The drug name on everyone’s lips is semaglutide—a seemingly magical substance that can solve all our ills. But it’s not just semaglutide, there’s a whole class of drugs called GLP-1 agonists. Opioids are commonly prescribed to patients who have cancer to help them with pain, but the drugs are not risk free and can have their downsides. Last year there was a Senate report into the state of dental care in Australia, and like a visit to the dentist—it wasn’t a fun read. Back pain affects so many pe...
Jan 26, 2024•46 min•Transcript available on Metacast What's happening with COVID Australian vaccination rates are dropping A new term for chance discoveries on scans
Jan 22, 2024•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast The shock of a cancer diagnosis is familiar for far too many people. But when Na'ama Carlin was diagnosed with breast cancer, her health wasn't the only consideration. If you're in need of support you can contact Mummy's Wish or Hope for Two .
Jan 15, 2024•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast First heard in July 2023 It’s called ‘young onset’ dementia if diagnosed before the age of 65—and can occur while people are still caring for kids and supporting a household. First heard in July 2023 We think breastfeeding is quite natural, but it doesn’t always come easily, and some issues—such as Breastfeeding Aversion Response (or BAR)—are still under-researched.
Jan 08, 2024•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Drug use has been increasing, whether it be cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy, hallucinogens, or ketamine. That includes recreational use and substance abuse. So it begs the question: Has criminalising drugs ever worked? And what needs to be done to drive down the harms associated with this increasing drug use? If you're in need of support, you can contact the National Alcohol and Other Drug hotline on 1800 250 015, or contact Counselling Online ....
Jan 01, 2024•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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. As the need for services has grown, so have waitlists. Given the choice between a ChatGPT bot or a real doctor, a panel of health care professionals found the bot's responses were both more empathetic and gave higher quality information.
Dec 25, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast More and more people are tackling the bracing discomfort of ice bath sessions. Alongside several touted health benefits there are some serious risks. Norman is at Bronte Beach to chill. Researchers observed the cardiac and neural signals from a small number of ICU patients at the point when ventilatory support was withdrawn. They recorded the quite new phenomena of electrical activity in a particular area of the brain. Keeping motivated to exercise can be difficult, but for people getting over a...
Dec 18, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Feeling dissatisfied with their appearance can become an obsession for some people, and affect quality of life and relationships. Most people can benefit from reduced salt intake, and so reduce the risk of heart attack, atrial fibrillation, stroke, dementia, and kidney damage. A few months ago the program there was a story on an under-recognised cause of high blood pressure called primary aldosteronism. One listener asked to be tested. An area of Australian healthcare that might be a candidate f...
Dec 11, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Bringing clarity to health and medical issues from social, scientific and political points of view.
Dec 04, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast There are eerily familiar of clusters of respiratory infections being reported across China. We know that for some health conditions women are more likely to have a worse time than men. But for the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), the chances of a woman sustaining an injury to it are up to 6 or even 10 times as likely as men. When someone has a complex or severe mental health issue, the specialist they really need is a psychiatrist. However, GPs are finding it now more difficult to track down a...
Nov 27, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Another COVID wave, another COVID vaccine and another episode of Coronacast ... sort of? Norman and Tegan will be providing coronavirus updates when needed, so subscribe to The Health Report feed so you don't miss out! References: The unequal effects of the health–economy trade-off during the COVID-19 pandemic
Nov 23, 2023•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast In 2016 Australia legalised cannabis for medicinal use and now the Greens party are advocating for its recreational use as well. The Australian Medical Association say that would send the wrong message. Antimicrobial resistance has been described an emerging public health emergency. A major cause is overuse of antibiotics and other drugs to combat microbes, like fungi. When a baby is born premature time is of the essence, and the idea of slowing things down in those first few moments seems count...
Nov 20, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast In March 2023 a Senate inquiry began to review how the health system manages people with ADHD, and the Government has now three months to respond. The ABC's Birth Project invited people to share their experiences of birth in Australia—and if improvements could be made to the system. The responses indicate that there's plenty of scope Yellow Fever is spread by mosquitoes, and some U.S. researchers say that it's ripe for a comeback. The same species of mosquito is already either in Australia or ne...
Nov 13, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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.
Nov 06, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 Victoria, hospital researchers have been watching how COVID and lockdowns affected births there. Some h...
Oct 30, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 in a survey of the experiences of patients in general practice who have a chronic illness....
Oct 23, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 and possibly unexpected source or error: the size of the cuff, relative to the thinness or thickness ...
Oct 16, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 diabetes have gone down, but is revealing other trends
Oct 09, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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.
Oct 02, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 syndrome, and prompt parents to have their child checked. Rehab after knee replacement is controvers...
Sep 25, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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.
Sep 18, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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.
Sep 11, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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.
Sep 04, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 having had babies and ageing in general is what used to be called prolapse—or uterine descent. Someti...
Aug 28, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 day, for 21 years—it's what we now call the PAP test. People tend to think they need seven or eight ho...
Aug 21, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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.
Aug 14, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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.
Aug 14, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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.
Aug 07, 2023•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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.
Aug 07, 2023•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 pressure, and resistance training prevents progression to diabetes in people at risk. But the evide...
Jul 31, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
