Marijuana effectiveness as an HIV self-care strategy

Those in the United States living with HIV/AIDS are more likely to use marijuana than those in Kenya, South Africa or Puerto Rica to alleviate their symptoms, according to a new study published in Clinical Nursing Research, published by SAGE. Read more >>

Music played to premature babies may help to reduce their pain and improve feeding habits

Music played to premature babies may help to reduce their pain and encourage better oral feeding, suggests research published ahead of print in the Archives of Disease in Childhood. Read more >>

Cultural sensitivities discourage visits to fertility clinics

JOHANNESBURG: According to Vitalab Fertility Clinic, when it comes to infertility, in many cultures, it is the woman who is blamed for failing to produce children. Yet the reality is that, in about 40% of cases, the problem does in fact lie with the man, while, in only 35% of cases, the problem is female orientated. The remaining cases may result from combined factors or be inexplicable. Read more >>

South African's should ‘clear the air' for World No Tobacco Day

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has chosen ‘Tobacco Health Warnings' as this year's theme for World No Tobacco Day 2009 on 31 May. The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control requires that it's more than 160 member countries adopt tobacco health warnings that meet all the criteria for maximal effectiveness. Read more >>

Australian H1N1 flu toll climbs to 17

The latest update, No 37, from the World Health Organisation on the influenza A H1N1 (swine flu) outbreak says as of the 23rd of May, 43 countries have now officially reported 12 022 cases, including 86 deaths. Read more >>

Warning on athletes' use of prescription drugs

Athletes could be putting their lives at risk by doping themselves with powerful prescription drugs, a leading academic has warned. Professor Declan Naughton, Professor of Biomolecular Sciences at Kingston University in South West London, cautioned sportsmen and women against trying to improve their performance by taking drugs known as nitrites without clinical supervision. Read more >>

Extra calories not lack of exercise causing obesity

New research from New Zealand has found that over-eating rather than lack of physical activity is why Kiwis are piling on the excess kilos. Read more >>

Research assesses the benefits of different ways of treating tooth decay in children

New research commissioned by the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment (NIHR HTA) programme will assess the benefits of different methods of managing tooth decay in children's teeth. Dental decay is one of the most common childhood diseases, with over 40% of children in the UK already experiencing obvious decay in their primary (baby) teeth by five years of age, and this statistic has remained largely unchanged for the past 20 years. Read more >>

New ultra-sensitive device detects viruses in minutes

Imagine being able to detect in just a few minutes whether someone is infected with a virus. This has now become a reality, thanks to a new ultra-sensitive detector that has been developed by Ostendum, a spin-off company of the University of Twente. Read more >>

Simple stem cell technique restores sight to damaged eyes

In a world-first breakthrough by Australian scientists, the eyesight in a damaged eye has been restored by using stem cells from the eye itself. The scientists at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) say the technique improves patients' vision within weeks and the results are exciting. Read more >>

Why do some prostate cancers return?

Research offers insight into why some prostate cancer returns. Read more >>

Rapid test for prostate cancer

Researchers have developed the test by using light energy to measure the level of citrate in fluid samples from the prostate gland. The technique could provide the basis of a rapid means of detecting prostate cancer in the future. Almost a quarter of male cancers in the UK are diagnosed as prostate cancer and more than 10 000 men die from the disease each year. Read more >>

Low birth weight linked to psychosis-like symptoms

Low birth weight babies are at greater risk of developing psychosis-like symptoms as they grow up, research suggests. The study, published in the June issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry, shows a link between children's size at birth and their mental health at the age of 12. Read more >>

Obese women should not gain weight during pregnancy

For years, doctors and other health-care providers have managed pregnant patients according to guidelines issued by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (ACOG). Read more >>

Infant weight gain linked to childhood obesity

[David Cameron] An ongoing study of pregnant women and their babies has found that rapid weight gain during the first six months of life may place a child at risk for obesity by age 3. Researchers studied 559 children, measuring both weight and body length at birth, 6 months, and 3 years. They found that sudden gains throughout early infancy influenced later obesity more so than weight at birth. Read more >>

New easier way to identify kids' high blood pressure

Paediatricians now have a new and simple way to diagnose a serious problem facing our nation's children - thanks to David Kaelber, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., MetroHealth System paediatrician, internist, and chief medical informatics officer and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine researcher and faculty member. Nearly 75% of cases of hypertension and 90% of cases of prehypertension in children and adolescents go undiagnosed. Read more >>

Prospan Cough Syrup hits the gym

Austell Laboratories has appointed washroom advertising agency, TLC for a period of six months to promote two of its products as it seeks to gain market share among nightlife patrons and gym-going, health-conscious men and women. Read more >>

Can computers help smokers quit?

Available evidence supports the use of online or other computer-based smoking cessation programs for helping adults quit smoking, according to a meta-analysis of previously published studies appearing in the May 25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. Read more >>

Extreme caffeinated soft drink diet leaves woman with serious health issues

Reports in the media of a New Zealand woman's extreme Red Bull diet where her weight plummeted from 105kg to 60kg by drinking 10 to 14 cans of the 'energy' drink each day say she has been left with serious health issues. Read more >>

Tobacco kills... picture warnings on tobacco products can save your life! - The Heart and Stroke Foundation SA

With “World No Tobacco Day” coming up on 31st May 2009, the Heart and Stroke Foundation South Africa (HSFSA) supports the upcoming picture health warnings that will soon appear on the packaging of tobacco products as part of the new tobacco control law to help save lives. Read more >>