Health Report

Yawning gulf: napping feature. This feature, by Thea O'Connor and Ray Moynihan from Northern New South Wales, tells us that there's a huge gap between the scientific proof that napping is beneficial and social uptake. Most people are still reluctant to take a nap during their busy day.

A mysterious and often life threatening disease affects the lives of mostly young women. These patients often end up in psychiatric hospitals misdiagnosed or in intensive care units with bizarre behaviour and metabolic meltdown. It's been discovered that these patients had a benign tumour in the ovary called teratoma. A teratoma can contain teeth, hair and most significantly for the women suffering from this condition, brain tissue. The body sees this tumour like a foreign type of tissue and mounts an attack, an immune response against these brain cells that are in the tumour. However, the immunological system is tricked and not only goes against the tumour, but is also misdirected against the brain of the patients.

Effect of hip and knee replacement surgery on overweight patients, new discovery of adult stem cells, stem cell technology, and new scanning technology for detecting atherosclerotic plaques.

Knee reconstruction surgery. Ganfyd - the sick saga of sickness certificates. Preterm births.

The effect of increased doses of saw palmetto fruit extract on lower urinary tract symptoms. ADHD drugs and the risk of cardiovascular problems in children and young adults. The Western Desert Dialysis Project. Health coaching.

An enormous range of pharmaceuticals, from painkillers to chemotherapy drugs, is entering our rivers and waterways via wastewater. The concentrations are tiny, but drug pollution has had unexpected and at times devastating impacts on plants and animals. Ecotoxicologists and health experts alike are calling for a concerted effort to better understand how pharmaceuticals behave in the natural environment.

Social media and health, and famous people's diseases.

Health care costs in Australia. Polio eradication. Neurologic recovery after prolonged cardiac arrest outside of a hospital situation. Congestive heart failure.