Dr Feelgood Sunday January 12th 2003

THE COCHRANE COLLABORATION

EVIDENCE BASED MEDICINE

How to discriminate fact from fiction

In 1972 an English Epidemiologist (epidemiology is the study of populations and disease) called Archie Cochrane wrote a book and pointed out that while scientists had collected a great deal of data over the years no one had ever collated it all. He recognised that people now wanted to be able to make informed decisions about their health care but do not have access to reliable reviews of all the available evidence.

In 1979, he wrote "It is surely a great criticism of our profession that we have not organised a critical summary, by specialty or subspecialty, adapted periodically, of all relevant randomized controlled trials." (taken from Cochrane Collaboration home page)

In 1987, the year before he died, Archie's dream started to become reality . Now the Cochrane Collaboration is a world wide organization where researchers all over the world work together to gather up to date evidence about medical treatments and diseases and draw conclusions as to the status of our knowledge about those conditions and treatments based on the evidence available.

The Federal Government has funded an Australasian Cochrane Collaboration so that anyone may access information about health issues . It is online and information in abstract (summary) form is free.

There is also a consumer version of the Cochrane Collaboration here in Australia and Hilda Bastion ,a health consumer expert, will join us today to talk about how to determine health fact form fiction.

http://www.cochrane.org.au  visit the Cochrane Collaboration home page 

 www.cochraneconsumer.com visit the Cochrane Consumer page

www.quackwatch.org  check out this fabulous site in the USA 

http://www.skeptics.com.au/ visit the Australian Skeptics society !

CELEBRITY CHECK UP

JUDI CONNELLI

Judi Connelli one of Australia's leading singer-actors. She has starred in Opera, musical theatre and Cabaret. She received a Helpmann nomination for best female Actor in a Musical category for her portrayal Mrs Lovett, the Pie-making accomplice to murder in Opera Australia's acclaimed production of Sondheim's Sweeney Todd . She has also played roles including Katisha in the Mikado, Golda in Fiddler on the roof and Mama Rose in Gypsy.

Judi is currently starring in Cabaret as Fraulein Schneider now showing at Her Majesties theatre in Melbourne. Cabaret has completed its season in Sydney, and is soon to come to Brisbane in March. 

I saw the show last week and Judi was brilliant! Its a MUST see. production - it made me realise that the movie was brilliant but the stage show has everything the movie had but really captures the mood of Pre War Berlin and gives real insight into the emotional devastation that the politics of the day caused. 

Judi is also acclaimed overseas as a cabaret singer herself playing at the famous Carnegie hall in New York as well as the New York Cabaret Convention.

She has released 6 Albums and has been honoured with the Melbourne Critics Green room award, 2 Mo awards New York's coveted Dramalogue Award for most outstanding act in 1997 and the New York Bistro award for best vocalist in 1998

You will also know Judi for her TV roles in GP, A Country Practice, and Pack Of Women Judi joins me in the studio for celebrity check up

Click here for more info on Cabaret the musical ( including booking)

Click here for more info on Judi’s albums

LOVE YOUR WORK 

OPTOMETRY

Optometrists are eye health care professionals who do more than prescribe spectacles. To become an optometrist it takes 4 years intensive university course work in clinical eye health as well as the physics of light and vision.

Optometry has changed over recent decades. As well as continuing to prescribe corrective spectacles and contact lenses they are now managing other eye conditions.

Ian Douglas is an optometrist and he will be joining me to tell us about optometry today

Click here to find out about Optometry Australia

HEALTHY PASTIMES Pt 1

BOCCE

Yesterday we talked about Lawn Bowls and local Clubs well there is another European version that's been played in parks around the country since the beginning of last century. Bocce has been an organised sport in Australia the 1960's. A national bocce championship was staged in Australia for the first time in 1970. Junior Championships were initiated in 1982 and the Women joined in, in 1995. Australia began to compete in international events, including the World Championships which are held every two years in 1974. In 1979 and 1985, the World Doubles Championship was staged in Melbourne and the Junior World Championship in 1988. Australia has competed in every World Doubles and Fours Championship since 1974, their best being a third in the Doubles in 1988. They were also runners-up in both the newer Precision and Progressive Throws in 1991. ( from www.bocce.net )

Click HERE for more information on Bocce in Australia 

HEALTHY PASTIMES Pt 2

BIRDWATCHING

I don't know that I would make a good birdwatcher - I don't know that I could a) sit still long enough or b) keep quiet long enough. However I have to say that waking up to the warbles of maggies or the sounds of a wattle bird imitating some distant cousin always makes me smile.

Birdwatching is an old and very popular pastime. Respecting birds in their natural habitat and enjoying observing them go about their activities can certainly ground your senses if they have been frayed by city life

Roy Sonnenburg, Past President Birds Queensland will join us to explain more about Birdwatching

Click HERE for more info about Bird Watching Australia

DISEASE OF THE WEEK 

SHINGLES

Last week during our Aromatherapy segment a listener rang in with the suggestion that Peppermint oil helped persistent pain she had following an episode of shingles. I was not aware of this treatment. Her call prompted me that Shingles is often an ill understood and common condition.

There is much confusion around this condition and I thought today would be a good opportunity to clear this up. Dr Joe Sasadeuz is an expert in viruses and he will join us to do just that

Shingles is caused by the Chickenpox virus (Varicella Zoster).When someone is infected for the first time with this virus they get Chickenpox. The rash clears but the virus stays living in their body quietly. It lives in the base of sensory nerves where they branch off at the spinal cord. When stimulated the virus can wake up and cause a skin rash and pain. The virus is loosely grouped with the Herpes family of viruses as it behaves in a similar way - the other name for Shingles is HERPES ZOSTER.

Each of the so called peripheral nerves that branch off the spine has its own territory of the body that it supplies. There are motor nerves that supply muscle and send messages to make them move and there are sensory nerves that bring back messages to the spine and ultimately up to the brain when areas of skin are or tissue are stimulated. The Varicella Virus can become active under certain circumstances like severe stress - physical or psychological. When activated the virus travels down the nerve and causes a rash in the area of skin "owned" by that nerve. These areas are constant and quite specific - they are called dermatomes. Your doctor may well have a Dermatome map on the wall in the surgery - they are spectacular looking things

The Shingles rash is painful and sometimes people can suffer ongoing pain after an episode called "post herpetic neuralgia" . This condition can be debilitating and difficult to treat

One BIG misconception about Shingles about contagiousness

Here are the facts

You must have already been exposed to the Chicken pox virus in order to get SHINGLES -

AND exposure to the virus will cause CHICKEN POX initially ( not shingles - that comes later!).

Being exposed to some one who has CHICKENPOX wont GIVE you an attack of SHINGLES ( and if you have had chickenpox in the past you shouldn't get it again - you usually have life long immunity to Chickenpox once you have had the condition )

HOWEVER ----- SOMEONE who IS NOT immune to CHICKENPOX CAN get this from you IF you have an active attack of SHINGLES - the virus is active in the lesions.

A vaccine is now available for people who have never been exposed to Chickenpox - hopefully this will reduce the incidence of Shingles too .

Click HERE for more info on SHINGLES

click HERE for  fact sheet from Australian Herpes Management forum

SENIORS COMPUTING

Nan Bosler the president of Australians Seniors Computer Clubs Association joins us again for more tips on computers for seniors - if you have a friend or relative who ISNT into it - give them a hand and get them along to one of the clubs neat them. There are lists on the ASCCA website.

Click HERE to visit the ASSCA site