There’s convincing evidence the pill can cause depression, and some types are worse than others

Jayashri Kulkarni, Monash University

Since the 1960s, “the pill” has been a popular choice of contraception for many women around the world. On February 1 1961, Australia became the second country in the world to enable access to the pill, thereby allowing women to have control over their fertility and separate sexual activity from reproduction, a major revolution.

Today, the pill is the most popular choice of contraception for Australian women.

The early pills caused many physical side effects such as nausea, vomiting and increased rates of blood clots – which were significant and concerning.

While newer generations of the pill have generally been improved in terms of physical side effects and safety overall, a neglected area of consideration is the impact of the pill on mood.

Read the complete original article published 9 June 2022 in The Conversation 

On your back? Side? Face-down? Mice show how we sleep may trigger or protect our brain from diseases like ALS

Image: Unsplash/Lux Graves, CC BY

Reproduced from The Conversation 27 May 2022

by David Wright, Monash University

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is the most common form of motor neuron disease. People with ALS progressively lose the ability to initiate and control muscle movements, including the ability to speak, swallow and breathe.

There is no known cure. But recently, we studied mice and identified a new target in the fight against this devastating disease: the brain’s waste clearance system.

'Brain fog' during menopause is real – it can disrupt women's work and spark dementia fears

For nearly two-thirds of women, menopause comes with an undesirable change in memory.

Despite great progress in understanding the medical aspects of menopause – a natural part of life that occurs when a woman has not had a menstrual period for 12 months – we are only beginning to recognise the experience and impact of cognitive changes during menopause.

See The Conversation article (December 14) by Caroline Gurvich, Chen Zu and Shalini Arunogiri.

Why is a third COVID-19 vaccine dose important for people who are immunocompromised?

by Dr Emily Edwards and Dr Kylie Quinn
Reproduced from The Conversation

Hear them discuss the topic on ABC radio (3 Sept)

A number of countries including the United States and the United Kingdom are moving to make a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine available to people who are immunocompromised.

But why are people with weaker immune systems at the front of the queue for a third dose?

Five ways our immune responses to COVID vaccines are unique

by Paul Gill and Menno van Zelm
Department of Immunology and Pathology
 excerpted from The Conversation 10 Sept 2020

The Oxford vaccine trial at the centre of safety concerns this week highlights the idea that people’s immune systems respond to vaccines differently.

Predicting the pandemic’s psychological toll: why suicide modelling is so difficult

Prof Jayashri Kulkarni explores why suicide modelling is so difficult
in her Conversation article

by Professor Jayashri Kulkarni
reproduced from The Conversation 29 May 2020

We’ve recently heard experts raise concerns about a looming mental health crisis, warning COVID-19’s psychological toll on Australians could be like a second wave of the pandemic.

The calculus of death shows the COVID lock-down is clearly worth the cost

The Conversation article by Dr Neil Bailey, Adjunct Research Fellow, MAPrc

The calculus of death shows the COVID lock-down is clearly worth the cost.

Conversation article by Dr Neil Bailey

Will the number of lives saved as a result of the COVID-19 restrictions be outweighed by the deaths from an economic recession?

This is a vital question to answer for governments responding to the current global tragedy.

Without numbers, there’s no obvious way of working out whether the economic impacts of the lock-down could be more harmful than the virus.
Read full article

People with coronavirus are at risk of blood clots and strokes. Here’s what we know so far

Reproduced from The Conversation
by Karlheinz Peter, Hannah Stevens and James McFadyen

As well as causing severe respiratory problems, there is mounting evidence COVID-19 causes abnormalities in blood clotting. Patients with severe COVID-19 infection appear to be at greater risk of developing blood clots in the veins and arteries.

Blood clots can occur deep in the veins of the leg (deep vein thrombosis) and can move to the lungs, causing a pulmonary embolism, which restricts blood flow and oxygen, and can be fatal.

The FODMAP diet is everywhere, but researchers warn it's not for weight loss

Low FODMAP foods, but quantity matters

by Dr Jane Varney, Department of Gastroenterology, Monash University, reproduced from The Conversation

The FODMAP diet is used to help manage irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but it’s becoming more popular. Now bloggers and so-called health gurus have jumped on board, claiming it can treat everything from acne to weight loss.

While it would be great if the diet did help to manage these hard-to-treat conditions, these claims are closer to science fiction than science.

Improving gender imbalance at The Conversation

Could your research be the next big thing on
The Conversation?

The Conversation is hoping to improve a gender imbalance in the authors of their stories. They recently reported that less than 30% of pitches for their Science and Technology section came from women.

What causes chronic fatigue? What we know, don’t know and suspect

by Dr Mark Guthridge, Australian Centre for Blood Diseases

Around 200,000 people in Australia suffer from a debilitating illness often branded with the unfortunate name of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). I say “unfortunate” because this implies patients are simply tired, run-down, burnt-out or overly stressed.

But myalgic encephalomyelitis, or ME/CFS as it is now more commonly called, is a serious and incapacitating disease that can have a devastating impact on a patient’s life.

The Conversation with Paul Myles: Surgery isn’t always the best option, and the decision shouldn’t just lie with the doctor

Professors Ian Harris and Paul Myles (Head of the Anaesthesia and Perioperative Medicine department at the Alfred and Monash) explain why surgery isn’t always the best option, and the decision shouldn’t just lie with the doctor

Link to full story: theconversation.com/surgery-isnt-always-the-best-option-and-the-decision-shouldnt-just-lie-with-the-doctor-64228

Perspective: St Vincent’s scandal: what’s the protocol for chemotherapy and are low doses less effective?

St Vincent’s scandal: what’s the protocol for chemotherapy and are low doses less effective?

Ian Haines posits in his 'The Conversation' essay that there is actually no existing evidence to show that a flat dose of 100mg of carboplatin provides inferior outcomes in chemotherapy.

 

Ian Haines is Adjunct Clinical Associate Professor, AMREP Department of Medicine, Alfred Hospital, Melbourne & Senior Medical Oncologist and Palliative Care Physician, Melbourne Oncology Group, Cabrini Haematology and Oncology Centre, Wattletree Road, Malvern, Monash University
Reference: theconversation.com/st-vincents-scandal-whats-the-protocol-for-chemotherapy-and-are-low-doses-less-effective-63445

Perspective: Taking the long view: universities and their unique research role

Associate Professor Michael Biercuk writes in his Conversation article on the goal and function of universities to undertake research for long term public good:

" 

Businesses today are, by and large, focused on the short-term, and therefore are largely unable to consider investing in projects that might take a decade or more to realise a commercial outcome. They exist to generate profits for their leaders and shareholders, which requires constant revenue and profit growth today.

Universities, by contrast, exist only to engage in the generation and dissemination of knowledge. Relating to research, successful university programs therefore bring three main differentiating value propositions:

• the ability to work on problems for the public good, with little or no commercial gain, but potentially large social value
• consideration of problems that might be of great commercial value in the long-term, but require dedicated research on timescales that are unacceptable to commercial entities
• investment in critical capital-intensive infrastructure needed especially for technical fields. "

theconversation.com/taking-the-long-view-universities-and-their-unique-research-role-36647

Odd spot: Remind me again, what is thalidomide?

Phocomelia was a common birth defect
from taking thalidomide during pregnancy

The Conversation is running a series on thalidomide – the history of the tragedy, its long-term impacts and the fight for justice. In this story, medical historian Arthur Daemmrich sets the scene of the mid-20th century drug landscape and explains how thalidomide was marketed, used, and withdrawn after causing thousands of birth defects.

Research explainers: How training lowers immunity; HIV cure - still a way to go

Drs Fabien Vincent and Kim Murphy, Department of Immunology, explain how intense or prolonged exercise can lower immunity, but it's a short term effect, and can easily be counteracted with proper diet and hygiene.
https://theconversation.com/sick-of-exercise-heres-how-training-can-lower-immunity-29390