FOCUS: THIS WEEK'S TOP STORIES
SA takes first step towards producing its own vaccines again
April 18th, 2018 The Biovac Institute (Biovac) has been awarded a manufacturing licence by a South African regulator, taking it one step closer to realising the government’s ambition of producing its own vaccines, reports Business Day. It is the first time the...
Research explores lifestyle effects – preconception – on future children
April 18th, 2018 Couples who are obese, as well as those who smoke and drink alcohol, could be risking the health of their future children, reports The Guardian. In a series of three papers in leading medical journal The Lancet, experts call for far more awareness...
Progressive interventions needed to stem medical litigation 'explosion'
April 18th, 2018 As Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi described soaring medical malpractice litigation claims in South Africa as an “explosion”, it was revealed that Gauteng Health paid R521m in negligence claims between January 2017 and March 2018 and faces...Weekly Roundup
Under-staffing blamed for rising violent attacks on UK health personnel
Growing numbers of National Health Service (NHS) personnel in England have been victims of a... April 18th, 2018Despite bed crisis, NHS hospitals mothball scores of wards
Hospitals in the United Kingdom are mothballing scores of wards, closing them to patients despite... April 18th, 2018Provincial health departments' audit outcomes criticised
South Africa’s Finance and Fiscal Commission (FFC) has criticised the National Department of... April 18th, 2018Khayelitsha hospital 'failing the people', says parliamentary committee
“Don’t hide from the fact that you are failing the people of Khayelitsha”. The Times reports... April 18th, 2018Man recovering after ground-breaking second face transplant
A French man is recovering in a Paris hospital after becoming the first person in the world to... April 18th, 2018Long hospital stays age elderly patients ‘a decade in 10 days’ – NHS
Elderly patients who are stuck in hospital effectively age a decade in ten days, reports the Daily... April 18th, 2018Weight-loss nut found to be highly toxic to humans
It is marketed as an all-natural‚ 100% organic‚ certified non-toxic product which results in... April 18th, 2018UK authority bans ads offering online 'NHS' GP consultations
Several ads for the UK online GP consultation service Push Doctor have been banned for implying... April 18th, 2018US oxygen device supplier warns on customer data breach
US oxygen supply device maker Inogen Inc has announced that it is notifying 30,000 existing and... April 18th, 2018ENDOCRINOLOGY
Non-invasive, adhesive patch measures glucose levels through skin
Scientists in the United Kingdom have created a non-invasive, adhesive patch that promises the measurement of glucose levels through the skin without a finger-prick blood test, potentially removing the need for millions of diabetics to frequently...
April 18th, 2018
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
About 2.5 million deaths in 2016 linked to household air pollution
Researchers in China and the United Kingdom have estimated that worldwide about 2.5m deaths in 2016 were related to the household air pollution. In a large study in China, the researchers studied the association of long-term use of solid fuels for... April 18th, 2018INFECTIOUS DISEASES
Malaria-infected children's skin smell attracts malaria mosquitos
Children infected with the malaria parasite Plasmodium were found to produce distinctive skin smells making them more attractive to malaria mosquitoes than uninfected children, according to an international study. The research opens up the... April 18th, 2018Link found between HDL cholesterol and infectious disease risk
Most people recognise that there is a relationship between cholesterol levels and risk of heart disease. But new research from Copenhagen University Hospital and the University of Copenhagen shows that a certain kind of cholesterol might affect our... April 18th, 2018Even short trips to developing world can spread colistin resistance to bacteria
The emergence of antibiotic resistance among dangerous pathogens is increasingly problematic worldwide. Researchers at Osaka University have followed Japanese travellers to find out how short trips to a developing country can lead to the spread of... April 18th, 2018INTERNAL MEDICINE
'Night owls' risk dying sooner than 'larks'
'Night owls' – people who like to stay up late and have trouble dragging themselves out of bed in the morning – have a higher risk of dying sooner than 'larks', people who have a natural preference for going to bed early and rise with the sun,... April 18th, 2018MEDICAL PRACTICE
Patients happiest with doctors in less busy practices
Doctors who see fewer patients may get better online reviews than physicians who have higher-volume practices, a study of US urologists suggests, reports Reuters Health. Researchers examined data on 665 urologists with Medicare patients in... April 18th, 2018NEUROLOGY
Scientists neutralise significant Alzheimer's gene
Scientists have claimed an important breakthrough in the battle against Alzheimer’s after neutralising the most significant gene responsible for the disease for the first time. The Daily Telegraph reports that a team in California successfully... April 18th, 2018A sedentary life linked to reduced brain health
Sitting too much is linked to changes in a section of the brain that is critical for memory, according to a preliminary study by University of California Los Angeles researchers of middle-aged and older adults. Studies show that too much sitting,... April 18th, 2018Cavernous malformation predicts haemorrhage risk in young adults
In people younger than 45, the presence of a cavernous malformation (CM) in the infratentorial region and the existence of a developmental venous anomaly (DVA) are reliable predictors for the risk of haemorrhage, according to retrospective findings... April 18th, 2018NEUROSURGERY
New assessment tool builds on Glasgow Coma Scale
The University of Glasgow's Sir Graham Teasdale, co-creator of the Glasgow Coma Scale, has teamed up with Paul M Brennan and Gordon D Murray of the University of Edinburgh to create new assessment tools that build on the Glasgow Coma Scale to...
April 18th, 2018
OBSTETRICS
Painkillers during pregnancy could affect fertility of the unborn child
Taking painkillers during pregnancy could affect the fertility of the unborn child in later life, University of Edinburgh research suggests. These drugs may also affect the fertility of future generations, by leaving marks on DNA. The findings add... April 18th, 2018Women at highest risk of heart failure within 6 weeks of delivery
Heart failure is a leading cause of maternal morbidity and death in the United States – with the rate of pregnancy-related deaths more than doubling between 1987 and 2011. Even so, much about heart failure-related hospitalisations before, during... April 18th, 2018ONCOLOGY
One-two drug combo punch an effective treatment for lung cancers
A one-two combo punch using two currently available drugs could be an effective treatment for the majority of lung cancers, a study by scientists at the University of Texas Southwestern's Simmons Cancer Centre shows.
Researchers found that a...
April 18th, 2018
Common iron compounds may increase colon cancer risk
Two common iron compounds increase the formation of a known biomarker for cancer, according to a study of cancer cells from Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden. The two compounds, ferric citrate and ferric EDTA, are often used in dietary... April 18th, 2018High amounts of carbs may increase head and neck cancer recurrence risk
Consuming high amounts of carbohydrates and various forms of sugar during the year prior to treatment for head and neck cancer may increase patients' risks of cancer recurrence and mortality, a study from the University of... April 18th, 2018PSYCHIATRY
Ketamine promising in treating major depression and suicidal thoughts
Ketamine has "shown promise" in the rapid treatment of major depression and suicidal thoughts, BBC News reports. Ketamine has a reputation as a party drug but is licensed as an anaesthetic. The American study found use of the drug via a nasal spray...
April 18th, 2018
Traumatic brain injury significantly increases dementia risk
The risk of dementia, including Alzheimer’s, was significantly higher in people who had experienced a traumatic brain injury (TBI) than for people who had no history of TBI, according to one of the largest studies to date on that association.... April 18th, 2018PSYCHOLOGY
Long-lasting benefits of using meditation to sustain attention
Gains in the ability to sustain attention developed through intensive meditation training are maintained up to seven years later, reports a study is based on the Shamatha Project, a major investigation of the cognitive, psychological and biological... April 18th, 2018PUBLIC HEALTH
Drinking alcohol above daily recommended limit shortens life
Drinking alcohol will shorten your life. Research in the United Kingdom suggests that every glass of wine or pint of beer over the daily recommended limit will cut half an hour from the expected lifespan of a 40-year-old, reports The Guardian.... April 18th, 2018