This week's top health stories

Oxygen may ease headache and migraine

Science Online - 25/07/2008
Some forms of oxygen therapy may help manage two types of debilitating headache pain, a new research review suggests.

Viagra gives athletes lift

AM - 25/07/2008
One of Australia's leading anti-doping experts predicts the Beijing Games will be marred by the use of legal drugs such as Viagra. The drug isn't on the list of banned substances but scientists say it can mimic the effects of the blood boosting agent - EPO.

Kidney recipient tracks down donor

7.30 Report - 24/07/2008
A persistent Canberra man has finally gotten the chance to thank the family that saved his life. Ken Pert received a kidney 22 years ago and was determined to find the donor's family and thank them.

Dangerous tuberculosis outbreak in PNG

7.30 Report - 24/07/2008
There has been a spate of cases in Papua New Guinea of a new strain of tuberculosis that is resistant to many widely used drugs.

Bloomberg, Gates take on tobacco companies

PM - 24/07/2008
Two of the world's richest men have joined forces to tackle smoking in the developing world. The Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg and the founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, have pledged $US500-million over the next five years to help people quit. They're warning one billion people could die this century from smoking-related diseases.

Australians less depressed, more medicated

Science Online - 24/07/2008
Rates of depression may not be increasing as much as is popularly believed, according to an Australian study.

Complementary health visits up by 50 per cent

PM - 23/07/2008
The number of people visiting complementary health professionals in Australia has increased by 50 per cent in the past decade. The biggest users of complementary medicine are women in rural areas.

Predictions drug cheats may use gene doping

PM - 23/07/2008
The drug scandals on yet another Tour de France have only helped highlight the challenges facing Beijing as it tries to present a "clean" Olympics. The world anti-doping authority says China will have a better chance than ever before with a planned 4,500 tests, a 25 per cent increase on the number of samples taken in Athens.

Drummers as fit as athletes: study

The World Today - 23/07/2008
British sports scientists tested the heart rate and oxygen intake of rock drummers during a gig and found they have as much stamina as elite athletes. But some drummers say while they work up a sweat - they might not be as fit as an Olympian.

Hospital infections could be halved by clean hands: research

The World Today - 23/07/2008
The body advising the nation's health ministers says hospital-based infection rates could be halved if health care staff washed their hands more regularly and more thoroughly.