MS fatigue may be preventable by healthy lifestyle
Lifestyle factors such as a healthy diet and not smoking can have a major influence on the course of fatigue in people with multiple sclerosis, a Victorian study has shown.
Protective associations were seen for healthy lifestyle scores on the subsequent risk of clinically significant fatigue 2.5 years later in 1,268 participants with MS in a Melbourne University study.
A higher Healthy Lifestyle Index Score (HLIS) was associated with 10% reduced risk of fatigue, while people with higher Smoking, Nutrition, Alcohol consumption, and Physical activity (SNAP) score had 18% reduced risk of fatigue when followed up, according to findings reported by Dr Tracey Weiland and colleagues in the European Journal of Neurology.
Behavioural modification and health lifestyle were underused for alleviating MS symptoms and disease course, they said.
Head injuries rare after seizures in children
Seizure- and syncope-related head injuries are rare in Australian children, a study has found.
Analysis of outcomes for 8857 children aged 5 to <18 years treated for head injuries in 10 paediatric EDs in Australia and New Zealand found that only 21 were seizure-related (0.2%) and 51 syncope-related (0.6%). Most of the injuries were superficial head trauma including scalp haematoma and head laceration. Of the 15% who had CT scans, all were normal and none of the children required neurosurgery. Similarly, none of the children was found to have an initially missed intracranial injury on follow up conducted within three months of the injury.
More information: Emergency Medicine Australia.
Specialists in top 10 for Australian incomes
Doctors led by surgeons and anaesthetists hold five of the 10 top places for high-income earners in Australia, according to ATO statistics for the 2018-19 financial year.
Internal medicine specialists were in third spot, with average taxable income of $304,752, although earnings varied by jurisdiction, from $343,353 in Western Australia to $287,437 in NSW and $269,158 in the Northern Territory.
Surgeons were Australia’s most highly remunerated occupation, with an average taxable income of $394,303, followed by anaesthetists on $386,065. Psychiatrists were in 5th place on $235,558, while ‘other medical practitioners’, in 6th place, recorded average earnings of $222,933.
By way of comparison, the average taxable income for Australians was $62,549 overall, ($73,218 for males, $51,382 for females). Besides doctors other high income occupations included financial dealers in 4th place with $275,984, judges and lawyers (7th) with $188,798 and mining engineers (8th) with $184,507.
Australian CEOs and managing directors recorded average incomes of $164,896, (9th) and engineering managers rounded out the list with $159,940.