News Articles
Nano-capsule treatment to beat blood clots
Date of Posting: 05-08-2015
A drug-loaded nanocapsule which seeks out and removes life-threatening blood clots has been created in Australian laboratory Australian researchers have used nanotechnology to create a blood clot-busting treatment for people suffering a heart atta Read More...
Research fund could be hijacked for pet projects
Date of Posting: 05-08-2015
An inquiry into the federal government's $20 billion Medical Research Future Fund has been warned funds could be hijacked by special interest groups. The federal government is being urged to ensure its $20 billion Medical Research Future Fund Read More...
Birth control pill cuts cancer risk
Date of Posting: 05-08-2015
About 200,000 cases of endometrial cancer have been prevented in the past decade by the use of the pill, research shows. The pill dramatically changed women's lives, not least through saving many from early death or disease by providing protec Read More...
Nurses and midwives vow to safeguard penalty rates
Date of Posting: 05-08-2015
Public sector surgical nurse Ellen McRae works most Sundays. In fact, Ms McRae works 10 shifts a fortnight and all fall outside the traditional 9am-5.30pm working day, with starts at either 7am, 1pm or 9pm.[subscribe] “Three weekends ago Read More...
Natural breech birth low risk for babies
Last Updated: 03-08-2015
A new study shows the risks associated with the natural vaginal delivery of breech position babies is very low but doctors still encourage caesareans. The risks of a baby dying or suffering complications during a natural breech birth are "ver Read More...
Menopause therapies deemed 'ineffective'
Date of Posting: 03-08-2015
Alternative menopause therapies are used by 13 per cent of women with hot flushes despite no clinical evidence of benefits, say researchers. The estimated 490,000 Australian women using alternative medicines for menopausal symptoms are wasting the Read More...
Dialysis urged for remote communities
Date of Posting: 03-08-2015
Delivering dialysis services within remote indigenous communities can help reduce chronic kidney disease and keep communities intact, doctors say. For Yalmay Yunupingu, moving to Darwin for five years so her husband, the Yothu Yindi frontman and r Read More...
Vic donors told 'talk to loved ones'
Date of Posting: 03-08-2015
As part of DonateLife Week Victorians are being urged to discuss with their families decisions to donate organs and tissue. More than 200 kidneys, 64 livers, 53 lungs, 31 hearts, 13 pancreases, one heart-lung and five pancreas islets were donated Read More...
Nasal balloon can help treat glue ear
Date of Posting: 30-07-2015
Children with a common middle-ear problem can be helped with a simple nasal balloon avoiding the need for antibiotics, a study shows. A simple, cheap nasal balloon can help heal glue ear, a common childhood middle-ear problem that can affect heari Read More...
New dependent drug guide for GPs
Date of Posting: 30-07-2015
A new guide has been created for Australian GPS prescribing benzodiazepines to improve patient care. GPs prescribing benzodiazepines can now use an Australian-first guide aimed at reducing patient harm and misuse of the sedatives. [subscribe] Read More...
Eating for two causes pregnancy weight problems
Date of Posting: 29-07-2015
Pregnancy causes hormone-driven growth of the intestines that allows more energy to be extracted from the same amount of food, a study shows. Eating for two during pregnancy may lead to a weight problem because of changes to the digestive system, Read More...
Preparing for the war on viruses
Date of Posting: 29-07-2015
A world health and law expert in Brisbane for a conference on biosecurity has warned the first world cannot assume it's safe from future viral outbreaks. The Western world must learn from its disastrous response to the Ebola epidemic and prepa Read More...
Work bans in WA to affect patient services
Date of Posting: 29-07-2015
Patient services in WA public hospitals such as meal delivery and cleaning will be affected by industrial action this week, a union has warned. Work bans to be rolled out at Western Australia's public hospitals this week will affect patient se Read More...
Lilli's death preventable: Qld family
Date of Posting: 29-07-2015
The family of a six-year-old girl who died after surgery say her treatment in a Brisbane hospital was incorrect. The family of a young Queensland girl who died after she underwent surgery to address a hereditary blood disease say they hope the cor Read More...
Diabetics at greater risk of TB: study
Date of Posting: 28-07-2015
Diabetics should all be screened for tuberculosis because they are seven times more likely to develop TB, a Queensland study has found. People with diabetes are up to seven times more likely to catch tuberculosis, Queensland scientists say.[subscr Read More...
Rural Australian's health suffering
Date of Posting: 28-07-2015
The health of Australians in rural and remote areas is generally poorer than that of people in cities, a new report shows. Suicide rates are 66 per cent higher in the country than in Australian cities, while deaths from all causes in remote areas Read More...
Italy doctors held amid baby milk 'bribes'
Last Updated: 27-07-2015
Italian police suspect doctors have been promoting baby milk formula over breastfeeding in exchange for kickbacks. Italian police have placed 12 doctors under house arrest on suspicion of promoting baby milk formula over breastfeeding in exchange Read More...
Dementia kills more Aussies than strokes
Last Updated: 27-07-2015
Dementia is now Australia's second biggest killer, overtaking stroke and other cerebrovascular diseases. The Australian Bureau of Statistics says Alzheimer's disease and other dementia accounted for about 11,000 deaths in 2013, an increase Read More...
Nurse to patient ratios vital in aged care
Last Updated: 24-07-2015
Nurse to patient ratios in Australia’s aged care facilities will improve residents’ care and bolster the sector as a more attractive career path for nurses, according to the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF). The ANMF Read More...
OVA systems fail nurses, midwives and paramedics
Last Updated: 24-07-2015
The systems and processes designed to protect health care workers are not as robust and comprehensive as those in place for patients, according to the Victorian Auditor-General’s report. Auditor-General John Doyle, in his Occupational Violen Read More...
More graduate nurses employed in New Zealand
Last Updated: 24-07-2015
An extra 163 graduate nurses have been employed in New Zealand compared to the same time last year. Ministry of Health figures show a total of 868 graduates, or 59 per cent, have been employed while another 571 graduates are still looking for work Read More...
Hunt for HIV cure boosted by new research
Date of Posting: 24-07-2015
Scientists at an international conference have called for continued funding for research to find a cure for AIDS as the disease continues to kill millions. A cure for HIV remains elusive, but scientists say the hunt is more hopeful than ever, base Read More...
New chemo guidelines needed for terminal patients
Date of Posting: 24-07-2015
A US medical study has suggested guidelines for chemotherapy use in patients with terminal cancer should be revised. Giving chemotherapy to people with terminal cancer who are near the end of their lives is likely to cause more harm than good, acc Read More...
Women with Alzheimer's face swifter decline
Date of Posting: 23-07-2015
US research has revealed a gender-gap in patients with Alzheimer's with women facing a swifter mental decline than men. Women with Alzheimer's may face a swifter mental decline than men with the same condition, but researchers are not sure Read More...
Surround sound blood pressure treatment
Date of Posting: 23-07-2015
A new high blood pressure treatment called renal denervation, which uses surround sound technology, is being trialled in Britain. High blood pressure is to be treated with a new surround sound system which sends ultrasound waves to the kidneys.[su Read More...
Vic salmonella outbreak hits 44 people
Date of Posting: 22-07-2015
It could take weeks to trace the source of a major salmonella outbreak at a Melbourne luxury hotel, the health department says. Opulent high tea at a luxury Melbourne hotel has left 44 people with salmonella poisoning.[subscribe] Health authori Read More...
New ECT has fewer side effects: study
Date of Posting: 22-07-2015
Severely depressed people can have fewer side effects with an ultra-brief electroconvulsive therapy, research shows. A newer treatment for severe depression is almost as effective as standard electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) but with far fewer side Read More...
Diabetes drug may prevent Parkinson's
Date of Posting: 22-07-2015
New research suggest patients who take a class of drugs for type 2 diabetes are 28 per cent less likely to develop Parkinson's disease. A class of drugs used to treat Type 2 diabetes may offer protection against Parkinson's disease, resear Read More...
UK doctors want lung cancer focus back
Date of Posting: 21-07-2015
British medical professionals say a successful lung cancer awareness program should be followed up as it was proven to boost early detection. Doctors and nurses have written an open letter to the British health secretary asking why the government Read More...
Do well at school, cut TV to beat dementia
Date of Posting: 21-07-2015
Loneliness, too much television, and too little exercise could all raise the risk of developing dementia in later life, researchers say. Having a complicated job and doing well at school have both been linked to a lower risk of dementia, while lon Read More...
AIDS experts urge shift in HIV treatment
Date of Posting: 20-07-2015
AIDS experts are hoping a global conference in Vancouver will lead to changes in the way the world treats HIV. AIDS researchers have called for a worldwide shift in HIV treatment, saying medication should be provided immediately after diagnosis ra Read More...
Lyell McEwin nurses take industrial action
Last Updated: 17-07-2015
Nurses have launched industrial action at a South Australian hospital in protest at plans to use existing staff for a dedicated resuscitation team. Emergency nurses at Adelaide’s Lyell McEwin Hospital are implementing low level industrial ac Read More...
More Australian children surviving cancer
Last Updated: 17-07-2015
Childhood cancer survival has increased in Australia by six per cent over recent decades, despite an unexplained rise in incidence rates among the very young. About 640 children under the age of 15 are diagnosed with cancer every year, according t Read More...
Number of child cancer survivors quadruple
Last Updated: 17-07-2015
Four times as many youths now survive cancer compared to decades ago, a US study has found. Modern medicine has made huge strides when it comes to treating children with cancer, and four times as many youths now survive cancer compared to decades Read More...
Statins cut cancer death risk: study
Last Updated: 17-07-2015
A 15-year study of almost 150,000 people has found those taking the cholesterol-lowering drugs are more likely to survive cancer. Statins could cut the risk of dying from cancer by up to 55 per cent, according to research.[subscribe] The 15-yea Read More...
Genes determine AIDS vaccine effectiveness
Date of Posting: 17-07-2015
Researchers have found the AIDS vaccine is more effective in some people than others, with their genetic make-up the key. The effectiveness of the AIDS vaccine is linked to genetics and responds differently in separate cases, according to an artic Read More...
What makes happy, healthy Australians?
Date of Posting: 16-07-2015
Alcohol, a busy job and living in a small town help to make Australians happier, according to a new survey. Women who live in Queensland appear to be the happiest people in the nation, according to a new survey.[subscribe] And Australians who l Read More...
Patients waking up during surgery
Date of Posting: 16-07-2015
Patients waking up during surgery is more common than previously thought, a study has found. Many more people may be waking up during operations than previously thought, health experts have warned.[subscribe] The phenomenon, known as Accidental Read More...
Alzheimer's study finds racial differences
Date of Posting: 16-07-2015
US scientists say new treatments for Alzheimer's disease may need to be developed for African-American sufferers. Alzheimer's disease may affect the brain differently in African-Americans than white Americans of European descent, US scient Read More...
Too much sitting is 'a health hazard'
Date of Posting: 16-07-2015
Many Australians risk their health by being virtually immobile for more than 70 per cent of their day, warns expert Australians need to vacate their couches, chairs and computers in the fight against diabetes and heart disease.[subscribe] Many Read More...
