Press Releases in 2005

Archive of press releases from the Faculty of Medicine in 2005.

$0.5 million increase for health training & research in the Northern Rivers

16 December 2005
An additional $0.5 million budget for the Northern Rivers University Department of Rural Health (NRUDRH) will bring major benefits to local health services. (more)

Longer visits, fewer scripts and more advice about weight

6 December 2005
GPs are spending more time with their patients, writing fewer prescriptions, ordering more tests, doing more procedures and dispensing more advice about weight and nutrition, according to a joint report released by the University of Sydney and the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). (more)

Preventing prostate cancer

21 November 2005
Australian prostate cancer scientist, Professor Juergen Reichardt, is leading a study to identify the genetic basis behind men with a high risk of developing prostate cancer. (more)

Time for a rethink on ceasarean births for non medical reasons

20 November 2005
Women should think carefully before deciding on an elective caesarean in a first pregnancy for non-medical reasons, because of serious increased risks to the mother and child during labour in a second pregnancy, according to research results published in the current issue of the Medical Journal of Australia. (more)

Child Obesity - is the epidemic caused by advertising and marketing?

18 November 2005
Child obesity is one of Australia’s major public health problems. The most recent national figures show that in the period 1995-1997 between 19 and 23 per cent of children were overweight or obese. (more)

A fast diagnosis for bacterial meningitis

16 November 2005
University of Sydney researchers at Westmead Millenium Institute develop an accurate and rapic method of diagnosing bacterial meningitis. (more)

Microbicides for prevention of HIV infection

4 November 2005
An international symposium on microbicides has heard about recent advances in preventing transmission of HIV using the new technology of vaginal microbicides. (more)

Medicine retreats west

20 October 2005
More than 80 delegates will attend the University of Sydney annual Medical Faculty retreat in Broken Hill on October 20 and 21. (more)

Third Menzies Research Centre to be established

6 October 2005
The Sir Robert Menzies Memorial Foundation has announced a third Menzies Research Centre - an independent think-tank to examine the performance and community expectations of the nation’s health system. (more)

We need to talk, says the baroness

26 August 2005
Universities need to rethink the way they engage with the public, according to Oxford neuroscientist Susan Greenfield in a lecture at Sydney University. (more)

Top docs in Australia's 50 most influential

25 August 2005
Six Sydney University academics have been named in the Country's 50 most influential people in general practice by the publication Australian Doctor, with two making the top 10. (more)

Cancer Screening - Benefits and Harms (ABC Health Report)

23 August 2005
The first of a three part series on cancer screening by Associate Professor Alex Barratt went to air on Monday (23 August) on ABC Radio National Australia’s Health Report, hosted by Dr Norman Swan. (more)

Funding awarded for schizophrenia research

10 August 2005
The University’s Brain and Mind Research Institute has received funding to establish a world-leading research facility focused on unravelling the basic biology of schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders. (more)

Key toxin could provide for world's first treatment for Alzheimer's

5 August 2005
Dr Karen Cullen at the Institute for Biomedical Research is part of a collaborative team which has identified a key component in the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. (more)

Unpicking the seam of a disease gene: Who matters, Mum or Dad?

2 August 2005
Scientists studying Rett Syndrome, a serious genetic brain disorder, have found that inheriting the faulty gene from the father, rather than the mother, can influence the severity of the disease. (more)

Doctor shortage looms as baby boomers retire

19 July 2005
The retirement of ‘baby boomer’ doctors and nurses will place unprecedented pressure on Australia’s medical workforce in the next 20 years, according to a study by two University of Sydney researchers. (more)

Reducing problem drinking by correspondence

27 June 2005
A simple yet effective program is successfully identifying problem drinkers and reducing alcohol dependence in the Australian community. (more)

Banking on breast cancer research

25 May 2005
A unique initiative in NSW will see cancer researchers, clinicians and patients forming a united front in the global fight against breast cancer. (more)

Indigenous cancer patients falling through the cracks

21 March 2005
Health services should be performing better for Indigenous people in the Northern Territory following revelations that a number of cancers are diagnosed later for the Indigenous population than for the non-Indigenous population, perhaps leading to higher mortality from those cancers. (more)

Dr Catherine Hamlin, AC: A life of dedication.

11 March 2005
In Ethiopia, where the lack of medical facilities, poor roads and inaccessible terrain, make it extremely difficult for expectant mothers to reach a hospital, thousands of women "suffer agonising labours and the death of their babies and then, because of the fistulae, are ostracised by their families." (more)

Cancer Teams Australia Program Launch.

25 February 2005
When former Wallaby Jim Miller's wife Jocelyn was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003, Jim says, "flashes came to me of standing on a field facing the All Blacks doing the Haka...we have a crisis here and we've got to deal with it. " (more)

Eat less live more – does it work?

9 February 2005
It's been said that even if calorie restriction doesn't make you live longer it will feel as though you have. An Australian researcher argues that it does work and some of the current life-enhancing medications used to treat age-related diseases are imitating the effects of eating less calories. (more)

University of Sydney researchers find evidence that sunlight may have beneficial effects on cancer.

2 February 2005
University of Sydney researchers have found evidence that sun exposure may have beneficial effects on some types of cancer. (more)

The Sydney Professional Master of Medicine Program – Advanced training for the advanced practitioner.

15 January 2005
The University of Sydney is introducing an innovative Sydney Professional Master of Medicine Program to commence in 2005. (more)