Brain and Mind

Using human skin hair follicles to treat Alzheimer’s disease

By Australian Health Journal — 3 days ago

Professor Michael Valenzuela is a science opinion leader, innovator and creative thinker with a career-long commitment to the prevention and treatment of dementia.

Following that he completed graduate medicine and medical training at the Prince of Wales Hospital. In 2012, he established the Regenerative Neuroscience Group at the University of Sydney, and in 2017 became the university’s first Professor of Regenerative Medicine.

Professor Valenzuela’s group discovered a new cell type with potential for regenerative medicine, a rare neural precursor cell found deep within the human hair follicle. He is the main inventor on several related patents and is the Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Skin2Neuron – a biotech company developing the first neurorestorative cell therapy for Alzheimer’s disease based on this work.

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Chiropractors commence Spinal Health Month with research in mental health

By Australian Health Journal — 1 month ago

A new Australian-first clinical research study has found promising results for reducing the mental health impacts of chronic musculoskeletal pain by combining online psychological therapies with routine physical care. The research, funded by the Australian Chiropractors Association (ACA) and conducted through CQUniversity and Macquarie University’s MindSpot programme, highlights the strong connection between chronic pain and mental wellbeing.

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Intersection of multiple births, birth trauma and perinatal mental health

By Australian Health Journal — 4 months ago

Mothers of multiples are five times more likely to experience depression and have triple the rates of anxiety compared to mothers of singletons. Danya McStein is a Clinical Team Manager at Gidget Foundation Australia, talks about mothers expecting twins showing prenatal depressive symptoms, while postpartum, facing higher risks of clinical exhaustion and postpartum depression.

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Clinical pain neuroscientist talks about how the brain processes pain information

By Australian Health Journal — 4 months ago

Persistent pain affects one in five Australians and costs the nation an estimated $73 billion per year in health system costs, lost productivity and other financial costs.

Persistent pain also has debilitating personal costs – negatively impacting quality of life and the ability to engage in meaningful work and life activities.

Despite the enormity of this problem, very few effective treatments exist with most showing only small to moderate improvements. New treatments are desperately needed. The group believes the best way to create impactful change is to work with people with lived experience of persistent pain to devise solutions with them, not for them.

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Role of milk in cognitive function and quality of life in older adults

By Australian Health Journal — 9 months ago

New research emphasises the role of cows’ milk, particularly A1 protein free milk, in enhancing cognitive function and quality of life for older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). A multi-centre, double-blinded, randomised controlled clinical study published in *The Journal of Nutrition, Health and Aging* evaluated 88 milk-tolerant Chinese adults aged 65-75 over three months. Participants consumed either ordinary skim milk or A1 protein free skim milk, leading to improvements in various cognitive assessments.

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Clinical trial site in primary care setting open for novel therapies in psychiatry

By Australian Health Journal — 11 months ago

Over the past decade, Paratus has been involved in over 200 clinical trials across 4 clinical site locations. Now a fifth site, the newly opened Melbourne site will cater to both primary care and psychiatry, specifically designed for psychedelic studies.

The new Melbourne site will be a focused on primary care studies specifically expanding access to psychiatric research, a growing area of unmet need. Australian Health Journal met with 3 recent hires brought in to support clinical trials across the organisation and in psychiatry in Melbourne.

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Study reveals socioeconomic barriers to children’s healthcare access

By Australian Health Journal — 11 months ago

Research published in the Australian Journal of General Practice (AJGP) has revealed mental health and developmental–behavioural issues such as ADHD are the most common paediatric referrals in metropolitan general practices.

But the research also revealed children at higher risk are less likely to get the care they may need. 

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Research finds many practitioners feel underprepared to navigate men’s distress

By Australian Health Journal — 1 year ago

Movember’s Men in Mind expands nationally to equip mental health professionals with the tools to better connect with men before they reach crisis point. Research conducted by the Men’s Health Research team at Movember has found men account for three in every four suicide deaths in Australia, and more than 50% had sought help in the year before they died.

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Study: First time stroke survivors have substantial immediate and accelerated long term cognitive decline

By Australian Health Journal — 1 year ago

New evidence from the Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA) indicates that older adults who experience a stroke for the first time will have substantial immediate and accelerated long term-cognitive decline.

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Addressing the perinatal mental health clinician shortage

By Australian Health Journal — 1 year ago

Perinatal depression and anxiety (PNDA) impacts 100,000 Australians each year, equating to one in five mums and one in ten dads, with PNDA costing Australia $877 million annually. To address the nationwide shortage of specialist perinatal mental health clinicians, Gidget Foundation Australia has partnered with Federation University to launch the Graduate Diploma in Perinatal Mental Health.

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