study aimed to evaluate if removal of initial MEPs elicited by using two types of TMS techniques influences the reliability scores and whether this effect is different in blocks with variable number of MEPs. Methods: Twenty-three healthy participants were recruited in this study. The stimulus intensity was set at 120% of resting motor threshold (RMT) for one group while the stimulus intensity was adjusted to record MEPs up to 1 mV for the other group. Twenty MEPs were recorded at 3 time points on 2 separate days. An intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) reliability with absolute agreement and analysis of variance model were used to assess reliability of the MEP amplitudes for blocks with variable number of MEPs. Results: A decrease in ICC values was observed with removal of 3 or 5 MEPs in both techniques when compared to all MEP responses in any given block. Therefore, removal of the first 3 or 5 MEPs failed to further increase the reliability of MEP responses. Conclusion: Our findings revealed that a greater number of trials involving averaged MEPs can influence TMS reliability more than removal of the first trials.

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Commercial Chinese polyherbal preparation Zao Ren An Shen prescription for primary insomnia : a systematic review with meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis

- Zhao, Fei-Yi, Xu, Peijie, Kennedy, Gerard, Zheng, Zhen, Zhang, Wen-Jing, Zhu, Jia-Yi, Ho, Yuen-Shan, Yue, Li-Ping, Fu, Qiang-Qiang, Conduit, Russell

Authors: Zhao, Fei-Yi , Xu, Peijie , Kennedy, Gerard , Zheng, Zhen , Zhang, Wen-Jing , Zhu, Jia-Yi , Ho, Yuen-Shan , Yue, Li-Ping , Fu, Qiang-Qiang , Conduit, Russell
Date: 2024
Type: Text , Journal article , Review
Relation: Frontiers in Pharmacology Vol. 15, no. (2024), p.
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Description: Background: Natural products are widely used for primary insomnia (PI). This systematic review with trial sequential analysis (TSA) aimed to summarize evidence pertaining to the effectiveness and safety of Zao Ren An Shen (ZRAS) prescription, a commercial Chinese polyherbal preparation, for treating PI. Methods: Controlled clinical trials appraising ZRAS compared to controls or as an add-on treatment were systematically searched across seven databases until January 2024. Cochrane ROB 2.0 and ROBINS-I tools were adopted to determine risk of bias. Quality of evidence was assessed using the GRADE framework. Results: We analyzed 22 studies, involving 2,142 participants. The effect of ZRAS in reducing Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores was found to be comparable to benzodiazepines [MD = 0.39, 95%CI (

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