Background Depression is a common form of mental distress that affects 1 in 7 Australians in their lifetime. People who are depressed not only feel depressed and sad, but often find they sleep poorly, experience a change in appetite, have low energy, poor concentration and have lowered self-esteem. Sometimes, they might think of harming themselves. Often, they find it hard to enjoy life or be productive. Aim This project seeks to investigate how pharmacogenomics can help to find the right antidepressant medication for people with depression. Method This is an investigator-initiated, randomised-controlled trial of pharmacogenomics-guided therapy versus standard care for people with moderate to severe depression. Study participants are randomised to either the pharmacogenomics-guided intervention arm or a standard care (control) arm. The prescribing doctors of all participants are provided with a treatment guide to inform prescription of antidepressant therapy. Potential Impact Pharmacog

BACKGROUND Statins are one of the most commonly prescribed medications globally to help control the body’s production of cholesterol, but they can also reduce the activity of certain cell proteins involved in the body’s response to infection and inflammation. COVID-19 infection puts patients at high risk of strokes from intense inflammation in the body, and from being critically ill. However, the effects of the virus may linger in the brain to disrupt pathways in more subtle ways that affects thinking, mood and sleep.  AIM STRONGER aims to test whether treatment with a popular statin (atorvastatin), widely prescribed to prevent strokes and improve cardiovascular health, has anti-inflammatory effects that can improve memory and thinking after COVID-19 infection. METHOD STRONGER is an international randomised clinical trial of atorvastatin versus usual care to assess memory and brain function in 410 adults who have persistent neurological symptoms such as ‘brain fog’, headaches, poor

Background Optimal crash protection requires the most appropriate restraint for a child’s size. For children ≥7 years of age, parents can choose whether they use seat belts or a booster seat. However, there is confusion about when children can safely use seat belts. The result is that many children >7 years inappropriately use seat belts, increasing risk of injury in a crash.  There is existing information and advice aimed at helping parents to decide whether it is safe for their child to use an adult seat belt, however, they have not been tested for effectiveness. Aims The overall aim of this study is to explore the information that parents need in order to make safe and correct decisions when it comes to restraining children using adult seat belts while travelling in a car. The data that we collect from this study will help us to develop easy-to-understand information resources and materials to support parents and help to reduce the level of incorrect use of adult seat belts

One in ten people worldwide have chronic kidney disease. Some of them progress to end-stage kidney disease (ESKD), which is when their kidney function falls below around 10% of normal. ESKD cannot be cured and people with the condition require either a kidney transplant or lifelong treatment with dialysis. Currently, haemodialysis is the most common form of dialysis used in the treatment of ESKD. However, it is not good at removing larger waste molecules from the blood and is often associated with a poor quality of life. A large international multi-centre clinical trial (CONVINCE) investigated the superiority of an alternative dialysis treatment, haemodiafiltration, as compared to haemodialysis. Haemodiafiltration more effectively removes larger molecules that are accumulated, and was hypothesised to have better outcomes in terms of mortality, cardiovascular events, and quality of life. The research team sought to determine the best treatment by conducting an international trial involving 1,36