freelance science journalist and author
Medical reporting
From Nature Outlook, 11 September 2014: The immune system has evolved over millions of years to protect the human body against microbes, pathogens and parasites. Which makes it all the more puzzling to immunologists as to why, when it comes to helping the body defend itself against cancer, immunotherapy treatments designed to enhance the immune … Continue reading Lung cancer immunotherapy: chemical tricks
From ABC News in Science, 18 August 2014: The discovery of a link between Alzheimer’s disease and changes in several genes associated with inflammation opens a new frontier for investigation into the cause of the disease. Two independent studies, published today in Nature Neuroscience, support an emerging theory that inflammation may play a key role … Continue reading Genes point to immune role in Alzheimer’s disease
From ABC Health and Wellbeing, 7 August 2014: Picture someone having a heart attack, and most likely, the image you see is of an older man, clutching his chest and wincing. What you’re less likely to picture is a younger woman, maybe in her forties, with some shortness of breath, struggling with fatigue, complaining about … Continue reading Heart disease: not just a man’s problem
From Family Practice News, July 30 2014: Acetaminophen taken regularly or as required was no better than placebo in improving time to recovery in patients with acute low back pain, Australian research shows. A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-dummy study in 1,643 patients presenting with acute low back pain found the median time to recovery was 17 days, … Continue reading Acetaminophen no better than placebo for acute low back pain
From Internal Medicine News, 23 July 2014: MELBOURNE – Elevated total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in patients with coronary heart disease were significantly associated with an increased risk of chronic kidney disease, according to a retrospective analysis of data from two large, randomized, controlled trials. Data presented at the World Congress of Cardiology … Continue reading High total and LDL cholesterol levels increased risk of chronic kidney disease
From Internal Medicine News, 24 July 2014: MELBOURNE – A regimen of ABT-450 coformulated with ritonavir, ombitasvir, and dasabuvir, plus ribavirin, resulted in high rates of sustained virologic response in hepatitis C patients co-infected with HIV. Further, the treatment approach did not have a negative effect on HIV viral load. Data from the open-label study, … Continue reading Interferon-free HCV-1 regimen scored high in patients co-infected with HIV
From Skin and Allergy News, 21 July 2014: Tuberculosis, HIV, and malaria incidence and mortality have all declined significantly since the formulation of Millennium Development Goal 6 in 2000, which focused global attention on these three diseases and made them a priority. Analysis of data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 showed that … Continue reading Tuberculosis, malaria, and HIV in decline since Millennium Declaration
From Skin and Allergy News, 21 July 2014: Treatment with the interferon-free oral nucleotide analog sofosbuvir plus ribavirin achieved high rates of sustained virologic response in patients with HIV coinfected with hepatitis C, according to data from an open-label phase III study. Researchers observed an 82% response rate among treatment-naive patients coinfected with hepatitis C … Continue reading Sofosbuvir achieves sustained response in patients with hepatitis C and HIV
From Internal Medicine News, 22 July 2014: MELBOURNE – Men who have sex with men should consider pre-exposure prophylaxis with antiretroviral medications as an additional option to prevent HIV infection, according to the latest World Health Organization guidelines on HIV prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and care in high-risk populations. The guidelines, released at the 20th International … Continue reading WHO recommends HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis as a prevention option
From Family Practice News, 21 July 2014: Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation from HIV-naive individuals to HIV-1–positive individuals may achieve temporary antiretroviral-free remission of infection and loss of detectable HIV-1, a study showed. Two men with chronic HIV-1 infection received allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplants (HSCTs) from susceptible donors to treat Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, … Continue reading Stem cell transplantation achieved temporary HIV remission
Bianca Nogrady 