FOCUS: THIS WEEK'S TOP STORIES
Cancer services take strain as radiation oncologists leave SA state sector
May 23rd, 2018 SA has just 38 state-employed radiation oncologists, of which 16 are in the Western Cape, according to the annual survey conducted by the SA Society of Clinical and Radiation Oncology. Bhekisisa reports that cancer services are buckling...
As-needed combo-drug inhaler a viable treatment solution in mild asthma
May 23rd, 2018 A large international trial has found an as-needed combined-drug inhaler treatmet that is a viable option with mild asthma, where up to 80% of patients do not follow the daily treatment regime. The findings were essentially confirmed in parallel...
Clopidogrel and aspirin lower risk of major stroke after TIA
May 23rd, 2018 After a minor stroke or a transient ischaemic attack (TIA), taking the clot-preventing drug clopidogrel along with aspirin may lower risk of having a major stroke within the next 90 days by 25%, according to a large international study. However,...
Weekly Roundup
DoH offers placements to SA medical students
The Department of Health has announced that it has allocated and offered placements to medical... May 23rd, 2018SA reviews food safety in wake of listeriosis epidemic
The South African government says that it is conducting a review of food safety legislation in a... May 23rd, 2018KZN hospital 'tried to deceive' DA during visit
An announced oversight inspection by the Democratic Alliance (DA) to St Mary's Hospital late last... May 23rd, 2018Rift Valley fever confirmed on Free State farm
Rift Valley fever has been confirmed on a sheep farm in the Jacobsdal area in the Free State. The... May 23rd, 2018Over half of HIV infected children in highest burden countries remain untreated
While a growing number of countries have adopted World Health Organisation guidelines recommending... May 23rd, 2018US opioid epidemic increases availability of organs for donation
At this very moment, more than 110,000 people across the US are lingering on organ transplant... May 23rd, 2018Many UK diabetics denied life-changing technology
Thousands of people in the UK with diabetes are being denied new life-changing technology that... May 23rd, 2018FDA approves new migraine drug
Amgen Inc has won approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for the first drug in a new... May 23rd, 2018FDA approves Truvada for adolescents at risk of HIV
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expanded the approval of Truvada (tenofovir... May 23rd, 2018New 3D joint ROM technology launched in SA
Therapists and other medical professionals looking to accurately measure range of motion (ROM) in... May 23rd, 2018CARDIOVASCULAR
Six years of exercise — or lack of it — may impact failure risk
Although maintaining recommended activity levels is associated with the lowest heart failure risk, starting and increasing physical acivity to recommended levels over as few as six years in middle age, is associated with a significantly decreased... May 23rd, 2018HIV/AIDS
Warning of birth defect risk to women receiving dolutegravir in early pregnancy
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a safety alert warning patients and providers about a potential risk for neural tube birth defects in babies born to women with HIV who received dolutegravir during early pregnancy.
Healio...
May 23rd, 2018
Possible to provide good quality public sector care to the MSM group
Research has shown that addressing HIV in certain key populations is a priority in order to end the epidemic in the general population. Kate Rees, honorary research associate in public health medicine at the University of Cape Town and Remco Peters,... May 23rd, 2018HIV/AIDS CONTINUED
PHIA data provide a robust picture of country-level HIV epidemics
In a perspective recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine, ICAP researchers Drs Jessica Justman, Owen Mugurungi, and Wafaa El-Sadr at the Mailman School of Public Health show how Population-based HIV Impact Assessment (PHIA) data... May 23rd, 2018MEDICAL PRACTICE
Pharmaceutical perks have significant impact on prescribing rates
A US study shows the significant impact that even a meal or two paid for by a pharmaceutical company can have on opioid prescribing rates, despite a national decline of in these rates. Researchers from Boston Medical Centre's Grayken Centre for...
May 23rd, 2018
OBSTETRICS
Acupuncture does not improve life birth rates in IVF patients
A study of over 800 Australian and New Zealand women undergoing acupuncture treatment during their IVF (in vitro fertilisation) cycle has confirmed no significant difference in live birth rates. The findings support recent guidelines from the...
May 23rd, 2018
PULMONOLOGY
Occupational exposure an important risk factor for COPD
An international team led by researchers from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by the "la Caixa" Foundation, has provided new evidence about the role of occupational exposures as an important risk factor for... May 23rd, 2018PSYCHIATRY
Disruption of circadian rhythms associated with mood disorders
Circadian rhythms, the natural variations in our behaviour and activity throughout a 24-hour period, are known to affect everything from hormones to eating habits. Now, a study led by the University of Glasgow has found that disrupted circadian...
May 23rd, 2018
RHEUMATOLOGY
Task-related cerebral blood flow changes in ME/CFS
Cerebral blood flow in associated with memory, goal-oriented attention, and visual function was differentially associated with recovery from fatigue in myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) patients. Myalgic... May 23rd, 2018UROLOGY
Ibuprofen not a safe alternative to antibiotics for UTIs
Ibuprofen, given instead of antibiotics to women with uncomplicated urinary tract infection, (cystitis), leads to longer duration of symptoms and more serious adverse events related to the spread of the primary infection, according to a study by...
May 23rd, 2018
