Paracetamol; a liver killer

Published on April 8 in The Sunday Telegraph , this article titled “Tablets top list of liver killers” exposes some worrying statistics that paracetamol; a drug found in a number of headache tablets including panadol has surpassed hepatitis and alcohol to become the most common cause of liver failure in the country.

“Doctors are being urged to exercise caution when prescribing paracetamol following cases of patients suffering accidental poisoning after taking only the recommended dose of the painkiller.”

Miscarriages

“Study turns heartbreak into hope for mum Lisa” is an article published by The Daily Telegraph on April 2, 2007 about a study conducted by Dr Gavin Sacks that enabled a woman to give birth after 19 miscarriages.

“Fertility specialist Dr Gavin Sacks was using Lisa Body, 39, as a case study to research the role of natural killer cells in recurrent miscarriages.”

Obesity

In this article; “Heart time bomb for children” by health writer; Clair Weaver taken from The Sunday Telegraph, it says children will be screened for early signs of heart disease under plans to overcome the obesity problem in Australia.

It comments that “one in four children are now overweight or obese”.  

Nutrition

In this article titled “Mums fail the test of nutrition” by The Daily Telegraph on April 5, 2007 it is recommended that expecting mothers overhaul their diet after a study found that 75 per cent of women failed nutrition tests.

“Of more than 9000 women surveyed, 75 per cent scored less than half the dietary points needed according to the Australian Recommended Food Score.”

Dairy Products Causing Infertility

It has been noted in the Journal Human Reproduction that a study of 18,555 women has shown that low-fat dairy products can lead to infertility. Due to this being a major claim, many newspapers have covered the story.. 

This article; “Eating low-fat could mean low fertility” was taken from The Australian on the 3rd March 2007. It comments that “eating two or more servings of low-fat dairy foods a day increased the risk of ovulation-related infertility by more than 85 per cent compared to eating less than one serving of low-fat dairy food a week. And eating at least one serving of full-fat dairy food a day reduced the risk of infertility by 27 per cent compared to eating one or fewer full-fat dairy servings a week.”

In another article however (“Ice cream induces arrival of the stork; Study ties fertility to dairy intake” by The Washington Times on 1 March 2007) the findings don’t seem to be taken too seriously. The lead is more dramatic and almost seems to mock the results that Harvard University found:

“Want a bun in the oven? Then go have a big bowl of ice cream. Add a little whipped cream, too. Harvard University announced yesterday that drinking whole milk and eating high-fat ice cream appears to benefit women who want to get pregnant.”

This would be a good news story to write about as these findings contradict many recommendations of consuming low-fat dairy products. Due to the obesity problems within Australia and several other countries many professionals have told us to cut-down on high-fat dairy, so to say that women should be eating high-fat dairy to increase their chance of becoming pregnant is a contradiction and would evoke many opinions.

Bird Flu

A US expert has warned Australia that Bird Flu is on the rise again and we may be heading for an influenza pandemic. In this article taken from The Courier Mail on 1 May 2007, Eric Hargan has said “that the world was overdue for a flu outbreak, and Australia must take heed.”

He explained an outbreak as having a “popcorn effect: a pop here, then there, then several, and soon eruptions all over”.

The topic of bird flu hasn’t been prominent in the media for a while, however due to a case of bird flu overseas it has sparked fears of a pandemic, thus it has been covered by newspapers recently. It focuses on the news values of proximity as Australia is said to have a pandemic on its hands and impact as many will be affected by this disease if an outbreak does occur.

Cervical Cancer Vaccine

It is a major breakthrough for women across the world in the pursuit of beating cervical cancer as a vaccine called Gardasil has been produced by Australian of the Year; Professor Ian Frazer. In 2006, there were approximately 240 new cases and around75 deaths attributable to cervical cancer NSW. In a scheme to reduce these numbers, the Commonwealth Government will be providing the new vaccine, Gardasil, free to all women and girls aged between 12 and 26 through the National HPV Vaccination Program commencing in April/May 2007.

The following article was taken from The Sydney Morning Herald on 27 April 2007. It comments that “more than 230,000 school students were expected to be given the vaccine over the next two years.” It also says that:

“Gardasil protects against four strains of the common sexually transmitted virus, which can cause skin warts, genital warts and 70 per cent of cervical cancers.”

While some organisations have criticised the vaccine for only providing protection against a few strains, new studies have shown it may protect women from more strains than first thought:

In the article titled ”Extra protection” from The Advertiser on 19 April 2007:

“CSL said the drug may be effective against additional HPV types responsible for 10 per cent of cervical cancers.”

It also comments that:

“The company’s U.S. partner, Merck and Co, has sought government permission in that country to further test broader uses for the drug.”

These articles have several new values including timeliness, currency and impact as HPV touches four out of five women and is a major breakthrough to develop a vaccine that could reduce these numbers.

This would be a great news story as so many women are touched by HPV and therefore have an interest in it. It is also a story that has proximity as a news value due to the fact that an Australian developed the vaccine.

Sleeping pill safety under federal review

Article in The Sun Herald on March 11, 2007, concerning the sleeping pill Stilnox:

“On February 16, Sydney man Jonathon Mark, who had been prescribed Stilnox, fell to his death from the 12th floor of a North Sydney unit.”

“More than 40 readers came forward to complain about bizarre side effects from taking the drug after reading of Mr Mark’s death last Sunday.”

The controversial sleeping pill will be reviewed by a federal watchdog, but Colin Massey believes it should be “banned” after he and his wife experienced serious side effects after taking the drug.

This would be of huge interest to those taking this medication as they themselves may have experienced these side effects. It would also provide strong subject matter for a news story if the drug was found to be the cause of serious health problems for its users and the death of the Sydney man.

CASE 1

 Gladesville woman Pamela (surname withheld at her request) recalls waking one morning last year after taking Stilnox. “There was a dinner plate on the bench, with the contents of a large packet of cornflakes, the whole box emptied onto the plate,” she said. “By the looks of it, I had been eating them with a knife we use for cutting bread. Quite sharp, very scary.”

CASE 2

 A Hurstville Grove couple had taken one tablet each before bed. She hallucinated she was floating above the bed. “I started to projectile vomit, like that movie with Linda Blair,” she said. “My husband is a tradie and got his tool belt on and egg flips and all sorts of kitchen appliances to help clean up. The next morning we thought it was a bad dream. It wasn’t.”

CASE 3

 Neutral Bay man Evan Dillner was flying back from London four years ago. He took two tablets an hour out of Bangkok and on arrival in Sydney felt strange, like he was floating. Customs found the Stilnox in his bag. “[But] I just walked out. They didn’t try to stop me. [My wife] said I got a taxi home and promptly went to bed. I had no idea how I got home.”