Lesson from HIV counselling and testing drive

Roughly 15 million South Africans were targeted for HIV testing in the government's HIV Counselling and Testing (HCT) campaign, reports Sowetan but the effort didn't reach the target and only slightly more than 10 million people ended up in the campaign. Read more >>

Gift of the Givers needs help for Somalia

Brand South Africa is encouraging all citizens to play their part in aiding Somalia through The Gift of the Givers Foundation, which has started distributing high-energy nutrition packages to the region, which faces the worst drought in 60 years. Read more >>

Specialised burns treatment training Malawian medical practitioners

Four medical practitioners from Malawi who received specialised training in providing care for serious burn patients, thanks to a public private partnership between the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, Johnson & Johnson, and a university in the United States of America. Read more >>

Clicks Pharmacy Conference

The 5th Clicks Pharmacy Conference will be held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from 10-11 August 2011. Read more >>

Medical schemes alleged to be breaking the law

South African medical schemes are contravening at least provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, which came into effect in April this year. According to Times Live, an investigation by the National Consumer Commission has alleged that the top five medical schemes are among those violating the existing consumer protection laws. Read more >>

Mimicking calorie restriction to fight obesity and type 2 diabetes

A Yale University-led research team has discovered how reduced expression of a particular gene protects against obesity and type 2 diabetes, possibly prolonging lifespan by mimicking the effects of calorie restriction. The study appears in the 3 August issue of Cell Metabolism. Read more >>

Roadblocking cancer: How combo therapies can overcome drug resistance in melanoma

[Kim Irwin] About 50 to 60% of patients with melanoma have a mutation in the BRAF gene that drives the growth of their cancer. In clinical trials, most of these patients have responded remarkably well to two novel agents that inhibit the gene, but unfortunately, the response is almost always limited in duration, as the cancer develops a resistance to the drugs. Read more >>

Scientist tests promising drug on those with Down syndrome

A University of Colorado School of Medicine scientist is finishing a major clinical trial on a drug that could boost cognitive function in those with Down syndrome, significantly improving their quality of life and representing a potential milestone in research on this genetic disorder. Read more >>

Take stress seriously!

South Africans are resilient, capable people but could our strong, 'let's get on with it' temperament be preventing us from acknowledging and dealing with potentially dangerous stress levels? Read more >>

Stress: how to beat the blues the easy way

The Medical Nutritional Institute (MNI) is encouraging all South Africans to make 2011 a mentally healthy year by taking a much more proactive stance to managing stress levels. Read more >>

Deadly aerials?

New study in Brazil finds direct link to 4924 cancer deaths from cellular antenna radiation. Read more >>

Behind the wheel this holiday weekend? Drive properly

The statistics on distracted driving are startling. In the United States, for example, the US Department of Transportation statistics indicate that in 2008 nearly 6000 people died and more than half a million were injured in crashes associated with driver distractions of all types. And even though this article relates to the US, it is relevant here in SA. Read more >>

Child a handful? Laid-back parenting can make matters worse

According to a report in Today Parenting, a new study shows that rates of depression and anxiety are reduced when kids are parented in a style that matches their personality. Read more >>

Price cuts save R242 million for government

The South African government has managed to save R242 million or 18% by securing discounts from suppliers of antibiotics and tuberculosis drugs over the past two years according to Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, reports Business Day. Read more >>

200 000 waiting for RAF payouts

More than 200 000 people are waiting for compensation payments from the Road Accident Fund according to a report in The New Age published on Friday. It says that a report, tabled by the Financial Services Board's Dube Tshidi, shows that the RAF's deficit has increased by R2 billion to R42 billion. Read more >>

Immunisation: Keeping them safe

[Graham Anderson] National Immunisation Awareness Week takes place over 2-8 August. Immunisation is an increasingly controversial topic, but the truth is that there is a far greater risk associated with not immunising your child. Read more >>

Plea for retired nurses to come back

The Department of Health has launched a campaign to attract retired nurses back to the profession amid a plea from Gauteng's MEC for Health Ntombi Mekgwe who appealed to 200 women from the Retired Nurses Forum to return to the sector, reports Times Live. Read more >>

WHO urges more countries to require large, graphic health warnings on tobacco packaging

More than one billion people in 19 countries are now covered by laws requiring large, graphic health warnings on packages of tobacco, nearly double the number of two years ago, when only about 547 million people were covered in 16 countries, WHO reports today in its third periodic report on the global tobacco epidemic. Read more >>

Healthcare workers run the gauntlet of TB infection every day

Research studies in countries in Africa, Asia, and South America have documented increased risk of TB disease or infection in health care workers compared with the general population. Read more >>

WHO warns against the use of inaccurate blood tests for active tuberculosis

The use of currently available commercial blood (serological) tests to diagnose active tuberculosis (TB) often leads to misdiagnosis, mistreatment and potential harm to public health, says WHO in a policy recommendation issued today. WHO is urging countries to ban the inaccurate and unapproved blood tests and instead rely on accurate microbiological or molecular tests, as recommended by WHO. Read more >>

Project Phakamisa goes national: Helping breast cancer patients help themselves

Breast cancer is currently a leading cause of death amongst women in Africa. In South Africa alone, it is estimated that one in every 29 women is diagnosed with the disease every year, with the number of diagnosis amongst young black South African women continuously increasing [1],[2]. The real tragedy however, is that many affected individuals cannot afford or access proper, sustained medical care. Read more >>