HEALTH & MEDICINE

New research has revealed that a commonly-used anti-inflammatory drug may be used to treat the dreaded Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers used an experimental model of Alzheimer's and found out that the drug successfully treated the condition. The anti-inflammatory drug completely reversed brain inflammation and memory loss in mice.

Calcium oxalate crystals, the most common component of human kidney stones, may be dissolved by a natural fruit extract, US researchers have found. The finding may lead to the first advancement in treating calcium oxalate stones in 30 years.

Untested stem cell treatments are rapidly increasing in Australia because of a regulatory loophole that allows businesses offer potentially harmful or ineffective treatments. As per a new study, Australia has one of the world’s highest concentrations of stem cell businesses that advertise cosmetic and medical treatments online. There is even lack of evidence about the safety and effectiveness of some of the procedures.

People in Canberra seeking medicinal cannabis will so get the support of the ACT government as it would soon be starting a medical marijuana scheme. The government is developing an evidence-based framework for the scheme, Assistant Health Minister Meegan Fitzharris announced on Thursday.

Actinogen Medical and TauRx Pharmaceuticals are developing Alzheimer’s drugs. The former aims to block elevated cortisol levels in blood while the latter has already tested their drug that slowed the disease by 80 percent.

Medicinal cannabis trial, announced in 2015, will now be available to Queensland children who have severe drug-resistant epilepsy. They can take part in the medical marijuana clinical trial after a deal signed with a British drug company. The State Government signed a memorandum of understanding with GW Pharmaceuticals to access Epidiolex, a liquid form of pure cannabidiol.

Researchers from Columbia University Medical Centre have revealed that chronic pain increases the risk of opioid addiction. In fact, significant pain may raise the risk of opioid addiction by 41 percent.

A new study has stated that having cinnamon turns poor learners into good ones. It may also target Alzheimer's disease, mild cognitive impairment, and Parkinson's disease.

Scientists have revealed that keeping a chicken by one’s side may provide protection against malaria. The new research has shown that malaria-causing mosquitoes stay away from certain animal species, including chickens, as the mosquitoes are put off by the animals’ smell.

A study has revealed that HIV-infected mothers who have a strong immune system can benefit from a three-drug antiretroviral regimen during the breastfeeding period. Researchers found evidence that this therapy may eliminate HIV transmission to infants via breast milk.

US scientists at the Columbia University Medical Center have discovered that a toxic Alzheimer’s protein spreads inside the brain through the extracellular space that surrounds the brain's neurons. The protein spreads by jumping from one neuron to the other.

Medlab is all set to give cannabis Australia human trials a boost as it has launched a $5.36 million equity raising. The cash will be mainly used for accelerating a medicinal cannabis human trial program at a leading Australian oncology research hospital.

MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, is classified as a Schedule-1 drug, which has a high abuse potential and no accepted medical use. However, two researchers have urged for rigorous scientific analysis of the drug’s effects.

Experts at Adelaide’s Flinders University have made an Alzheimer’s breakthrough that may result in world’s first dementia vaccine. Developed by Australian and US scientists, this vaccine may not only prevent but also reverse early stages of Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia.

A new report has suggested that patients suffering from common coughs, colds, sore throats and earaches won’t be put at greater risk of contracting serious infections, such as bacterial meningitis, if doctors stop prescribing antibiotics. A UK study of four million patients for over a decade has revealed the need for doctors to stop overprescribing antibiotics.

University of Canberra researchers will be collaborating with a pharmaceutical company to test the effectiveness of medical marijuana in treating melanoma.

Leukaemia drug Dasatinib treats ovarian clear cell carcinoma by targeting a faulty gene found in ovarian cancer tumours.

A substance in marijuana may treat the brain-damaging effects of Alzheimer’s disease. Salk Institute scientists found out that cannabis compounds may promote cellular removal of the toxin amyloid beta associated with Alzheimer's disease.

The body’s lymphatic system may allow breast cancer cells to spread faster if a sufferer is stressed. New Australian research has shown chronic stress accelerates the spread of cancer in mice.

Scientists from Queen Mary University of London have made a breakthrough in understanding how cancer cells spread around the body and form tumours. The study says that a cancer cell’s ability to survive as it spreads may well be the weapon to fight the disease. As per the scientists, cancerous cells depend on an unusual survival mechanism to spread around the body. Thus, how cancer spreads and survives could well be the key to curing it.

An Australian breast cancer breakthrough has offered new hope to women with the faulty gene that causes aggressive breast cancer. The research has offered an alternative treatment to mastectomy.

Health expert Dr. Miriam Stoppard has revealed that there are now drugs that can stop deadly skin cancer melanoma cells from dividing. Treatments such as immunotherapy and targeted therapy can help thousands of people diagnosed with skin cancer.

Gluten-free diets are a fad these days and they have taken hold of health fanatics worldwide. According to the reports, gluten-free diet has surpassed all other searches on Google in the US, beating Palaeolithic diets, Atkins and South Beach.

A deadly superbug, ancomycin resistant enterococcus faecium (VRE), resistant to even the last line of antibiotics, has made its way to Australia. Australia has the highest rate of the deadly superbug in the world surpassing England, Canada, Sweden, Denmark and Norway.

Recent research has shown that women with advanced ovarian cancer may benefit a lot from immunotherapy right after chemotherapy sessions. Chemotherapy given to women with advanced ovarian cancer boosts ability of tumour cells to protect themselves from the immune system.

An American man literally lived without heart for more than one and a half years. Stan Larkin, 25, has finally been transplanted a real human heart, 555 days after living without one and just carrying an artificial organ in his backpack.

In October 2012, Myriam Ducré-Lemay died after kissing her new boyfriend. It was found out that the girl was severely allergic to peanuts but did not find time to let her new boyfriend know about her medical condition.

Australian hospitals may be contributing to the creation of antibiotic-resistant superbugs. Results of a survey have revealed some grave figures as hospitals continue to inappropriately prescribe antibiotics to patients. The drug is being wrongly prescribed in up to 20 percent of cases, the survey revealed.

Common prescription drug methotrexate, used to treat medical conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis, has been linked to at least seven deaths in Australia since 2000. Researchers have warned of a rise in dosage errors that are leading to avoidable deaths.