Table 1 – Types of vertigo (non-exhaustive list)[/caption]
Vomiting
In older people, dizziness significantly increases the risk of falls.7 Implementing appropriate interventions to address modifiable risk factors such as dizziness is of paramount importance. In cases of drug-induced dizziness, deprescribing can be considered if the medicine can be safely reduced, discontinued or substituted to prevent inappropriate prescribing cascades of potentially inappropriate medicines (PIM), especially in the context of older people.29
A national education program for pharmacists funded by the Australian Government under the Quality Use of Diagnostics, Therapeutics and Pathology program.[/caption]
The hypothalamus houses neurons that produce neuropeptides called orexin A and B, which were discovered in 1998, and represent one of the most exciting discoveries in sleep medicine.5,13–15 Orexin-producing neurons help us stay awake and alert, especially when we really need to focus, which is critical for survival.5,14 These neurons reach out to many brain areas that use other wakefulness messengers such as acetylcholine, dopamine, histamine, serotonin and noradrenaline. These areas ‘talk back’ to the hypothalamus, to further boost wakefulness signals.5 Similarly, the thalamus is an important region that also serves to relay wakefulness signals from the RAS.5
Another dual orexin receptor antagonist (DORA), vornorexant*, is under development and currently undergoing clinical trials.28 
Other medicines such as dimdazenil* (partial positive allosteric modulator at GABAA specific to alpha-1 and alpha-5 GABAA receptor subtypes)41 and zuranolone* (positive allosteric modulator for GABAA) have also been tested, with positive outcomes in trials. Zuranolone* is marketed overseas specifically for postnatal depression, but clinical trials for its use in insomnia are ongoing.40
Kristy Carter (she/her)
Louise Edwards (she/her) Pharmacists’ role in U=U campaign: World AIDS Day
Pharmacists have an important role to play in spreading the message that Undetectable Equals Untransmittable (U=U) on World AIDS Day, 1 December, and beyond.
The...
Medicine misadventure is common, reveals PSA
The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) has released a new report, Medicine Safety: Take Care, which highlights the extent of the unsafe use of...
The 4-decade remote rural pharmacist
This Rhonda White MPS opened her pharmacy in the opal mining town of Lightning Ridge, New South Wales in 1983, and never wants to leave.
Transforming medicine safety in aged care
PSA’s 2025 Early Career Pharmacist of the Year, Dr Kate Wang is shaping pharmacy education and aged care policy.
Age of anxiety
Anxiety is the most common mental health condition in Australia, and research shows the pandemic has only exacerbated the issue. Are we doing enough to support those who experience it?
Opinion: When a natural disaster hits
Dispensing from a house, a library and evacuation centres: that’s what happens in a flood.
It’s almost 10 years since a flood put the majority...
