Latest news with #ŌtākouWhakaihuWaka
Scoop
a day ago
- Health
- Scoop
No One-Size-Fits-All For Migraine Treatments: Survey
About half of people with migraine disease turn to non-medication treatments in an attempt to ease their symptoms, new Otago research reveals. A survey conducted by researchers from the University of Otago, Wellington – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka, Pōneke, has just been published in the Journal of Clinical Medicine. The Migraine in Aotearoa New Zealand survey has examined the use of supplements and complementary therapies by people in New Zealand with migraine disease. Participants were asked about supplements such as magnesium, riboflavin (vitamin B2) and coenzyme Q10 and complementary therapies including acupuncture, biofeedback, neuromodulation devices, meditation, yoga and massage. Co-author Dr Fiona Imlach, Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Public Health and co-founder of the Migraine Foundation, says many people with migraine don't take medication to prevent migraine attacks, but there are non-pharmacological approaches that can help. 'No previous research has looked at the use of these approaches in Aotearoa, so it's a new finding that about half of the 530 survey respondents were currently using a supplement and even more, 58 per cent, were using complementary therapy.' Although most non-pharmacological treatments are considered safe or low-risk, the quality of evidence for their effectiveness can be low. The survey focused on treatments that were included in international guidelines on migraine management, including those not easily accessed in New Zealand, such as neuromodulation devices, that work by stimulating nerves in order to change the way that pain signals in the brain are processed. However, access to neuromodulation devices is limited and costly, with previous distributors pulling out of the New Zealand market, Dr Imlach says. 'Neuromodulation devices and other therapies could be beneficial for both patients and for workplaces, by decreasing the number of days people are affected by migraine, improving quality of life and people's ability to work. 'These approaches can also be a good option for people who can't or don't want to take medication, such as during pregnancy. So even though people said they would like to try non-medication treatments as part of their migraine management plan, they can be expensive and hard to find information about.' The survey also confirmed there is no single approach to migraine prevention that is universally effective, so people have to use trial and error. 'For all of the treatments we asked about, there were many people who had tried them but they didn't work or had side effects. 'There were also those who hadn't tried them before but wanted to. All of this speaks to the huge need for more effective migraine treatments, both medication and non-medication. 'New Zealand is lagging behind other countries with regards to funding and access to migraine-prevention medication and other therapies.' 'In addition, much more research is needed to understand the underlying pathophysiology of migraine and identify alternative treatments for those who continue to have frequent and severe migraine attacks despite trying many therapies.' Publication details: Use of Non-Pharmacological Approaches for Migraine Treatment: Results from the Migraine in Aotearoa New Zealand Survey Authors: Dr Fiona Imlach, Susan Garrett Journal of Clinical Medicine DOI:
Scoop
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Budget 2025 – A Fiscal Hole Filled By Taking From The Most Vulnerable
Te Hautū Kahurangi | Tertiary Education Union warns that this year's budget doesn't contain enough new money to keep the lights on. Te Pou Ahurei | National Secretary Sandra Grey says 'the funding commitments made, even in the STEM subjects and those described by the ministers as 'workforce demand areas', fail to cover rising costs in the sector.' 'The shortfall of new money will be met by job cuts, increased student fees, and propping up the system by hoping more international students will come.' 'This is another example of a government that has created a fiscal hole, filling it by taking from the most vulnerable. They have done it to Māori by cancelling Whānau Ora contracts, they have done it to women by cancelling pay equity and now they are doing it to young people by making education unaffordable, and defunding subjects like arts and the humanities.' 'Instead of showing leadership by investing money in our future workforce, they would rather give tax breaks to landlords and tobacco companies.' Craig Marshall, an Associate Professor in the School of Biomedical Sciences at Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka | The University of Otago, says 'it's regrettable that this should have happened and it illustrates a failure to understand what a proper education system is.' 'For funding on STEM to almost match inflation is beneficial but most universities would be looking at ways of ensuring that their humanities programes remain viable. If you don't know the value of what people want and how they intend to use it then the thing has little value. Humanities tell us about the way people think, which is something we also need to know.'
RNZ News
27-04-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
The link between eye health and dementia
A link between eye health and dementia has been uncovered using data and scans from the Dunedin Longitudinal Study. Researchers at the University of Otago have discovered changes to the blood vessels at the back of the eye may indicate someone is at greater risk of developing dementia. Dr Ashleigh Barrett-Young is the co-lead author of the study. She is a Research Fellow in the Department of Psychology, University of Otago/Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka. Susie asked Ashleigh what researchers have been looking for and what those discoveries mean. Photo: Public domain
Otago Daily Times
26-04-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Link between eye health and dementia
Researchers have uncovered a link between eye health and dementia using data from the Dunedin Longitudinal Study, which could help identify the cognitive syndrome early. University of Otago/Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka researcher, Dr Ashleigh Barrett-Young, told RNZ's Saturday Morning programme today that changes to the blood vessels at the back of the eye could indicate someone is at greater risk of developing dementia. Barrett-Young, co-lead author of the study and a Research Fellow in the university's Department of Psychology, told Susie Ferguson there were two categories of retinal measurements. "We looked at the thickness of a couple of the cell layers from the retina. These are the same cells that form the optic nerve - they connect directly with the brain. "And we also looked at the blood vessels at the back of the eye because they're closely related to the blood vessels in the brain." She said the idea was that if there was any sign of disease in the brain, then it should also be able to be seen in the eye. The study participants were aged 45 when the data was collected, which Barrett-Young said was usually too young to be diagnosed with dementia. However, she said co-author of the research, Dr Aaron Reuben, created a comprehensive index of different types of dementia risk-factors including genetic, family history, smoking, physical activity, hearing impairment, blood pressure and a history of head injuries. Reuben combined them to make a single risk score, and the retinal measurements were checked off against this, Barrett-Young said. "So we found that both the cellular thickness' and the blood vessel measurements were associated with increased risk for developing dementia based on those risk scores, though the blood vessels did show a stronger association." Barrett-Young said there were too types of blood vessels at the back of the eye. "One is arterioles - you can think of them like mini-arteries," she said. "(It's the) same as when you have heart disease or when you have atherosclerosis. There starts getting build-up in those blood vessels and so they tend to narrow so the blood isn't flowing as well." On the other side were venuals, which were like "mini veins". "They tend to be subject to greater inflammation which means they end up widening so that they're not working as effectively either." The changes taken separately indicated different things but together indicated the blood vessel system was not working as well as it could. Barrett-Young said it was difficult to know how much more at risk these factors made people, for developing dementia. "I think we're getting slowly closer to a better answer for that." How AI could help Barrett-Young said Alzheimer's disease and other dementias begin a long time before any symptoms became apparent, possibly even decades before people noticed cognitive decline. "Currently Alzheimer's disease and dementia are usually diagnosed based on cognitive tests, including memory tests, things like that. "But part of the problem is that we all experience some age-related changes in our memory and processing speed over time and that's just completely normal. "So it takes a while until it's clear that the cognitive decline is beyond a level that is typical of normal ageing and that might suggest that a person has Alzheimer's disease or another type of dementia. "But that's what makes it really hard to diagnose Alzheimer's disease in the early stages when the damage is only just beginning, and when any interventions we can do, like lifestyle changes, might have the greatest impact." Barrett-Young said the longitudinal study gave the researchers decades of history on each subject. She believed artificial intelligence would play a part in helping to use the retina as a biomarker for determining a person's risk of dementia. "What we're able to tell is that there are really small changes in the eye that we probably wouldn't pick up using your standard optometry or ophthalmology tests but that taking those images and being able to use artificial intelligence may be able to give you an idea of a person's risk for dementia. "So perhaps in the future AI will be able to tell you whether you're at increased risk of developing Alzheimer's, even possibly years before you have the disease."
Otago Daily Times
25-04-2025
- Health
- Otago Daily Times
Researchers uncover link between eye health and dementia
Researchers have uncovered a link between eye health and dementia using data from the Dunedin Longitudinal Study, which could help identify the cognitive syndrome early. University of Otago/Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka researcher, Dr Ashleigh Barrett-Young, told RNZ's Saturday Morning programme today that changes to the blood vessels at the back of the eye could indicate someone is at greater risk of developing dementia. Barrett-Young, co-lead author of the study and a Research Fellow in the university's Department of Psychology, told Susie Ferguson there were two categories of retinal measurements. "We looked at the thickness of a couple of the cell layers from the retina. These are the same cells that form the optic nerve - they connect directly with the brain. "And we also looked at the blood vessels at the back of the eye because they're closely related to the blood vessels in the brain." She said the idea was that if there was any sign of disease in the brain, then it should also be able to be seen in the eye. The study participants were aged 45 when the data was collected, which Barrett-Young said was usually too young to be diagnosed with dementia. However, she said co-author of the research, Dr Aaron Reuben, created a comprehensive index of different types of dementia risk-factors including genetic, family history, smoking, physical activity, hearing impairment, blood pressure and a history of head injuries. Reuben combined them to make a single risk score, and the retinal measurements were checked off against this, Barrett-Young said. "So we found that both the cellular thickness' and the blood vessel measurements were associated with increased risk for developing dementia based on those risk scores, though the blood vessels did show a stronger association." Barrett-Young said there were too types of blood vessels at the back of the eye. "One is arterioles - you can think of them like mini-arteries," she said. "(It's the) same as when you have heart disease or when you have atherosclerosis. There starts getting build-up in those blood vessels and so they tend to narrow so the blood isn't flowing as well." On the other side were venuals, which were like "mini veins". "They tend to be subject to greater inflammation which means they end up widening so that they're not working as effectively either." The changes taken separately indicated different things but together indicated the blood vessel system was not working as well as it could. Barrett-Young said it was difficult to know how much more at risk these factors made people, for developing dementia. "I think we're getting slowly closer to a better answer for that." How AI could help Barrett-Young said Alzheimer's disease and other dementias begin a long time before any symptoms became apparent, possibly even decades before people noticed cognitive decline. "Currently Alzheimer's disease and dementia are usually diagnosed based on cognitive tests, including memory tests, things like that. "But part of the problem is that we all experience some age-related changes in our memory and processing speed over time and that's just completely normal. "So it takes a while until it's clear that the cognitive decline is beyond a level that is typical of normal ageing and that might suggest that a person has Alzheimer's disease or another type of dementia. "But that's what makes it really hard to diagnose Alzheimer's disease in the early stages when the damage is only just beginning, and when any interventions we can do, like lifestyle changes, might have the greatest impact." Barrett-Young said the longitudinal study gave the researchers decades of history on each subject. She believed artificial intelligence would play a part in helping to use the retina as a biomarker for determining a person's risk of dementia. "What we're able to tell is that there are really small changes in the eye that we probably wouldn't pick up using your standard optometry or ophthalmology tests but that taking those images and being able to use artificial intelligence may be able to give you an idea of a person's risk for dementia. "So perhaps in the future AI will be able to tell you whether you're at increased risk of developing Alzheimer's, even possibly years before you have the disease."
