Clinical trials

This project aims to understand how platinum-based chemotherapy affects hearing function in cancer patients from different socioeconomic backgrounds in the North West of England. Platinum-based chemotherapy drugs, such as cisplatin, are ototoxic, meaning that they cause permanent damage to the hair cells of the ear, resulting in hearing loss. Patients from more deprived backgrounds face additional risk factors to their hearing health, including limited healthcare access, greater occupational noise exposure, and poorer overall health, making them more vulnerable to hearing loss. This is especially concerning as hearing loss can make communication more challenging, which creates a greater reliance on cognitive processes such as thinking and memory to navigate social interactions. This challenge is exacerbated when individuals experience cognitive dysfunction related to chemotherapy, commonly referred to as 'chemo brain'. Addressing these communication difficulties is crucial for promoting healthy ageing and maintaining social engagement. It is expected that cancer patients from the most deprived backgrounds would experience greater hearing loss following chemotherapy than those from less deprived backgrounds. As a secondary aim, this study will also investigate how hearing loss may affect cognitive function. Specifically, it will assess whether differences in speech-in-noise performance from pre- to post-treatment predict cognitive performance post-treatment, to understand if changes in hearing over time are associated with changes in cognition. The study will also explore how socioeconomic deprivation, cumulative chemotherapy dose, and treatment duration influence these relationships. By identifying disparities in hearing loss and possible associations with cognition, this research will help guide future hearing screening and intervention strategies for cancer patients.

This is an investigation into the differences in muscle activation and numerical difference in reps between the feeling of moderate discomfort and technical failure during a set of bodyweight resistance exercise. The investigators know that resistance training is an essential tool for older people to maintain muscle function, valuable independence and autonomy in daily tasks. The idea of completing a set of resistance training activity to the point of failing a repetition due to fatigue regularly has been shown to not be appealing and could be a reason why there are low participation rates among older people for in weight training regularly. Research has also shown that it is not necessary to train to failure (being unable to continue to complete repetitions of an exercise with the proper technique due to fatigue), but the investigators would like to know if training to a point of moderate discomfort can also allow for the muscles to gain the positive changes associated with weight training, potentially making it more accessible and enjoyable. Using bodyweight exercises (a squat pattern and a push up pattern) the investigators will see how many repetitions after the point of perceived moderate discomfort is stated at which the point of failure is. the investigators will also measure muscle activation in the quadriceps and triceps with EMG (a device that can detect the muscles' electrical activity/ how hard it is working) to see at which point the muscle is working the hardest.

This study is designed to determine whether time-of-day and menstrual cycle phase influence athletic performance and is expected to contribute valuable insight into how both time-of-day, and hormonal factors can influence performance and expand existing research. This study aims to support more inclusive, effective and personalised approaches to training and competition schedules for female athletes. The study will involve two testing days that require a participant to complete a compilation of tests at 07:00, 12:00 and 18:00 hours. The testing days will be arranged for when a participant is in phase 1 (lowest levels of progesterone in the menstrual cycle) and phase 4 (highest level of progesterone in the menstrual cycle). The tests will examine a participant's executive function and physical strength. This study will aim to recruit thirty 18-30-year-old females from Lancaster University who identify with a sport that they train \~3 times a week for with a purpose to compete. The females recruited must have a regular menstrual cycle and no history of sleep disorders. Aim: To investigate the effects of time-of-day and menstrual cycle phase (low and high progesterone levels) on executive function and strength in females. Objectives: 1. To determine the effects of time-of-day on executive function and strength tests. 2. To determine the effects of menstrual cycle phase on executive function and strength tests. 3. To examine if there is an interaction between time-of-day and menstrual cycle phase on executive function and strength tests.

Facial recognition is a non-invasive method for analysing facial characteristics and changes in facial expressions. There is evidence to suggest there may be a link between physiological health and facial expression patterns. Many medical conditions are associated with specific facial characteristics, with some related to inherited genetic conditions and others that have been acquired as a result of medical conditions such as stroke, nerve injuries and dementia. If successful, this technology could prove useful for studies evaluating the monitoring of acute or chronic illness. The proposed study will ask participants to do a maximal exercise test that will challenge the body, as a proof-of-principle, to see how this correlates with facial expressions. Depending on the study outcomes and future work, it could prove to be a useful tool and clinical application in healthcare for evaluating and tracking patient health and well-being. The investigators want to conduct a proof-of-principle study where physically stressed young and healthy participants (in the form of a maximal exercise test), whilst recording facial expressions, will be used to determine the relationship between physiological stress and changes in facial parameters.