A Focus
Obesity, especially around the waist, linked to brain shrinkage
January 16th, 2019 Obesity, especially around the middle, was associated with lower grey matter brain volumes, a large British analysis found. Existing research has linked brain shrinkage to memory decline and a higher risk of dementia. For the study, researchers...
Breakthrough AI tools to detect cancers in women
January 16th, 2019 A new artificial intelligence (AI) tool from the UK Institute of Cancer Research scans tumour cells to pick out women with especially aggressive ovarian cancer. Separately, in the US, the National Institutes of Health and Global Good have developed...
Foreign-trained SA doctors head to court over lack of internships
January 9th, 2019 Some 105 foreign-trained medical doctors battling for internship placements are heading to court, claiming they are being side-lined, reports The Times. The Health Department, however, denies there are students who have not been placed. The...
No compelling evidence of health benefit from non-sugar sweeteners
January 9th, 2019 There is no compelling evidence to indicate important health benefits - weight, glycaemic control, oral health, cancer, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease - of non-sugar sweeteners, a European evidence review found. Potential harms cannot...
Brain training does not halt mental decline
December 12th, 2018 A Scottish study shows that people who regularly do intellectual activities throughout life have higher mental abilities. This provides a 'higher cognitive point' from which to decline, but brain training in the form of puzzles, crosswords, etc does...
Cosatu angered by delays and Health Dept divisions over NHI
December 12th, 2018 The slow pace at which the government is moving on the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill has drawn the ire of Cosatu, which plans to raise the issue at a meeting between the ANC and its alliance partners, Cosatu and the SA Communist Party. Cosatu...
McAlpine’s Law: Quacks rush to fill a vacuum
December 12th, 2018 Science doesn’t have all the answers but the money-making quacks are quick to fill the vacuum, writes MedicalBrief columnist Alastair McAlpine. The unique dependency of human infants on their caregivers makes the field of fussy and uncooperative...
Ice Maidens show women can be as physically resilient as men
December 5th, 2018 Women who underwent extreme physical training and completed a trans-Antarctic expedition did not show any more negative health effects than would be expected in men, according to a study. Lead author Dr Robert Gifford said, "Our findings contain...
Exit of more than 8,000 Cuban doctors puts Brazil in a 'state of panic'
December 5th, 2018 A rupture between Havana and Brazil's new far-right president-elect has triggered the immediate withdrawal of all the more than 8,000 doctors that were part of Cuba's international 'white-coat' medical diplomacy, reports The Daily Telegraph. The...
When common sense and sound judgment go up in smoke
December 5th, 2018 Government’s proposed anti-tobacco bill lacks any scientific assessment as an underlying principle of legislation, argues Tim Cohen, senior editor of Business Day. In a news story, Nick Hedley says tobacco company Philip Morris International sees...
Med scheme actions trigger practitioner calls to 'rein in' and 'rise up'
November 28th, 2018 The SA Private Practitioners Forum has lodged a complaint with the Council for Medical Schemes that the two largest medical schemes — Discovery and GEMS — are ‘circumventing’ payment for Prescribed Minimum Benefits. Meanwhile, at a media...
Implant investigation shows costs of poor regulation and testing
November 28th, 2018 The Prolift vaginal mesh implant was launched despite the company being warned it could shrink and harden inside the body, according to an international investigation into medical devices, reported in The Guardian. And DePuy is bearing the UK...
55% of former ICU patients report symptoms of psychological disorders
November 28th, 2018 Patients who have survived critical illnesses requiring care in an intensive care unit (ICU) frequently report symptoms of anxiety, PTSD and/or depression, found a large UK study. Those reporting symptoms of depression after critical illness appear...
Motsoaledi lashed for saying illegals are burdening health system
November 21st, 2018 Amnesty International and the Public Protector’s Office have lashed Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi over his statement that illegal and undocumented immigrants are putting an impossible burden on South Africa’s health system. “It has...
Mixed results from trials on cardiovascular benefits of fish oil
November 21st, 2018 VITAL and REDUCE-IT – both highly anticipated trials revolving around the cardiovascular benefits of fish oil products – delivered mixed results at this year’s AHA Scientific Sessions 2018 in Chicago, with one trial observing few heart...