Top stories
HIV/AIDS
As the year kicks off, the loveLife teams of groundBREAKERs are armed and ready to tackle HIV/Aids issues affecting young people in the country. Brand new energetic Call Centre groundBREAKERs (gBs) for 2011 reported for duty on Monday, 10 January and are currently engaged in a three-day training to equip them with necessary call centre skills.
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The HIV/AIDS epidemic is severely hampering South Africa's ability to achieve several Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Read more >>Ear, nose & throat
[Dr Ananya Mandal, MD] Findings from two latest clinical trials reveal that a young child with ear infections recovers faster and more completely if doctors give antibiotics right away rather than waiting to see if the kid get better on his/her own. One of the studies was in the US and one in Finland.
Read more >> Emergency Procedures
During breakfast one Sunday, Alfreda Cordero was struck suddenly and violently by the worst headache she had ever experienced. A day later, she would make medical history as the first person to have a ruptured brain aneurysm treated through the nose.
Read more >>Generic Medicines
A new study by researchers at Harvard, Brigham and Women's Hospital and CVS Caremark finds that 23% of doctors' have negative perceptions of the effectiveness and quality of generic drugs and that may lead to doctors prescribing unnecessarily expensive medications.
Read more >>Infectious diseases
A research team from the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and McGill University has demonstrated that private rooms in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) play a key role in reducing hospital infections like
C-difficile. The study, published today in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, also suggests that length of stay would be shorter and this could lead to cost savings to the healthcare system.
Read more >>Malaria
Malaria is still a major health threat in many African countries and business travellers should take the necessary precautions when travelling to these countries. This is according to Dr Charl van Loggerenberg, medical director, Medical Services of International SOS Southern Africa.
Read more >>Medical Research
[Der-Yuan Chen, Hui-Min Chih, Joung-Liang Lan, Hsi] Low doses of methotrexate, a commonly prescribed drug for rheumatoid arthritis, affects cholesterol metabolism at the mRNA level by increasing the expression of cholesterol efflux genes.
Read more >> The negative aspects of screening for prostate cancer may be acceptable, since screening halves mortality from the disease. This is the conclusion of a thesis presented at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.
Read more >>There are predators in the bacterial world that consume other bacteria, much as predators attack prey in the animal world. A team led by researchers at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-New Jersey Dental School suggests that some of these predator microbes might be put to work against disease-causing bacteria that have become resistant to antibiotics. Their findings have been published online by the
Journal of Applied Microbiology.
Read more >>Nutrition
BERLIN, GERMANY: Demand for organically produced eggs in Germany has shot up, experts and retailers said on Tuesday, 11 January 2011, with shortages feared as consumers shun battery-farmed goods in the wake of a dioxin scandal.
Read more >>Obstetrics and Gynaecology
Intrauterine devices (IUDs) for contraception are safe and effective, but only a small fraction of women in the United States use them.
Read more >>Using biological samples taken from patients and state-of-the-art biochemical techniques, a Florida State University researcher is working to identify a variety of "biomarkers" that might provide earlier warnings of the presence of breast and prostate cancers.
Read more >>Paediatrics
The Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital's Surgical Skills Training Centre is on track to open its doors on 15 June 2011. The fundraising campaign was first launched in June 2010 with a special visit by Prince William and Prince Harry. The training centre will mark a significant occasion as it will reputedly be the first paediatric endoscopic surgical training facility of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa.
Read more >>Nearly half of children who survive an episode of bacterial meningitis experience persistent behavioural, intellectual, or other complications, reports a study in the January issue of
The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, and pharmacy.
Read more >>The blood test could mean that 98% of invasive procedures could be avoided, say the authors. The test uses the latest DNA technology to analyse genetic components in the mother's blood that indicate whether the foetus has Down's.
Read more >>Kindergartners whose parents smoke have higher blood pressure than those with non-smoking parents. The study of more than 4000 pre-school children in Germany is the first to show that exposure to nicotine increases the blood pressure of children as young as 4 or 5.
Read more >>Public health
Taking control of your diabetes can help you feel better and stay healthy. Research shows that keeping your blood glucose close to normal reduces your chances of having eye, kidney, and nerve problems. To control your diabetes, you need to know your blood glucose numbers and your target goals.
Read more >>A simple technique to make a common virus-killing material significantly more effective is a breakthrough from the Rice University labs of Andrew Barron and Qilin Li. Rather than trying to turn the process into profit, the researchers have put it into the public domain. They hope wide adoption will save time, money and perhaps even lives.
Read more >>Scientists are reporting that so-called "third-hand smoke" - the invisible remains of cigarette smoke that deposits on carpeting, clothing, furniture and other surfaces - may be even more of a health hazard than previously believed.
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In partnership with the Medical Knowledge Institute, ABC Ulwazi* has embarked on a new project in the Western Cape. It has produced a series of public service announcements that highlight the importance of health education and encourage people to take responsibility for their health.
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[Dr Suzanne Slabbert] If you are carrying extra weight around your lower abdomen and have been diagnosed with high blood pressure, high cholesterol or high blood sugar, high insulin levels or insulin resistance, it is worth discussing with your doctor whether you might have metabolic syndrome.
Read more >>Surgical Equipment & Products
LONDON, UK: Shares in British health firm Smith & Nephew soared on Monday, 10 January 2010, after a weekend report of a potential takeover approach from US cosmetics and drugs giant Johnson & Johnson.
Read more >>Women's health
Imagine a world where bruises and broken bones no longer keep a mother from caring for her children. Imagine a world where children can receive an education without being abused at school; where rape is an unimaginable horror that lives only in over-active imaginations. Imagine a world without violence against women and children.
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