United Medical Research Institute

To determine the prevalence rates of frail, prefrail, robust and mobility disabled older adults living in retirement villages within regional Victoria, Australia. This cross-sectional, observational study invited residents of retirement villages to complete the self-report questionnaires Fried Frailty Phenotype and Frail Non-Disabled screening tool to classify respondents as frail, prefrail, robust and/or mobility disabled. From 212 respondents, prevalence rates of frail and prefrail status were 34% and 35%, respectively. A fifth (20%) of residents were mobility disabled. The prevalence of residents classified as frail or prefrail (ie, not robust) was higher in women (74%) than in men (58%). Classification as not robust increased with increasing age. This study is the first to estimate prevalence rates of frailty and mobility disability in retirement village residents in regional Australia. Findings from this study have potential to inform the development of facilities and programs to support people living in this setting.

To compare the safety and efficacy of the fixed combination product with non-fixed combination use of the same active ingredients in separate bottles (bimatoprost once-daily [qd], and timolol twice-daily [bid]). A bimatoprost 0.03% qd treatment arm was used for validation of the study. This was a double-masked, randomized, parallel study in 445 patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. They were randomized in a ratio of 2:2:1 to receive bilateral treatment with the fixed combination, non-fixed combination treatment, or bimatoprost alone. Comparing the fixed combination and non-fixed combination, the non-inferiority margin of 1.5 mm Hg was met at all three timepoints for mean intraocular pressure (IOP), and a margin of 1.0 mm Hg for mean diurnal IOP. The incidence of conjunctival hyperemia was statistically significantly lower (p=0.014) in the fixed combination group (8.5%, 15/176) compared with the bimatoprost group (18.9%, 17/90) and the non-fixed combination group (12.5%, 22/176). The fixed combination of bimatoprost 0.03%/timolol 0.5% administered once daily was comparable in ocular hypotensive efficacy to the non-fixed combination. The lower propensity of the fixed combination to elicit conjunctival hyperemia suggests a superior comparative benefit/risk assessment of the fixed combination in the treatment of elevated IOP.

This randomized, investigator-masked, multicenter, parallel-design trial compared the IOP-lowering efficacy of bimatoprost 0.03% and travoprost 0.004% in African Americans with glaucoma or ocular hypertension. After a washout of all ocular hypotensive agents, patients were assigned to bimatoprost once daily (n=16) or travoprost once daily (n=15) for 3 months. Study visits were at baseline and at months 1, 2, and 3. Primary outcome measures were the percentage of patients who achieved selected target pressures and the mean reduction in IOP from baseline at month 3. Both drugs comparably lowered IOP, but bimatoprost was more likely than travoprost to allow achievement of every target pressure from 12 to 19 mm Hg at month 3. After 3 months, the mean IOP reduction from baseline was 8.4 mm Hg (34%) in the bimatoprost group and 7.9 mm Hg (30%) in the travoprost group. These results are being evaluated further in a larger clinical trial.

The ectoparasites of the brushtail possum Trichosurus vulpecula were examined at 15 original release sites in New Zealand. Three species of fur mite—Atellana papilio Domrow, 1958, Petrogalochirus dycei (Domrow, 1960), and Murichirus anabiotus Domrow, 1992—were present in all population samples from the North, South, Stewart, and Kawau Islands. M. anabiotus was absent from the Chatham Islands. A. papilio was isolated from 82 (98%) of the 84 digested pelts, P. dycei from 78 (93%) of 84, and M. anabiotus was found in 67 (93%) of the 72 pelts digested from populations where the mites were present. The follicle mite Marsupiopus trichosuri Fain, 1968 was detected in two (7%) and one (3%) of pelts examined from Kawau Island and the Orongorongo Valley, respectively. Trichosurolaelaps crassipes Womersley, 1956 was present on 99% of possums and absent only from Kawau Island. Nymphs and larvae of the cattle tick Haemaphysalis longicornis were isolated from four (33%) of the 12 Northland pelts. The loss of ectoparasitic mites resulting from the transfer of possums from their native Australia to New Zealand has been minimal in mites with a direct life cycle. Acariasis of the rump and tail was attributed to M. trichosuri, and .A. papilio is implicated in fur breakage.

Three amputated legs with tibial dysplasia were studied by radiography, arteriography and anatomical dissection. The radiographic appearances were the same as the Type 1b tibial dysplasia described by Jones, Barnes and Lloyd-Roberts (1978) in that the tibiae were absent but the lower femoral epiphyses were normal. However, our anatomical findings differed from those of Jones et al. since no bony or cartilaginous anlage of the proximal tibia was found in any of the three legs. The pattern of vascular anomaly was identical in the three legs and similar to the findings of Hootnick et al. (1980) in congenital short fibula. Congenital fusion of the subtalar joint was a constant finding. These results support the hypothesis that the arterial and skeletal systems are vulnerable to a teratogenic insult in the fifth week of embryonic life. The bony and arterial anomalies should be borne in mind by the surgeon attempting reconstructive surgery for this condition.