Listed below are the projects currently recruiting from the general public.

If you would like to be invovled in the research or want further information, please use the contact details provided.

Childhood Lung Function Research

Researchers at the Telethon Institute are undertaking various projects investigating how lung function is altered in children with lung diseases such as Asthma, Cystic Fibrosis, Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia, as well as Preterm birth in partnership with Princess Margaret Hospital.

These studies are vital to be able to improve how we diagnose and manage lung disease in children. 

We need healthy children without any breathing problems to help with performing some simple and fun breathing tests to act as a comparison to the results we get from children with breathing problems.

If you are interested in participating and have a healthy child aged between 1 year and 18 years, please email Georgia Banton gbanton@ichr.uwa.edu.au to find out more about the studies. You will be provided with results from the lung function that your child performs as part of the research studies.

We are also looking for both healthy children and children with exercise-induced symptoms such as shortness of breath, coughing and wheezing, aged 4 - 7 years to participate in our Asthma research.

Read more about this exercise-induced asthma study, which was featured on Channel 7 News.

Predicting the safety of air travel in ex-premature infants

Each year many infants born prematurely travel vast distances to return home after treatment at KEMH or PMH or for holiday travel. Although air travel for these journeys is convenient, it exposes babies to reduced oxygen levels on the aircraft.

Normal air that we all breathe contains 21% oxygen, while aeroplanes travelling at high altitude are pressurised to provide the equivalent of 15% oxygen only. Whilst for most of us this is well tolerated, the precise effect on babies, particularly those born premature, of this reduced oxygen level has not been scientifically evaluated.

This study will investigate the response of babies to this reduced oxygen environment and also the accuracy of pre-flight "safe to fly" testing, called the Hypoxia test. The hypoxia test is widely used in infants, children and adults, however it is not known if it is an accurate predictor of whether supplement oxygen will be required during flight in infants following their discharge from hospital.

Who is being asked to take part in this study?
We are asking all parents with babies born prematurely (less than 35 completed weeks gestation age) and currently aged between 1 to 12 months corrected who are undertaking air travel to attend outpatient clinics at PMH or KEMH or for personal holiday travel to participate in our study. Babies born at term (> 37 completed weeks gestation) and aged 1 to 12 months and undertaking travel for outpatient clinics at PMH or KEMH or for personal holiday travel are also being asked to participate as a healthy, term control group.

• Download the Parent Information Sheet

Further information and contacts
If you have any questions about this study that and you would like further information or you have any concerns now or at any time about the study, please contact Maureen Verheggen on (08) 9340 8987

Are you a teenager struggling with your weight?

 
The Research Team: Dr Jacqui Curran, Paediatric Endocrinology; Gavin Mackenzie, Physiotherapist; Rachelle Kalic, Research Officer

The Telethon Institute for Child Health Research are conducting a clinical study to test the safety and efficacy of a new device for weight loss and improvement in health in obese adolescents who have complications of obesity. All participants will receive a 10-week healthy lifestyle program with ongoing support, and 50% of them will be randomly allocated to receive the device for six months: a saline-filled intragastric balloon which is temporary, reversible, and minimally invasive.

You may be able to participate if you:

• Are currently 12-16 years old
• Can commit to 10 weekly sessions during school hours for the lifestyle program.
• Have been assessed by your GP as being obese
• Have complications of obesity such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure or impaired glucose tolerance
• Understand that you have a 50% chance of receiving the device

Email Diabetes.Research@health.wa.gov.au or call Rachelle on (08) 9340 7857 for more information about this study.
 

Egg Allergy Prevention Study

This research trial specifically focuses on egg allergy. Egg allergy is the most common food allergy affecting children in Australia. It is now 3 times more common than a peanut allergy.  With no treatment currently available for established food allergies except avoidance, the burden on family life is often considerable. It is now increasingly evident that avoidance is not the answer, as it may be unsuccessful, or even detrimental in allergy prevention. Instead, there is a mounting body of evidence to indicate that immune tolerance to "allergy-causing" foods can be achieved through early, regular exposure to such foods. This study will determine whether early and regular feeding of egg will reduce the risk of infants developing egg allergy. Babies born to mothers who have a previous history of asthma, eczema, hay fever or atopic dermatitis are at a 50-80% risk of developing a food allergy.
Volunteers: Pregnant women (or who have an infant aged under 6.5 months) with a history of asthma, eczema, hay fever or atopic dermatitis
Contact: Phone - (08) 9340 8834 or Email - cair@meddent.uwa.edu.au
 

Blood donors for asthma research

The Cell Biology division is calling for adult volunteers with doctor diagnosed asthma who are currently on asthma medications and are willing to donate 50 - 100ml of blood. The blood will be used to isolate immune cells for the purpose of studying immune responses to environmental triggers of asthma.
Contact: Willing donors please email Kathy McKenna kathym@ichr.uwa.edu.au.

Fluoxetine for Autistic Behaviours (FAB) Trial

The FAB trial is the largest medication trial of the effectiveness of Fluoxetine (anti-depressant, tradename: Prozac) for children and adolescents aged 8-18 years with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This trial aims to investigate the safety and the use of low dose Fluoxetine in treating restricted, repetitive and stereotyped behaviours in children and adolescents with an ASD diagnosis over a 22 week period.
For further information please read the study flyer
To participate/volunteer further please complete an expression of interest form.

Western Australian Autism Biological Registry

Researchers at the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research are collecting detailed information on children with autism in WA in order to find out more about the causes of the condition.
Find out more

Vaccine trials

There are several vaccine trials currently recruiting. Please click here to see a current list of Vaccine Trials Group studies.
Contact: Phone 08 9340 8542 or email vtg@ichr.uwa.edu.au

Nutrition and Genome Health in Children Study

The Telethon Institute's Nutrition and Genome Health in Children Study is investigating the role that diet plays in maintaining healthy DNA in children.
We know that in adults poor DNA health may be linked to serious diseases like cancer. Previous studies have shown that adults who have poor DNA health often lack vital micronutrients. However, there is no research or information available about these links in children. We want to find out if we can prevent damage to DNA - and these serious diseases - by looking at children's diets to see whether they can be improved.

How can you help? The Nutrition and Genome Health in Children Study aims to recruit 450 children over a 3 year period from 2009 to 2011. We are currently looking for volunteers aged 3, 6 or 9 who have never been diagnosed with asthma, diabetes, cancer, arthritis or epilepsy, and whose parents are happy to provide information about their child's diet and for us to take a small blood sample and two saliva samples from their child.
We'll be able to let you know your child's dietary intake and the micronutrient levels in their blood and provide dietary advice if needed. Most importantly, you'll be helping us to gather vital information about how diet affects children's DNA so we can work to prevent serious diseases from developing later in life.
Contact: the Study Team, on (08) 9489 7784 or via email at dietgenome@ichr.uwa.edu.au

 
The Family Study of Ear Infections in Western Australian Children

Ear infections in childhood are very common. Many children will have at least one middle ear infection whilst they are young but some children get recurrent ear infections which can lead to hearing loss and may affect a child's language development and performance at school. The family study of ear infections in Western Australian children will use genetics to try and understand why some children suffer from recurrent middle ear infections.
Volunteers: We are looking for children with a history of recurrent ear infections who have had grommets inserted or recommended by the doctor before their third birthday to take part in the study. We are also asking for their parents to get involved as well. Participating in the study is easy; we will ask your family to complete a simple questionnaire and to provide a small sample of saliva (or spit) from which DNA will be extracted. There will be no needles and no-one will ask you for a blood sample.
Contact: Email om@ichr.uwa.edu.au or by phone (08) 9489 7995   

AUS-CBT Get Involved In Research

The Australian Study of Childhood Brain Tumours (AUS-CBT) is a national case-control study which aims to investigate the causes of brain tumours in children. The study involves families of children (aged 0-14) diagnosed with a brain tumour since 2005 (our 'Cases'), as well as families of children the same age who have not been diagnosed with a brain tumour (our 'Controls'). Recruitment for the study commenced in 2006, and by the end of 2010 we hope to have recruited 350 case families and 700 control families.
How can you help?  Control families are randomly selected from the whole Australian population. If you receive an invitation to take part in AUS-CBT, we would really appreciate your consideration. Participating in the study involves completing questionnaires about environmental exposures and diet, and a telephone interview. It also involves collecting a DNA sample from all case families and some control families.  The more families who agree to participate in the study, the more meaningful our research results will be.
Contact: Email the Project Coordinator aus-cbt@ichr.uwa.edu.au or phone (08) 9489 7949      

International Study of Embryonal Tumours

We have been conducting a population-based case-control study and we are working with 9 children's hospitals across Australia. The families of children diagnosed with either neuroblastoma or Wilms' tumour during 2008 have been invited to participate in our research. We have also written to families with healthy children and asked them to be our control participants. Participating parents have been interviewed over the phone about a range of topics including their alcohol and tobacco use, any medication they take, their employment history and the family health history of their extended family.  

       Princess Margaret Hospital for Children

PARENT INFORMATION SHEET

Preterm Infants

Thank you for your interest in the study that we are conducting called:

Predicting the safety of air travel in ex-premature infants

Information regarding the study is given below. You may ask any questions that you have.

Background and purpose of the study

Each year many infants born prematurely travel vast distances to return home after treatment at KEMH or PMH or for holiday travel. Although air travel for these journeys is convenient, it exposes babies to reduced oxygen levels on the aircraft. Normal air that we all breathe contains 21% oxygen, while aeroplanes travelling at high altitude are pressurised to provide the equivalent of 15% oxygen only. Whilst for most of us this is well tolerated, the precise effect on babies, particularly those born premature, of this reduced oxygen level has not been scientifically evaluated. This study will investigate the response of babies to this reduced oxygen environment and also the accuracy of pre-flight "safe to fly" testing, called the Hypoxia test. The hypoxia test is widely used in infants, children and adults, however it is not known if it is an accurate predictor of whether supplement oxygen will be required during flight in infants following their discharge from hospital.

Who is being asked to take part in this study?

We are asking all parents with babies born prematurely (less than 35 completed weeks gestation age) and currently aged between 1 to 12 months corrected who are undertaking air travel to attend outpatient clinics at PMH or KEMH or for personal holiday travel to participate in our study. Babies born at term (> 37 completed weeks gestation) and aged 1 to 12 months and undertaking travel for outpatient clinics at PMH or KEMH or for personal holiday travel are also being asked to participate as a healthy, term control group.

What will happen in the study?

Prior to air travel: In this study we will test (using a hypoxia test) for any potential decrease in oxygen saturation that might occur when your baby is exposed to 15% oxygen during a flight. The hypoxia test is performed by having your baby breathe a mixture of 14% oxygen via a face mask, during which time your baby will have continuous saturation monitoring. In ex-premature infants, if the saturation falls to less than 85% during the test, additional oxygen will be administered through nasal cannulas whilst still applying 14% oxygen. Oxygen will then be titrated to maintain oxygen saturation above 94% so that we can determine the amount of oxygen that your baby should receive during their flight. The test takes 30 minutes to complete.

You will be provided with the results of the hypoxia test including its implications and limitations. This is the current standard of practice in the department for patients who are referred for hypoxia testing. 

Irrespective of the results of the hypoxia test, we will train you in the use of supplemental oxygen during flight. The use of oxygen in-flight is common in premature infants undertaking air travel and can be easily managed by parents. While we believe that air travel without supplemental oxygen is safe in premature infants this has not been scientifically studied. We will provide you with an air travel pack that includes an oxygen cylinder, regulator and nasal prongs. We will also provide you with small oxygen saturation monitor (the size of a large wrist watch) for use during the flight.

In Flight: During flight the oxygen saturation monitor will continuously monitor heart rate and oxygen saturation levels of your baby. If your baby desaturates on the flight below 85% for 2 minutes, or less than 75% for one minute, we will ask you to commence the supplemental oxygen therapy at the flow determined by us at your pre-flight visit. We will also ask you to record take off and landing times as well as your impression of the baby's behaviour (awake, asleep, feeding and crying).

We will arrange to contact you after your first flight and depending on your flight arrangements the same procedure will be used for your return flight.

Potential risks and/or side effects

The hypoxia test as we use mimics the environment encountered by your baby during flight and is considered a safe test. Your baby will be closely monitored during the test and if any signs of hypoxia are noted, then supplemental oxygen will be commenced. This test is standard practice at PMH and conforms to international guidelines. 

It is possible that even if your baby passes the hypoxia test, your baby may exhibit lowered oxygen saturation or other signs of clinical hypoxia during flight. We will provide you with an oxygen saturation monitor and a small oxygen cylinder to take on flight and you will be trained in their use. To date, there are no reports of side effects or adverse advents in infants who have undertaken air travel with supplemental oxygen.

Voluntary participation

This study does not involve any needles or any additional procedures other than described above. Participation in the study is completely voluntary and you may withdraw from the study at any time, without any effect on future care your child may require. The results of this study may be published; however neither your child nor family will be identified in any way.

Consent

If you agree to take part, you will be asked to sign a Study Consent Form. This is a standard form, based on one developed by the Ethics Committee at PMH, and it will be witnessed by one of the Study staff. You should only sign the consent form once you are satisfied that you have read and understood the information leaflet and that any questions you have asked have been answered to your satisfaction. It does not take away any of your normal legal rights. The Princess Margaret Hospitals Ethics Committee has approved this study and the confidentiality of all participants is assured.

Complaints

If you have any complaints about any aspect of the study you can contact the Executive Director Medical Services of PMH on 9340 2222

Further information and contacts

If you have any questions about this study that and you would like further information or you have any concerns now or at any time about the study, please contact Maureen Verheggen on (08) 9340 8987