FOCUS: THIS WEEK'S TOP STORIES
NHI Bill set to worsen SA’s medico-legal nightmare — experts
September 18th, 2019 As provincial health departments try to claw back a R98bn national medico-legal bill, and amid doctor alarm over warnings that they could be held personally liable for damages, a deafening silence in the NHI Bill on medico-legal liability is...
Marriage significantly lowers dementia risk — meta-analysis
September 18th, 2019 Marriage may lower the risk of developing dementia, concludes a 15-study meta-analysis involving 800,000 participants. Lifelong singletons and widowers are at 42% higher risk of developing the disease, the findings indicate, although single status...WEEKLY ROUNDUP
Edenvale Hospital pregnant women sleeping on floor ‘a space issue, not negligence'
Space issues – not medical negligence – was the reason that pregnant women ended up sleeping on the floor. News24 reports that this was... September 18th, 2019Third year of Gauteng Health irregularly extending R675m in contracts
Gauteng Health has irregularly extended 12 contracts worth more than R1bn a year, most of them security contracts for hospitals and clinics, says a... September 18th, 2019Discovery's medical aid increases for 2020
Discovery Health Medical Scheme (DHMS) has announced a weighted average annual contribution increase of 9.5% for 2020 for main members. Moneyweb... September 18th, 2019UCT scientists track rising pollen counts across South Africa
Hayfever sufferers in South Africa are in for a tough summer, according to scientists – but the good news is that they will now be able to... September 18th, 2019SASOG introduces guidelines for routine screening for GBV
In the wake of the tragic loss of Uyinene Mrwetyana, Leighandre Jegels, Meghan Cremer and Ayakha Jiyane and her three siblings to Gender Based... September 18th, 2019Policy: Health Act amendments to address provincial powers
Proposed amendments to the 2003 National Health Act in anticipation of national health insurance (NHI) implementation were spelled out last week in... September 18th, 2019Kenya rolls out GSK's malaria vaccine
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced that Kenya is introducing the world’s first malaria vaccine into the country. Kenya is the third... September 18th, 2019Chinese Medicine institute launched at University of the Western Cape
The Confucius Institute for Chinese Medicine launched at the University of Western Cape will open a new window for South Africans to understand... September 18th, 2019Michael Schumacher reported 'conscious' after supposed stem-cell treatment
Medical staff say Michael Schumacher is "conscious" after undergoing stem-cell treatment in Paris. The Daily Telegraph reports that according to a... September 18th, 2019CARDIOLOGY
Once or twice weekly daytime nap linked to lower heart attack/stroke risk
A daytime nap taken once or twice a week may be associated with significantly lower risk of a cardiovascular disease event, finds Swiss research....
September 18th, 2019
Statins cut peripheral artery disease mortality, even when started long after diagnosis
Statins are linked with reduced mortality in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD), even when started late after diagnosis, reports a... September 18th, 2019FDA phase 1 trial shows hydrogel to repair heart is safe to inject in humans
Ventrix, a University of California San Diego spin-off company, has successfully conducted a first-in-human, US Food and Drug Administration... September 18th, 2019DIETETICS
Vegetarians and vegans: Lower heart disease risk, higher risk of stroke
People who eat vegan and vegetarian diets have a lower risk of heart disease and a higher risk of stroke, a major UK study of 48,000... September 18th, 2019HIV/AIDS
HIV increases risk of atrial fibrillation
HIV infection significantly increases the risk of atrial fibrillation (AF) – one of the most important causes of irregular heartbeats and a... September 18th, 2019PrEP reduces HIV diagnosis rates in US cities by almost 16%
A study that compared pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) usage rates in 19 US cities with the rates of HIV diagnosis has found that the cities with the... September 18th, 2019Important to monitor kidney function in HIV patients doing well
The prevalence of impaired kidney function is low among white HIV-positive individuals with an undetectable viral load, Danish investigators report.... September 18th, 2019INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Surgical masks match respirators for flu and respiratory virus protection
A US study reported “no significant difference in the effectiveness” of medical masks versus more expensive N95 respirators for...
September 18th, 2019
MEDICAL PRACTICE
Hearing aids linked to reduced risk of mental decline and falls but few get them
Hearing aids are associated with significantly reduced risk of physical and mental decline, although only 12% of those formally diagnosed with...
September 18th, 2019
NEUROLOGY
Migraines a significant risk factor for dementia
Migraines were a significant risk factor for Alzheimer's Disease and all‐cause dementia, according to a Canadian five-year prospective cohort...
September 18th, 2019
What multilingual nuns can tell us about dementia
Data from the Nun Study found that linguistic ability broadly was a significant predictor of dementia, although it was written linguistic ability... September 18th, 2019PSYCHOLOGY
After the honeymoon: Changing partners doesn't change relationship dynamics
An eight-year study of 554 people in Germany showed that eventually, they had the same dynamics in new partnerships as in past broken relationships,...
September 18th, 2019