Experts outline three elements necessary for ending HIV/AIDS pandemic

According to a new editorial, the world can control and ultimately end the HIV/AIDS pandemic through a three-pronged strategy that... Read more >>

Early HIV treatment can save more children's lives

Efforts worldwide on access to treatment for children with HIV have reached a new milestone, with 355 000 children receiving life-saving HIV treatment at the end of 2009, compared to 276 000 at the end of 2008; but many more lives could be saved if more infants started on medication earlier according to new recommendations from WHO. Read more >>

Infants in African countries receive minimum help to reduce risk of mother-to-child HIV transmission

Only about half of infants born to HIV-infected mothers in some African countries receive a minimum preventive dose of the drug nevirapine to help reduce the risk of mother-to-child HIV transmission, according to a study in the July 21 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on HIV/AIDS. Read more >>

New findings suggest link between increased cholesterol, depression

Most people know that high cholesterol levels place them at increased risk for heart disease and stroke. Prior research has shown that particular types of strokes contribute to one's risk for depression, and that abnormal blood lipid levels can increase the risk of depression in the elderly. Read more >>

Study reveals link between allergies, asthma

Mistaken for illnesses like bronchitis and emphysema, exacerbated by medications like aspirin, and overlooked by patients and doctors alike, asthma is a common and highly treatable condition in older adults. And while allergies tend to decrease with age, they also are frequently disregarded as a potential cause of misery for the elderly. Read more >>

Drugs can save African infants' lives

Researchers at the University of Sydney have found the combined intake of iron-folic acid supplements with World Health Organisation (WHO)-endorsed anti-malarial drugs during pregnancy could reduce early infant mortality in sub-Saharan Africa by a quarter. Read more >>

'Needle-free' intervention as natural vaccine against malaria

A study published in the latest issue of the journal Science Translation Medicine proposes that preventive treatment with affordable and safe antibiotics in people living in areas with intense malaria transmission has the potential to act as a "needle-free" natural vaccine against malaria and may likely provide an additional valuable tool for controlling and/or eliminating malaria in resource-poor settings. Read more >>

New findings on "successful aging"

What, exactly, does "successful aging" mean? For more than a half century, researchers and gerontologists have argued whether successful aging is better defined subjectively (how older adults view their own state of aging) or objectively (physical disease-related disability or mental decline). Answering this question is more than an academic exercise. Read more >>

Survey suggests diet modification as successful tool for autism

Autism is the fastest growing developmental disorder in the world. With 1 child in 91 facing the disorder, the diagnosis is more common than paediatric cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined. Read more >>

If music be the food of love...

It seems it is also the food of learning... Review shows how music training primes nervous system, boosts learning. Read more >>

Study finds sepsis 10 times more common and lethal than heart attacks, blood clots

New research from The Methodist Hospital in Houston shows that sepsis is 10 times more common and more lethal than other more well-known surgical complications including heart attacks and blood clots. These results, published today in the Archives of General Surgery, show a greater need for sepsis awareness and early recognition during and after surgery. Read more >>

Tracking tumours

New GPS-like system to track prostate cancer tumours now offered to patients undergoing radiation therapy. Read more >>

Goodbye Doctor, hello Robot

Studies have demonstrated that robots can do a significant amount of the work once done only by physicians - so could the next generation of robots eliminate 'the doctor'? Read more >>

Study evaluates immunisation benefits of dissolving micro-needles

A new vaccine-delivery patch based on hundreds of microscopic needles that dissolve into the skin could allow persons without medical training to painlessly administer vaccines - while providing improved immunisation against diseases such as influenza. Read more >>

Visage Imaging releases Amira 5.3 single platform brain imaging tool

Visage Imaging, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Pro Medicus Ltd, has announced the immediate release of Amira 5.3, a new major version of its market-leading software platform for visualising, analysing, and presenting complex 3D and 4D biomedical data. Read more >>

Become a Lifeline volunteer

LifeLine Johannesburg, as a volunteer-based NPO, thrives on telephone callers saying, "I want to be a volunteer" and it is now accepting registrations for its next counselling course in Joburg. If you reside in the greater Joburg area, this is your chance to be trained to help others when they really need help and emotional support. Read more >>

KENYA: Focus on fistula

It is both preventable and treatable, but obstetric fistula plagues the lives of thousands of women in Kenya every year, leaving them incontinent and ostracized. Here are some reasons why: Read more >>

Prostate cancer: To screen or not to screen

Men with a family history of prostate cancer who are confused about whether to undergo controversial screening could soon have access to an online resource to have their questions answered. Read more >>

Zimmer sued over defective hip implant

Wendy R. Fleishman, a partner in the national plaintiffs' law firm Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, in the US, announced that William Kokoszka filed a personal injury lawsuit against Zimmer Inc., the nation's largest producer of orthopaedic devices. Following his 2006 hip replacement, Kokoszka suffered constant and devastating pain for over 18 months before having to undergo a second hip replacement surgery due to an allegedly defective hip implant manufactured and sold by Zimmer under the brand name Durom Cup. Read more >>

Gene essential for respiration and survival at birth identified

How do mammals prepare themselves in utero for a radical modification to their respiration at the time of birth, when they move abruptly from an aquatic medium to air? Read more >>

Useful tips to prevent dehydration in kids

OK, we're in winter right now, but summer will be coming in the next few months and when you add kids playing outside and outdoor summer activities to hot weather, you have a potentially hazardous combination. Read more >>

Healthcare conference looks at funding and technology solutions

Proposed changes to the healthcare industry by the government will have far-reaching consequences for the sector and for consumers. The Pan African Health Conference takes place on 15 and 16 September at Gallagher Convention Centre, Midrand. The conference will bring together all stakeholders in the sector, as well as many ancillaries such as financial service providers, economists, medical associations, medical aid providers, development agencies, private healthcare companies and governmental representatives. The conference theme is Healthcare Funding and IT in Healthcare. Read more >>

Dangers in the Dust - inside the global asbestos trade

LONDON, UK / WASHINGTON, DC: Banned or restricted in more than 50 countries, white asbestos continues to be widely used in China, India, Russia and Brazil, and many developing nations, according to Dangers in the Dust, a joint report by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and the BBC's International News Services. Read more >>

Four areas that impact weight, obesity in women identified

STOP Obesity Alliance, Khaliah Ali and other advocacy groups identify four factors that weigh heavily on American women struggling with obesity. Read more >>

Sweden's condom challenge

STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN: Scandinavian countries have always had a much more forward thinking approach to sex education and advertising than many other parts of the world. This open-minded approach means that they can use much franker and more direct language when talking to consumers about sex, which helps in the communication of important sexual health issues. Read more >>

A 65% increase in US menu items with "healthy" claim added to restaurant menus

CHICAGO, US: Last month's recommendations from the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) confirmed what Mintel's research and consumers have already been suggesting: restaurants need healthier menus. Many restaurants have already listened. Between Q2 2009 and Q2 2010 menu items labelled as "healthy" grew 65%, according to Mintel Menu Insights. Read more >>

Public or Private - where would you have your baby? - Cape Medical Plan

We've all read the headlines and disturbing statistics in recent months. In May, it was reported that one Eastern Cape hospital had already recorded 180 premature baby deaths for 2010. In the same month, a Gauteng hospital was investigated after 11 babies died; while 35 more were removed from an overcrowded neo-natal ward. Read more >>

Meet CMP's new Principal Officer - Cape Medical Plan

After 45 years in the industry - partly as a partner in a healthcare practice and a trustee on various boards - Cape Medical Plan's new Principal Officer (PO), Derek Shardlow, knows medical schemes inside out. He's also been a dedicated trustee, chairman and member of CMP for 15 years. Read more >>

PMBs: the big issue explained - Cape Medical Plan

As the name suggests, PMBs are the minimum benefits that all medical schemes are legally required to cover. They were introduced into the Medical Schemes Act to ensure that members of medical schemes would always be covered for life-threatening conditions. Read more >>

Sister Lilian invites you to a workshop on 'A natural approach to family health' - Sister Lilian

Pregnancy and parenting expert Sister Lilian believes in getting it right from the start and using gentle but effective strategies to grow happy, healthy babies that turn into happy, healthy adults. In her workshop she shares easy-to-implement ways of becoming actively involved in the well-being of your family. Read more >>