Industry News
New Hope for Treatment of Mild Alzheimers
A drug developed by US pharmaceutical company Lilly has shown evidence of slowing the worsening of the disease. Current treatments for Alzheimer’s can alleviate symptoms but don’t slow underlying disease progression. [ + ]
HIV-Positive Teenager in Remission for 12 Years
Some great news has emerged from the 2015 International Aids Society Conference in Canada this week, with a French teenager who was born with HIV having been in remission for 12 years - the longest on record for a person in her age group. [ + ]
Stomach Ulcer Treatments May Reduce Risk of Gastric Cancer
Treatments for Helicobacter pylori bacterium— the main cause of stomach ulcers — may reduce the risk of gastric cancer, according to recent reseach published in the Cochrane Library. The studies were conducted in Colombia, China and Japan. [ + ]
Forget Health Takeovers Here's How to Fix Hospital Funding and Chronic Disease Care
Stephen Duckett, Grattan Institute and Peter Breadon, Grattan Institute [ + ]
Assisted Euthanasia and the Right to Dignity
Assisted euthanasia is always a sensitive topic, and a recent study of New Zealand GPs has revealed that 11.8% admitted having intervened to help a terminally ill and suffering patient to die. [ + ]
Mobile Phone Hygiene Standards Are Not Necessary
Yesterday we reported on the study performed in an Australian hospital showing healthcare workers not employing infection control practices when handling mobile phones - potential leading to the spread of bacteria. [ + ]
Re-testing for Antibiotic Allergies
People who have grown up believing they have an allergy to antibiotics will now be able to be safely tested and reassessed, with the opening of Victoria’s Austin Hospital antibiotic de-labelling clinic. [ + ]
Melbourne Hackathon Targets Aged Care
The weekend played hosted to a 48-hour hackathon aimed at providing solutions to the health concerns facing today’s ageing population. More than 18 solutions were developed in Melbourne with experts from HealthXL, Victoria’s Northern Health and Alzheimer’s Australia, along with health researchers and technical experts from IBM. [ + ]
Reducing the Risk of Lynch Syndrome
A paper published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association led by researchers from the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, reveals that women with one child are 60% less likely to develop uterine cancer, compared with women with no children, and even lower for women with more than one child. [ + ]
Weekend Operations have Worse Outcomes
A lack of experienced staff, reduced availability of testing and increased waiting times for treatment of urgent cases has been blamed for the results of a study in BMJ indicating patients admitted to hospital on a weekend have a higher risk of death than those admitted during the week. [ + ]
Treatment Discovered for Girls-Only Epilepsy Condition
Girls suffering from a rare form of epilepsy due to a mutation in the X-chromosome will soon have access to their first chance at treatment, thanks to University of Adelaide researchers and Marinus Pharmaceuticals who are about to commence clinical trials. [ + ]
Is Private Health Cover Working in Australia?
Australia’s largest private health insurer Medibank Private has ended its contract with ACT private hospital group Calvary Health Care following months of negotiation. [ + ]
Australia Invests in Primary Healthcare Nurses
The numbers of nurses working in rural and remote settings will increase as part of a partnership between the Federal Government and Australian Primary Health Care Nurses Association (APNA). [ + ]
