FOCUS: THIS WEEK'S TOP STORIES
Training for a first marathon reverses vascular ageing
May 15th, 2019 Novice marathoners experienced a four-year reduction in arterial age and a 4 mmHg drop in systolic blood pressure.s, found a study on London Marathon participants. Older and slower runners benefited the most. The research was presented at...
New findings may mean hundreds of thousands misdiagnosed with Alzheimer's
May 15th, 2019 Hundreds of thousands of older people diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease are probably suffering from a different disease, which is why drugs trials keep failing, scientists have concluded. The Daily Telegraph reports that experts, who hailed the...
SA policies on medical treatment for aliens again face court scrutiny
May 15th, 2019 An Ethiopian asylum seeker who was after three months of treatment denied dialysis at Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg because she lacks the "appropriate" documentation, has again placed the policies of the SA Department of Health of...WEEKLY ROUNDUP
ARB rules Cape college's nursing course advert misleading
Kingsway College in Cape Town has been found by the Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) to have made misleading claims in advertising their nursing... May 15th, 2019Google claims its AI can spot lung cancer a year before human doctors
Google has announced that it has created "promising" artificial intelligence that can spot lung cancer a year before a human doctor, potentially... May 15th, 2019FDA working to regulate the cannabidiol 'cure-all' deluge
New CBD (cannabidiol) products are cramming store shelves in the US as the market explodes for what many Americans believe to be a miracle... May 15th, 2019Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever case in North West province
A case of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) has been confirmed in a 54-year-old man in North West, The Citizen reports the provincial health... May 15th, 2019Immunotherapy drug fails in brain tumour treatment trial
Bristol-Myers Squibb Co has announced that its immunotherapy drug Opdivo has failed to meet the main goal of a late-stage trial testing it in... May 15th, 2019WHO gives pre-qualification approval for point-of-care viral load diagnostic test
m-PIMA™ HIV-1/2 VL, from Abbott,the world's first point-of-care viral load diagnostic test, has received the World Health Organisation's... May 15th, 2019FDA grants fast-track status to leronlimab as treatment for HIV and breast cancer
A monoclonal antibody targeting the CCR5 receptor on T cells maintained HIV suppression in people who switched from oral combination antiretroviral... May 15th, 2019Ebola epidemic won't be contained if clinic attacks continue
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned it may not be possible to contain the Democratic Republic of the Congo's (DRC) latest Ebola outbreak... May 15th, 2019Global Fund grant to boost TB drug implementation in SA
A grant from the Global Fund is expected to boost the implementation of tuberculosis drug of 3HP, a short course TB preventative therapy regimen that... May 15th, 2019Despite legislation, barriers to legal abortions in SA remain
A Cape Argus report says according to the Sexual and Reproductive Justice Coalition (SRJC), less than 7% of the country’s health facilities provide... May 15th, 2019Healthcare in the Fourth Industrial Revolution — World Economic Forum report
Scientific and technological advances in medicine promise to transform health and healthcare to become much more connected, precise and democratised,... May 15th, 2019CARDIOVASCULAR
More aggressive statin therapy sometimes needed to fight 'bad' cholesterol
A study shows more aggressive treatment may be needed for a large number of patients taking statin medications, and that treatment could help reduce... May 15th, 2019CARDIOVASCULAR CONTINUED
Upper limit put on safe consumption of coffee
Latte, cappuccino or short black, a morning coffee is an essential for many people looking to kick start their day. But while the humble coffee may...
May 15th, 2019
EPIDEMIOLOGY
Appendix removal associated with development of Parkinson’s disease
Patients who had their appendix removed were more likely to develop Parkinson's disease than those whose appendix remained in place, according to the...
May 15th, 2019
NEUROLOGY
Alternative treatment for epileptic seizures in children
The anti-convulsant drug levetiracetam could be considered as a first-choice second-line treatment for the management of paediatricc onvulsive...
May 15th, 2019
Statins’ potential to treat MS unrelated to lowering cholesterol
The widely prescribed statin, simvastatin, can medically help patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) – for reasons that... May 15th, 2019NUTRITION
Nuts-rich diet in first trimester linked to improved neuro-development in child
Nuts are known to help reduce the risk of hypertension, oxidative stress and diabetes and they may exercise a protective effect against cognitive... May 15th, 2019OBSTETRICS
'Practice-changing' study on antibiotics given after assisted birth
Thousands of women every year could be spared painful and occasionally life-threatening infections if doctors administered preventive antibiotics...
May 15th, 2019