Free CPD-accredited online HIV Course

The BetterCare Adult HIV book most recently updated in 2018, is a comprehensive introduction to the management of adults living with HIV. Developed and maintained by doctors and nurses with extensive experience in the care of adults living with HIV,... November 7th, 2018

PMB mortuary staff go-slow leaves bereaved families waiting

More than a dozen bereaved families were left in the lurch last week due a go-slow by Pietermaritzburg’s Medico-Legal Mortuary staff protesting... November 14th, 2018

Durban hospital intern suspended for sexually offensive social media posts

An intern working at Durban’s Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital has been suspended pending an investigation into a series of sexually offensive... November 14th, 2018

Non-profit National Hospital Network gets Competition Commission exemption

The Competition Commission has granted the National Hospital Network (NHN), a co-operative venture of medical enterprises, a five year exemption... November 14th, 2018

2,500 diabetes leg amputations annually in KZN

Diabetes claims around 2,500 leg amputations a year in KwaZulu-Natal, the health department said. The Times reports that KZN Health MEC Sibongiseni... November 14th, 2018

Report reveals widespread NHS staff hostility to LGBT people

New research from Stonewall, Britain’s leading charity for lesbian, gay, bi and trans equality, exposes alarming levels of poor mental health among... November 14th, 2018

At least 20 hospitalised in KZN salmonella outbreak

It has been reported that at least 20 people have been hospitalised owing to salmonella poisoning in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. According to News24,... November 14th, 2018

OECD warns superbug infections will kill 2.4m by 2050

More than 90,000 people in Britain will die over the next three decades unless action is taken to halt the rise in antibiotic-resistant superbug... November 14th, 2018

BugWise app to keep antibiotic resistance in check in SA

BugWise, a free South African app aimed at keeping antibiotic resistance (ABR) in check, has been released. A local health expert said that with... November 14th, 2018

High BP and smoking have more heart attack risk for women

High blood pressure, smoking and diabetes increase the risk of heart attack in both sexes but they have more impact in women than they do in men, shows a study by researchers at The George Institute for Global Health, University of Oxford, Julius... November 14th, 2018

Blue light light exposure decreases blood pressure

Exposure to blue light light significantly decreases blood pressure, reducing the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, a study from the University of Surrey and Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf in collaboration with Philips... November 14th, 2018

Alirocumab lowers risk of additional heart attacks or stroke

In a clinical trial involving 18,924 patients from 57 countries who had suffered a recent heart attack or threatened heart attack, researchers found that the cholesterol-lowering drug alirocumab reduced by 15% the chance of having additional heart... November 14th, 2018

Back pain associated with 24% increased mortality in older women

Researchers at Boston Medical Centre found that frequent, persistent back pain is associated with earlier death in a study of more than 8,000 older women who were followed for an average of 14 years. After controlling for important socio-demographic... November 14th, 2018

Early HIV treatment reduces risk of liver fibrosis

Early antiretroviral therapy (ART) reduces the risk of liver fibrosis progression in people living with HIV, including in people who do not have co-infection with viral hepatitis, according to the results of the SMART study. People with a high... November 14th, 2018

High prevalence of hypertension among South Africans starting ART

There is a high prevalence and incidence of hypertension among HIV-positive people starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) in South Africa, according to research. A fifth of people were hypertensive when they started ART and a further 15% developed... November 14th, 2018

R4P2018 conference session reviews U=U

One of the last sessions at R4P2018 included six talks about U=U, one of which reviewed the evidence about breastfeeding. This is important because rather than just sexual transmission, U=U is sometimes wrongly interpreted as covering all ways that... November 14th, 2018

Dolutegravir plus darunavir maintains viral suppression without NRTIs

A dual antiretroviral regimen containing dolutegravir (Tivicay) and boosted darunavir (Prezista) maintains viral suppression in most people who switch from a suppressive three-drug regimen, according to an observational study presented at the recent... November 14th, 2018

Reaching the men who are the partners of the young women with HIV in SA

In the high-prevalence countries of southern Africa, young women under 25 bear the brunt of the epidemic, with continued high rates of HIV infection. So much so, that epidemiologists at the HIV Research for Prevention Conference (HIVR4P 2018) in... November 14th, 2018

Combo treatment highly effective in chronic HCV patients

Data found the combination of glecaprevir and pibrentasvir is highly effective and well tolerated in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype-1 infections who have prior treatment experience with sofosbuvir/NS5A inhibitor. The data... November 14th, 2018

Abstention from cannabis improves memory in regular users

A Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) study finds that one month of abstaining from cannabis use resulted in measurable improvement in memory functions important for learning among adolescents and young adults who are regular cannabis users. The... November 14th, 2018

Chemo and immune inhibitor combo increases survival in AML patients

A combination of the standard-of-care chemotherapy drug known as azacitidine, with nivolumab, an immune checkpoint inhibitor, demonstrated an encouraging response rate and overall survival in patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid... November 14th, 2018

Evidence mounts that eye scan may detect early Alzheimer’s

Results from two studies show that a new, non-invasive imaging device can see signs of Alzheimer's disease in a matter of seconds. The researchers show that the small blood vessels in the retina at the back of the eye are altered in patients with... November 14th, 2018

Meta-analysis of non-surgical treatments for tennis elbow

The largest meta-analysis to date found that none of 11 non-surgical treatment options for "tennis elbow" performed better than placebo in addressing patients' pain and all increased patients' odds of adverse events. The painful condition known... November 14th, 2018

First causal linking of social media use and decreased well-being

The link between the two has been talked about for years, but a causal connection had never been proven. For the first time, University of Pennsylvania research led by psychologist Melissa G Hunt and based on experimental data, connects Facebook,... November 14th, 2018

More screen time links with lower psychological well-being in children

Higher amounts of screen time are linked t0 heightened levels and diagnoses of anxiety or depression in children as young as age two, according to a US study. Even after only one hour of screen time daily, children and teens may begin to have... November 14th, 2018

Cystic fibrosis patients may receive insufficient antibiotics to fight lung infections

The majority of paediatric patients with cystic fibrosis may not achieve blood concentrations of antibiotics sufficiently high enough to effectively fight bacteria responsible for pulmonary exacerbations, leading to worsening pulmonary function,... November 14th, 2018