MEDICINE – RESEARCH – AUSTRALIA

Stem cell trial set for children with cerebral palsy

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Original article by Kate Hagan
The Age – Page: 8 : 24-Nov-14

Iona Novak, head of research at the Cerebral Palsy Alliance in Australia, has announced a new clinical trial of a therapy using umbilical cord blood infusions. About 20 children aged up to 10 years will take part in the study to be co-ordinated by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. Meanwhile the Royal Australasian College of Physicians is urging parents of children with cerebral palsy against unproven stem cell treatments offered in countries such as Panama, China, India and Russia

CORPORATES
CEREBRAL PALSY ALLIANCE, MURDOCH CHILDREN’S RESEARCH INSTITUTE, THE ROYAL AUSTRALASIAN COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS

Struggling for air as asthma rate ranks in world’s highest

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Original article by Amy Corderoy
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 5 : 19-Nov-14

The "2014 Global Asthma Report" has been released. Co-author Guy Marks, professor of respiratory medicine at the University of New South Wales’s Woolcock Institute, says the data show that Australia has among the highest rates in the world. Some 10% of the population are affected, with 380 fatalities per annum recorded by the Australian Institute of Health & Welfare. National Asthma Council Australia CEO Kristine Whorlow recently welcomed a funding pledge of the Federal Government for a new national asthma strategy

CORPORATES
NATIONAL ASTHMA COUNCIL AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF HEALTH AND WELFARE, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. SCHOOL OF MEDICAL SCIENCES, WOOLCOCK INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL RESEARCH LIMITED

Aboriginal men face higher risk of dying with prostate cancer

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Original article by Amy Corderoy
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 16 : 13-Nov-14

A new study has been published in the "British Journal of Urology International" that compares the survival rates of prostate cancer patients from Aboriginal backgrounds with those for the non-indigenous population in Australia. The former are close to 50% more likely to die of the disease, to a large extent because some 20% of this group do not have access to early treatment. The mortality rate for Aborigines with prostate cancer is 17.5%, as opposed to 11.4% for other men

CORPORATES
CANCER COUNCIL OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Test for Alzheimer’s gives early warning

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Original article by Kate Hagan
The Age – Page: 13 : 29-Oct-14

A new study published in the "Molecular Psychiatry" journal shows that scientists at the University of Melbourne have developed a new advance test for Alzheimer’s disease. They found that looking at micro ribonucleic acid in blood samples allows doctors to identify individuals with a certain genetic signature, which indicates they either already have the disease or are likely to develop it later in life. Further trials will be conducted, but at present the success rate of the test is 91%. Early diagnosis is crucial for Alzheimer’s as there is no cure available

CORPORATES
UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE, KING’S COLLEGE LONDON

Hep C deaths soar to record level

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Original article by Larissa Nicholson
The Age – Page: 7 : 18-Sep-14

Some 630 deaths in Australia in 2013 were due to hepatitis C-related medical conditions, according to data from the University of New South Wales. Meanwhile, the number of Australians diagnosed with syphilis has risen by 34 per cent since 2009, to a record 1,760 in 2013. Dr David Wilson of the Kirby Institute notes that cases of syphilis were rare in Australia in the 1990s

CORPORATES
UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES. KIRBY INSTITUTE

3D-printed heart replicas to help surgeons prepare for operations

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Original article by Amy Corderoy
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 6 : 8-Sep-14

James Otton, cardiologist and clinical faculty member at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, is using 3D printers to create replicas of hearts. Surgeons at the Liverpool and St Vincent’s hospitals in Sydney will be able to gain a more detailed understanding of the problems suffered by individual patients, with the help of the models printed from CT scans. St Vincent’s cardiothoracic and transplant surgeon Kumud Dhital also believes that "bioprinting" will be available in the future to grow actual hearts for transplantation

CORPORATES
VICTOR CHANG CARDIAC RESEARCH INSTITUTE LIMITED, ST VINCENT’S HOSPITAL SYDNEY LIMITED, LIVERPOOL HOSPITAL

Concern over alternative breast screen treatments

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Original article by Amy Corderoy
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 15 : 4-Sep-14

A new study published in the "Medical Journal of Australia", by Adelaide University researcher Linda Mundy and others, warns of women being misled by unscientific breast cancer screening services. They use methods such as digital infrared thermal imaging, electrical impedance scanning or electronic palpation imaging that are not backed by evidence. The Cancer Council Australia notes that two such providers in Perth have been cited in a Federal Court action brought by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, with penalties still to be handed down

CORPORATES
CANCER COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Business chiefs push for medical research fund

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Original article by Jemima Whyte, Joanna Heath, Jessica Gardner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 28-Aug-14

Some business leaders are publicly supporting the Australian Government’s $A20 billion Medical Research Future Fund. UBS CEO Matthew Grounds, Wesfarmers CEO Richard Goyder and ASX CEO Elmer Funke Kupper are concerned that the measure will not be passed by the Senate. They said that it will provide social and commercial benefits for Australia, attracting capital and making the health sector more profitable

CORPORATES
WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN MOTORING ENTHUSIAST PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH, HEALTHSCOPE LIMITED – ASX HSO

Hidden gene clue to diabetes

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Original article by Cathy O’Leary
The West Australian – Page: 3 : 27-Aug-14

Medical researchers from the University of Melbourne and the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research in Perth have identified a new gene that is linked to obesity. Dr Sof Andrikopoulos of Melbourne University says the discovery of the gene is like to result in changes to the way diabetes is classified and treated, noting that a range of genetic factors rather than lifestyle choices contribute to the onset of diabetes

CORPORATES
UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE, HARRY PERKINS INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL RESEARCH, DIABETES SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN DIABETES EDUCATORS ASSOCIATION, AUSTIN HOSPITAL

Researchers cut at Ebola laboratory

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Original article by Nicky Phillips, Phillip Thomson, Bridie Smith
The Sydney Morning Herald – Page: 7 : 15-Aug-14

The Australian Government’s May 2014 Budget contained funding cuts of $A111m over four years for the CSIRO research body. It has now been claimed by the CSIRO Staff Association that as many as eight researchers will be made redundant at its Australian Animal Health Laboratory. The facility in Geelong is the only one in the nation equipped to handle live samples of dangerous viruses such as ebola. The cuts are criticised by Australian Infectious Disease Research Centre director Mark Walker and Nobel Prize winner Peter Doherty. Kurt Zuelke, director of the Biosecurity Flagship at CSIRO, says research on the Hendra virus and avian influenza will remain unaffected

CORPORATES
CSIRO, CSIRO. AUSTRALIAN ANIMAL HEALTH LABORATORY, CSIRO STAFF ASSOCIATION, UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND. AUSTRALIAN INFECTIOUS DISEASES RESEARCH CENTRE, NOBEL FOUNDATION