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Editor's Pick
Lockdowns slashed wheezing in generation of babies – Italian study
The Covid-19 pandemic had an upside for lockdown babies: substantially less wheezing and bronchiolitis, according to an Italian retrospective cohort study, with the researchers...
Neonatal antibiotic use slashed in multi-disciplinary SA project
After a 20-week intervention involving nearly 600 neonates, researchers found that the implementation of a prospective, multi-disciplinary antimicrobial stewardship (AMS) programme had significantly reduced...
Some antidepressants may be tied to weight gain – Harvard study
Recent studies have suggested that weight gain may be an unwanted side effect of certain antidepressants, with the researchers highlighting the importance of full...
Prostate drug may ward off dementia with Lewy bodies – US study
A recent study suggests that certain drugs commonly used to treat enlarged prostate may also decrease the risk for dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB),...
Multivitamins don’t help you live longer – major US study
Taking a daily multivitamin does not help people to live any longer and may actually increase the risk of an early death, according to...
Anxiety in older men may be tied to higher Parkinson’s risk
People over 50 with anxiety may be up to twice as likely to develop Parkinson’s disease as their peers without anxiety, and are more...
Boosting oxygen may save preterm infants – Sydney study
In a challenge to existing recommendations, researchers say delivery room resuscitation with high initial levels of oxygen for very preterm infants could reduce their...
Tirzepatide effective for obstructive sleep apnoea – US study
An international collaboration has suggested that tirzepatide, known to manage type 2 diabetes, could be the first effective drug therapy for obstructive sleep apnoea...
Walking staves off lower back pain for longer – Australian study
People who regularly have lower back pain go longer without the discomfort if they incorporate walks into their weekly routines, researchers suggested after the...
Nasal immune cells tied to Covid evasion – first human SARS study
Scientists have discovered differences in the immune response that could explain why some people seem to escape Covid infection, and which might, they say,...
‘Internet addiction’ and neurological changes in teens – systematic review
A study in in PLOS Mental Health suggesting that in teens with “internet addiction”, there is a disruption of the signalling between brain regions important...
Excess kilos in teen years can double later stroke risk – Finnish study
Women who were overweight or obese as teenagers or young adults had more than a twofold increased risk for stroke before 55, suggest researchers,...
Positive effect of intensive lifestyle changes on Alzheimer’s – small US trial
Intensive lifestyle changes improved cognitive outcomes and slowed disease progression in a phase II trial of early Alzheimer’s, with the patients’ scores in cognition and...
Landmark finding on cause of inflammatory bowel disease and immune disorders
Researchers have discovered a major driver of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and several other immune disorders that affect the spine, liver and arteries, raising...
Atrial fibrillation tied to higher risk of stroke and dementia
After examining data on more than 5m people from British GP practices, researchers from the University of Birmingham found that patients with a common...
What's best? US study compares step-counting to timed workouts
A large US study has looked at whether physical exercise or the goal of reaching a daily step count has a better impact on...
Durban experts flag breast cancer genetic trends for different race groups
Precise tracking of breast cancer trends in Sub-Saharan Africa is difficult because of a lack of population-specific data, but in KwaZulu-Natal, researchers were able...
BP meds double bone-fracture risk in elderly patients – US cohort study
Nursing home patients who take blood pressure drugs have a higher than normal risk of life-threatening bone fractures, which can then often trigger a...
Feeding peanuts to babies reduces later allergies – long-term UK-US study
Children who are given peanut products from infancy are significantly less likely to develop peanut allergies by early adolescence, according to a recent study.
The...
Ozempic cuts kidney disease risk – global study
A multi-year study finding that Ozempic markedly lowers the risk of complications from chronic kidney disease could dramatically increase the pool of patients eligible...
Fish oil supplements may increase heart conditions risk – global study
Recent research findings suggest that fish oil supplements might increase the risk of someone developing a heart condition or stroke, but could reduce the...
Second antibiotic not needed after C-section – Pretoria study
A local study that investigated the impact of kefazolin plus metronidazole compared with kefazolin alone on postpartum infection rates in women undergoing Caesarean section...
Weekly insulin jabs show good results
A once-weekly insulin injection, efsitora, has showed blood sugar reduction consistent with commonly used daily insulins across two studies in patients with type 2...
Common antibiotic for sepsis treatment linked to higher mortality – US study
Recent research by American scientists suggests that a commonly prescribed antibiotic for patients with suspected sepsis may be linked to increased mortality.
The study, led...
Dopamine may play a role in autism disorders – Chinese study
Scientists believe they have made a breakthrough in the understanding of the neuroscience behind autism spectrum disorders, with their findings focusing on the chemical...
CVD benefits from weight-loss drugs a 'game-changer'
Two important studies were presented at this year’s European Congress on Obesity (ECO), based on the landmark Semaglutide and Cardiovascular Outcomes (SELECT) trial from...
Gene type causes Alzheimer’s, suggest Spanish experts
Scientists are proposing a new way of understanding the genetics of Alzheimer’s that would mean that up to a fifth of patients would be...
High mortality risk after hip breaks in elderly – Canadian analysis
A recent analysis found poor survival rates after bone fractures in older adults, with fewer than a third of men and half of women...
Hormones safe for menopause – US study dispels old flawed findings
The benefits of hormone therapy for the treatment of menopause symptoms outweigh the risks, and what is available now is very different from two...
How old is too old for colonoscopy?
A large observational study in the US has suggested the risks of surveillance colonoscopy might outweigh the benefits for some older patients, in whom...
Toxic lead, uranium levels in teen vapers’ urine – US study
Teenage vapers are exposing their bodies to a host of toxic metals, say researchers, who found that regular vapers aged 13 to 17, and...
Perinatal HIV transmission tied to cognitive deficits – US meta-analysis
A detailed analysis of 35 studies suggests that perinatal transmission of HIV to newborns may be associated with serious cognitive deficits as children grow...
AFib rising among younger people – US study
Atrial fibrillation (AFib) – an abnormal heart rhythm that affects the heart’s upper chambers and can increase the risk of stroke and heart failure...
Personalised mRNA jab a 'game-changer' for cancer patients
The launch of patient trials involving the world’s first personalised mRNA cancer vaccine for melanoma has been welcomed by experts for its “game-changing” potential...
Call to reduce antipsychotic medicines for dementia patients
Doctors are being urged to reduce prescribing of antipsychotic drugs to dementia patients after the largest study of its kind found they were linked...
Cheap diabetes drug may delay ageing, say US scientists
An inexpensive drug taken by millions of people to control diabetes may do more than lower blood sugar, with research suggesting it might have...
Diet change better at relieving IBS than medicine – Swedish trial
Adopting either a low FODMAP diet or one that was low in carbohydrates but still high in fibre relieved irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms...
Does what you eat affect your brain health?
Researchers, who have long been interested in finding out what diets optimise brain function, which is affected by dietary patterns and food choices, have...
No benefits from 'outdated' beta-blockers after heart attack
Swedish researchers have described as outdated the standard practice of prescribing beta-blockers after a heart attack to lessen the risk of a future cardiovascular...
Post-birth esketamine slashes depression by three quarters – Chinese study
Scientists recently found that a single dose of 0.2 mg/kg of esketamine soon after childbirth reduced major depressive events among women with prenatal depressive...