Health Report

If we don't get enough sleep we're apt to doze off in the day, but for some people, dozing off can signal rare disorder of the brain's sleep-wake cycles, and it plays havoc with their lives. In one 24-hour period our body undergoes a number of synchronised  biological changes, which are also linked to our mental health.

A question asked about COVID-19 was whether high doses of intravenous vitamin C could fight it. Two randomised controlled trials showed no benefit for COVID-19. But high-dose Vitamin C can benefit cancer treatment. Arthritis of the hands is common, painful, a bit of a mystery, and hard to treat. Researchers have trialled a drug commonly used for rheumatoid arthritis, and found some benefit. In Vic...

Two of the most common causes of death in Australia, and globally, are stroke and dementia. One cause of stroke is atrial fibrillation—an abnormal heart rhythm—it may also cause dementia. Faecal microbe (or poo) transplants are something we've talked about on the program, but until recently, they've not been widely available. In fact, the product is made in Australia. Australia is to participate i...

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is an extreme form of anxiety caused by the laying down of bad memories when someone is involved in a threatening situation. A new treatment has been developed for people to write about their experience, and feelings about the memory. Having your blood pressure checked at the doctor's or hospital is a health care basic. A recent trial has found a significant a...

Australians will soon vote on changing the Australian Constitution to recognise First Nations people—the Voice to Parliament. When it comes to health, there's a strong evidence base for the Voice. In a slightly edited form, we hear again a conversation from a few weeks' ago with two key people working in this area. Over the past two decades, deaths from cardiovascular disease among people with dia...

3D printing is becoming an incredibly versatile modern tool—there’s scope  in engineering, manufacturing, architecture and design—as well as in several aspects of health care. Today we tour the Herston Biofabrication Institute—part of the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital—where clinicians, academics, and industry work together in a state of the art facility.

To have you in the best physical condition before major surgery many surgeons send you for a pre-operative assessment by a physician—does it help? When a child has persistent cold symptoms, it might be sinusitis and require antibiotics. If a child faints it's really only a worry when it causes an injury. But there might be an abnormality of the heart's electrical system, called congential Long QT...

Humans spend around a third of their lives sleeping, and its management has created a multi-million dollar industry. We discuss the sleep of FIFO workers, the sleep of people with PTSD, and what we can do to improve our shut-eye time with a therapy called circadian medicine.

A clearer picture of where and how mistakes are made in medical diagnoses. Monkeys on some Caribbean islands are helping researchers understand more about addiction. Sydney's Liverpool Hospital developed a program using gaming to spur on patients recovering from traumatic brain injury.

Australia's had probably its first conference on Long COVID. The idea of a worm infection evokes a visceral response—but there are potential health benefits to worms. GPs may hesitate to approach a discussion about weight loss because of the risk of body shaming and stigma.

Mexico has implemented labelling of processed foods with large warnings if the unhealthy ingredients exceed globally agreed thresholds. New research has been looking into why sitting is bad—and how to change that. Women are being mislead by fertility tests which promote anti-Mullerian hormone—or AMH testing—which are not designed for general screening in the community. One of the side effects of h...

We heard today about a new test for ovarian cancer.  For a long time there's been a search for a way to reliably detect this cancer early on. Some men are prescribed testosterone-replacement therapy in middle age or older, but there's questions around how safe that is for their heart attack and stroke risk. In developing the cervical screening program one woman—Mary Papanicolaou—did a test every d...

Measuring activity on Cradle Mountain—Norman and Tegan rise to the challenge. Polycystic Ovary Syndrome—a new guideline for doctors and women. Vigorous Incidental Lifestyle Physical Activity—micro-bursts of it can decrease the risks of developing various cancers. Cochlear implants—the latest intel on this transformative tech. As part of National Science Week.

wide health implications. The remote community of Balgo in the Tanami Desert has many years of hunting for bush tucker. People must leave their Country if they want dialysis care, but that's changing.

Metastatic cancer is for the spread of a cancer from a primary site to other parts of the body. There's no nationally consistent way of keeping track of how many of these cancer patients there are. A consortium of Australian cancer researchers has announced a program called the PrOSPect Initiative. It offers genetic profiling for people with advanced or rare cancers. Aerobic exercise reduces blood...

To assess the heart health and stroke risk factors of the population, Australian GPs and cardiologists have referred to a study from the population of Framingham, Massachusetts, but last week the Heart Foundation replaced it with a tool based on New Zealand and Australian populations. An abnormal heart rhythm can mean observations by a cardiologist with a cumbersome and expensive Holter monitor. A...

In health news Norman and Tegan discuss changes in the health system for medical termination of pregnancy; and about life span vs life expectancy in Australia. Alongside MDMA and psilocybin as treatments for mental health issues is ketamine—which shows promise in treatment-resistant depression. A common fracture in children comes from a fall onto an outstretched arm. Parents instinctively want to...

Strength training is fundamental to most athletes' regimes, but the guidelines are overwhelmingly based on male data. An analysis of labelling on sports foods—things like protein shakes and bars—finds that the nutritional claims they make often don’t tally with the ingredients panel. Worry about memory loss is not uncommon, and not confined to an older age group, but measuring memory accurately ne...

If dementia is diagnosed before someone is 65 it's called 'younger onset' dementia, and it can occur while people still have family responsibilities. We talk with people who have been given this news, and to researchers looking to improve diagnosis and care. We think of breastfeeding as being quite natural, but it doesn't always come easily, and issues such as Breastfeeding Aversion Response (or B...

A look at some of the big stories in health over the last week ... cough syrup, Duchenne gene therapy; chemo drugs in the US. Some new prescribing guidelines for opioids recommend an exit strategy—and the need for better support infrastructure. It was suspected that brain damage for some people with Parkinson's disease was due to chemical toxins—one of the probable culprits is an environmental con...

A recent bus crash in the Hunter Valley claimed 10 lives. Trying to make sense of such tragic events often prompts a reach for advice that sounds right, but might not be. Therapy using psychedelic drugs is generally safe yet a review of its use found that adverse events were not properly assessed or not reported. In Canada cannabis was legalised 5 years ago for non-medical and recreational use. Pu...

Bringing clarity to health and medical issues from social, scientific and political points of view.

A recent study has looked at correlations between rates of (Australian) population obesity and searching online for anti-obesity and diabetes drugs—searches for a class of drugs called the GLP-1 agonists. You probably know the Australian Government has general exercise recommendations for adults, but what if you're in a high risk group? Does that change the amount of activity you should be doing?...

A new kind of ADHD clinic is cashing in on surging demand for diagnoses — and promising salaries of more than $900,000 to recruit psychiatrists.

The World Health Organisation has advised against artificial sweeteners for weight loss because they offer no long-term benefits. Australian research has found a link between diets high in ultra-processed foods and an increase in risk of depression. Healthcare is a large greenhouse gas emitter, but how do we reduce its environmental impact without compromising on health?