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Bolivian Amazon tribe has healthiest hearts in the world
A high carbohydrate diet of rice, plantain, manioc and corn, with a small amount of wild game and fish – plus around six hours...
Evolocumab with statins slashes cholesterol, reduces major CV events
Added to statins, the drug evolocumab decreased major cardiovascular (CV) events by cutting bad cholesterol to unprecedented levels, found the FOURIER trial on 27,000...
Contraceptive pill can protect women from some cancers
Women who have taken the oral contraceptive pill are protected from some types of cancer for as long as 30 years after they stopped...
Gluten-free diets may increase risk of type 2 diabetes
Eating more gluten may lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. This is according to a long-term observational study presented at the American...
Broad-spectrum snake venom antidote developed
US chemists have developed a molecular gel to neutralise deadly snake venom more cheaply and effectively than with traditional anti-venom, according to a University...
The evidence base for HRT: What can we believe?
A 'sensationalised cascade of fear' has for more than a decade led many women and their doctors incorrectly to believe hormone replacement therapy (HRT)...
Evidence of durable protection from attenuated malaria virus vaccine
An attenuated malaria virus vaccine has offered the first evidence of durable protection against multiple heterozygous infections within the same host, according to results...
Particular genetic variation in child makes intervention success 4x more likely
Genetic make-up can play a large, hidden role in the success of efforts to maximise a child's development, SA research shows. A new Stellenbosch University genetic analysis on...
Statins alongside chemo do not benefit patients with lung cancer – UK study
Cholesterol-lowering drugs used alongside chemotherapy have no effect on treatment outcomes for lung cancer patients, according to an Imperial College London randomised trial. The research...
'Groundbreaking' weight loss drug slashes type 2 diabetes risk
A weight loss drug has reduced the risk of type 2 diabetes by 80% compared to placebo. Study author Professor Carel le Roux, University...
Lifetime risk of revision surgery following joint replacement
University of Oxford researchers have introduced the novel approach of lifetime risk, which measures the risk of revision surgery following joint replacement, rather than...
Statistics SA: How South Africans die
Statistics South Africa has released its exhaustive analysis of mortality and causes of death in 2015, noting a 3% decline to 460,236 deaths. The...
Significant role of sexual violence in HIV infection and depression
Sexual violence plays a significant role in HIV infection and depression, according to ground-breaking research with women living in Rustenburg. Conducted by humanitarian organisation...
5-day fasting diet lowers risks for major diseases
A randomised phase-II trial of a fasting-mimicking diet of five days over a three-month cycle, reduced blood pressure, signs of inflammation and decreased insulin-like growth...
Phone app that challenges the Pill is approved in EU
A phone app has been granted medical approval to be used as a contraceptive in the European Union in a breakthrough that could spell...
Evidence of brain damage in soccer players – small UK study
Evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a potential cause of dementia caused by repeated blows to the head, has been found in the brains...
Harsher penalties for medical aid fraud called for
Medical aid schemes have criticised the Health Professions Council of SA for handing down fines of R20 000 and less to doctors found guilty of...
HPCSA president wants medical aids abolished as a ‘crime against humanity’
The Hospital Association of South Africa (HASA) notes with some disappointment reports quoting the Health Professions Council of South Africa’s (HPSCA) Dr Kgosi Letlape...
Malaria drug stymied by new parasite strain
A drug which is highly effective at treating malaria and commonly used in the UK, failed to cure four patients who contracted the disease...
Courts, politicians and doctors failed dying psychiatric patients
The SA courts have not emerged unscathed from the saga of the deaths of 94 psychiatric patients at the hands of uncaring, incompetent Gauteng...
Makgoba report: 94 silent deaths and still counting
At least 94 people died after Gauteng Health moved 1,900 psychiatriac patients out of Life Esidimeni to 27 unlicensed facilities, says SA’s Health Ombudsman,...
Beating C. Diff: A new treatment and restricting common antibiotic
Restricting the use of a common antibiotic was more important than a high profile 'deep clean' of hospitals in massively reducing antibiotic resistant Clostridium...
VFT produces 'marked improvement' in stroke patients' vision
A simple visuo-motor feedback training (VFT) programme for home use produces marked and long-lasting improvements in visual neglect, found a study from the universities...
Drug-resistant TB mostly being spread person-to-person in SA
The worst form of drug-resistant tuberculosis in SA isn't just arising from inadequate treatment, it's mostly being spread from person to person. Researchers tracked...
OECD: Many new drugs are bad value for money
An Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development report has criticised the pricing strategy of the pharmaceutical industry, claiming that many new drugs are simply bad value for...
Concern over diagnostic low-dose radiation exposure challenged – study
The long-held belief that even low doses of radiation, such as those received in diagnostic imaging, increase cancer risk is based on an inaccurate,...
Study recommends reducing maximum storage limit of blood
The oldest blood available for transfusions releases large and potentially harmful amounts of iron into patients’ bloodstreams, a Columbia University study has found. Based on...
In high-intensity training, fewer reps could be more beneficial
For the first time, there is evidence that cardio-respiratory fitness levels are improved more by doing fewer repetitions of high-intensity exercise, according to a...
NHI will destroy private medicine and fuel emigration — IRR report
South Africa’s National Health Insurance system will effectively put an end to private health care, according to a report by the Institute of Race...
Fake medical journals, filled with bad science, are spreading
Recent years have seen the appearance of journals from mainstream publishers that are based entirely on pseudoscience. Forbes calls out the likes of BMJ,...
AspIrin's role in reducing cancer risks
Aspirin may slow the spread of some types of colon and pancreatic cancer cells, found a US study, while a Chinese study and meta-analysis...