FOCUS: THIS WEEK'S TOP STORIES
Link between appendix removal and development of Parkinson's
November 7th, 2018 Removing the appendix early in life reduces the risk of developing Parkinson's disease by 19% to 25%, according to the largest and most comprehensive study of its kind. The findings also solidify the role of the gut and immune system in the genesis...
BMI strongly associated with all-cause mortality
November 7th, 2018 Body Mass Index (BMI), a measure of body fat, is linked to risk of death from every major cause except transport accidents, according to an analysis of 3.6m people in The Lancet. Overall, both low and high BMI were associated with an increased risk...
Not to be sniffed at: Dogs diagnose malaria to better-than WHO standards
November 7th, 2018 In recent tests trained sniffer dogs successfully diagnosed malaria infections simply by sniffing samples from socks worn briefly by children from a malaria endemic area of West Africa, according to a study presented at the American Society of...CPD-ACCREDITED HIV COURSE
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
WEEKLY ROUNDUP
Search continues for final 21 missing Esidimeni patients
Gauteng Health MEC Gwen Ramokgopa says the search will continue for 21 mentally ill patients who went missing after being relocated from Life... November 7th, 2018EMS staff in illegal strike in the Eastern Cape
Emergency medical services workers in the Eastern Cape remain on strike, reports Eyewitness News. It's an illegal industrial action which has forced... November 7th, 2018Gauteng hospital dismisses claims that interns are stranded and homeless
The Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital in Ga-Rankuwa, north of Pretoria, has dismissed allegations by interns who claim they were left stranded and... November 7th, 2018Locked up KZN mentally ill patient found with burn wounds
A mentally ill patient was found with burn wounds after he was locked in a ward on his own at Wentworth Hospital in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. IoL... November 7th, 2018Uganda to begin Ebola vaccine programme in high risk areas
Uganda is to administer an experimental Ebola vaccine for health workers in high-risk areas bordering the Democratic Republic of the Congo, reports... November 7th, 2018Limpopo and KZN increase security after attacks and potential kidnappings
Security has been upgraded at Addington Hospital after two unknown men posing as Home Affairs officials gained access to the maternity section last... November 7th, 2018Social media a-twitter over HIV 'cure' that smacks of quackery
A new HIV cure, being punted on social media, “smacks of quackery”, says prominent HIV scientist, Professor Francois Venter from the University... November 7th, 2018HIV/AIDS
The Miami monkey 'cured' with two antibodies
A “functional cure” of HIV has been achieved in one monkey given gene therapy that induced it to make two broadly neutralising antibodies against the virus. Researcher José Martinez-Navio of the University of Miami told the HIV Research for... November 7th, 2018Mental health affects every stage of HIV diagnosis and treatment
HIV clinicians need to be aware that mental health affects every stage of HIV diagnosis and treatment, and manage issues just as they would any other comorbid condition, MedPageToday reports experts say. The prevalence of mental health issues,... November 7th, 2018Cameroon trial on on dolutegravir versus efavirenz
Dolutegravir-based treatment was no more effective than treatment based on a 400mg dose of efavirenz, a randomised trial conducted in Cameroon has found. However, almost half of people with very high viral loads taking either regimen had a... November 7th, 2018Two-drug protease inhibitor as effective as three-drug treatment
Antiretroviral treatment with a boosted protease inhibitor and one other drug is just as effective as three-drug antiretroviral therapy containing a boosted protease inhibitor but results in fewer treatment discontinuations due to side-effects, a... November 7th, 2018Bictegravir matches dolutegravir in first line treatment
A triple combination containing the new integrase inhibitor bictegravir proved just as effective as a dolutegravir-based combination in suppressing viral load over 96 weeks, but people taking bictegravir experienced significantly fewer adverse... November 7th, 2018Beyond Truvada, what is the future of PrEP?
The recent HIV Research for Prevention conference (HIVR4P 2018) in Madrid reviewed the current menu of agents and novel delivery modalities in development for systemic delivery of pre-exposure prophylactics (PrEP). Oral pre-exposure prophylaxis... November 7th, 2018INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Diagnostic platform screens for all known human pathogenic bacteria
Scientists at the Centre for Infection and Immunity (CII) in the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health have developed the first diagnostic platform that can simultaneously screen for all known human pathogenic bacteria as well as... November 7th, 2018NEUROLOGY
Erenumab an option for patients with difficult-to-treat migraine
"Erenumab might be an option for patients with difficult-to-treat migraine who have high unmet needs and few treatment options," MDLinx reports that Dr Uwe Reuter of Charite Universitaetsmedizin Berlin in Germany and colleagues conclude. Current... November 7th, 2018Robotic arm rehabilitation improves function recovery in aphasia stroke patients
Research has found that robotic arm rehabilitation in chronic stroke patients with aphasia may promote speech and language function recovery. Robotic arm rehabilitation is a commonly-used intervention for treating impaired motor function in the arm,... November 7th, 2018ONCOLOGY
Cervical cancer survival rates determined by race in SA
A study has found that black women in South Africa are almost six times more likely to die of cervical cancer than white women and that the five-year survival rates of black and coloured women (40-50%) were significantly worse than those of white...
November 7th, 2018
PAEDIATRICS
Children have 2.5 years to establish healthy gut bacteria
A child has until the age of two-and-a-half to establish healthy gut bacteria – with little change after this point, research has revealed. The study also reinforced the important role breastfeeding plays in providing good gut bacteria to babies... November 7th, 2018PSYCHOLOGY
Free, new reasoning test to challenge the widely used APM
A team of psychologists at the University of California has now developed a free test to measure reasoning ability in undergraduates that takes roughly 10 minutes to complete and is 'highly, comparable' to the widely used Raven's Advanced...
November 7th, 2018
Group CBT may be best for treatment of anxiety disorders in children
Group cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) could be the best choice of psychotherapy for anxiety disorders in children and adolescents, according to a network meta-analysis study from Oxford University. CBT is a talking therapy designed to help... November 7th, 2018PUBLIC HEALTH
Big life expectancy gap between rich and poor contradicted by Danish study
Contrary to previous research, previous findings of huge differences in life expectancy between the rich and the poor have been contradicted by a Danish study that takes into account income-class mobility. Research results challenge previous... November 7th, 2018Racial disparities in patient characteristics and survival after AMI
Characteristics of black patients and white patients in the US differed significantly at the time of admission for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and were associated with an approximately threefold difference in 5-year mortality rate following... November 7th, 2018SPORT & EXERCISE MEDICINE
Barefoot SA children have better balance but may suffer later
South African children – who usually do not wear shoes during physical activity – have better balance and can jump farther than their German counterparts who are almost always shod, Business Insider reports a pathfinder study has found. But the...
November 7th, 2018
