News Articles
New implant to track metastasis
Last Updated: 09-09-2015
Scientists are experimenting with an implant that can track the spread of cancer cells in the bloodstream, speeding up diagnosis and life-saving treatment. Scientists in the United States say they have created a tiny implant which, in mice for now Read More...
Aged care residents still need intimacy
Date of Posting: 09-09-2015
Aged care residents and their visitors need privacy, says the loving wife of a man living with dementia. Anne Fairhall and her husband of 50 years have always been an affectionate and loving couple.[subscribe] But when his dementia meant he had Read More...
Sleep duration makes little difference to children's health
Date of Posting: 09-09-2015
Short sleep duration is not linked to poor health in children, says new Australian research. Child sleep problems just got more complicated.[subscribe] Short sleep duration has long been associated with poorer health and wellbeing for kids and Read More...
Breastfeeding leads to higher IQ, earnings
Last Updated: 08-09-2015
A Brazilian study has found that people who were breastfed are more intelligent as adults and can earn more for a living. People breastfed as infants have higher intelligence scores in adulthood, and higher earnings.[subscribe] And, critically, Read More...
Scientists work on first viral 'antibiotic'
Date of Posting: 08-09-2015
Antibiotics have no effect on viruses but scientists hope to change that in the next decade after identifying a gene that can defend the body against flu. A newly discovered gene that defends the body against flu could lead scientists to the first Read More...
World anti-venom stockpile running out
Date of Posting: 08-09-2015
A leading charity has warned that the world's existing stockpiles of the anti-venom Fav-Afrique will expire in June. Doctors Without Borders says the world will run out of one of the most effective treatments for snakebites next year, risking Read More...
Poor pre-hospital care costs $300M
Date of Posting: 07-09-2015
Poor pre-hospital treatment is estimated to cost Australia $300 million annually, a new study shows. Older Australians with chronic conditions are in hospital because they didn't get the proper medical care.[subscribe] About a quarter of th Read More...
New blood test detects biological age
Date of Posting: 07-09-2015
A blood test has been developed which reveals a wide range of ageing processes in normal 60 year olds, and will help manage diseases in older age. A blood test for healthy ageing has been developed that could identify people who are growing old to Read More...
National campaign needed to reduce falls
Date of Posting: 07-09-2015
A national approach and more resources are needed to reduce falls, in much the same way as the campaign to cut road deaths, an expert says. One in three older Australians fall each year, with hospital admissions more than doubling those for traffi Read More...
Medical concierge lends patients and older people a helping hand
Last Updated: 07-09-2015
Helping patients is no new feat for Marg Sacre. But instead of nursing them back to good health, the retired nurse with more than 40 years’ experience is helping patients, and older people living in the community, to navigate the nation&rsqu Read More...
Dementia - Caring for the Carers
Date of Posting: 04-09-2015
A new guide for dementia patient carers launched in Brisbane is a useful tool for those looking after afflicted loved ones, a former carer says. Thirty-six years after Vince O'Rourke asked his wife Margaret to marry him, she turned to him with Read More...
Exeprts say wet wipes spread germs
Date of Posting: 04-09-2015
Wet wipes may be convenient, but they don't have the best reputation - and now experts have found they could be spreading germs too. Whether you're scrubbing off make-up, freshening up your hands or giving those kitchen or bathroom surface Read More...
Date of Posting: 02-09-2015
Obesity could be linked to high salt intake, says new research, but experts warn that the main cause of weight gain is consuming too many calories. A high salt intake may be linked to obesity, regardless of how many calories are consumed, experts Read More...
NSW hospitals overwhelmed with patients
Date of Posting: 02-09-2015
Hospitals across NSW and specifically in Sydney's west are under extreme with an influx of patients. NSW emergency departments are overwhelmed by an influx of patients with doctors saying there's not enough hospital beds.[subscribe] The Read More...
Overweight at 50 may speed up Alzheimer's
Date of Posting: 02-09-2015
Every unit of BMI a middle-aged person is overweight could speed up the onset of Alzheimer's in old age by 6.5 months, a study says. Being overweight at the age of 50 may speed the onset of Alzheimer's disease in old age, according to a st Read More...
New Zealand midwives take pay parity fight to court
Last Updated: 31-08-2015
New Zealand midwives are lodging the nation’s largest equal pay challenge. The New Zealand College of Midwives (NZCOM) filed a statement of claim in the High Court today against the government’s Ministry of Health, alleging its pay lev Read More...
Kidney disease health costs soar: experts
Date of Posting: 31-08-2015
Prevention is the key to easing Australia's increasing health burden of kidney disease, say experts. Australia's health bill for chronic kidney disease will reach $12 billion by 2020, say experts who are calling for urgent preventative act Read More...
Obese people's appetites hard-wired: study
Date of Posting: 31-08-2015
Brain imaging by researchers has found obese people's food cravings may occur because their brains are wired differently to people of normal weight. Obese people may have brains that are hard-wired to find food irresistible, a study has found. Read More...
Don't count calories, say experts
Date of Posting: 27-08-2015
Experts from Britain and the US say eating healthily is more important than counting calories - a view not shared by some of their peers. Doctors are being urged to promote the powerful benefit of healthy food rather than focusing on calories and Read More...
Flu shot protects against heart attacks
Date of Posting: 27-08-2015
The risk of a heart attack is reduced by almost one-third in older people who have the flu jab compared with those who don't, a study shows. The flu jab doesn't just keep the virus away, it can reduce the risk of a heart attack for people Read More...
Blood test could predict cancer relapse
Date of Posting: 27-08-2015
Researchers say a new blood test could potentially help predict breast cancer relapses earlier, and help refine treatments. An experimental blood test may be able to predict whether a woman with breast cancer will suffer a relapse months before ne Read More...
Falls sending more to hospital
Date of Posting: 26-08-2015
A new study says more Australians are going to hospital for injuries from falls. Falls are sending more Australians to hospital than ever before, most of them older people.[subscribe] But fewer are ending up in hospital for poisoning and drowni Read More...
Early exposure to peanuts recommended
Date of Posting: 26-08-2015
A major study has found exposure to peanuts in infancy seemed to help build tolerance - contrary to conventional thinking. A pediatricians' group is recommending that infants at high risk of peanut allergies be given foods containing peanuts b Read More...
Govt pays for mental health failure
Date of Posting: 26-08-2015
Mental health experts say the current system is failing patients and a waste of government funds. The federal government is wasting $10 billion a year on a mental health system that fails its patients, Australia's leading experts have told a S Read More...
'Major step' toward universal flu vaccine
Date of Posting: 25-08-2015
Scientists say they have made a significant breakthrough in the quest to create a "universal" flu vaccine. Scientists have taken a major step towards creating a vaccine that works against multiple strains of influenza, according to two s Read More...
Twitter liberates adults with no speech
Last Updated: 24-08-2015
Twitter levels the playing field for adults with no speech including those who have had a stroke or motor neurone disease, say researchers. People with communication disabilities tend to flourish on Twitter.[subscribe] While other users might b Read More...
Dementia rates may be stabilising: study
Last Updated: 21-08-2015
A review of data from Sweden, the Netherlands, Britain and Spain has shown the percentage of the population with dementia holding steady.The occurrence of dementia and Alzheimer's disease may have stabilised in some wealthy nations, according to Read More...
A health check on our health system - surviving change
Last Updated: 19-08-2015
The Australian health and human services sector is a complex and rapidly growing industry of tremendous scale. Nearly three times larger than the global banking industry, it faces increasing pressure from a growing aging population and the ramific Read More...
Occupational therapy students put theory into practice
Last Updated: 17-08-2015
Jordon Matthews has witnessed the benefits of occupational therapy on aged care residents first-hand. The Griffith University occupational therapy student recently spent four months at the Currumbin RSL Retirement Village on the Gold Coast as part Read More...
Violent video games 'risk factor' for aggressive behaviour
Date of Posting: 17-08-2015
A review of almost a decade of studies has found that exposure to violent video games is a "risk factor" for increased aggression. A review of almost a decade of studies found that exposure to violent video games was a "risk factor& Read More...
Teaching by humiliation common in hospitals
Date of Posting: 17-08-2015
A new survey has found that teaching by humiliation is rife in hospitals, leaving some medical students regretting their career choice. Three-quarters of medical students are taught by humiliation in hospitals, but up to half of them think it' Read More...
Common drug 'ineffective for back pain'
Last Updated: 14-08-2015
Paracetamol is ineffective for lower back pain, an Australian study has suggested. The over-the-counter painkiller was also found to have "small, but not clinically important benefits" for people with osteoarthritis, the research publish Read More...
Lower back pain top disability cause
Last Updated: 14-08-2015
Diabetes poses an increasing health threat to Australians, while low back pain is the leading cause of disability, says a new study. Low back pain is the leading cause of ill health in Australians, according to an international study.[subscribe] Read More...
Ben has sights set on critical care nursing career
Last Updated: 14-08-2015
Ben Lewinsohn was in his third year of studying electrical engineering when he realised he wanted more personal interaction in his career. Now at the age of 22, Ben is studying to become a nurse and hopes to one day become a nurse leader in critic Read More...
Vic voluntary euthanasia inquiry set up
Last Updated: 14-08-2015
Victoria will investigate end-of-life options with a parliamentary inquiry set up to report by March next year. Voluntary euthanasia and palliative care will be investigated after a collection of unlikely bedfellows joined forces to vote for a Vic Read More...
Children 'at risk' in botched hospital opening
Last Updated: 14-08-2015
A review of the opening of Brisbane's Lady Cilento Children's Hospital has found patients were put at risk, but no one is to blame for the debacle. Patients were put at risk because Queensland's new children's hospital opened two m Read More...
Travelling lab makes healthy living fun for remote kids
Date of Posting: 14-08-2015
A travelling health lab has found a fun way to make people interested in their long-term health, and is finding success in a remote top end community. In a busy classroom on the Tiwi Islands, teacher's aide Stan blows into a breathalyser measu Read More...
Study shows music eases post-operative pain
Date of Posting: 13-08-2015
In a study involving nearly 7000 patients, researchers have found that music reduced pain after surgery by about a fifth. Listening to music before, after and even during surgery reduces anxiety and the need for painkillers, according to a study p Read More...
'Astounding' results for cancer drug trial
Date of Posting: 13-08-2015
A third of patients with incurable blood cancer are in complete remission after trialling a new drug, a Melbourne haematologist says. A new drug trial has produced "excellent" results for Australian patients with an incurable blood cance Read More...
Senate passes $20b medical research fund
Date of Posting: 13-08-2015
Legislation to set up the government's $20 billion medical research future fund has passed the Senate after the coalition made several amendments. The Abbott government's $20 billion medical research future fund has cleared the Senate desp Read More...
