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A Practitioner's Must Read
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...
MIC releases ARV and TB adverse drug reactions booklet
The Medicines Information Centre (MIC) at the University of Cape Town has released its latest publication, which is freely available for download. The MIC...
Meditation helps attentiveness and ability to focus in old age
Regular and intensive meditation sessions over the course of a lifetime could help a person remain attentive and focused well into old age. This...
WHO adds to current drug-resistant TB treatment guidelines
Within the context of an ongoing extensive review of evidence on treatment of drug-resistant (TB) taking place in 2018, the World Health Organisation (WHO)...
Combination pill significantly lowers blood pressure
A pill combining low doses of three blood pressure-lowering medications significantly increased the number of patients reaching blood pressure targets compared with usual care,...
Temporary increase in inhaled steroids benefits severe asthma
Serious asthma attacks in adults can be reduced by a temporary but significant increase in the dose of inhaled steroids during severe episodes of...
New TB screening methods cut deaths in people with HIV
Screening for tuberculosis (TB) and intensified follow-up of TB cases in people starting antiretroviral therapy and urine-based screening of inpatients with HIV both have...
Anti-depressants more effective than placebos in treating acute depression
A major study comparing 21 commonly used antidepressants concludes that all are more effective than placebo for the short-term treatment of acute depression in...
Evidence for changing the way type 2 diabetes is treated
A Virta Health study shows that its novel metabolic and continuous remote care model can support adults with type-2 diabetes to safely improve glycosylated...
FDA approves epileptic seizure monitoring watch
The Embrace seizure monitoring watch from Empatica, a company with offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Milan, Italy, has won clearance from the US Food...
Smoking-cessation medication not beneficial in the long-term
A Tel Aviv University study finds that only eight out of 100 smokers who take smoking cessation medications will have benefited from taking them...
1 in 4 pregnant women has mental health problems
A King’s College London study has found that 1 in 4 pregnant women has mental health problems. This is more common than previously thought...
Adolescence 'now lasts from ages 10-24'
Adolescence now lasts from the ages of 10 to 24, although it used to be thought to end at 19, scientists write in The...
Despite HIV risk, withdrawing Depo-Provera could increase maternal mortality
Even if Depo-Provera and other contraceptive injections raise the risk of HIV infection, withdrawing them from use in African countries would greatly increase maternal...
Challenging the dogma of genotype-defined resistance to ARVs
Genotype-defined resistance to antiretrovirals supposedly predicts future virological failure. Findings from clinical studies, including the 144-week results from the EARNEST trial, challenge this decades-long...
GPs fail to spot two out of every three cases of pneumonia
Testing for fever, high pulse rate, crackly breath sounds, and low oxygen levels could be key to helping GPs distinguish difficult to diagnose pneumonia...
Improved healing for drained skin abscesses with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole
Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole treatment was associated with improved outcomes in patients with drained skin abscesses regardless of lesion size or guideline criteria, according to a study...
New charting tool to predict risk of Alzheimer's
A simple new charting tool that tracks cognitive performance in adults aims to help physicians identify people who may be on the path to...
UK doctors put demanding patients at risk with complaint avoidance techniques
Patients in the UK are being put at risk because doctors are giving them drugs they do not need and sending them for unnecessary...
New US guidelines expected to triple number of hypertension patients
Heart experts in the US have issued new guidelines for high blood pressure that mean tens of millions more Americans will meet the criteria...
Healthcare professionals keep the flu cycle rolling…
Some four in 10 of healthcare professionals (HCPs) work while experiencing influenza-like illness (ILI), according to the findings of a US survey. As in...
Cause of dyslexia is in the eyes' light-receptor cells — Royal Society study
French scientists claim they may have found a physiological, and seemingly treatable, cause for dyslexia hidden in tiny light-receptor cells in the human eye....
Adult-onset ADHD may not exist, study suggests
More than 80% of people who have been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in adulthood are unlikely to have the condition, Medical News...
Generic medicine use hits an all-time high in SA
Based on the recently released Mediscor Medicines Review, generic use in SA has hit a record high of 60% compared to a low 35%...
HIV: The benefits of INH prophylaxis for TB are confirmed
Long-term follow-up in the ANRS TEMPRANO trial confirms that tuberculosis chemoprophylaxis in HIV-infected people is more than ever relevant in resource-limited countries. This prophylactic...
Cases of odyssean malaria reported in Pretoria
Four cases of malaria have been reported in Kilner Park, Pretoria, affecting persons with no recent history of travel to malaria transmission areas. Fortunately...
Taking a break from dieting may improve weight loss
Greater weight and fat loss were achieved with intermittent energy reduction, the randomised controlled Matador Study trials at the University of Tasmania show.
In the findings,...
Sleep deprivation in a controlled setting reduces depression symptoms
Sleep deprivation – typically administered in controlled, inpatient settings – rapidly reduces symptoms of depression in roughly half of depression patients, according the first...
Gut bacteria play decisive role in personal nutrition and obesity
Gut bacteria may play a decisive role in the weight regulation and weight loss, found a Danish study.
"Human intestinal bacteria have been linked to...
New recommendations on ARVs for pregnant women living with HIV
New recommendations on antiretroviral drugs for pregnant women living with HIV can help women make more informed choices about benefits and harms, says...
Better retention for HIV patients who have six-month clinic visits
Patients receiving care for HIV who were scheduled for clinic visits every six months were less likely to show up late, miss visits, have...
Steroids not effective for chest infections in non-asthmatic adults
Oral steroids should not be used for treating acute lower respiratory tract infection (or 'chest infections') in adults who don't have asthma or other...
CK-MB adds no value in evaluating patients with suspected heart attack.
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and the Mayo Clinic have compiled peer-reviewed evidence and crafted a guideline designed to help...
Using money to buy time is linked with greater happiness
13Money spent on buying free time rather than material goods is linked with greater life satisfaction, but relatively few people, even among the wealthy,...
Continue statins despite adverse reactions – study
Statins are known to reduce the risk of death and cardiovascular events for people who are at high risk; however, as many as 75%...
GPs prescribing anticoagulants for AF against official safety advice
British GPs are at times prescribing anticoagulants to patients with atrial fibrillation against official safety advice. The study was carried out by researchers at...
Removal of Tamiflu from WHO Essential Medicines list comes 'far too late'
Mark Ebell, professor of epidemiology at the University of Georgia, outlines in an editorial, important lessons from the Tamiflu story.
Tamiflu (oseltamivir) was approved by...
Better outcomes with I&D plus antibiotics for simple skin abscesses
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria are resistant to multiple antibiotics and commonly cause skin infections that can lead to more serious or life-threatening infection...
Hormonal contraceptives can be safely combined with most ARVs
Women taking various forms of hormonal contraceptives can likely combine them safely with antiretrovirals (ARVs), whether as HIV treatment or in the form of...
Antibiotics not working in 22% patients with community-acquired pneumonia
Approximately one in four (22.1%) adults prescribed an antibiotic in an outpatient setting for community-acquired pneumonia does not respond to treatment, according to a...