STUDY OBJECTIVES: To describe the growth of publicly funded polysomnography (PSG) in Australia since 2004 and to compare this with earlier growth. METHODS: Longitudinal census-level data stratified by jurisdiction were retrieved from the Medicare Australia online database. RESULTS: There has been a near doubling in provision of PSG since the introduction of publicly funded in-home PSG unde...

BACKGROUND: To examine whether a loading dose of ticagrelor on top of clopidogrel reduced postpercutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) myonecrosis. METHODS: Seventy seven coronary artery disease patients received a loading dose of 300 mg clopidogrel pre-PCI and were divided into three groups: group TT (n = 36): a loading dose of 180 mg ticagrelor pre-PCI, followed by ticagrelor 90 mg twi...

AIM: To optimize the experimental protocols for a simple, sensitive and accurate bleeding assay. METHODS: Bleeding assay was performed in mice by tail tip amputation, immersing the tail in saline at 37 °C, continuously monitoring bleeding patterns and measuring bleeding volume from changes in the body weight. Sensitivity and extent of variation of bleeding time and bleeding volume were compa...

OBJECTIVES: Sedentary behaviors (too much sitting as distinct from too little exercise) are associated with increased risk of non-communicable diseases. Identifying the prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of sitting time can inform public health policy and prevention strategies. METHODS: A population-based national survey was carried out among Omani adults in 2008 (n = 2 977) usin...

AIMS: The aim of this study was to examine the short- and medium-term outcomes of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) with the self-expanding and repositionable Portico valve (St. Jude Medical, St. Paul, MN, USA). METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 57 patients underwent TAVR with the Portico valve between March 2012 and August 2014, representing the first-in-human experience and t...

AIM: To determine lipid species that change in response to a change in dairy consumption. In addition, to investigate whether dairy associated lipid species are correlated with changes in measures of vascular structure and function. METHODS: A 12-mo randomised controlled trial was conducted to determine the effect of increased consumption of fruit, vegetables and dairy, compared to usual...

AIM: To determine the clinical and dietary predictors of common carotid artery intima media thickness (CCA IMT) in a cohort of subjects with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. METHODS: Participants with type 1 (n = 23) and type 2 diabetes (n = 127) had mean and mean maximum CCA IMT measured using B mode ultrasound. Dietary intake was measured using a food frequency questionnaire. Clinical and d...

Background: This study is the first to engage Aboriginal Australian and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples (Indigenous Australians) to better understand their experience of treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). Objective: To explore Indigenous Australians’ experiences of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment, enablers and barriers to CPAP therapy. Methods: A qualitative...

Class II and III obesity (BMI >35 kg·m2) have increased dramatically in recent years. Current clinical guidelines suggest diet and exercise as first line treatment for adults throughout the spectrum of overweight and obesity. However, to date there is no systematic review that examines the effects of diet and exercise on this high risk population. This systematic review will examine the combine...

Intrauterine nutrition can program metabolism, creating stable changes in physiology that may have significant health consequences. The mechanism underlying these changes is widely assumed to involve epigenetic changes to the expression of metabolic genes, but evidence supporting this idea is limited. Here we have performed the first study of the epigenomic consequences of exposure to maternal ...

Current computational methods used to analyze changes in DNA methylation and chromatin modification rely on sequenced genomes. Here we describe a pipeline for the detection of these changes from short-read sequence data that does not require a reference genome. Open source software packages were used for sequence assembly, alignment, and measurement of differential enrichment. The method was ev...

Survival rates for patients with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) have improved with the introduction of PAH-specific therapies. However, the time between patient-reported onset of symptoms and a definitive diagnosis of IPAH is consistently delayed. We conducted a retrospective, multi-center, descriptive investigation in order to (a) understand what factors contribute to persis...

BACKGROUND: Postprandial lipemia represents a risk factor for chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes. Little is known about the effect of dietary fat on the plasma lipidome in the postprandial period. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess the effect of dairy fat and soy oil on circulating postprandial lipids in men. METHODS: Men (40-60 y old, nonsmokers; n = 16) were ra...

Children of obese mothers have increased risk of metabolic syndrome as adults. Here we report the effects of a high-fat diet in the absence of maternal obesity at conception on skeletal muscle metabolic and transcriptional profiles of adult male offspring. Female Sprague Dawley rats were fed a diet rich in saturated fat and sucrose [high-fat diet (HFD): 23.5% total fat, 9.83% saturated fat, 20%...

BACKGROUND: The consumption of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) has increased because of modern food processing and has been linked to the development of type 2 diabetes in rodents. OBJECTIVE: We determined whether changing dietary AGE intake could modulate insulin sensitivity and secretion in healthy, overweight individuals. DESIGN: We performed a double-blind, randomized, cro...

BACKGROUND: Reports have suggested that the consumption of dairy foods may reduce risk of type 2 diabetes on the basis of evidence of raised circulating ruminant fatty acids. OBJECTIVE: We determined whether certain phospholipid species and fatty acids that are associated with full-fat dairy consumption may also be linked to diminished insulin resistance. DESIGN: Four variables of insulin ...

BACKGROUND: Physical inactivity, inadequate dietary protein, and low-grade systemic inflammation contribute to age-related muscle loss, impaired function, and disability. OBJECTIVE: We assessed the effects of progressive resistance training (PRT) combined with a protein-enriched diet facilitated through lean red meat on lean tissue mass (LTM), muscle size, strength and function, circulating ...

BACKGROUND: Measures of blood pressure variation have been associated with cardiovascular disease and related outcomes. The regular consumption of black tea can lower blood pressure, but its effects on blood pressure variation have yet to be investigated. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to assess the effects of black tea consumption on the rate of ambulatory blood pressure variation. DESIGN: Men and w...

BACKGROUND: It is currently unclear whether altering the carbohydrate-to-protein ratio of low-fat, energy-restricted diets augments weight loss and cardiometabolic risk markers. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies that compared energy-restricted, isocaloric, high-protein, low-fat (HP) diets with standard-protein, low-fat (SP) diets on weig...

Context and purpose: Too much sitting is now recognised as a common risk factor for several health outcomes, with the workplace identified as a key setting in which to address prolonged sitting time. The Stand Up Australia intervention was designed to reduce prolonged sitting in the workplace by addressing influences at multiple-levels, including the organisation, the environment, and the indiv...