Clinical Trials
5
4 active
Approvals
0
Total approvals
Agencies
0
Regulatory bodies
Founded
N/A
Active, not recruiting
3
60.0%
Completed
1
20.0%
Not yet recruiting
1
20.0%
No approval data available
- A University of Auckland review finds that the time of day anaesthetic drugs are administered can influence their duration, effectiveness, and how patients experience pain. - Some local anaesthetics used in dental work and epidurals can last two to three times longer when given around 3pm than in the morning. - Anaesthetic medicines can disrupt the body's circadian clock, producing an effect "very much like jet lag" that may slow postoperative recovery. - Maximising morning light exposure in hospital settings may help keep patients' biological rhythms aligned and support immune function and wound healing.
- The University of Auckland has launched a new Department of Cancer Sciences, uniting researchers, clinicians, and educators across disciplines to create one of New Zealand's most comprehensive cancer-focused academic communities. - Cancer is the leading cause of death in New Zealand, with cases projected to rise from approximately 30,000 annually to more than 45,000 by 2044 due to population growth and ageing. - The department brings together the Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre, the Department of Oncology, and Cancer Trials New Zealand, with plans for a purpose-built comprehensive cancer centre integrating research and clinical care under one roof. - Inaugural head Professor Lawrence noted that New Zealand increased cancer cure rates by 10% between 2000 and 2020, attributing gains to new knowledge from research and healthcare improvements.
- The ESPRESSo trial found that high-intensity therapy starting within two weeks of stroke did not improve hand and arm recovery beyond standard care, challenging the "more therapy, earlier" approach. - Sixty-four stroke survivors received an extra 90 minutes of daily therapy for three weeks, but showed identical three-month outcomes to patients receiving standard care alone. - The study suggests early stroke recovery is dominated by natural biological repair processes that cannot be enhanced by increasing therapy dose above standard care. - Results indicate that intensive therapy may be more effective later in recovery when patients can engage more fully, rather than during the acute phase.
- A randomized controlled trial of 360 children aged 5-15 found that a budesonide-formoterol combination inhaler reduced asthma attacks by 45% compared to standard salbutamol treatment. - The CARE study demonstrated that switching 100 children from salbutamol to the 2-in-1 inhaler would prevent 18 asthma attacks per year with no safety concerns. - Published in The Lancet, these findings could align pediatric asthma guidelines with adult treatment standards, potentially benefiting millions of children worldwide with mild-to-moderate asthma.
- University of Auckland and University of Otago are conducting clinical trials investigating psychedelic drugs for treatment-resistant mood disorders, including an eight-week LSD microdosing study. - Researchers are testing whether psychedelics at specific dosages can produce changes in brain activity that may improve mental health outcomes for patients who haven't responded to conventional treatments. - The trials represent a significant shift in psychiatric research, exploring alternative therapeutic approaches for conditions like anxiety and depression that affect substantial portions of the population. - Study leaders emphasize the importance of controlled clinical settings and caution against attributing therapeutic effects solely to the psychedelic compounds without proper scientific evaluation.
- A multinational study analyzing data from over 230 million people across 20 global sites found that SARS-CoV-2 infection increases Guillain-Barré syndrome risk by approximately three times within six weeks of infection. - Adenoviral vector COVID-19 vaccines (AstraZeneca, Janssen/Johnson & Johnson) showed increased GBS risk, while mRNA vaccines (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna) and inactivated vaccines (Coronavac/Sinovac) did not demonstrate elevated risk. - The research reinforces that COVID-19 infection poses greater neurological health risks than vaccination, supporting continued vaccination as a public health tool. - The Global Vaccine Data Network study emphasizes the importance of continuous vaccine safety monitoring and provides evidence-based guidance for different vaccine types.
- University of Auckland and Auckland City Hospital researchers initiate a clinical trial to study severe cardiac side effects of 5-fluorouracil (5FU), a widely-used chemotherapy drug affecting 5% of patients. - The two-year study, funded by multiple organizations including the Gut Cancer Foundation, aims to identify risk factors and mechanisms behind 5FU-induced cardiotoxicity through comprehensive patient monitoring. - Researchers will utilize Holter monitors, blood tests, and urine samples from cancer patients to understand drug metabolism patterns and develop predictive markers for adverse cardiac reactions.
- A New Zealand patient has become the first person worldwide to receive ARO-DUX4, a revolutionary gene therapy that silences the DUX4 gene responsible for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). - The phase 1 trial will test the therapy in 16 patients across four dose-escalation groups, with participants monitored for 90 days before advancing to larger randomized controlled trials. - Concurrent results from another University of Auckland-led gene therapy trial for myotonic dystrophy show promising outcomes, with patients demonstrating increased strength and correction of underlying disease mechanisms. - These genetic therapies represent a transformative approach to treating rare neuromuscular disorders, targeting specific disease-causing genes with minimal off-target effects.
