Top stories
HIV/AIDS
A former politician, diplomat and aid worker, few people have witnessed the fight against HIV from as many international vantage points as former UN Special Envoy for AIDS in Africa, Stephen Lewis. Now co-director of the international advocacy organization, AIDS-Free World, Lewis spoke to IRIN/PlusNews about the direction of the international response to HIV.
Read more >>Cardiology
Patients suffering from a serious form of atrial fibrillation, the most common heart rhythm problem in the US, now have a new treatment option that uses cold therapy rather than heat to correct the faulty electrical circuits in the heart.
Read more >>Chronic diseases
Finding has important implications for developing treatments to reduce type 2 diabetes' severity.
Read more >>The extent to which we move through our environments as we carry out our daily lives - from home to garden to workplace and beyond - has more significance than we might imagine. Researchers at Rush University Medical Centre have discovered that our "life space" is intimately linked with cognitive function.
Read more >>Exhibitions and Events
The issues around ethical behaviour and practice in the field of medical waste management and the consequences if such a code of ethics is not adhered to, are about to be tackled by experts in the field, at the Institute of Waste Management of Southern Africa (IWMSA)'s Health Care Waste Summit & Expo 2011, to be held at Emperor's Palace, Johannesburg, 16 -17 May 2011.
Read more >>Infectious diseases
A three-drug cocktail can eliminate the hepatitis C virus in patients far more effectively than the current two-drug regimen, according to researchers at Henry Ford Hospital.
Read more >>Medical Research
[Kathy Wallis] New research from The University of Western Ontario has discovered a substance in tangerines not only prevents obesity, but also offers protection against type 2 diabetes, and even atherosclerosis, the underlying disease responsible for most heart attacks and strokes.
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Concerns over tired doctors leading to mistakes and patient injuries has led to progressively shorter hours for medical residents in the United States and Europe over the past 20 years. However, a review in the
British Medical Journal shows that reducing hours has not improved patient safety. An accompanying editorial by Yale researcher Leora Horwitz, M.D., explores some possible reasons why reduced hours have not benefited patients.
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Long-term study shows that kidney transplants are faring better than previously reported.
Read more >>Medical Technology
Findings help advance knowledge of memory formation and decay.
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In a groundbreaking achievement that could help scientists "build" new biological systems, Princeton University scientists have constructed for the first time artificial proteins that enable the growth of living cells.
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New hope has been given to HIV-positive couples wishing to start a family with the recent opening of renowned fertility clinic, Vitalab's first dedicated blood borne viral disease (BBVD), HIV and hepatitis B and C IVF/ICSI lab in Gauteng.
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Researchers at Riken, a research institution in Japan, have developed an eye.
Read more >>Mental health
Addictive eating behaviour and substance dependence have similar patterns of brain activity, finds a new study from the Rudd Centre for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale. The study is published in the
Archives of General Psychiatry and is the first to link symptoms of addictive eating behaviour with specific patterns of brain activity in both obese and lean individuals.
Read more >>Neurology
Blocking multiple cell signalling pathways at once: a better way to treat deadly brain tumours?
Read more >>Oncology
Despite the fact that colon cancer screening saves lives, the majority of US adults age 50 and over who are eligible for such screening fail to take advantage of it. Consider the numbers: In 2000, only 16.3 million of 80 million eligible adults (about 20%) received colon cancer screening such as the faecal occult blood test (the most popular choice), sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy.
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Scientists at Yale University have identified a set of plasma biomarkers that could reasonably predict the risk of metastasis among patients with melanoma, according to findings published in
Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
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Study reveals mistaken perception of safety in potential gateway drug.
Read more >>Public health
The International Alliance of Patients' Organisations (IAPO), Patient Health Alliance of Non-Governmental Organisations (PHANGO) and the South African Anxiety and Depression Group (SADAG), invite you to attend the seminar: "Building cross sector partnerships to meet patients' needs in Africa".
Read more >>Surgical Equipment & Products
A new device to treat brain aneurysms with stents improves access to the blood vessels allowing endovascular neurosurgeons to offer the minimally invasive technique to patients with complex cases. Dr. Demetrius Lopes, an endovascular neurosurgeon at Rush University Medical Centre, was the first in the US to use the new delivery system, called the Neuroform EZ Stent System.
Read more >>Women's health
No problems have been reported with breast cancer screening after fat transfer procedure for breast augmentation.
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Calcifications at follow-up are indistinguishable from breast cancer, new study reports.
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