There are about 2325 clinical studies being (or have been) conducted in Ireland. The country of the clinical trial is determined by the location of where the clinical research is being studied. Most studies are often held in multiple locations & countries.
A pilot study to evaluate the feasibility of a NGS-based tumour BRCA1/2 mutation testing pathway initiated in the oncology clinic for patients with HGSEC, either at primary diagnosis or first relapse, whereby only patients with a positive germline BRCA1/2 mutation test will be referred to clinical genetics.
Background: Frailty is a complex multi-dimensional state of increased vulnerability to adverse health outcomes and is usually associated with older age but there is growing evidence of accelerated ageing and frailty in non-geriatric populations, including those experiencing socio-economic deprivation and extreme social exclusion, such as people experiencing homelessness. Addiction, as a coping mechanism for prior trauma, is common among people who are homeless and can have a gendered dimension. Women experiencing homelessness and addiction have unique needs which require a gendered approach. The aim of this study is to explore the effectiveness of an exercise intervention to target the known physical functioning deficits and frailty which this population experiences. Methods: This mixed-methods study will explore physical functioning deficits and frailty in women experiencing homelessness and addiction, using a bespoke test battery and an exercise intervention. Physical function (10m Walk Test, 2 Minute Walk Test, Single Leg Stance Test, Chair Stand Test, hand grip dynamometry), frailty (Clinical Frailty Scale and the SHARE-FI) and nutritional status (Mini-Nutritional Status), pain (Numerical Pain Rating Scale) and quality of life (SF 12-V2) will be evaluated. The intervention will involve a 3-times weekly exercise programme with protein supplementation for 10 weeks. Following this, qualitative interviews, which will be thematically analysed using Braun & Clarke methodology, will be conducted. This study will be conducted in Dublin from February to July 2024. Discussion: Little is kn own about frailty-focussed interventions in women experiencing homelessness and addiction. This proposed study will help to increase the knowledge base regarding the physical health burden and frailty experienced by this extremely vulnerable population and will deliver a targeted intervention with a gendered dimension to mitigate its affects. The findings of this research will help narrow this research gap and will guide clinicians and policy makers to implement unique gender-based treatment strategies for this population.
Many people with Parkinson's (PwP) experience many barriers to reaching the recommended dosage of exercise. The aim of this study is to examine the feasibility of behavioural change support techniques delivered alongside an exercise programme to improve physical activity, function, to inform a future pilot randomised controlled trial. Twenty participants with Parkinson's will be allocated to the intervention (n=10) or the control group (n=10). Both groups will receive usual care, which includes a weekly program of a multidisciplinary education, a supervised exercise class and a prescribed home exercise program. The intervention group will receive additional behavioural change techniques to help them adhere to the exercises, targeting behaviour regulation, belief about capabilities and social influences. Outcomes will measure how well people were able to stay in the programme, and their physical function after the 12 week programme. Surveys will be used to compare experiences and satisfaction between groups. Exit interviews will be completed with the intervention group only, exploring their experience of the behavioural change techniques. Discussion: The results will help inform a future pilot randomised controlled trial, based on the intervention acceptability, consent rate, maintenance, and protocol integrity.
The goal of this observational study is to test the delivery of brief health promotion advice with supporting information leaflets as part of standard clinical consultation for older people attending a community mental health service The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Is a brief health promotion intervention designed for primary care transferable and acceptable to older people attending acute community-based mental health services (Travers et al 2022) 2. Can older adults with ongoing mental health conditions be recruited and retained in the study 3. Will participants adhere to the health promotion intervention over a three-month period 4. Can evaluation data be collected from participants Eligible participants will be asked to: - participate in a brief health promotion (10 minutes) advice given by an advanced nurse practitioner (ANP) in mental health during a routine outpatient clinic/home visit - participants receive exercise and protein advice leaflets (laminated) - participants rehearse the exercise with the ANP - one-month follow-up by ANP to assess and promote adherence to the intervention Researchers will use a one-group pre-post test study to compare baseline data on physical and mental health outcomes to participants' outcomes at three-month follow-up (there is no control group).
The goal of this triple-masked three-armed feasibility randomised controlled trial is to compare patient education materials for participants with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. The main question it aims to answer are: - Are educational videos superior to usual care? - Are educational videos formatted in line with literature advice on multimedia design superior to videos formatted as traditionally found on scoliosis advisory websites Participants in the video groups will be asked to do view six educational videos and respond to a quiz. Researchers will compare the informed video group and traditional video group to usual care to see if there are differences in engagement, quality of life, physical activity and health-related anxiety.
This study will look at treatment for patients that have already been diagnosed with cancer, but develop a new tumor(s) in the spine. Patients who are not recommended for surgery are usually treated with 5-10 sessions of radiotherapy to manage symptoms. For patients with a longer life expectancy (>6 months), it is better to give a higher dose of treatment to potentially improve the duration of pain relief, cancer control and potentially survival. Higher doses of radiotherapy, however, may also cause worse toxicity and side effects. This study will look at delivering higher doses of radiation in 2 sessions rather than 5-10, using a more modern, targeted technique called image-guided Stereotactic Ablative Body Radiotherapy (SABR). This method requires special equipment and expertise compared to the traditional radiotherapy and this has limited availability in Ireland. This study aims to find out the highest dose that is safe to be given to patients and carefully examine the side effects. These results will help create national and international guidelines to benefit all cancer patients. Patients will be monitored closely during treatment and for 2 years afterwards. Patients have been involved in developing the treatment protocol and the patient information leaflet. Patients will also be asked to fill in quality of life (QOL) questionnaires at certain timepoints during the study. It is anticipated that this study will support the delivery of high quality SABR to all cancer patients in Ireland, resulting in potentially better quality of life, symptom and tumor control.
To evaluate in healthy males the safety of two doses of spermidine as assessed by occurrence of any Adverse Events/Serious adverse events.
Co-ingesting protein with carbohydrate is an effective way to improve postprandial glucose handling. The investigators have isolated and identified a bioactive protein extracted from seaweed. The investigators aim to explore how varying doses of seaweed protein influence postprandial glycaemia and insulinaemia in a population with type 2 diabetes.
Our bodies are home to millions and millions of microbes (bacteria, fungi and viruses), that live in harmony with us without producing any negative (disease producing) effects. Research is beginning to show that these microbes interact with us to help with our immune system, digestive tract and brain development among many other effects. This community of microbes, known collectively as our microbiome, may commence colonisation while we are developing in the womb and becomes quickly established after we are born. Much remains unknown about how preterm birth affects the development of our microbiome. The goal of this longitudinal observational study is to gather more information of how and from where we get those first few microbes, the pattern in which our microbiome develops, and how intensive care for a preterm baby affects this. The main questions it aims to answer are: - How is the gut microbiome of a very premature infant affected by clinical management practices (e.g. antibiotics, probiotics, feeding) and how does it progress subsequently. - How do probiotics colonise the preterm gut, and how do they persist once supplementation is discontinued. Samples will be collected from mothers and their infants during the NICU admission including: - A rectal swab - Meconium and stool - Urine - Blood - Expressed breastmilk - Maternal stool - Maternal oral swab - Maternal vaginal or skin swab (depending on mode of delivery) Samples will be analysed using next generation sequencing techniques to, for example, evaluate microbial composition of the samples or determine functional microbiome-host interactions.
This is a multicentre retrospective and prospective cohort study with the goal to develop a well-characterised multimodal image database of eyes with intermediate AMD with and without early atrophy. The main objectives are: 1. Develop a collaborative well-characterised database on intermediate AMD with or without early atrophy. 2. Grading of these images to explore imaging markers of progression. 3. Develop predictive models as a secondary analysis of our dataset. This study will recruit around 1.000 eyes in 6 months. All consenting patients who have had at least 3 clinic visits with multimodal imaging done at least at 6 months interval between 2 visits and meet the inclusion and exclusion criteria will be included in the study for retrospective data collection. Those with one visit remaining to complete 2 years, images will be acquired prospectively. In addition to the images, routine demographic data (age and sex) and available visual acuity (VA) (BCVA if possible, VA with Pinhole or VA with patient's glasses) will be collected. Multimodal imaging includes mandated macular OCT with or without enhanced depth imaging and infrared imaging. Fundus autofluorescence (AF) and multicolor imaging are optional. All imaging must be done on Heidelberg Spectralis system.