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HIV/AIDS
[Thabo Mohale] MASERU: A health centre in one of Lesotho's poorest districts has scored significant success in implementing a prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) programme, but health experts warn that a number of factors, including cultural beliefs and stigma, threaten to derail it.
Read more >> WASHINGTON: A chemical found in green tea helps inhibit sexual transmission of the virus which causes AIDS, said a study on Tuesday, 19 May 2009 that recommends using the compound in vaginal creams to supplement antiretrovirals.
Read more >>[Kristin Palitza] CAPE TOWN: International donors and African governments are likely to cut health budgets due to the global financial crisis. Health experts fear that increasing unemployment and poverty will lead to less food security and quality of nutrition, which will in turn put more stress on already weak health systems.
Read more >> Medical
Four districts in Kenya are still reporting cases of cholera, which has spread partly because of population movement and because of a water shortage, which has led to poor sanitation and hygiene, a senior health official said.
Read more >>Cardiology
As part of a multi-centre clinical trial, UC San Diego Medical Centre is evaluating the safety and effectiveness of a potential new way to treat angina - by injecting a protein that stimulates the growth of new oxygen-rich blood vessels directly into the heart. Angina is a debilitating form of chest pain caused by coronary artery disease that affects more than nine million Americans and many millions elsewhere around the world.
Read more >>Chronic diseases
Bonitas Medical Fund has announced that it will be joining the fight against cystic fibrosis (CF) by sponsoring Paul Dolman, the only CF sufferer to run in this year's Comrades Marathon, R100 per kilometre completed.
Read more >>Corporate Social Responsibility
Five organisations that nurture and care for children in need will benefit from this year's Birdies for Kiddies Campaign in which Vodacom will donate R500 for every birdie scored during the Vodacom Business Origins of Golf Tour.
Read more >>Malaria
The adverse impact of malaria in Africa is threatening to derail the continent's efforts to rid itself of the scourges of underdevelopment and poverty, said Nozipho January-Bardill, MTN Group executive: Corporate Affairs.
Read more >>Medical Research
For the first time, a combination of aspirin and the anti-platelet drug dipyridamole has been shown to significantly reduce blockages and extend the useful life of new artery-vein access grafts used for haemodialysis, according to a study by the Dialysis Access Consortium (DAC).
Read more >>Eating fish - long considered 'brain food' - may really be good for the old grey matter, as is a healthy dose of sunshine, new research suggests, and the key is Vitamin D.
Read more >>Medical Technology
Analyzing MRI studies of the brain with software developed at the Martinos Centre for Biomedical Imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) may allow diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and of mild cognitive impairment, a lesser form of dementia that precedes the development of Alzheimer's by several years.
Read more >>Mental health
At times of crisis women are more inclined to spend themselves out of misery than at stable times, a new survey suggests. Psychologists say that the recession could force more women to overspend or increase their risk of mental illness.
Read more >>Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Women can increase their chances for a healthy pregnancy by eating right, exercising, not smoking, and getting early medical care, says a podcast featuring a National Institutes of Health obstetrician who oversees research on pregnancy and birth.
Read more >>Oncology
The number of people diagnosed with the deadliest form of skin cancer has crashed through the 10 000 barrier after an alarming rise in new cases, according to the latest Cancer Research UK figures revealed on 24 May 2009.
Read more >>Brooklynn Spencer's mother Samantha knew something wasn't right. The 8-month-old had the flu recently, but it had been four weeks. She should have been better. The Elmira mother of four pushed for blood tests in early October 2007. A few hours later, there was a knock at the door.
Read more >>Pharmaceuticals
The World Health Organisation, in April 2009, added nicotine replacement therapy products (NRT) (patches and gums) to the 16th revision of the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines, under the category of medicines used in substance dependence programmes.
Read more >>Public health
New research by Australian scientists has revealed that pedometers are as equally as effective in children as they are in adults in encouraging more physical activity.
Read more >>
[Neil Kirby] Whilst countries in the northern hemisphere have been grappling with the swine flu epidemic for quite some time now, a number of jurisdictions in the southern hemisphere have not been as affected by the outbreak of the virus. However, recently experts have warned that the southern hemisphere is by no means immune to the swine flu virus and it is expected to make its mark in southern hemisphere jurisdictions during the southern hemisphere's winter.
Read more >>Women's health
Philips recently donated twenty duvets and fifty chairs to the Riet Family Guidance Centre, a home for abused women and children and those living with HIV/AIDS, in Randfontein, Krugersdorp.
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