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Articles

Read the latest articles relevant to your clinical practice, including exclusive insights from Healthed surveys and polls.

By reading selected clinical articles, you earn CPD in the Educational Activities (EA) category whenever you click the “Claim CPD” button and follow the prompts. 

Miscarriages affect 1 in 6 pregnancies. We need better investigations and treatments
A/Prof Louise Hill
  • Clinical Articles

Miscarriages affect 1 in 6 pregnancies. We need better investigations and treatments

A miscarriage is a devastating event. Those who experience them are suddenly and unexpectedly robbed of the promise of new life and the dream of an expanded family. The emotional toll can be even greater if conception was delayed, or if fertility treatments were required to achieve a pregnancy. Many health providers have considered miscarriage as “nature’s way”, not fully acknowledging its emotional and psychological effects on those who have lost a pregnancy. Fortunately, this view is changing, and there is increasing advocacy for research into the causes, prevention and management of miscarriages. But there remains a long way to go.

By A/Prof Louise Hill
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Ms Alexandra Hansen
  • Clinical Articles

Is social media damaging to children and teens? We asked five experts

If you have kids, chances are you’ve worried about their presence on social media. Who are they talking to? What are they posting? Are they being bullied? Do they spend too much time on it? Do they realise their friends’ lives aren’t as good as they look on Instagram? We asked five experts if social media is damaging to children and teens.If you have kids, chances are you’ve worried about their presence on social media. Who are they talking to? What are they posting? Are they being bullied? Do they spend too much time on it? Do they realise their friends’ lives aren’t as good as they look on Instagram? We asked five experts if social media is damaging to children and teens.

By Ms Alexandra Hansen
The dementia ‘tsunami’ is coming – but two potential medications offer hope
Sophie Scott
  • Clinical Articles

The dementia ‘tsunami’ is coming – but two potential medications offer hope

As our population continues to age, the number of people with dementia is set to skyrocket, a situation that geriatric medicine researcher A/Prof Michael Woodward has likened to a ‘tsunami that’s sadly almost bearing down on us’. Dementia already affects more than 400,000 Australians and is the second-biggest cause of death, but it’s predicted that this will grow to 589,000 by 2028 and more than one million by 2058. The debilitating condition causes a decline in memory, cognition and day-to-day functioning, a distressing process both for sufferers and their loved ones. Two new medications for dementia are currently being trialled, giving hope for more effective treatment. One is a monoclonal antibody gantenerumab, designed to remove the toxic protein amyloid from the brains of people with dementia. Although earlier trials have been disappointing, a higher dose is now being trialled in several thousand participants, including at Melbourne’s Austin Hospital.

By Sophie Scott, Brooke Wylie
Discussing MDMA
Jarryd Bartle, Nicole Lee & Paula Ross
  • Clinical Articles

Discussing MDMA

We all want to reduce drug-related harm and ensure young people don’t take unnecessary risks. But decades of research shows fear isn’t an effective way to do this. This week, Newscorp Australia released The Ripple Effect, a series of articles and accompanying videos about party drugs, aimed at parents of young people. Rather than drawing on the science about reducing harm, the series overstates the nation’s drug problem and the likelihood of problems from taking MDMA (ecstasy). And it’s likely to scare the wits out of parents of teens. So, what do parents really need to know about party drugs?

By Jarryd Bartle, Nicole Lee & Paula Ross
reversing antibiotic resistance
Dr Mina Bakhit, Prof Chris Del Mar, & Helena Kornfält Isberg, MD
  • Clinical Articles

Reversing antibiotic resistance? Here’s how Sweden is doing it

The antibiotic resistance threat is real. In the years to come, we will no longer be able to treat and cure many infections we once could. We’ve had no new classes of antibiotics in decades, and the development pipeline is largely dry. Each time we use antibiotics, the bacteria in our bodies become more resistant to the few antibiotics we still have. The problem seems clear and the solution obvious: to prescribe our precious antibiotics only when absolutely needed. Implementing this nationally is not an easy task. But Australia could take cues from other countries making significant progress in this area, such as Sweden.

By Dr Mina Bakhit, Prof Chris Del Mar, & Helena Kornfält Isberg, MD
Human BPA levels may have been underestimated
Dr Catharine Paddock
  • Clinical Articles

Human BPA levels may have been underestimated

Exposure to common industrial chemical and endocrine disruptor bisphenol A (BPA) has been linked to a range of health impacts, from reproductive disorders to heart disease. Although widespread, the level of exposure of most people to BPA was thought to be low enough that the potential for harm was minimal, but new research has indicated that the method of measuring exposure used thus far may be seriously flawed. As they relate in their report in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, when researchers compared the indirect method of measuring BPA exposure with a newer, direct method, they found that the indirect method consistently returned an inaccurately low reading. The direct measurement found levels of BPS as much as “44-times higher than the latest geometric mean for adults in the USA reported by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES),” note the authors.

By Dr Catharine Paddock
SCCs more deadly in the immunosuppressed
Dr Linda Calabresi
  • Clinical Articles

SCCs more deadly in the immunosuppressed

Not only are immunosuppressed people at increased risk of developing skin cancer, new research shows the skin cancer they get is more likely to be aggressive and multifocal. According to the retrospective study of a cohort of almost 800 patients who had been treated for cutaneous SCC of the head and neck at a US tertiary cancer care centre, immunosuppression was found to be independently associated with a worse outcome.

By Dr Linda Calabresi
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Dr Nicole Lee
  • Clinical Articles

Supporting patients who are doing FebFast

Relying on intention and willpower to stop drinking, even for a short period, is not usually enough. So what are the best strategies to take a break from drinking?

By Dr Nicole Lee, Ms Brigid Clancy
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Prof Sam Janes
  • Clinical Articles

Quitting smoking regrows protective lung cells

We know that quitting smoking is an excellent way to reduce your risk of developing lung cancer. But until now, experts weren’t quite sure why this was the case. Our latest research has uncovered that in people who quit smoking, the body actually replenishes the airways with normal, non-cancerous cells that help protect the lungs, in turn reducing their risk of getting cancer.

By Prof Sam Janes, Dr Peter Campbell
Older man barbecuing outside with family in background
Dr Linda Calabresi
  • Clinical Articles

A DASH of red meat works for older patients

A diet well-known for lowering blood pressure can also help older patients lose fat without sacrificing muscle, according to new research. In a small study involving 36 older obese adults, researchers found that a 12-week program of controlled-feeding that included lean red meat three times a day not only resulted in significant weight loss and loss of body fat but also preserved muscle strength and function - an important determinant of good health.

By Dr Linda Calabresi
Hand offering ziplock bag filled with white powder
Dr Julaine Allan
  • Clinical Articles

Fentanyl now appearing on Sydney streets

On February 21 NSW Health issued a warning about methamphetamine and cocaine being contaminated with the dangerous opioid fentanyl. Several people who had taken these illicit stimulant drugs presented to Sydney hospitals with symptoms of opioid overdose, raising the alarm. Drug tests found fentanyl and acetyl-fentanyl had caused the overdoses.

By Dr Julaine Allan
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Dr Caroline Henckels
  • Clinical Articles

The law and self-isolation

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced that anyone entering Australia must enter a 14-day self-quarantine period. Some questions have been raised as to how this new mandate would be administered and enforced. The answer to these questions relies on a somewhat complex patchwork of state and federal laws and whether relevant federal and state government emergency powers have been activated.

By Dr Caroline Henckels, Dr Maria O'Sullivan

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