Research and Innovation John’s Story
July 2016
Study Snippets Diabetes Type1 ADDRESS2 - the research project that is learning about the characteristics of people newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in the UK, and at the same time supporting other research into type 1 diabetes. Contact Chris Cleaver, research nurse on 01296 315159 for more information. www.address2.org
Obstetrics & Gynaecology Success Can you tell me a bit about yourself? John: “My name’s John. I’m 70 and I live in Beaconsfield. I was treated for bowel cancer and have had operations on my liver, bowel and chemotherapy in the past year. Everyone has been fantastic” Why is clinical research important to you? John: “Because they check you regularly, every two weeks which is a bonus and if it helps somebody else then that’s a good thing. There’s so much coming out all the time, people shouldn’t think the worst, be positive.” What type of study are you taking part in? John: I take either aspirin or a placebo, we don’t know, for 8 weeks. They give me a box once a month, I don’t know what’s in it and I have a diary to fill in every day. They want to know if I don’t take a tablet and say why.” How did you find out about the trial? John: “The doctor told me about it. I was invited to take part by Dr Weaver at one of my clinic appointments.” What are the benefits of taking part to you? John: “More checks are carried out, I’m kept an eye on. The research nurses call me every two weeks to check how I am and see if there are any problems. Extra blood samples are taken every month by the research nurses. They’re very good with the darts. I’ll be followed up for 5 years so if anything does show its face it’ll be found earlier. It’s self-preservation. It gives you peace of mind. There’s nothing to be afraid of, I like it”
John is helping the Add-Aspirin clinical trial. It’s a large study recruiting 11,000 patients in the UK and India to help find out whether regular aspirin use after treatment for an early stage cancer can prevent the cancer coming back. For more information visit www.addaspirintrial.org
Last year in our department was our most productive research year ever. We had 3,855 women take part in research in a range of 8 studies covering pregnancy, labour, post natal care and endometriosis. This year we aim to increase that number and open up more studies especially in gynaecology and early pregnancy. For more information contact Julie Tebbutt, research midwife on 01296 418160 or email Julie.tebbutt@buckshealthcare.nhs.uk
Retained Placenta 11,000 women a year have a retained placenta after giving birth. The Got-It study hopes to prove that a drug called Glyceryl Trinitrate (GTN) can be used to treat this problem avoiding surgery for many women in the future. GTN is a well-known drug currently used in the treatment of angina. For more information contact our research midwife Julie Tebbutt. www.got-it.org
Parkinson’s Disease We are pleased to announce the forthcoming launch of the Discovery2 which is the 2nd phase of a study looking at patients in the early days after diagnosis. Discovery2 is looking for a group of healthy control volunteers who can be compared to those living with the disease. This will enable the researchers to devise methods of diagnosing the disease earlier allowing patients to stay well for longer. For more information contact Christine Parker, research nurse on 07825 378313 www.parkinsons.org.uk
For further information about research opportunities at Bucks Healthcare NHS Trust please contact the Research and Innovation Department at Stoke Mandeville hospital on 01296 316065 or see the website at www.buckshealthcare.nhs.uk/research