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Cloning Bill clears Senate Hurdle

By Saffron Howden, Peter Veness and Michael Cavanagh
November 08, 2006 01:00am

A BID to extend stem cell research using cloned human embryos passed its first major hurdle last night with the Senate giving it the green light.
In a rare conscience vote in Parliament, 34 senators voted to overturn a ban on therapeutic cloning.

Another 32 senators voted against former health minister Kay Patterson's controversial private member's Bill.

The Senate's sitting hours were extended as it prepared to consider the Bill all this week but after less than two days of intense and sometimes emotional debate, the vote was taken late yesterday evening.

A successful, last-minute amendment to the legislation by the Australian Democrats specifically ruled out animal-human hybrids.

Another increased from 10 to 15 years the prison sentence for flouting safeguards designed to prevent abuse of embryonic cloning.

At the urging of Liberal senator Richard Colbeck, a final change would force the federal health minister to prepare a report within 18 months on national regulations governing all non-blood human tissue research.

The additional safeguards will only come into effect if the Bill gets the final go-ahead from the House of Representatives, which is where it will now go for MPs to decide on the issue with a conscience vote.

Australian Democrats Senator Natasha Stott Despoja, who had introduced her own Bill to have the research expanded, was overjoyed by the Senate vote.

"This is the happiest day of my parliamentary life," said the senator who will not contest the next election.

"We avoided a Luddite moment; we have done the right thing and created the opportunity for great research to be undertaken."

Despite the additional precautions agreed by the Upper House, some senators remained absolutely opposed to the legislation.

Liberal Senator Julian McGauran had warned of an horrific future peopled with bizarre human-animal mongrels. "We should not even be creating these array of embryo types listed in the Bill in the first place," he said.
"It has all the pride equal to a Nuremberg rally - a rally of Dr Strangeloves chanting for such weird experiments as the creation of hybrid embryos, mixing humans with animals," he said.

But Australian Democrats senator Andrew Murray had no fears about the emergence of Frankenstein-like monsters. "I do not fear that I will live to see centaurs, minotaurs or satyrs," he said. "I do not fear that Frankenstein will be regenerated. "I do not fear mad scientists will pervert the intention of this legislation."

Minister for Ageing Santo Santoro said there was simply not enough evidence that stem cells from cloned human embryos would produce the expected medical breakthroughs.

Nationals Senator Ron Boswell said the Bill could not be improved to his satisfaction. "I don't believe you can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear and this is certainly a sow's ear," he said.

"I don't think you can improve this Bill. You might do it at the margins, but it is still cloning."

Liberal Senator Bill Heffernan said the stem cell debate had been "emotional and political blackmail".

But the woman behind the laws, Senator Patterson, reached into history to argue for courage in medical research.

"Maybe (opponents of the Bill) would rather take us back 200 years when Edward Jenner produced a cowpox vaccine against smallpox," she said.
His work had been ridiculed amid fears people would grow the horns and tail of a cow and dismissed as loathsome, dangerous and immoral, but was one of the most effective public health advances of its time, she said.

After the Bill was passed, Senator Patterson said she was conscious of the fact that many people suffering from debilitating diseases now would not see the benefits of stem cell research. But she hoped that future generations would. "I've done what I needed to do," she said.

A Special thank you to www.news.com.au for this article

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Remember, any articles in our Doctors4U® Medical Directories are made available for information purposes only, and are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Also, the accuracy, currency and completeness of the information is not guaranteed. Doctors4U does not accept any liability for any injury, loss or damage incurred by use of or reliance on the information.

 

 

Cancer vaccine program still possible

November 09, 2006 07:58am
Article from: AAP

A CERVICAL cancer immunisation program could yet be possible if the drug's manufacturer addresses concerns raised by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee, Health Minister Tony Abbott said today.

The Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) yesterday knocked back an application from Australian manufacturer CSL to have the vaccine Gardasil available free to all females aged 12 to 26.

Gardasil halts the spread of sexually-transmitted human papilloma virus (HPV), which causes 70 per cent of cervical cancers
At present it costs $460 for the recommended three doses.

PBAC said it made its decision because the vaccine program - which would have cost about $625 million during its first four years - was not value for money.

CSL and scientists involved disputed that conclusion.
Mr Abbott said today he accepted the expert advice from PBAC, but said he expected the manufacturer to make another submission.

"There obviously has been a lot of hope invested in Gardasil, and let's have CSL and the PBAC sit down together and talk through the issues and see that a subsequent application can't get a different result," Mr Abbott said on ABC radio.

If the second application was successful, he said the vaccination program could be up and running in just over a year.

"Certainly the PBAC is capable of moving very quickly on a very important topic such as this.

"My understanding is, depending on the result of discussions between PBAC and CSL, a new application could be considered in March and, if that turns out to involve a positive recommendation which is accepted by government, you could still have a national immunisation program kick off at the beginning of 2008," Mr Abbott said.

A Special thank you to www.news.com.au & AAP for this article

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PM: Gardasil will make health list
November 09, 2006 12:36pm
Article from: AAP


PRIME Minister John Howard said today the cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil would be included in the national immunisation program once the cost issue was sorted out.

"Let me make it very clear that this drug will end up being on the PBS list,'' Mr Howard said.

"It's a question of precisely when and it's a question of the price and the terms and conditions, and I think we have every reason to make sure that we get good value for the Australian taxpayer.''

Mr Howard said he was hopeful the vaccine would be available in time for the start of a mass-vaccination campaign, starting in 2008.

Health Minister Tony Abbott today urged drug manufacturer CSL to apply again to have Gardasil included in the national immunisation program, after the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) yesterday knocked back an application to make it available free to all females aged 12 to 26.

Gardasil halts the spread of sexually transmitted human papilloma virus (HPV), which causes 70 per cent of cervical cancers, but it costs $460 for the recommended three doses.

The PBAC said it made the decision because the vaccine program - which would have cost about $625 million during its first four years - was not value for money.

Mr Abbott said he accepted the expert advice from PBAC, but said he expected the manufacturer to make another submission.

"There obviously has been a lot of hope invested in Gardasil, and let's have CSL and the PBAC sit down together and talk through the issues and see that a subsequent application can't get a different result,'' Mr Abbott said on ABC radio.

A Special thank you to www.news.com.au & AAP for this article

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Suicides were on line chat topic
By Michael Owen
November 14, 2006 01:00am
Article from: The Advertiser

POLICE have issued a warning to parents to supervise and monitor their children's use of the internet and gadgets like mobile phones.
Electronic crime detectives in South Australia set about analysing the contents of three computers that may provide clues to a spate of suicides.

There have been at least three suicides in recent months by students who attended two secondary schools in the eastern suburbs of Adelaide.
The deaths have sent shockwaves through the area, with several public and private schools holding student counselling sessions.

The suicides have been discussed among hundreds of students from various schools on internet chat rooms.

Latest research from the Roy Morgan Young Australians Survey shows more than 45 per cent of all 12 and 13-year-olds now use chat rooms to talk to friends and students at other schools.

Until yesterday, police had refused to comment on speculation that cyber bullying was involved in the recent suicides, and students discussed killing themselves on websites.

At a press conference yesterday afternoon called by SA Police, Detective Senior Sergeant Barry Blundell recommended families establish guidelines on internet and mobile phone use.

Sen-Sgt Blundell declined to comment on the suicides, other than to say: "Of late there has continued to be requests from the public in relation to internet safety... this appeared a timely occasion to do so (give advice)."

A Special thank you to www.news.com.au & The Advertiser for this very important article.

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Doctors ordered to repay $1.3m

November 14, 2006 12:00am
Article from: Daily Telegraph

A SYDNEY doctor dubbed the "busiest GP in Australia" has repaid $115,000 of his $830,000 annual earnings from Medicare benefits after he was caught rorting the system.

He is one of 14 doctors forced to repay more than $1.3 million in benefits last year after being caught by the Medicare watchdog.

The doctor, identified only as Dr E, from a large Sydney medical centre, earned $830,000 from Medicare and provided more than 80 services on some days.

He was ordered to give back $115,000 after it was found he had inappropriately set up expensive care plans, electrocardiograms and respiratory tests for patients.

Lithgow GP Dr Anthony Joseph, has been ordered to repay $270,000 in benefits after he performed 11,808 home visits, many of which were found to be unnecessary.

Another doctor had to repay $100,000 after an investigation found he would have had to work 36 hours a day without a break to deliver the number of services he claimed to have provided.

Merrylands GP Dr Bao Quy Ngyuen Phuoc was ordered to repay $105,816 in Medicare benefits after it was found he ordered unnecessary pathology tests, failed to properly examine his patients or investigate serious symptoms.

The watchdog reported his conduct "was a significant threat to the life of his patients" and referred him to the NSW Medical Board.
The board allowed him to continue to practice after placing conditions on his registration.

A Victorian doctor repaid $19,984 in benefits after he was found to have delivered 278 services to members of his own family.

The Professional Services Review unit which acts as a watchdog on Medicare spent 10 years pursuing one Victorian doctor through the courts to get him to repay $286,461.

That doctor claimed to have provided between 80 and 100 services a day 90 times in 2002 and ordered $826,763 worth of prescriptions.
Three of his patients received between 200 and 400 prescriptions in that year and the watchdog found large dosages of habit-forming drugs were prescribed in an ad hoc manner.

The same doctor was ordered to repay $138,594 in Medicare benefits for inappropriate servicing in 1997 when he claimed to have provided up to 140 services a day.

The watchdog has expressed serious concerns about poor record keeping by doctors. "Practitioners are still not making adequate or contemporaneous clinical notes. Many consultant physicians and specialists' clinical notes fail to meet minimum standards," the report says.

A Special thank you to www.news.com.au & Daily Telegraph for this article.

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Remember, any articles in our Doctors4U® Medical Directories are made available for information purposes only, and are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Also, the accuracy, currency and completeness of the information is not guaranteed. Doctors4U does not accept any liability for any injury, loss or damage incurred by use of or reliance on the information.




First non-addictive ADHD drug to be trialled locally
By Clair Weaver
November 19, 2006 01:00am
Article from: Sunday Telegraph

THE first non-addictive drug to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is to be trialled on Australian adolescents.

It is hoped that Strattera - which does not contain amphetamines or other stimulants - will be made available under subsidy as an alternative medication for sufferers if the trial is successful.

Australia has one of the highest recorded rates of ADHD in the world, with about a quarter of a million prescriptions for treatment a year.

The usually prescribed drugs Ritalin and dexamphetamine have become controversial because of cases of dependency, recreational use and side-effects.

Strattera works by increasing the flow of dopamine to the brain's neuro-transmitters, which aids decision-making and learning.

Specialists say the drug could be available under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) within two years.

A Special thank you to www.news.com.au & The Sunday Telegraph for this article.

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Infertile couples to get hi-tech IVF on Medicare
By Adam Cresswell
November 30, 2006 12:00am
Article from: The Australian

MEDICARE funding for IVF services will be expanded to cover an advanced technique for injecting sperm cells into human eggs - a step likely to help thousands more infertile couples have a baby.

The technique, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection, is used when a man's sperm is unable to fertilise his partner's egg naturally.
The treatment costs from $500 to $800, a fee couples have so far had to pay from their own pockets.

Releasing its response yesterday to an expert panel review of IVF, the federal Government said the procedure would be covered in a planned readjustment of IVF items under Medicare.

The Government confirmed it would not restrict funding for IVF services, either by limiting the number of cycles per year or by denying Medicare subsidies to women in their 40s, when success rates are lower.

Both steps had been flagged by Health Minister Tony Abbott last year, before a furore among the Coalition's ranks forced a backdown and prompted the Government to refer the matter to the review committee.

Treasurer Peter Costello sought to douse the continuing controversy in January this year, pre-empting the committee's findings by saying the Government would not cut back funding as initially proposed.

Instead, the Government's official response yesterday said doctors should "take into account relevant clinical practice guidelines" when deciding whether taxpayer-funded IVF treatment was appropriate.

Fertility experts last night welcomed the decision, which was released at the same time as the expert panel's recommendations.

Deputy medical director of Sydney IVF Mark Bowman said the decision to fund ICSI under Medicare held enormous importance because infertility was male-related in about 50 per cent of cases. Sometimes a man's sperm "just don't have enough oomph" to fertilise an egg by themselves, in which case ICSI was the only hope, he said.

"ICSI has been used since the early 1990s with increasing success, and for a wider and wider group of couples for whom normal IVF was not going to be successful. It's gratifying to see the Government has accepted that it's appropriate to have a specific Medicare item number for ICSI," Dr Bowman said.

The announcement comes as the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare today issues a new report on assisted reproduction technology. The report found the proportion of IVF pregnancies that resulted in twins or other multiple births was falling, down from 20 per cent in 2002 to 17.2 per cent in 2004.

The institute found that women implanted with their own fresh embryos had the best success rate, at 22.8 per cent.

Women implanted with embryos that had been frozen after a previous IVF cycle and then thawed had a success rate of 15.6 per cent.

Peter Illingworth, medical director of IVF Australia, and a member of the IVF review committee, said the use of thawed embryos was increasing as IVF techniques improved and more spare frozen embryos were available for later attempts.

A Special thank you to www.news.com.au & The Australian for this article.


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Remember, any articles in our Doctors4U® Medical Directories are made available for information purposes only, and are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Also, the accuracy, currency and completeness of the information is not guaranteed. Doctors4U does not accept any liability for any injury, loss or damage incurred by use of or reliance on the information.

Free Cervical Cancer Vaccine

GIRLS aged 12 to 18 will get their first free dose of the cervical cancer vaccine in April after bureaucrats overturned a controversial decision not to fund the jab.

A universal school-based vaccination program is expected to be rolled out from April next year.

Women aged 18 to 26 who have left school will be able to get the world-first vaccine for free from doctors from next July until July 2009.

But about 20,000 families which already paid $153 for their daughters to get the first dose of the vaccine may not get any government help with the cost. It appears they may have to pay the $306 cost for the next two injections their daughters need because their vaccination schedule will not fit in with the school-based plan.

Canberra mother Sue Kemp, who paid for her 16-year-old daughter Stephanie to have the first vaccination earlier this month, said it would be unfair if her family missed out onthe subsidy.

"We should be able to go to our GP and get it for free, it's unfair,' she said.
"I decided to pay for it after the PBAC (Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee) knocked it back and I thought it wouldn't be available free until 2008-09. "I thought it was really importantto get protection earlier rather than later.''

Three injections of the vaccine are needed over seven months to protect women against two strains of the human papilloma virus that causes 70per cent of all cervical cancers.

And the vaccine is only fully effective if it is delivered before girls become sexually active.

Health Minster Tony Abbott has warned women they still need regular pap smears even if they are vaccinated because it does not protect against all strains of the cancer-causing HPV.

The vaccine was developed by Australian of the Year Ian Fraser and the initial decision to knock back funding caused a political storm.

Prime Minister John Howard, whose wife Janette is a cervical cancer survivor, intervened to expedite a hasty reconsideration of the vaccine.
Bureaucrats initially rejected the vaccine because its $600 million pricetag was considered too expensive.

The drug firm last week slashed $170 million off the cost of the vaccination program in order to win government funding. Mr Howard said it would now cost taxpayers only $430 million.

He yesterday hailed the decision as an "excellent outcome'' that meant a "remarkable Australian drug can be made widely and cheaply available to women''

A Special thank you to www.news.com.au & The Daily Telegraph for this article.

 

 

Stem cell breakthrough uses human skin not embryos
Wednesday Nov 21 2007 05:54 AEDT

In a major breakthrough, scientists announced overnight they have generated potent stem cells from human skin which could help in the fight against major diseases and sidestep the battle over using embryonic cells.

The discovery opens the door for promising research into using the blank-slate stem cells to do things like replace diseased or damaged tissues and organs without being forced to destroy embryos in the process, which has led to legal restrictions on research in the United States.

The researchers in Japan and the United States have also eliminated a major treatment hurdle: skin-derived stem cells could come with a specific patient's genetic code, eliminating the risk that the body would reject transplanted tissues or organs.
The new method is expected to rapidly advance research in the treatment of cancer, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, diabetes, arthritis, spinal cord injuries, strokes, burns and heart disease because scientists will have much greater access to stem cells.

"(The) work is monumental in its importance to the field of stem cell science and its potential impact on our ability to accelerate the benefits of this technology to the bedside," said Deepak Srivastava, director of the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease.

"Not only does this discovery enable more research, it offers a new pathway to apply the benefits of stem cells to human disease."

Stem cells are seen as a possible magic bullet because they can be developed into any of the 220 types of cells in the human body.

But research has been limited in the United States because of ethical concerns, and very few labs have had the resources and technical expertise to work with embryonic stem cells.
The new method is fairly straightforward and can be repeated by standard labs with relative ease, said study author James Thomson of the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

"My personal barometer of optimism has gone up a lot," Thomson said in a conference call. "Funding is finally going to go up because this does remove the political debate. And as we engage more and more people in the United States things are going to accelerate."

The White House hailed the discovery as a means of solving medical problems "without compromising either the high aims of science or the sanctity of human life."

Two teams of researchers were simultaneously able to transform the skin cells by using a retrovirus to insert four different genes into the cells.

The Japanese team, led by Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University, managed to produce one stem cell line out of every 5,000 cells.
"This efficiency may sound very low, but it means that from one experiment, with a single ten centimeter dish, you can get multiple iPS (induced pluripotent stem) cell lines," he said, referring to a stem cell type capable of creating any type of cell in the body except those of the placenta.

The US team, led by Thomson, reprogrammed one of every 10,000 cells but did so without the use of a gene that is known to cause cancer.

Both techniques have the risk of mutation because the cells retained copies of the virus used to deliver the genes.
The crucial next step, according to an article in Science magazine, is to find a way to switch on the genes that cause the skin cells to regress into stem cells rather than relying on the retrovirus to insert the genes.

"It's almost inconceivable at the pace this science is moving that we won't find a way to do this," stem cell researcher Douglas Melton of Harvard University told Science magazine.
The ability to design patient- and disease-specific stem cells ought to help push research forward even before the mutation risk is eliminated.

"These cells should be extremely useful in understanding disease mechanisms and screening effective and safe drugs," Yamanaka said. "If we can overcome safety issues, we may be able to use human iPS cells in cell transplantation therapies."

While the skin cells may eventually prove to be more useful than embryonic stem cells, Yamanaka cautioned that it would be "premature to conclude that iPS cells can replace embryonic stem cells."

"We are still a long way from finding cures or therapies from stem cells and we don't know what processes will be effective," he added.

Thomson cautioned it could be a couple years before researchers resolve all the problems with iPS cells and can confirm that they do not eventually act differently than embryonic stem cells.
Thomson's paper will be published Thursday in the online edition of Science magazine. Yamanaka's paper will be published in the November 30 edition of the journal Cell. Both were released Tuesday.

A Special thanks to Channel 9 News for this Article as well as AAP

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Bone mineral density
testing has now been expanded

Federal Budget: 07

Bone mineral density testing has now been expanded to allow people aged 70 years and over to have their bone density tested without the need for other medical indications, such as fractures. This article can be seen on healthalerts.com.au and a special thank you to Health Alerts for bringing it to our attention:

Health Alerts Urges Older Australians To Start Bone Mineral Density Testing.

The expansion of the current Medicare item for Bone Mineral Density testing to allow people aged 70 years and over to have their bone density tested without the need for other medical indications, such as fractures, is great news for Australia's ageing population.

This test, when combined with Fosamax therapy is an excellent preventative health measure and will reduce fracture risk in older Australians.

An extension of the listing of Fosamax on the PBS was announced in the recent Federal Budget.
healthalerts.com.au

 

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Medicines Regulator cancels registration of anti inflammatory drug, Lumiracoxib (Prexige)
Media statement

11 August 2007

Australia's medicines Regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has cancelled the registration of the osteoarthritis drug, Lumiracoxib because of serious liver side effects associated with the use of the drug.

Lumiracoxib, marketed by Novartis Pharmaceuticals under the brand name of Prexige, is a Cox 2 inhibitor belonging to the group of medicines known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS).

Lumiracoxib was first approved in Australia in July 2004 but has only recently become widely used since being listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) in 2006.

According to the TGA's Principal Medical Adviser, Dr Rohan Hammett, as of 10th August 2007 the TGA had received 8 reports of serious liver adverse reactions to the drug, including two deaths and two liver transplants.

"The TGA and its expert advisory committee, the Adverse Drug Reactions Advisory Committee (ADRAC), have urgently investigated these reports. ADRAC has today recommended the cancellation of the registration of Lumiracoxib due to the severity of the reported side effects associated with this drug," Dr Hammett said.

"The TGA has taken this advice to cancel the registration of Lumiracoxib in order to prevent further cases of severe liver damage.

"It seems that the longer people are on the medicine, the greater the chance of liver injury. The TGA is, therefore, advising people to stop taking the Lumiracoxib immediately and to discuss alternative treatments with their doctor," Dr Hammett said.

Approximately 60 000 people take Lumiracoxib in Australia which is typically prescribed for: symptomatic relief in the treatment of osteoarthritis, relief of acute pain, including post-operative pain and pain related to dental procedures and relief of pain due to primary dysmenorrhoea.

Further information can be obtained by contacting the TGA Info Line on 1800 004 599 (8.30 am-8.30 pm seven days a week), or Novartis Pharmaceuticals on 1800 671 203.

See Government site for more info Click here

Remember, any articles in our Doctors4U® Medical Directories are made available for information purposes only, and are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Also, the accuracy, currency and completeness of the information is not guaranteed. Doctors4U does not accept any liability for any injury, loss or damage incurred by use of or reliance on the information.

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