Around the Precinct – 5 November 2020

Research shows that fighting disease not only saves lives but has huge economic benefits, we focus on the latest advances in epilepsy and look at why complex funding for home care is causing confusion among care recipients. Meanwhile, COVID-19 is raising fears among pregnant women, funding for a regional roll-out of a vaccine is welcomed, and Australia’s current success in managing the virus – including excellent results for ICU patients – is resulting in a widening gap between our region and the rest of the world. Here’s just some of the news from this week at the Alfred Research Alliance.

BURNET INSTITUTE

COVID-19 gap widens between Australia and the rest of the world

In an article that originally appeared in the The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, Burnet Institute’s Prof Mike Toole AM spoke of the ever-widening gap between our region and the rest of the world. While East Asia and the Pacific have been relatively successful in containing the disease, the infection and fatality numbers for Europe and the United States in particular are shocking, he said, admitting that the graphs plotting these cases had been startling for him as an epidemiologist. Read more…

Government funding for regional COVID vaccine rollout welcomed

Burnet Institute has warmly welcomed the Australian Government’s announcement of $500M over three years to assist in the safe and effective rollout of a COVID-19 vaccine in the Pacific and Southeast Asia. Announced recently, the funding will help ensure that countries in the region can achieve full immunisation coverage and is a ‘wise investement’ says Burnet Director and CEO Prof Brendan Crabb AC . Read more…

MONASH CENTRAL CLINICAL SCHOOL

Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy video published

Monash Central Clinical School’s annual public lecture was given on 29 October by Prof Terry O’Brien, Head of School. Prof O’Brien is a long-time clinician-researcher specialising in epilepsy. The title of the presentation was Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP): How Translational Research on Epilepsy is Finding Answers. Prof O’Brien ran through a case study, where the research is up to, why SUDEP happens and how it might be prevented. Click to view the video

Treating epilepsy more effectively yields high individual, social and economic returns

New data from Monash University reveal the huge cost of epilepsy in Australia, costing 14,000+ excess deaths up to age 70 years, $32.4 billion of lost gross domestic product (GDP), and $4.1 billion in direct healthcare costs. Researchers including Dr Emma Foster (pictured) from Monash CCS and A/Prof Zanfina Ademi from Monash SPHPM, showed that a 10% improvement in the treatment of seizures in patients with the disease would save the economy a staggering amount. Read more…

Congratulations to CCS Heart Foundation winner Jessica O’Brien

Heart Foundation Australia released details on their latest grant recipients this week, with 53 pojects worth $13.1 million funded to investigate the causes, treatment and prevention of heart disease, stroke and related disorders . Among the very worthy winners, which you can read about here was Monash CCS cardiologist and PhD student Dr Jessica O’Brien, who received an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Award. Read more…

MONASH PUBLIC HEALTH & PREVENTIVE MEDICINE

Forging a career in diabetes epidemiology

Prof Dianna Magliano is widely known in the Monash community as the coordinator of the Master of Public Health program and is well-regarded for the wide array of research and positions she has undertaken. This week, she talks about how her career has evolved, how she’s thriving in the public health and epidemiology scene, and is now exploring new areas as well as mentoring and motivating students. Read more…

Complex funding confuses care recipients

A billion dollars of unspent funds hints at the complexity of accessing home care packages, and researcher A/Prof Catherine Joyce recently found that people were unwilling to draw on support options because of confusion around what was being offered. Rectifying consumer confidence is imperative if older Australians are to proactively use the Home Care services made available to them in their later stages of life, A/Prof Joyce says. Read more…

COVID-19 fears among pregnant women

A new study reveals new mothers and pregnant women are worried by a lack of information around COVID-19 infection risks to them and their babies, and are facing increased mental health challenges as social support is curtailed during this important life stage. Dr Cheryce Harrison this week spoke to ABC’s Babytalk podcast about her findings, shedding light on what is really worrying new parents and how we might best offer support. Listen here…

Australians critically ill with COVID-19 faring better in ICU

The SPRINT-SARI project was launched to provide real time, detailed reporting of the sickest patients admitted to the ICU with confirmed or suspected COVID?19 infection. It showed Australians with COVID-19 who required intensive care fared far better than other parts of the world in wave one of the pandemic, with 80% of patients placed on a ventilator, and 95% of those who did not require mechanical ventilation, surviving their illness. Read more…