The Health News – 25 April 2016

Overview:
• Controversial reforms to South Australia’s health system are being rushed through without proper consideration of their impact on patients needing surgery, according to Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM).

• Researchers from Brisbane’s Queensland University of Technology have helped identify hundreds of genes that cause debilitating chronic inflammatory diseases – Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis (collectively known as inflammatory bowel disease), psoriasis, and primary sclerosing cholangitis.

• Political maverick Nick Xenophon’s candidate for the seat of Kingston, Damian Carey, is standing by a paper he wrote suggesting acupuncture in the female genital region could cure infertility.

News on Health Professional Radio. Today is the  26st of April 2016. Read by Rebecca Foster. Health News

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-24/doctors-concerned-by-transforming-health-implementation/7353796

Controversial reforms to South Australia’s health system are being rushed through without proper consideration of their impact on patients needing surgery, the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM) says.

From next month, emergency surgery will no longer be performed at Modbury Hospital, with patients to be instead treated at the Lyell McEwin Hospital.

The measure is part of the State Government’s Transforming Health overhaul.

ACEM’s SA deputy chair Dr Louise Allonby-Neve said it was the implementation of the changes, and not necessarily the reforms themselves, that had left doctors “bewildered” and “frustrated”.

Transforming Health has been widely condemned by doctors and patient groups, and has also exposed divisions between state and federal Labor.

Premier Jay Weatherill denied the measures were being rushed through.

SA Health said there had been extensive consultation with health professionals and patient safety is not being compromised.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-23/qut-researchers-id-genes-behind-chronic-inflammatory-diseases/7352508

Queensland researchers have helped identify hundreds of genes that cause five debilitating chronic inflammatory diseases.

The study, which took eight years and involved 86,000 subjects from 26 countries, identified nearly 200 genes responsible for ankylosing spondylitis (AS), Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis (collectively known as inflammatory bowel disease), psoriasis, and primary sclerosing cholangitis.

Co-senior author Professor Matt Brown, from Brisbane’s Queensland University of Technology, said the findings paved the way for new treatments and even potentially a cure.

The five inflammatory diseases tested affect about 3 per cent of the world’s population.

Professor Brown said some of the 200 genes identified affect bacteria and viruses found in a normal gut.

“That suggests if we can adjust the bacteria and viruses in the gut we may be able to stop these diseases,” Professor Brown said.

The focus is now on translating those findings into something that makes a difference to patients.

Brian Schroder, who suffered from AS for years before being diagnosed, said the option of genetic testing was crucial.

“It means that my children could be diagnosed a lot earlier so it’s so important that this research can be carried on,” he said.

“I hope it can lead to earlier diagnoses and hopefully can eradicate it. That would be fantastic.”

Treatment using a tablet is expected to be trialled in two years.

The study has been published in the international journal Nature Genetics.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-24/damian-carey-stands-by-claim-acupuncture-can-cure-infertility/7353828

Political maverick Nick Xenophon’s candidate for the seat of Kingston, Damian Carey, is standing by a paper he wrote suggesting acupuncture in the female genital region could cure infertility.

Mr Carey describes himself as a doctor of Chinese medicine and self-taught massage therapist and … he discussed the theory, arguing the method was a cheaper alternative to IVF.

“That’s one thing that an intelligent government would be promoting, as much as possible,” he said.

Mr Carey asserts acupuncture in the perineum could help prevent “sub-healthy” children being born.

“This is a particularly useful point [between the anus and vagina] if it was utilised more often, but clearly it’s something that you only do rarely but it’s nothing that you wouldn’t see in … outpatients,” …

Senator Xenophon has a history of picking colourful candidates and was infamously burnt by his former running mate Ann Bressington.

This time around, Senator Xenophon has selected his candidates through a strict vetting process that even involved psychological testing.

The election campaign is not yet officially underway, but the so-called “Xenophon factor” has already got the major parties’ attention.