In the news October 2005
LOADED WORDS POSE A DANGER TO GUN REFORM
Simon Chapman and Rob Barnes
Source: Sydney Morning Herald Letters, 31 October 2005
Don Weatherburn's scepticism that Australia's Port Arthur gun laws have had "any effect" (Gun laws fall short in war on crime, October 29-30) will henceforth be cited by every gun-lusting lobby group throughout the world in their perverse efforts to stall reforms that could save thousands of lives. Yes, gun deaths were falling before Port Arthur, but they have continued downward
COLD-SHOULDERED PSYCHOLOGISTS HOT UNDER THE COLLAR
Brain and Mind Research Institute
Source: Weekend Australian, 29 October 2005
Like many Australians, Jill Horton is horrified at the litany of failings in the country's mental health system, vividly exposed in last week's Not for Service report. The 1000-plus page document compiled by the Mental Health Council of Australia and the Brain and Mind Research Institute at the University of Sydney uncovered a tide of despair among people with mental health problems, and their relatives.
SAFETY CONCERNS ABOUT PAROXETINE IN PREGNANCY
Dr Phillip Boyce – Psycological Medicine
Source: Medical Observer, 28 October 2005
Editor: I refer to the 16 September edition of the Medical Observer. On page two there was an article regarding exercising caution while using an SSRI during pregnancy, in particular, paroxetine,
HEARTBURN CAUSING TWO MILLION AUSSIES TO LOSE SLEEP
Dr Martin Weltman
Source:AAP Newswire, 25 October 2005
Sleepless nights caused by heartburn affect up to two million Australians and hurt employers' bottom lines as tired workers take sickies. New research released today, to mark the start of Sleep Awareness Week, reveals about half the heartburn sufferers in Australia are woken by the condition an average of three times a week, for up to an hour each time.
BOUND FOR OBESITY
Professor Jennie Brand-Miller
Source: Inner Western Suburbs Courier, 25 October 2005
Childhood obesity is a big issue. One in 10 children under the age of 16 in Australia are obese and one in five are overweight, according to Federal Government figures
BANNED TOBACCO FOUND IN SHOPS
Professor Simon Chapman
Source:St George and Sutherland Shire Leader, 25 October 2005
Chewing tobacco is being sold at almost all South Asian grocery stores in Sydney despite a ban on its commercial sale since 1991. A University of Sydney study, published on September 18, claimed 94 per cent of Indian, Sri Lankan, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Fijian grocery stores stocked the carcinogenic product, with 64 per cent selling it from under the counter.
SOMETHING IN THE AIR
Professor Ray Kearney
Source:Inner Western Suburbs Courier, 25 October 2005
This week's free trial of the Cross City Tunnel could test the tollroad's air filtration system, which is not up to the job, a leading Sydney academic has said. Associate professor Ray Kearney of the University of Sydney's Department of Infectious Diseases and Immunology said figures in a CSIRO report showed the tunnel's ventilation system was designed for about 75,000 vehicles per day rather than the 90,000 per day projected to be using the tunnel in the future.
ONE MP EXPLAINS HER JOURNEY OF COMPASSION
Professor Bruce Robinson and Hoc Mai
Source:Daily Telegraph, 25 October 2005
Last week, The Daily Telegraph challenged politicians to explain how their "globe-trotting adventures" benefited NSW. I was one of the MP5 in Vietnam last week on a self-funded visit to a hospital in Hanoi.
PUTTING KIDS FIRST
Student of Public Health, Sophia Leon de la Barra
Source:Inner Western Suburbs Courier, 25 October 2005
I can totally understand why so many of my youthful peers choose to smoke despite all the health risk hype. It's not just some flippant disregard for their lungs that makes them suck ardently on cigarettes as they wait at the bus stop.
RECIPE FOR LONGEVITY
Associate Professor Arthur Everitt
Source:Sunday Times (Perth), 23 October 2005
We've explored the outer realms of our universe and the innermost building blocks of our own bodies to understand life and cure illness. But one thing we still don't fully understand is death.
CRYING OUT IN DESPAIR
Brain and Mind Institute
Source:Weekend Australian, 22 October 2005
No one who has read more than a few paragraphs of this week's damning report on Australia's teetering mental health services can have failed to be moved by some of the stories it contains. The more than 1000 pages of the full version of the report are peppered with accounts of lives devastated by institutional neglect; sons, daughters, mothers and fathers driven to avoidable suicides; and the grief of families left behind, tormented by questions no one can answer.
INADEQUATE ANSWERS
Brian and Mind Institute
Source:Weekend Australian, 22 October 2005
Politicians have responded to a new report on mental illness just as most of us do when we see a disturbed person in the street: decide it is somebody else's problem and look the other way. And we are all wrong to do it, because mental illness is a plague of our age.
CITY COUSINS LOOK TO ADVANCE HEALTH LINKS
Faculty of Medicine
Source:Barrier Daily Truth (Broken Hill), 21 October 2005
The University of Sydney's annual Medical Faculty Retreat was a rare chance for medical students to experience Broken Hill's unique situation, Vice-Chancellor Professor Gavin Brown said yesterday. More than 80 people including staff and students from the Faculties of Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy and Health Services are taking part in the retreat hosted by Broken Hill's University Department of Rural Health (UDRH).
RETINOPATHY LINKED TO STROKE RISK, STUDY FINDS
Dr Paul Mitchell - Ophthalmology
Source:Medical Observer, 21 October 2005
People with damage to the small blood vessels in their eyes are 70% more likely to suffer stroke than those without retinopathy signs, a study shows. University of Sydney researchers found that, in people without diabetes, microaneurysms and retinal haemorrhages were significant predictors of stroke or stroke-related death, independent of traditional risk factors. (Neurology 2005;65: 1005-09).
CHEWING TOBACCO STUDIED
Professor Simon Chapman
Source:St George and Sutherland Shire Leader, 21 October 2005
Chewing tobacco can be bought at many Asian grocery stores in Sydney despite a ban on its commercial sale since 1991. A University of Sydney study, published on September 18, claimed 94 per cent of Indian, Sri Lankan, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Fijian grocery stores stocked the carcinogenic product, with 64 per cent selling it under the counter.
BASIC NEEDS OF MENTALLY ILL IGNORED
Professor Ian Hickie – Brain and Mind research Institute
Source:Courier Mail, 20 October 2005
Mentally ill people are dying needlessly because of under-funding and a continuing poor performance by governments on mental health care, according to a new report. The Mental Health Council of Australia report called on the Commonwealth to show national leadership to address the problems and said the situation was so bad that sick people ran a strong chance or being ignored when they sought treatment.
CALL TO ARMS ON HEALTH
Professor Don Nutbeam
Source:Parramatta Advertiser, 19 October 2005
Unjust and indefensible inequalities in health are still a problem in NSW, says Sydney University's Pro-Vice Chancellor and head of the College of Health Sciences Professor Don Nutbeam. He made the comment at last week's Whitlam Institute health forum at the University of Western Sydney's Parramatta campus.
SUNLIGHT GOOD FOR HEALTH: PROFESSOR
Professor Bruce Armstrong
Source:Inner Western Suburbs Courier, 18 October 2005
Moderate amount of sunlight may protect people against a range of serious illnesses, according to a University of Sydney professor. The head of University of Sydney's School of Public Health, Professor Bruce Armstrong, said there was growing evidence that "safe levels" of sunlight could provide protection against multiple sclerosis, prostate cancer and non-Hodgkin lymphoma and improve the chances of survival from prostate cancer and melanoma).
AUSSIE YOUTH SICK OF DOCTOR'S ORDERS
Dr Caroline Kefford
Source:MX Sydney, 18 October 2005
Traditional doctors and medical practices are unable to meet the lifestyle needs of Australian youth or educate them about alcohol and drug abuse, an academic said today. Dr Carolyn Kefford, of the University of Sydney, said young people wanted to obtain lifestyle information anonymously and were not interested in doctors lecturing about diagnosis and disease in private consultations.
BABIES FEEL MORE PAIN THAN ADULTS, SAYS DOCTOR
Professor David Henderson - Smart
Source:Canberra Times, 18 October 2005
Newborn babies feel more pain than adults but it is often under treated by doctors, a paediatrician says. Issuing Australian guidelines for doctors managing pain in children, Angela Mackenzie said the part of the nervous system that could turn down pain was underdeveloped in babies, making them highly sensitive to medical procedures.
GENERATION O
Professor Louise Barr and Dr Michael Booth
Source:Four Corners, ABC TV, 17 October 2005
Do parents need government help to control what their children eat? Reporter Ticky Fullerton explores the obesity crisis and the politics of responsibility in "Generation O".
LOOK INTO MY EYES
Dr Paul Mitchell - Ophthalmology
Source:Independent Weekly, 16 October 2005
Researchers in Sydney have discovered a unique way of predicting if someone is likely to have a stroke look into their eyes. A study headed by University of Sydney ophthalmology professor Paul Mitchell has found that the retina provides vital clues about the patient's health.
BIG FAT PANIC
Professor Louise Baur
Source:Sunday Herald Sun (Melbourne), 16 October 2005
Source:Sunday Mail (Brisbane), 16 October 2005
Source:Sunday Telegraph (Sydney), 16 October 2005
Source:Sunday Times (Perth), 16 October 2005
If there's one parenting topic that never seems to be out of the news, it's weight issues with children. But do we really have an obesity crisis on our hands?
FATHERS WHO SMOKE PUT BABIES AT RISK
Professor Stephen Leeder
Source:Toowoomba's Mail, 13 October 2005
An estimated 64,000 Australian smokers who wifi become fathers this year may have put their babies' health at risk before conception, a medical conference heard recently. Epidemiologist Stephen Leeder, of the University of Sydney, said a number of international studies had suggested the children of fathers who smoked were at increased risk of developing cancer.
BITE INTO GOOD BREAKFAST FOOD
Professor Jennie Brand-Miller – Human Nutrition
Source:Northern District Times (NSW), 11 October 2005
Breakfast is probably the most important meal of the day. Ideally have cereal.
EYES A WINDOW INTO STROKES
Dr Paul Mitchell - Ophthalmology
Source:Sydney Morning Herald, 11 October 2005
Source:Age, 11 October 2005
Source: Morning Bulletin (Rockhampton), 11 October 2005
Source:Mercury (Hobart), 11 October 2005
Source:AAP Newswire - National11 October 2005
Source:Advocate (Coffs Harbour), 11 October 2005
Source:Burnie Advocate, 11 October 2005
Source:Canberra Times, 11 October 2005
Source:Daily Examiner (Grafton), 11 October 2005
Source:Daily News (Warwick), 11 October 2005
Source:Fraser Coast Chronicle (Maryborough), 11 October 2005
Source:Gladstone Observer, 11 October 2005
Source:Northern Star (Lismore), 11 October 2005
Source:Queensland Times (Ipswich), , 11 October 2005
A study of people aged 49 to 97 has found images of their retinas helped show whether they were likely to have a stroke in the next seven years. Sydney University ophthamologist, Paul Mitchell, says those who had a condition known as retinopathy, characterised by two types of lesions of the retina, were three times more likely to suffer from or die of a stroke.
BIOFUEL THE HEALTHY CHOICE
Professor Ray Kearney – Infectious Diseases and Immunology
Source:Inner Western Suburbs Courier, 11 October 2005
The health benefits of cleaner air, not moneysaving measures, should be paramount in the debate on ethanol use according to a leading academic. University of Sydney Associate Professor Ray Kearney said he was disappointed his recommendation to the Biofuels Taskforce earlier this year was ruled out by the Federal Government.
FUND SEEKS SUPPORT FOR RESEARCHERS
Professor Andrew Coats - Dean of the Faculty of Medicine
Source:Penrith Press, 11 October 2005
The new Isobel Corin Research Grants Fund will help promote medical exploration at Nepean Hospital. The fund is under the auspices of the University of Sydney and Nepean Medical Research Foundation.
ANTI-CANCER DRUG IN THE OFFING
Dr Paul Mitchell - Ophthalmology
Source:Australian Financial Review, 10 October 2005
Pharmaceutical company Medical Therapies is seeking to use technology developed at the University of Sydney to produce a drug with both anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. In its anti-inflammatory role, the drug a formulation which complexes the long-used generic drug indomethacin with copper is a possible replacement for the antiinflammatory drugs Vioxx and Bextra, which were banned because of their association with an increased risk of heart attack.
THE WONDER DRUG AUSSIES ARE TAKING TO THEIR HEARTS
Source:Sun-Herald(Sydney), 9 October 2005
It's been hailed as the wonder drug of the 21st century; the pill for every ill Statins, already used by up to 1 million Australians to lower cholesterol levels, have been linked to improvements in conditions from osteoporosis and multiple sclerosis to Alzheimer's disease and even certain cancers. It's estimated that Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) spending on the blockbuster drug will top $1 billion in Australia this year, up from $80 million in 1992.