Tasmanian devils undergo plastic surgery

Scientists have used plastic surgery to shed new light on the deadly cancer wiping out tasmanian devils.

The devils are being killed by a contagious facial tumour disease transferred from animal-to-animal through biting.

Until now, scientists assumed the animals inbreeding was to blame.

They believed the low genetic diversity in the population meant devils could not reject the invading tumour cells.

But a plastic surgery experiment is making scientists reconsider the reason why the devils are being affected by the deadly tumours.

Associate Professor Greg Woods from the Menzies Research Institute says a plastic surgeon from a local hospital came to a bush site near Hobart to do skin grafts on devils.

"He really revolutionised the whole technique and brought out all his equipment," he said.

"What was really amazing was this was done out in the field, in the back of a truck ... the surgery went beautifully so it was really quite a nice way in which to do this research."

But there was a surprising result. Associate Professor Woods had assumed that the devils would accept skin grafts from each other.

That would have confirmed the researchers theory that the animals were catching the facial cancer from each other because the devils are so inbred.

But the devil's did not accept each other's skin.

"The graft got rejected quite nicely, which shows that the devils do have enough diversity to recognise foreign tissue," he said.

"This is really good news for the devil because it means that the devils' immune system can recognise foreign tissue.

"The challenge now is to work out what is special about those tumour cells to allow them to hide from the devils' immune system.

"I think it may be that the tumour is camouflaged; it's got a camouflage."

University of Sydney Associate Professor Kathy Belov, who has been studying the devil's genetics, says the researchers will now start studying the tumour cells.

"This has probably confused us more than anything else," she said.

"But we are going to come back and start thinking about what it means and how we can use this information to help us beat the disease."

The devil is considered an endangered species and faces extinction in about three decades if a cure for the disease is not found.

Source http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-07-22/20110722-plastic-surgery-sheds-light-on-devil-tumour/2806502

More properties under Hendra quarantine

FOUR properties have now been quarantined at Logan City, south of Brisbane, after a horse died from the Hendra virus at a Park Ridge property on Monday night.

Biosecurity Queensland says there was just one horse on the property but any of the seven horses on surrounding properties may have come into contact with it.

Samples will be taken from those horses for testing.

Staff from Queensland Health and Biosecurity Queensland have been doorknocking neighbours of the property where the horse died to provide information about the virus and confirm the location of other horses in the area.

Veterinarian Kylie Schaaf treated the horse at Park Ridge and is one of two people being tested for the virus in the area. The other is the horse's owner.

It is the second time Ms Schaaf has been tested for the Hendra virus after colleague Ben Cunneen died in 2008 while looking after an infected horse at Redlands Veterinary Clinic.

She told ABC Radio today she was not worried about her personal safety because she took all the necessary precautions, but she feels for those who have been affected.

But she said what she does want to see is the vaccine for horses made available quickly.

"Humans can't get infected by bats, however if we can vaccinate the horses which amplify the disease this will prevent them infecting people potentially or at least minimise the risk."

She said her understanding was that the vaccine could be available by March next year if the permit process was sped up.

Ms Schaaf said it was also now getting to the point where it was better to play it safe and take precautions any time a horse was treated.

"It's ridiculous when it could be prevented by simple vaccinations. People wouldn't be at a greater risk of dying," she said.

Eight properties in total are now under quarantine, with 42 horses being monitored.

Three of the properties are in the Beaudesert area and contain 28 horses, while the other property is at Mount Alford, near Boonah, and has seven horses.

Since June 20, six horses have died or have been put down after contracting Hendra - five in southern Queensland and one in northern New South Wales.

In Queensland, 17 people who were exposed to the sick horses are waiting to learn if they have contracted the potentially deadly virus.

Nine others linked to a Hendra case in northern NSW are also waiting for test results.

Premier Anna Bligh said today the new cases were worrying.

"The recent spate of diagnosis of Hendra virus are deeply concerning," Ms Bligh told reporters in Brisbane.

"My heart goes out to the people who are waiting for these results."

Source http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/more-properties-under-hendra-quarantine/story-e6frf7jx-1226089099057

Synthetic blood saves a life

The Victorian doctor who saved a woman's life using a transfusion of synthetic blood, says the product can help address the shortage of stock in regional Victoria and also address the imbalance in life expectancy between the city and the country.

Professor Mark Fitzgerald, who was raised in Teddywaddy West, south of Wycheproof in the state's north-west, faced with losing a patient who was unable to accept human blood transfusions due to religious beliefs had to get a blood substitute from the United States.

The director of trauma services at the Alfred hospital said he only knew about the existence of the synthetic blood, which is derived from cow blood, because he'd been involved in trials of the product in the US.

He said it was not a substitute for the real thing, but could go a long way towards addressing blood bank shortages.

"Half the people who die from injury die from blood lost," Professor Fitzgerald said.

"Our blood supplies aren't infinite and sometimes difficult to access and they need to be stored, the need to be refrigerated, they've only got a certain shelf life - essentially whole blood is only good for about a month.

"This product just carries haemoglobin, it doesn't need to be cross-matched, it can be left on the shelf for three years so it can have its advantages - particularly in the areas where you don't have very good or rapid access to blood."

Source http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/05/05/3209041.htm?site=ballarat

Backyard chillies spark chemical emergency

hillies drying in a Melbourne resident's backyard led to a chemical emergency last night.

An ambulance was called to a home in Cranbourne, in Melbourne's south-east, after two men were reported to be coughing and having difficulty breathing.

At one stage, up to 10 people in the area were complaining of feeling dizzy and nauseated.

The area was doorknocked and it emerged someone was drying out strong chillies in their backyard and that was the source of the fumes.

It was a still evening and homes up to 150 metres away were affected by the strong chilli smell.

Source http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/04/20/3196697.htm?site=melbourne

Australians unaware of bowel cancer toll

Just one in four Australians is aware that bowel cancer is the nation's second deadliest cancer, according to a new survey.

The lack of awareness reflects alarmingly slow progress in population screening for the disease, Cancer Council Australia said on Wednesday.

A Galaxy survey found only one in four Australians were aware that bowel cancer is the nation's biggest cancer killer after lung cancer.
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Cancer Council Australia is calling on the federal government to fully fund a bowel screening program.

"If the national bowel cancer screening program were fully funded and promoted, we would expect public awareness about the impact of bowel cancer to be much higher," chair of Cancer Council Australia's bowel cancer screening committee, Anita Tang, said.

"Yet 14 years after the benefits of screening were confirmed, all we have is a partial program that no longer targets new participants and faces an uncertain future."

The survey found the majority of people thought breast cancer was the biggest killer when, in fact, it is the fourth most deadly, after lung, bowel and prostate cancers.

"Breast cancer advocates have done an excellent job raising breast cancer awareness," Ms Tang said.

"If the Australian government does not announce a plan for the program's implementation in the 2011/12 budget, people affected by bowel cancer will be entitled to ask why they were denied the benefits of population screening."

Source http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/australians-unaware-of-bowel-cancer-toll-20110406-1d33a.html

Australia’s first transplanted hand starts moving

Peter Walsh, 65, a grandfather, with no hands or feet has been wriggling his new fingers after becoming the first Australian recipient of a hand transplant. He underwent a landmark nine-hour operation at St Vincent's Hospital this week after years of painstaking planning by Melbourne specialists.

Mr Walsh, who was a plumber lost both his hands, most of his left leg and part of his right foot four years ago to a bacterial infection which almost killed him. This week the grandfather of 16 from Cobben, in Victoria's west received a donor’s right hand. Surgeons have been cautious in declaring its short-term success - it is very early days - but Mr Walsh was yesterday displaying promising signs with his donated right hand. Prof Wayne Morrison, who led the surgical team said, “Peter was wriggling his fingers today…We actually don't want him to be moving his hand yet, but it's demonstrating everything is connected…Everything is on track.”

The next question is whether Mr Walsh's body accepts the donor hand. Sensation in his fingertips will not be felt for a year, if at all say surgeons. After four to five weeks, he should be able to perform basic movements, working towards making a fist. He will be undergoing physiotherapy now and given a lifetime of anti-rejection medication to prevent his body from rejecting the new hand.

About 60 hand and arm transplants have been performed around the world, with a very high success rate.

The medical director of hand transplant program at UCLA, Dr Sue McDiarmid said, “It is truly amazing to see the function that returns in these transplanted hands over the course of the months and even the years…Our patients do need to put some time in with the rehab, but I have seen patients restored to full use of their hands doing the things that you and I take for granted.”

Source http://www.news-medical.net/news/20110323/Australiae28099s-first-transplanted-hand-starts-moving.aspx

Melanoma rates climb for older men

New figures from the Cancer Council show the incidence of melanoma continues to rise in Victoria, especially in older men.

While the rate of melanoma in younger people are falling, the rate has been consistently rising for men aged over 60.

The Cancer Council's Professor Graham Giles says since 1982 there has been a 400 per cent increase in the incidence of melanoma among mature men.

"People deliberately out and roasted themselves to a nice bronze tan and it's not been till more recent decades that we've been trying to stop people doing that," he said.

He says the research also indicates people who live in rural areas have higher rates of melanoma than their city counterparts.

"If you live in the country, you're probably going to be exposed to sun in a different way to people who live in the city and work in offices," he said.

"It's also likely to be due to the demographic mix of people in the country compared to the town."

Steven Kirby, 53, of Ballarat, was diagnosed with melanoma last year and is urging people who work outdoors to be sun safe.

He has been working outside in farming and the construction industry for the past 30 years and has taken little notice of sunscreen.

"After all these years I think it sort of caught up with me. I have to have check ups every three months now," he said.

Source http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/09/3159170.htm