Research

Patients with atrial fibrillation have a higher risk of stroke, blood clots and memory problems in later life that can lead to dementia.

• The trial is for patients with Atrial Fibrillation who are under 75 years old.
• You maybe required to take blood-thinning tablets that are already widely used and would be part of your future care anyway.
• We are looking to see whether the use of blood thinning tablets reduce the chances of stroke or dementia in later life.
• Follow-up will be automatic with no extra visits for patients, all you need to do is complete some questionnaires every 6 months using your phone, tablet or computer at home.

We don’t currently know whether giving blood thinning medication can reduce this risk if given to patients earlier than they would normally receive it.

This trial will randomly assign patients to either continuing their current care (starting blood thinners when they are older) or given a blood thinning medication at a younger age.

If you participate in this study, you will not need extra visits to the surgery. You will be sent a questionnaire every 6 months to complete on your mobile phone or any internet-connected device. 

The aim of the study is to improve the care of patients with atrial fibrillation and help doctors choose the right medication to prevent long-term complications. 

You can find more detailed information about the study and what taking part involves here.

Dementia affects more than 850,000 people in the UK.

Research offers hope. Only through research can we understand what causes dementia diseases, develop effective treatments and improve the care of those living with dementia.

For research to make progress we need more people with and without dementia to take part in vital studies. 

Join Dementia Research is a place to register your interest in taking part in vital Dementia research. 

When you sign up to Join Dementia Research, the information you provide is used to match you to studies you may be able to take part in, both online, nationally and in your local area. The service connects registered volunteers with dementia researchers across the UK who are looking for people to join their studies.

You can review your study matches once you register and then it’s your decision whether to take part. Taking part means you will make a real difference to the future of dementia care, diagnosis and treatment.  

You can find more detailed information about the study and what taking part involves here.

Screen and TREAt for Malnutrition (STREAM Trial)

About 20% of older people living at home are at risk of malnutrition. In particular, poor appetite is an important risk factor for malnutrition and for weight loss, which is in turn a risk factor for the development of infections, hospital admissions and even longer term mortality. This may be because they are not getting enough to eat, or because they are not eating enough of the right food.

An intervention (‘Eat well, feel well, stay well’) has been developed, to help doctors and nurses check for risk of malnutrition. It includes support packages which can then be offered to those who need it. 
This study aims to assess the effectiveness of this intervention. 

All patients get a brief intervention with patient booklets and follow-up, but individuals who are at much greater risk will have the brief intervention plus oral nutritional supplements (ONS) for short spells when they are unwell. The study will also follow a group of patients who have the usual care that is provided by their doctors’ surgery.

You can find more detailed information about the study and what taking part involves here.

A randomised controlled trial assessing symptom-driven versus maintenance preventer therapy for the outpatient management of asthma in children (The ASYMPTOMATIC study).

Asthma is the commonest long-term disease in children in the UK. It causes cough and difficulty breathing. The main treatment for asthma is a preventer inhaler, containing corticosteroids, which prevents irritation of the airways.

The aim of the ASYMPTOMATIC trial is to find out the best way for children and young people with asthma to use their inhaled corticosteroids (preventer inhaler).

At the moment, children and young people in the UK are advised to take their corticosteroid inhaler every day. Although this approach appears to help prevent asthma attacks, it may not be needed in all children with mild asthma.

They could perhaps instead use a corticosteroid inhaler only on days when they have asthma symptoms, such as cough, wheeze, or shortness of breath.

This study will measure if the number of asthma attacks is different between children who take their corticosteroid inhaler everyday (the “daily” group) and those who take it only when they have symptoms (the “symptom-driven group”).

The study will involve around 250 GP practices in England and around 2000 children and young people with asthma.

You can find more detailed information about the study and what taking part involves here.

Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA) is a relatively common sleep disorder where the walls of the throat relax and narrow during sleep, interrupting normal breathing. This may lead to regularly interrupted sleep, which can have big impact on your quality of life and if untreated, leads to an increased risk of developing certain diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart attacks and strokes.

The current practice of OSA screening varies across the UK with complex referral pathways to specialised clinics not available in all hospitals across the country.
The FOUND trial will compare a new GP-based route using a device called AcuPebble with the current referral pathways for the diagnosis of OSA. 

Find more detailed information about the study and what taking part involves here.

Type 2 diabetes is a condition in which a person’s blood glucose levels (also known as ‘blood sugar’ levels) are too high. It affects 1 in 16 people in the UK. We know that what we eat affects our blood glucose levels. We want to study whether it is possible for GPs and practice nurses to support people with type 2 diabetes to change their diet so that they achieve remission from diabetes.

Remission means a person has normal or near normal blood glucose and does not need medicines for diabetes. Being in remission will greatly improve your chances of avoiding long-term risks from diabetes to your eyes, kidneys, heart, and brain. It will lower blood pressure and reduce the need for blood pressure medication.

The study will compare a new programme of support from a nurse and GP to help you change your diet over 6 months (DIAMOND) with the current best dietary advice delivered at your GP practice. The programme of support is called DIAMOND, and will support you to make quite big changes to the amount and type of food you are eating for 12 weeks and the type of food you are eating thereafter. To support you to change your diet you will be seen at your GP practice six times over six months. We will measure how well the advice is delivered, how successful people are in following different advice, and the changes people see in their weight and blood glucose levels, over a 12 month period. 

Find more detailed information about the study and what taking part involves here.

The OPTIMISE 2 trial will establish whether deprescribing common drugs that lower blood pressure is safe or effective in older people in the longer term (a year or more).

The population of the UK is getting older and more people are living with multiple illnesses, taking lots of tablets to manage these illnesses. High blood pressure is one of the most common medical conditions in older people and many take two or more drugs to treat it.

Recent scientific studies suggest that large reductions in blood pressure, and too many drug prescriptions, may be associated with an increase in falls and death in older patients. We have previously undertaken a trial which showed that reducing the number of blood pressure lowering drugs prescribed to older people is safe in the short term (over a three month period). However, we do not know what the longer term effects of stopping blood pressure lowering drugs are. This trial aims to assess this in people aged 75 years or older, who have blood pressure in a normal range, are taking two or more medications and are at a higher risk of drug-related side-effects. 
This trial will establish whether deprescribing common drugs that lower blood pressure is safe in older people.

Find more detailed information about the study and what taking part involves here.