Medical Thought Leaders

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News Medical's "Thought Leaders" series is a selection of articles written by national and international experts and trusted advisers in health and medicine. All the articles are written by experts who have been invited as recognised leaders in their fields to provide a "state of the art" contribution.

Cancer-related fatigue and exercise: an interview with Dr Fiona Cramp

It is likely that there is more than one reason why people with cancer experience fatigue. The causes are likely to include side effects of the treatment that people are receiving for cancer as well as the direct effects of the cancer.

28 Nov 2012

Diptheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine: an interview with Dr. Rudi Eggers, World Health Organisation

The Diptheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccine is sometimes also called the “triple vaccine” and has been around for about 50 years, and it protects against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis. These are serious diseases caused by bacteria.

28 Nov 2012

Chronic suppurative lung disease: an interview with Dr Robyn Marsh

Chronic suppurative lung disease, or CSLD, is used to describe a range of lung diseases characterised by a chronic wet cough and progressive lung damage. We are interested in the non-cystic fibrosis forms of the disease with a focus on bronchiectasis – the severe form of CSLD.

26 Nov 2012

Weight loss and quality of sleep: an interview with Kerry Stewart

In our particular study we used a survey which consisted of 50 different questions which get at different aspects of sleep health. It was a patient self-report.

26 Nov 2012

Obesity and oxidative stress: an interview with Dr Elizabeth New

Even though oxygen is essential for us to live, it can react with other compounds in the body to produce molecules called free radicals, which are highly reactive and damaging.

22 Nov 2012

Electrophysiology: an interview with Dr Kaylene Young

Bioelectricity is an essential part of our make-up. All cells in our body communicate by electrical activity. If an electrical charge is applied to one of our muscles it will interpret that electrical activity as a signal telling it to contract.

21 Nov 2012

Biomolecular imaging: an interview with Professor Roger Reddel

The reason Children’s Medical Research Institute (CMRI) exists is to find ways to treat or prevent childhood disease. Our research programs are focussed on the areas of cancer cell growth, nerve cell signalling, embryology and gene therapy. These four programs have a shared aim of translating novel findings into new treatments for the benefit of families everywhere.

19 Nov 2012

Physical performance capabilities across the lifespan

Physical performance capabilities, which decline across the lifespan, are strongly associated with daily levels of physical activity. The decrease in physical activity across the lifespan has consequences for health and well-being.

16 Nov 2012

Myasthenia gravis therapies: an interview with Professor Daniel Drachman

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is an autoimmune disease that produces weakness and fatiguability of muscles. It affects between 1 and 7 people per 10,000, according to the best statistics.

15 Nov 2012

EU Tobacco Products Directive: an interview with Professor John Britton

The EU Products Directive is intended to regulate tobacco products to protect consumers and reduce harms to health that come from using tobacco.

14 Nov 2012

Injury prevention – research and practice: an interview with Dr Dale Hanson

Every twenty seconds someone somewhere in Australia presents to an Emergency Department seeking treatment for an injury. Every minute someone is admitted to hospital. Every hour someone dies.

13 Nov 2012

Radiotherapy protocol deviations: an interview with Dr Nitin Ohri

Radiotherapy is a key component of cancer therapy. A majority of cancer patients get radiotherapy in some form at some point in their disease course. It can be used in a curative setting or in a palliative setting.

12 Nov 2012

Smoking and smartphones: an interview with Nasser Bin Dhim, Becky Freeman and Lyndal Trevena

Australia adopted the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) in 2005. This includes a ban on all forms of tobacco advertising including on the internet.

9 Nov 2012

Cardiac arrhythmias: an interview with Dr Andrew Grace

Cardiac arrhythmias are disturbances of the heartbeat. The heart can either go too slowly, which might make people collapse or exhausted; or too quickly.

8 Nov 2012

HPV testing and cervical screening: an interview with Dr Rosa Legood

Human papillomavirus is a virus that is transmitted through sexual contact. In most cases the virus is transient and causes no harm, however in some cases it can go on to cause pre-cancer lesions and cervical cancer.

7 Nov 2012

Brain bleeds in premature babies: an interview with Edward Ahn

Premature babies are born during their third trimester and they are vulnerable to having brain bleeds because their brains are not completely developed. There are some fragile blood vessels that are present in every developing infant, but when the babies are born early, these blood vessels can be subject to changes in blood pressure and changes in breathing patterns and, due to their fragility, they can develop a hemorrhage.

6 Nov 2012

Vitamin D deficiency: an interview with Kellie Bilinski

We know that vitamin D is important in keeping bones strong. In the last 30-40 years it has also been realized that vitamin D has a lot of other roles in the body. Vitamin D essentially has a role in any cell in the body that has a vitamin D receptor.

5 Nov 2012

Hurricane Sandy’s impact on home care: an interview with Joanne Cunningham

Home care agencies, like all health providers, have only a matter of days to prepare for a specific weather event like Hurricane Sandy. However, disaster preparedness planning is a core function of home care service providers.

2 Nov 2012

Ischemic stroke: an interview with Dr Gregory Ford

A stroke is a sudden interruption of blood flow to the brain which deprives the brain of oxygen and nutrients. Approximately two millions brain cells die each minute during a stroke. This can lead to brain damage, physical and mental disability and death.

1 Nov 2012

Vitamin D and multiple sclerosis: an interview with Ellen Mowry

Vitamin D is actually a hormone. For the most part, humans obtain vitamin D through sun exposure. Ultraviolet light from the sun promotes the conversion of a compound in the skin to pre-vitamin D.

31 Oct 2012