Medicine

A few days ago, a group called the Friends of Science in Medicine wrote to the Vice Chancellors of Australian universities, speaking out against the teaching of complementary and alternative medicine in the curriculum. This group consists of more than 400 Australian professors, academics, researchers and scientists who work in biomedicine. I’m one of them – a very junior one.

The strength of the reactions has been fascinating. In the last 48 hours alone, I’ve been a fascist, an elitist, arrogant, narrow-minded, a shill for sociopathic corporate interests, viciously protective of my orthodoxy and a generally morally reprehensible crusader for the intellectual interests of old, white men.

I wonder how I have the time, to be honest. However, in the middle of all the noise and mutual disdain between both sides of the alternative medicine divide, what I think is the central point is being lost. And that central point is this: Magic is an insufficient basis for university teaching.

Continue reading "Why do our universities teach shonky “magic”?" »

From August till the end of the year is the season for science awards. Eureka Prizes, Prime Minister’s Prizes, State Awards for Science Excellence, The Unsung Hero of Science Award, The State Scientists of the Year, Nobel Prizes … on it goes; the glittering array of rewards for those who have truly advanced knowledge and improved the lot of mankind.

Predictably, most of the speeches that laud the winners will mention something like the growing number of Australia’s Nobel laureates in science, how this is a time when science is paramount, how our lives are dependent on science and technology and how virtually every benefit we now enjoy - from better health and longer lives to the internet and safer cars - is the product of scientific processes, improved technology and their application.

Why, then, is this era in which we live apparently the most superstitious and anti-science period since the Middle Ages? Pseudoscience and non-science not only abound, they are actively embraced by thousands who subject themselves and (worse) their children to a variety of nonsensical alternative “treatments” that at their best cause no harm, but at their worst cause serious disease, disability or even death.

Continue reading "This is the dawning of the new Age of Superstition" »

So the crowd cheers, euphoric, as the ‘guilty’ judgement of Dr Conrad Murray is read out.

Michael Jackson’s fans will now be able to remember him untainted – they will forget that he was a drug abuser, a consummate weirdo, they will forget the grim and disturbing pictures of his deathbed. He will be again the child star turned genius. In death, he will be perfect.

Meanwhile, the cardiologist who pumped him full of powerful drugs, who – the jury heard – committed numerous acts of negligence not big enough to have him found guilty of gross negligence, will have an uncertain fate in gaol.

Continue reading "Guilty verdict in Jackson case not black and white" »

This is the first in a series of pieces The Punch will run featuring speakers from the upcoming Adelaide Festival of Ideas. This week, oncologist Ranjana Srivastava writes about the last days of a terminally-ill patient.

Surprisingly, it takes until mid-morning for the code blue call. The way he has declined, I would have expected him to have breathed his last by now.

Aghast at the code, I climb the stairs two at a time to get to Mr Johnson’s bed side. There he lies, surrounded by a throng of doctors, each moving to a different part of his body, to bring it back to life.

“Quick, is he breathing?” asks one. “The pulse, the pulse”, presses another, already plucking open the patient’s gown. “Mr. Johnson, wake up, wake up darling,” urges his lovely, white-haired nurse.

Continue reading "When letting go is the hardest thing to do" »

If your doctor sent you off to try reiki, coffee enemas, or (my personal favourite) vaginal blowing, you should go straight to the registration board.

But what if they’re recommending St John’s Wort, or acupuncture? Where does medicine end and dodgy science begin?

The latest Medical Journal of Australia delves into these quackery-tainted waters with two pieces on whether doctors should be prescribing complementary and alternative ‘medicines’ (CAM).

Continue reading "Coffee enemas are not your friend" »

For most Australians, it’s hard to imagine being in an intensive care unit waiting room confronted with the prospect of losing a loved one. For those who do find themselves in this situation, it’s a devastating, harrowing time.

Imagine then, what you would say at this terrible juncture in your life if your loved one died and you were asked: “do you know if they wanted to be an organ and tissue donor?”  Do you know what your family and friends’ organ and tissue donation wishes are?

During this time of personal tragedy many say they simply don’t know. That’s not unique to the intensive care unit either, it’s reflected across our community. Forty per cent of Australians do not know their family’s donation wishes.

Continue reading "1602 Australians want you to act on this now" »

I rattle when I walk in the morning after taking all my complementary medicine supplements.

(Tim Minchin explains his frustration at dealing with believers)

Not to mention that I reek of cat-breath from fish oil pills and of neem pounded into my scalp, and have the complexion of a ginko tree root.

Let’s face it, I’m not all that attractive but by my calculation I have fended off high blood pressure, rapid aging, flaky skin and quite possibly a number of varieties of leprosy.

Continue reading "Cat breath’s not the only side effect of complementary pills" »

Scientists today published preliminary studies into a new contraceptive for men, designed to be worn as a slow release patch or as an implant under the skin. 

Previous efforts at male contraception have suffered from several drawbacks, namely compliance of the males, and lack of trust on behalf of the female partners to believe that their beloved male is actually taking the contraceptive.

Females have always been keen to be the primary users of contraceptive, since they are left holding the baby, so to speak.  This new form of contraceptive solves both these problems in a unique and stimulating way.

Continue reading "New contraceptive linked to men’s animal urges" »

Australia has too many sick people and not enough doctors. And it’s crunch time if we want to fix it.

We hear about the challenges facing our health system all the time - waiting lists for surgery, overcrowded wards, long queues to see a GP.

Most of these problems can be traced back to a simple equation - there are too many sick people and not enough doctors.  Demand is greater than supply, and the imbalance is getting worse.

Continue reading "We desperately need our young doctors" »

The word ‘cancer’ still strikes fear into the minds of many people. The idea that a person can be walking about, apparently healthy, but secretly hosting a opportunistic disease which may have no cure, remains a concern for many. Add the rigours of chemotherapy treatment, and it is easy to understand the sentiments.

Yet some of the most common cancers can be prevented, or treated successfully, if detected early enough. Breast cancer is an example. A free screening program was introduced in 1991.

It provides free biennial mammograms to women aged 50 – 69 with no clinical manifestations of malignancy. Women in their 40s and over 70 can also access the program. The cost of the service is about $150 million a year.

Continue reading "Proper screening could save lives and save us millions" »

I’m sure most people would agree that it’s often difficult to get an appointment with your preferred doctor these days.

Sometimes you wait days—if not weeks—for a non-urgent consultation. So, when you finally do get an appointment you’re loathe to give it up, even if you’re feeling better. I was reminded of this recently when I was a bit off-colour and decided to arrange a visit to the doctor.

As the appointment was nine days away, naturally my body did one of the two things that bodies do when there is a delay in medical intervention – it got better. When the only other option is to die, it kind of spurs you on.

Continue reading "Pit stop medicine with Formula One GPs" »

The biggest thing in science right now is smaller than you can imagine. Nanotechnology is a brave new world containing the likes of carbon nanotubes and buckyballs which promises an array of technological advances every bit the equal of the information revolution: better medical treatments; lighter, more efficient building materials; tougher sporting equipment.

An example of nanotechnology is the production of antimicrobial bandages which are covered in nanoparticles of silver ions that at the nanoscale are anti-microbial by attaching to microbes and preventing their cellular respiration, thus destroying them.

The result is a bandage which doubles as a medicine when used to dress a wound.

Continue reading "Nanotechnology: The biggest little thing going" »

Sunday mornings are usually a fairly quiet affair in my apartment until around 11am when my swollen bladder, thumping headache and noisy neighbours force me from the safety of my bed.

Last Sunday however was special as I managed the truly Olympic effort of making it downstairs to the couch by the crack of 10am. However seconds after collapsing victoriously onto the couch to enjoy this small victory I was assailed by suggestions for ‘fun things to do’ from my ever perky med-student ‘houseguest’.

Ms Gen Y was absolutely bursting with energy after her 3 hours of sleep, I on the other hand felt like Amy Winehouses’ liver, so I politely declined her invitation. She insisted. I more forcefully declined. She begged. I told her to leave me alone and flee the country - and that’s when she told me I had SCTD.

Continue reading "Why I don’t date doctors" »

Many of us are aware that there’s a desperate shortage of organ donation in Australia.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that thousands have died on waiting lists.

And yet we still have one of the lowest donation rates in the developed world.

Continue reading "How much would you sell your organs for?" »

Ageing, death and dying have become the new pornography of the 21st Century. They are rarely talked about in polite circles and when they are, it’s in a distorted and denying way.

The genetic program for ageing is largely determined at the time of conception.

You can realise the best possible scenario for your body with things such as good diet and exercise but your body and the cells in it have been programmed to age and then die, no matter how many creams and supplements you use.

Continue reading "Outsourcing your own death doesn’t make it any easier" »

It is always heartening when Australia bands together around an issue with such cohesion and gusto as we have seen over the past fortnight with the separation of the conjoined twins, Krishna and Trishna.

I feel I should, out of journalistic integrity, (not that I’m a journalist) mention that I have had some dealing with the twins. In 2007 and 2008 I would spend my weekends volunteering at their orphanage in Bangladesh and was struck at the time by the girls’ strength and resilience.

Andrew Bolt’s piece in Friday’s Herald Sun focused on the debate (largely in our oh-so-balanced talk back arena) about whether or not the Australian Government should have foot the bill for the operation to separate the twins.

Whilst I wholeheartedly support Danielle, Moira Kelly, Atom Rahman and the wonderful team who have supported the girls, I must - and believe me I never thought I’d utter these words - agree with Andrew Bolt in saying that the Australian Government and associated departments made the right decision in not paying for the procedure.

Continue reading "You don’t have to be brain surgeon to rejuvenate a life" »

You would think a drug that causes more than one in ten suicides, thousands of child abuse cases, and one in three road accidents would be outlawed.

Not chance, of course, because that’s alcohol. Cannabis, on the other hand, mostly causes feelings of wellbeing.

Debate over the relative harms of drugs has been raging this week. Most of the debate has been in the UK, where government drug advisor Professor David Nutt has been sacked for, in essence, arguing that drugs should be categorised according to the harm they cause. Crazy, huh?

Continue reading "Only a dope would say cannabis is worse than grog" »

We let my grandma starve to death.

It was horrible to watch - hopefully not so horrible for her, as she had bucketloads of morphine to keep her “comfortable”.

She’d had Alzheimer’s for years, and had been in a home for about two of those. Some in the home lived in a happy daze, believing their loved ones were still alive, or maybe that they were really sunning themselves on a beach somewhere rather than sitting in a bland corridor that smelled like vomit and Dettol.

Continue reading "When starving a loved one to death is an act of love" »

A group that has suggested Swine Flu is a man-made conspiracy has now furthered its campaign against vaccination by jumping on concerns about Swine Flu vaccine.

In a press release issued on August 28, titled “Swine flu indemnity - why there are concerns about this vaccine”, the Australian Vaccination Network links an issue over medical practitioners’ indemnity with concerns about ingredients and past practices, as well as drawing in claims about past issues with vaccines.

In response, Eran Segev, president of Australian Skeptics, has warned that “The AVN is taking advantage of the current situation over insurance indemnity for the Swine Flu vaccine in order to spread fear and alarm about vaccinations in general.”

Continue reading "Swine flu madness fuels bogus vaccination claims" »

Forget the Red Shield Appeal, Daffodil Day, the work of the Black Dog Institute and, dare I mention them, the Make a Wish Foundation. I’m donating my cash to victims of NPD - Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

While they haven’t exactly suffered in silence - mainly because their key symptom is high-volume, profanity-laden abuse - victims of NPD have nevertheless suffered for years without any formal recognition of their condition.

It was made clear on the letters pages of The Australian this morning by Rob McCasker of Coomera, Qld, who writes: “Tracy Grimshaw has every right to be upset over the vile and unprovoked attack by Gordon Ramsay. However, she failed in her response by dismissing Ramsay as an “arrogant narcissist”. Narcissistic Personality Disorder is very real and has sufferers living a sociopathic existence destroying the lives of many people they claim to love; in short, NPD is emotional rape.”

Continue reading "Dig deep for victims of utter f***ing bastard syndrome" »