Latest news with #TGA
Leaders
a day ago
- Automotive
- Leaders
TGA Carries Out Over 219,000 Transport Inspections in Makkah, Madinah Ahead of Hajj
The Transport General Authority (TGA), in coordination with relevant entities, has intensified inspection efforts in Makkah and Madinah as part of preparations for the upcoming Hajj season. From the start of Dhu al-Qi'dah to the beginning of Dhu al-Hijjah, TGA teams conducted more than 219,772 inspections of transport services. These inspections led to the detection of over 20,429 violations, with an additional 5,996 violations recorded through automated monitoring systems. The initiative underscores the TGA's commitment to ensuring safe, efficient, and regulation-compliant transportation for pilgrims during Hajj. Violations identified included unlicensed drivers, failure to adhere to official uniform standards, unauthorized passenger transport, and the operation of freight vehicles without valid operating cards. The TGA encourages the public to report complaints or concerns related to transportation services by calling the unified number 19929 or reaching out via the X platform. Related Topics : Saudi Arabia Showcases Latest Industrial Innovations at Hannover Messe 2025 Saudi Arabia to Spotlight Industrial Innovation at Hannover Messe 2025 Industrial Transformation Saudi Arabia 2025 to Kick Off in December IsDB Group Commemorates Golden Jubilee Celebration Short link : Post Views: 32 Related Stories
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Urgent health warning as the terrifying side effects of Ozempic emerge
Dozens of Aussie weight loss drug injection patients have complained of symptoms consistent with drug-induced hepatitis, sparking a warning from experts for regular GP check-ups. Patients on GLP-1 agonists Wegovy and Ozempic reported flu-like symptoms, fatigue, abdominal cramps and vomiting, thought to be related to liver injury. The most severe cases were rushed to hospital after experiencing symptoms associated with inflammation of the liver. The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has received three separate reports of hepatitis or liver injury associated with semaglutide medicine use – marketed as Ozempic and Wegovy. Two patients were on Ozempic while the other was using Wegovy. Patients on Mounjaro have also expressed concerns online. 'Any of you on Mounjaro have had to stop taking it due to it affecting your liver? I'm currently in hospital with medication induced hepatitis and they're positive it's from the Mounjaro,' one woman wrote. Another commented: 'Wegovy badly affected my liver and I had to stop, fortunately I didn't end up in hospital'. The woman said she would have to stop her course of Mounjaro after switching from Wegovy after blood tests revealed that her liver function has been slightly abnormal. Experts have noted that, while rare, some patients had issues metabolising GLP-1 agonists. The issue could cause the development of hepatoxicity, a direct drug toxicity from the medicines. Medical experts urged patients on weight loss injections regular check-ups to avert permanent liver damage. Royal Australian College of GPs' Gary Deed said patients should always monitor symptoms when starting a new course of drugs. 'Many doses have been administered in clinical trials and there doesn't appear to be anything common, but any drug has issues to the metabolism in the kidney or liver, some more than others, for instance paracetamol,' he told the Daily Telegraph. 'Just be aware of signs and symptoms on the liver, one of the issues of using GLP-1 agonists is nausea and hepatoxicity can be hidden in that. 'Worldwide, these events are rare, but these case reports are just emerging and cannot be ignored and should be researched – these symptoms are a good wake-up call.' Many celebrities have openly talked about trying drug injections like Ozempic to assist with weight loss, including Aussie actress Rebel Wilson (above) Those using semaglutide injections should monitor any potential side-effects and regularly visit their GP for check-ups and weigh-ins. The TGA received their first hepatitis report associated with semaglutide in September 2022. No official reports so far have been associated with Mounjaro. Ozempic was first approved for use in Australia in August 2019. Wegovy was approved in September 2022 followed by Mounjaro three months later. The TGA advised patients who suspects they are suffering an adverse effect of any weight loss injection to contact a health professional. The governing body encourages patients to report all suspected adverse events. Semaglutide works by emulating a hormone called GLP-1 which helps regulate insulin, appetite and digestions among other roles.
9 News
4 days ago
- Health
- 9 News
Brisbane clinic offering new pain-free breast screen technology
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Pain-free breast cancer CT scans are now being offered for the first time in Australia. Conventional mammograms require compressing the breast which can be painful, particularly for women with dense breasts. However, Cone Beam Breast CT offers a pain free alternative, and experts using it say it gives superior clarity, particularly for women with dense breasts. Pain-free breast cancer CT scans are now being offered for the first time in Australia. (9News) About a third of Australian women over 50 have dense breasts and about 25 per cent of women under the age of 50 have extremely dense breasts. The new technology is approved by the FDA in the United States with registration pending in Australia. Breast screening patient Belinda Yates got access through the TGA's special access scheme and said it's a completely different experience to mammograms. "Firstly there's no pain associated with the scan... there is no touching of your breast whatsoever," 46-year-old Yates said. "This was advised as a good test for me to have to see a clearer picture." Brisbane Radiology is the first clinic in Australia to use the technology after evaluating 10 years of research overseas. "It is really great for detecting small lesions with women with dense breasts and with complex breasts," Dr Jacqueline Milne said. "I honestly believe that this will change the paradigm for imaging in Australia, particularly for women with dense breasts." A contrast dye injection gives even greater visibility. "We wait two minutes and then the same scan is performed," she said. The scans can also be used to plan surgery to conserve the breast. "Women survive breast cancer now so we don't want to leave deformities," breast and endocrine surgeon Dr Ben Green said. "So having clarity about what tissue I need to remove, what volume of defect will be behind and how I'll fill that can result in less surgery, less need to come back and have further operations," he said. The emerging technology has an out of pocket cost of nearly $300 and is not part of the BreastScreen program, which provides free mammograms for women over 40. But the national body today posted new guidelines recommending for the first time that women are notified about their breast density. Queensland, Tasmania and the territories are yet to roll out the reporting system. Vicki Durston from the Breast Cancer Network wants all states and territories to adopt the standard. "We know 2D mammography can reduce sensitivity down to 64 per cent - so we want to see for those at high risk or those with high breast density - have the options of supplementary screening that is available for all," Durston said. A review by BreastScreen on the latest advances in screening technology is yet to be released. A spokesperson for the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing said: "At present, there is no consensus on the optimal screening pathway for those with increased mammographic density." However authorities stress mammograms detect the majority of breast cancers in Australia and remain the technology for mass screening for women of all breast densities. "Additional imaging tests are only available outside of the BreastScreen Australia may incur out of pocket costs." Breast Cancer national health Brisbane queensland tasmania CONTACT US
The Australian
4 days ago
- Business
- The Australian
Cardiex launches $6.5m capital raise
Cardiex is raising up to $6.5m via a $2.4m institutional placement and a $4.1m entitlement offer Funds will support the commercial expansion of CONNEQT Health, covering devices and digital arterial health solutions C2 Ventures has committed $1.94m and will sub-underwrite up to $1.2m of the entitlement shortfall, subject to approvals Health technology company Cardiex (ASX:CDX) has announced a capital raise of up to $6.5 million through a $2.4 million share placement to institutional and sophisticated investors, and a $4.1 non-renounceable entitlement offer to eligible shareholders. The funds will support the continued commercial rollout of the company's CONNEQT Health business, which includes both medical devices and digital software solutions for arterial health monitoring and patient engagement. The CONNEQT Health platform includes the FDA-cleared CONNEQT Pulse device – a home-use monitor that measures arterial stiffness and central blood pressure – as well as a connected mobile app that recently added a cardiology reporting feature to help users and clinicians interpret data. The Pulse began shipping to the US in January and has been added to the national Blood Pressure Validated Device Listing. In May, Cardiex lodged a submission with the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) to register the device for sale in Australia. The offer price is $0.04 per share. C2 Ventures Pty Ltd, an investment vehicle jointly owned by Cardiex directors Craig Cooper and Niall Cairns, has committed to subscribe for $736,000 in the institutional placement, subject to shareholder approval. The company has also committed to take up its full $1.2 million entitlement under the entitlement offer. In addition, C2 Ventures will sub-underwrite up to $1.2 million of any shortfall in the entitlement offer, subject to compliance with regulatory requirements. 'This capital raise is a pivotal step in our journey to scale CONNEQT Health into a category leader in arterial health solutions,' said CEO Craig Cooper. 'With strong support from new and existing shareholders, including C2 Ventures, we're now well positioned to accelerate our commercial rollout, expand our supply chain and deliver on our vision to make arterial health monitoring accessible to millions.' The entitlement offer will open on June 6, 2025 and close on June 20, 2025, with allotment and final settlement expected later that month. A shareholder meeting to approve the C2 Ventures placement allocation is scheduled for July. Blackpeak Capital, Stralis Capital Partners, and Taylor Collison have been appointed as Joint Lead Managers to the raise, with Blackpeak Capital also acting as underwriter to the entitlement offer. Taylor Collison is managing both institutional and retail components. The company is proposing a webinar to update on activities with details to be announced shortly. This article was developed in collaboration with Cardiex, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing. This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
ABC News
6 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Air inside IV fluid bags from overseas posing an extra risk in emergencies
Imported "inferior" IV fluids containing as much as 12 times more air than those made in Australia are posing a heightened air embolism risk in emergencies for clinicians to manage. As Australia began to grapple with a global shortage of critical IV fluids in 2023, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) moved to approve multiple products from overseas to help fill the gap. But having helped with one problem, those alternatives are now posing another: they contain significantly more air than the IV fluids manufactured in Australia. An example cited by NSW Health shows the stark contrast between an IV fluid bag made in Australia, containing about 5 millilitres of air, and an imported bag from the US, containing about 60 millilitres of air. Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) president David Story said the additional air could pose an issue in an emergency situation, when using what is called a pressurised infusion. "For patients who are getting what we call maintenance fluids, virtually all the pumps we use in Australia have an air detector so that reduces the risk," he said. "However when we have a crisis — so a patient may be bleeding heavily — we need to get fluids in quickly, we sometimes put a pressure bag around the bag of fluid to really force the fluid in as fast as we can get it in to resuscitate the patient. "And that is where it is possible for air, where the bags are pressurised, to be pushed into the patient." Professor Story said in rare cases that could cause an air embolism, where an air bubble enters a vein or artery, which can sometimes stop blood flow, causing a cardiac arrest or stroke. "If you have only fairly small amounts of air sometimes the lungs can absorb it … however, a much bigger volume — and 60 millilitres is the sort of volume we're talking about — you can get an air bubble lock in to the heart or the arteries or the lungs, which could prevent blood flow and effectively produce a cardiac arrest," he said. "This is a very rare event and what we try to avoid, but by having a product coming into the country — particularly where most of the products used in Australia do not have air in them — clinicians may not immediately think about the air problem, particularly in a crisis." Professor Story said the bags with more air could be particularly problematic for infants and children, because of their size. "At about one to two millilitres per kilo is where there's complete loss of blood flow. So the smaller the person, the smaller the volume that would be required to produce very serious complications, including a cardiac arrest." IV fluids like saline and sodium lactate solution are essential medicines used across the sector for everything from treating dehydration to helping patients in intensive and post-operative care. Australia has received about 1.5 million units of imported IV fluids since 2023. Professor Story said while the overseas-made fluids weren't of the same quality as the locally made bags, they were necessary in the grip of a global shortage. "The products being imported are inferior to the ones we routinely use in Australia, but we have had an urgent need to have more fluids," he said. "And unfortunately, this is one of the consequences and things we have to deal with." A response group set up to examine the shortage, comprised of the states, territories and various stakeholders, raised the issue at its meeting in February. The communique, obtained by the ABC, notes the taskforce agreed The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare — which develops clinical standards — would review safety messaging regarding the risk of air embolisms, to determine if further detail was required. Australian Medical Association (AMA) President Danielle McMullen said the response group was working to both mitigate the risk of air embolisms and communicate it to clinicians. "There's now a good understanding across the sector that this is a potential risk, and I want to emphasise that it is still low risk but in medicine, we take everything really seriously, and obviously, if there is a risk, we want to manage it," she said. "[Health practitioners] are using the local supply in the urgent scenarios and then using the international products where clinicians might not be as familiar with them in lower risk scenarios, like just hanging a bag of extra fluids when people are up on the ward and it's being given quite slowly." The response group also noted there continues to be reports of difficulties with supply of fluids, particularly in community practices. In March the federal government announced Australian production of IV fluids would ramp-up dramatically, following criticism over its handling of severe shortages of the essential medicine. Health Minister Mark Butler said the move would shore-up Australia's supply of the critical medicine and reduce reliance on products made offshore. The ongoing shortage has frustrated doctors, who have complained of being instructed to "gatekeep" IV fluids by having decide which patients to give them to. The ABC also revealed that at the height of the shortage, patients were having to stay in hospital care units after surgery for longer because doctors were rationing the fluids. A spokesperson for the TGA said "all bags of IV fluids contain varying amounts of air". "The risk of air embolism under pressurised infusion is not unique to section 19A approved products," they said. "Regardless of the amount of air, there is a risk of air embolism when administering any IV fluid without the use of an in-line air detection device. "Risk mitigation strategies should always be considered when administering any IV fluid via pressurised infusion, regardless of the amount of air in the bag."
