Health

Opioid analgesics were associated with a 30 per cent increase in the risk of pneumonia in persons with Alzheimer’s disease, a recent study from the University of Eastern Finland showed. The study showed the risk was most pronounced in the first two months of opioid use, with the highest risk …

The Australian government is providing $5 million for ground-breaking research into the early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of eating disorders. Around one million Australians live with an eating disorder. They are extremely complex illnesses and have one of the highest mortality rates of any psychiatric condition. The two projects funded …

Can I take my complementary medicine with my other medicines? This and other top questions asked of the national Medicines Line service about complementary medicines have been revealed at the Choosing Wisely 2019 National Meeting in Melbourne this week. Medicines Line is a free information service offered by NPS MedicineWise, …

UNSW engineers have shown that ‘micro submarines’ powered by nano-motors could navigate the human body to provide targeted drug delivery to diseased organs without the need for external stimulus. Cancers in the human body may one day be treated by these tiny, self-propelled ‘micro-submarines’ delivering medicine to affected organs after …

The health of many prisoners who have been unemployed or homeless before being incarcerated improves in jail, according to a new report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). The report, ‘The health of Australia’s prisoners 2018’, includes information gathered from people through the use of questionnaires over …

A new, non-invasive embryo screening test will reduce miscarriages and the time it takes to achieve a healthy live birth for the one-in-six Australian couples affected by infertility. In a world first scientific breakthrough, Australia’s leading fertility scientists have developed an embryo DNA screening test that is non-invasive and will …

The latest data showing a continued decline in HIV transmission rates in NSW has been welcomed by the state’s leading HIV prevention and HIV support organisation, ACON. The ‘NSW HIV Strategy Data Report – Quarter 1’ shows that in the first three months of 2019, there were 22 per cent …

Young Australians providing care for family members with mental illnesses, alcohol and drug addictions are struggling to keep up with their studies, according to new research. The Flinders University and UNSW study found the problem will remain without an adjustment to flexibility in schools and personalised intervention programs. The results …

Just days after a study of more than 18,000 smokers1 showed that vaping increased chances of successfully quitting by 95 per cent, adult Australian smokers who can’t or won’t quit nicotine are being encouraged to consider vaping as a less harmful alternative to conventional cigarettes as part of the first …

A push to encourage Australians to be more proactive in the management of their own healthcare is underway by NPS MedicineWise Choosing Wisely Australia initiative and the Consumers Health Forum of Australia (CHF). The Conversation Starter Kit, launched today, 30 may at the  2019 Choosing Wisely Australia National Meeting in …