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Research

Neisseria meningitidis is a gram-negative diplococcus and a transient commensal of the human nasopharynx. It shares and competes for this niche with a number of other Neisseria species including N. lactamica, N. cinerea and N. mucosa. Unlike these other members of the genus, N. meningitidis may become invasive, crossing the epithelium of the nasopharynx and entering the bloodstream, where it rapidly proliferates causing a syndrome known as Invasive Meningococcal Disease.

Research

The purpose of this study was to characterise neonatal Staphylococcus aureus (SA) sepsis in Western Australia (WA) between 2001 and 2020 at the sole tertiary neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), examine risk factors for sepsis in the cohort, and compare short- and long-term outcomes to control infants without any sepsis.

Research

Secondary prophylaxis to prevent rheumatic heart disease (RHD) progression, in the form of four-weekly intramuscular benzathine benzylpenicillin G (BPG) injections, has remained unchanged since 1955. Qualitative investigations into patient preference have highlighted the need for long-acting penicillins to be delivered less frequently, ideally with reduced pain.

Research

Perinatal inflammation increases the risk for bronchopulmonary dysplasia in preterm neonates, but the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms remain largely unknown. Given their anti-inflammatory and regenerative capacity, multipotent adult progenitor cells (MAPC) are a promising cell-based therapy to prevent and/or treat the negative pulmonary consequences of perinatal inflammation in the preterm neonate.

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Preterm infants are often vitamin A deficient, and vitamin A has functions that could mitigate the processes that lead to bronchopulmonary dysplasia. Therefore, supplementation of preterm infants with vitamin A to reduce the risk of bronchopulmonary dysplasia makes inherent sense.

Research

Current treatments for respiratory infections are severely limited. Ethanol's unique properties including antimicrobial, immunomodulatory, and surfactant-like activity make it a promising candidate treatment for respiratory infections if it can be delivered safely to the airway by inhalation. Here, we explore the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of inhaled ethanol in a phase I clinical trial.

Research

International and national oncofertility networks, including the US-led Oncofertility Consortium, FertiProtekt, and the Danish Network, have played pivotal roles in advancing the discipline of oncofertility over the last decade. Many other countries lack a shared approach to pediatric oncofertility health service delivery.

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In this series of eight articles, the Australian Traumatic Brain Injury Initiative consortium describes the Australian approach used to select the common data elements collected acutely that have been shown to predict outcome following moderate-severe traumatic brain injury across the lifespan.

Research

Australia’s mandatory vaccination policies have historically allowed for non-medical exemptions, but this changed in 2016 when the Federal Government discontinued non-medical exemptions for childhood vaccination requirements. Australian states introduced further mandatory vaccination policies during the COVID-19 pandemic for a range of occupations including healthcare workers.

Research

Diffuse midline glioma (DMG), including tumors diagnosed in the brainstem (diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma; DIPG), are uniformly fatal brain tumors that lack effective treatment.