ScienceNetwork WA

A NATIONAL surveillance study of hospitalised cases with chicken pox before and after the introduction of the freely available varicella vaccine in Australia has reported a drop of almost 70 per cent in cases with complications needing medical attention.

HIGH-income earners and breastfeeding women have lower levels of pesticides in their bodies, an Edith Cowan University (ECU) study has revealed.

A LEADING rural health worker is calling for the improvement of mental health services in country WA, as outback communities struggle to cope with 2012’s tumultuous climate.

THREE WA mothers fed up with their children getting head lice decided to take matters into their own hands and invented their own treatment to solve the problem.

A MEDICAL trial is currently underway at Fremantle hospital to hone an innovative “smart ear” treatment of tympanic membrane perforations—or hole in the eardrum—which affects around 80 million people worldwide.

A NEW research project by a WA student is hoping to investigate the link between relaxation and its ability to reduce the severity of eczema.

RESEARCH headed by Dr Steven Petratos from Monash University and supported by scientists from University of Western Australia (UWA) has led to the discovery that a modified protein can block the progression of Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

A RECENT Australian survey shows that 28 per cent of 9–16 year-olds had seen pornographic material online with 17 per cent saying they had seen images of genitals.

A RECENT report has revealed over-prescription of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) medication was occurring in WA throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.

MATERNITY patients at Murdoch’s St John of God Hospital are now more involved in their prevention treatment of venous thromboembolism (VTE).

A NEW study has found more time spent watching television could have adverse effects on glucose homeostasis, increasing the risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

A UNIVERSITY of Western Australia study has found birth weight and childhood adiposity are associated with cardiovascular risk later in life.

OVER the next five years, medical researchers from 36 academic institutions in developed nations around the world will join forces to unravel the link between early life nutrition and later obesity-related metabolic disease.

THE Telethon Institute for Child Health Research in Perth is currently participating in the world-first development of an asthma vaccine, after finding mounting evidence the disease’s establishment appears to be consequential of viral respiratory infections.

PATIENTS suffering from spinal cord injury may soon find help in the form of stem cells drawn from their own bone marrow, thanks to a research project from the University of Western Australia.

AN Edith Cowan University PhD student expects research to demonstrate a relationship between Parkinson’s disease and sleeping poorly.

RESEARCHERS from the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research (WAIMR) are conducting a comprehensive nationwide study into the prevalence of occupational exposure to carcinogens and the occurrence occupational cancer in Australia.

THE average WA hospital keeps hand hygiene practices above the statewide benchmark for the first time, however several regional hospitals have recorded below average compliance levels.

A STUDY has highlighted the risks of using faster methods of venom immunotherapy (VIT) to prevent allergic reactions to insect bites, suggesting slower, prolonged methods may be safer.

VASCULOGENIC erectile dysfunction (ED) is a novel marker and predictor for future atherosclerotic cardiovascular (CV) events, new research concludes.