World Bank announces plan to reduce maternity deaths; fertility rates

The World Bank (WB) today 14 May 2010 released a new five-year plan to help poor countries reduce their high fertility rates and prevent the widespread deaths of their mothers and children. In endorsing its Reproductive Health Action Plan 2010-2015, the WB warned that family planning and other reproductive health programs that are vital to poor women had fallen off the development radars of many low-income countries, donor governments, and aid agencies. Read more >>

Say cheese!

Researchers have found that daily consumption of probiotic cheese helps tackle age-related changes in the immune system. Read more >>

Fight Huntington's - get physical, be mentally active

[Dr Ananya Mandal, MD] Researchers have found that being physical and keeping yourself mentally active delays the onset of Huntington's disease. Read more >>

The HIV-alcohol link...

HIV disease tends to progress at faster rate in infected individuals who consume more alcoholic drinks. Read more >>

Parents - be role models against childhood obesity

Parents must step up as role models against childhood obesity, says physical education teacher. Read more >>

Fight breast cancer: Support PinkDrive

Support the PinkDrive roadshow at Madadeni Hospital (Newcastle, KZN) and Valley of 1000 Hills (Kwa Nyuswa Village, KZN) on 20 and 24 May 2010 and help raise awareness about the need for early detection of breast cancer. Read more >>

Oh No! Chocolate, coffee and red wine might not benefit the heart: Study

[Dr Ananya Mandal, MD] The Heart Foundation has revealed in a recent review of over 100 studies over the last decade that claims of chocolates, red wine and coffee that are supposedly loaded with antioxidants that do good to the heart are unreliable. Read more >>

Nuts can reduce blood cholesterol levels: Study

Consuming more nuts appears to be associated with improvements in blood cholesterol levels, according to a pooled analysis of data from 25 trials reported in the May 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Read more >>

Smiles for donation from Sandton City

Floor tiles, which have been salvaged from the repositioning of Sandton City, will be used in the ward refurbishment at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital. Now the ward is not in a usable state, but with Sandton City's help, the Smile Foundation will be able to utilise this ward. The shopping centre recently handed over its donation of floor tiles to the Foundation. Read more >>

Don't underestimate swine flu threat

Speaking at the fifth annual meeting of the Global Hygiene Council, being held in Johannesburg this week, Professor John Oxford, virologist and chair of the Global Hygiene Council told health professionals that the H1N1 virus still poses a danger and should not be underestimated. Read more >>

Your BP and the case for clean air

Researchers in Germany have found that people who live in urban areas tend to have higher blood pressure. Read more >>

Multicomponent psychological intervention helps reduce alexithymia and cancer pain

An Italian study published in the current issue of Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics examines the relationship between cancer pain and inability to express feelings and the effects of treatment. Read more >>

Nutrition website for parents, teachers

A new website, freely accessible to Grade four teachers, parents and learners, offers educational resources and extra content focused on good nutrition, healthy lifestyles and sustainable living. Read more >>

Now, what would mother suggest...

Researchers in the UK have found that in that country, at least, pregnant or postnatal women tend to follow their mothers' and grandmothers' advice rather than medical guidelines. Read more >>

Putting a dent in Angola's maternal death rate

After more than a decade of volunteer work in Angola's rural Matala district in the southern province of Huila, a Finnish doctor is seeing maternal mortality rates gradually come down in a country where about one in every 70 women dies in childbirth. Read more >>

New report presents all aspects of stroke and cerebrovascular disease in children

Research and Markets (www.researchandmarkets.com/research/b07bb1/stroke_and_cerebro) has announced the addition of John Wiley and Sons Ltd's new report Stroke and Cerebrovascular Disease in Childhood, to their offering. Read more >>

Better care for newborns crucial for Millennium Development Goal on child deaths

The World Health Statistics 2010 shows that globally about 40% of deaths in children under five years old occur in the first month of life. Read more >>

Dyslexic children may have structural differences in brain region, says study

Children with dyslexia often struggle with reading, writing, and spelling, despite getting an appropriate education and demonstrating intellectual ability in other areas. New neurological research has found that these children's difficulties with written language may be linked to structural differences within an important information highway in the brain known to play a role in oral language. The findings are published in the June 2010 issue of Elsevier's Cortex (www.elsevier.com/locate/cortex). Read more >>

Folic acid supplement may improve blood flow in young amenorrheic runners

A study led by sports medicine researcher Anne Hoch, D.O. at The Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee has found that oral folic acid may provide a safe and inexpensive treatment to improve vascular function in young female runners who are amenorrheic (not menstruating). The study is published in the May 2010 issue of Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine. Read more >>

False TB diagnosis can prove deadly for some HIV-infected patients

Study finds that HIV-infected patients falsely diagnosed as having TB have higher rates of mortality. Read more >>