The Health News – 17 June 2015

Overview:

• The Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency (AHPRA) took urgent interim action to place the condition restricting Dr Barrett from prescribing ketamine to patients as part of a wide-ranging investigation by Australia’s health watchdog.

• Experimental treatment is being conducted in two South Korean hospitals on two consenting MERS patients in addition to existing care, the ministry’s head of public health policy, Kwon Jun-wook, told a media briefing on Tuesday.

• The largest model to be signed to a mainstream modelling agency, Milk Model Management, Tess Holliday is the face of a new wave of women eschewing the traditional rail-thin model mould and embracing their bodies the way they are.

Health News on Health Professional Radio. Today is the 17th June 2015. Read by Rebecca Foster.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-16/ketamine-injections-graham-barrett-banned-from-prescribing-drug/6550804

University of Melbourne Associate Professor and registered GP Graham Leslie Barrett has been banned from prescribing ketamine to patients as part of a wide-ranging investigation by Australia’s health watchdog.

The Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency (AHPRA) took urgent interim action to place the condition restricting Dr Barrett’s registration late on Tuesday afternoon.
Dr Barrett is the former medical director of Aura Medical, a chain of commercial clinics offering ketamine for the treatment of depression.
Ketamine is only approved by the Therapeutic Goods Authority (TGA) for use as an anaesthetic, but research has shown the drug can lead to a rapid and substantial improvement in some depressed patients.
It is understood AHPRA is investigating allegations Dr Barrett has administered ketamine and sold unsealed syringes filled with the schedule 8 prescription drug from his suburban Melbourne home.
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http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-16/south-korea-experiments-with-plasma-therapy-on-mers-patients/6550692

Two South Korean hospitals are conducting experimental treatment on Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) patients, injecting them with blood plasma from recovering patients, the health ministry says.

Four new cases were reported on Tuesday, bringing the total to 154 in the South Korean outbreak, the largest outside Saudi Arabia.
The experimental procedure has been conducted on two consenting MERS patients in addition to existing care, the ministry’s head of public health policy, Kwon Jun-wook, told a media briefing.
…
Plasma treatment was previously used in Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) patients with some positive results in seriously ill patients that led to a decrease in the death rate by up to 23 per cent, Mr Kwon said.
Plasma therapy has not been widely tried for MERS patients, with little clinical study results reported, said Eom Joong-sik, professor of infectious diseases at Hallym University’s medical college.
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http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-16/tess-holliday-the-worlds-first-plus-sized-super-model/6521724

Tess Holliday is a big deal in the fashion world.

She has been the face of multiple high-profile fashion brands, been featured in Italian Vogue and boasts a loyal following of more than 850,000 users on Instagram.
She also wears an Australian size 26 and weighs over 110 kilograms.
The largest model to be signed to a mainstream modelling agency, Milk Model Management, Holliday is the face of a new wave of women eschewing the traditional rail-thin model mould and embracing their bodies the way they are.
Los Angeles-based Holliday describes herself as an activist, aiming to change the way the fashion industry makes women feel about themselves.
“I’m a plus… model and [a] body positive activist, which basically means I talk about issues with body image, and how media and society play a negative and positive role in our lives and relationships with our bodies,” she said.
“I started my body positive movement Eff Your Beauty Standards as my ‘Eff You’ to the ‘rules’ of what plus women are told we should and shouldn’t wear.”
The Eff Your Beauty Standards movement has been a runaway success, with thousands of people sharing photos online using the hashtag #effyourbeautystandards.
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