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Editor's Pick
Hearing aids improve cognitive function — Australian study
Cognitive decline is associated with hearing loss, which affects about 32% of people aged 55 years, and more than 70% of people aged over...
Prescribing macrolide antibiotics in first trimester increases birth defect risk
Children of mothers prescribed macrolide antibiotics during the first trimester of pregnancy are at an increased risk of major birth defects when compared with...
Studies show little or no benefit from omega-3 supplements and slight risk
Two large, randomised UK studies found that taking daily omega-3 fats in supplement form have no significant overall impact on a person's health, no...
Kids eat more calories in post-game snacks than they burn during the game
A study led by Brigham Young University public health researchers finds the number of calories kids consume from post-game snacks far exceeds the number...
Widowhood accelerates cognitive decline in those at risk for Alzheimer's disease
The death of a spouse often means the loss of intimacy, companionship and everyday support for older adults. A study finds that widowhood can...
Paralympic rule change for 'blade runners' is contradicted by US study
The assumptions behind a recent International Paralympic Committee rule change affecting double, below-the-knee amputees racing in prosthetic legs are contradicted by a small, first-of-its-kind...
Second antibiotic no advantage for treating super-bug Golden Staph
A world-first, three-year multi-centre study involved 352 patients at 27 hospitals in Australia, Singapore, Israel and New Zealand has called into question the effectiveness...
Insufficient evidence backing herbal medicines for weight loss
There is currently insufficient evidence to recommend any of the herbal medicines examined in an Australian systematic review and meta-analysis.
Researchers at the University of...
Brain structure differences link to individuals with lifelong antisocial behaviour
Individuals who exhibit lifelong-persistent antisocial behaviour – for example, stealing, aggression and violence, bullying, lying, or repeated failure to take care of work or...
Improved handwashing at airports could slow spread of viral diseases by 70%
Improving the rate of handwashing at just 10 major airports could significantly slow the spread of a viral disease, researchers estimate, The findings, which...
Strokes: Optimism linked to lower severity, inflammation, and disability
Stroke survivors with high levels of optimism had lower inflammation levels, reduced stroke severity and less physical disability after three months, compared to those...
Cocoa may improve walking in people with peripheral artery disease — small study
In a small study of 44 peripheral artery disease patients over age 60, those who drank a beverage containing flavanol-rich cocoa three times a...
40-nation survey finds that almost three out of four unhappy with breast size
The majority of women worldwide may be dissatisfied with the size of their breasts, found a 40-nation study. The authors note that this has...
Yale study adds to evidence of diabetes drug's link to heart risk
Rosiglitazone was associated with a 33% increased risk of a composite cardiovascular event (heart attack, heart failure, cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular related death) compared with...
FDA study finds sunscreen's active ingredients readily absorbed in bloodstream
The active chemicals in sunscreens can readily soak into the bloodstream, found a US Food and Drug Administration pilot study.
Scientists at the US...
Surgical masks, airport screenings and 'involuntary quarantine' – what works and what doesn't
Public use of surgical masks, airport screenings, and so-called "involuntary quarantine” — forced isolation — are all being used to try to contain the...
Late diagnosis by GPs link to lung cancer mortality — UK report
More than half of lung cancer patients in some parts of the UK are only diagnosed when they visit A&E, often because their GPs...
'Robust' study endorses link between red/processed meats and cardiovascular disease
Eating two servings of red meat, processed meat or poultry – but not fish – per week was linked to a 3-7% higher risk...
Hot flashes may impair memory performance
If you're having difficulty identifying the right word to express yourself clearly or remembering a story correctly, you may blame menopause. A study by...
Bonding effect of skin-to-skin contact in preterm infants
Skin-to-skin contact between parent and infant has positive effects for the infant's development, writes MedicalBrief. But for parents who children have had to...
Close to a third of UK doctors may suffer from burnout
Almost a third of UK doctors may be suffering from burnout, stress and “compassion fatigue”. The Guardian reports that according to a survey by...
Scepticism greets China study that links snakes to coronavirus outbreak
As human cases rise in a mysterious viral outbreak that originated in China, scientists are rushing to identify the animals, where they suspect the...
Sepsis associated with 1 in 5 deaths globally, double previous estimate
Twice as many people as previously believed are dying of sepsis worldwide, according to an analysis, published in The Lancet.
Among them are a...
Habitual tea drinking cuts CVD and all-risk mortality — China-PAR study
"Habitual tea consumption is associated with lower risks of cardiovascular disease and all-cause death," said first author Dr Xinyan Wang, Chinese Academy of Medical...
Blue light may help with mild traumatic brain injury
Relative to placebo, exposure to morning blue light led to improved sleep, reduced daytime sleepiness, and improved executive neural functioning, and was associated with...
New T-cell therapy has potential to kill most human cancer types – animal study
The discovery of a new kind of immune cell receptor could pave the way for a new type of T-cell cancer therapy that can...
Female GPs in UK earn 35% less than male colleagues
Female GPs in the UK earn an average of £40 000 ($52 000) a year less than their male colleagues, an analysis of official National Health...
Human sperm rapidly affected by diet — small Swedish study
Sperm are influenced by diet and the effects arise rapidly. This is the conclusion of a study by researchers at Linköping University, in which...
Simple cardiac blood test before surgery can predict adverse outcomes
A common cardiac blood test done before surgery can predict who will experience adverse outcomes after most types of surgery, says an international study...
Half the amount of chemo still prevents recurrence of testicular cancer
Testicular cancer can be prevented from coming back using half the amount of chemotherapy that is currently used, a clinical trial has shown. In...
Higher cow's-milk fat intake associated with 40% lower risk of childhood adiposity
A systematic review and meta-analysis led by St Michael's Hospital of Unity Health Toronto found children who drank whole milk had 40% lower odds...
BPA levels in humans dramatically under-estimated — study
Researchers have developed a more accurate method of measuring bisphenol A (BPA) levels in humans and found that exposure to the endocrine-disrupting chemical is...
Eating within 10-hour window may help stave off diabetes, heart disease
In a collaborative effort, researchers from the Salk Institute and the University of California – San Diego School of Medicine found that a 10-hour...
Worldwide surge in measles deaths a 'preventable outrage’ — WHO
Worldwide more than 140,000 people died from a resurgence in measles in 2018, according to new estimates from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and...
Skiers have 50% lower incidence of depression and vascular dementia – but not Alzheimer's
Half as many skiers have been diagnosed with depression, a delayed manifestation of Parkinson's, a reduced risk of developing vascular dementia – but not...
Immunotherapy boosts survival in prostate cancer 'super survivors'
Some men with advanced prostate cancer who have exhausted all other treatment options could live for two years or more on immunotherapy, a major...
36% of UK doctors suffer from workplace burnout
Research led by Imperial College London has found that 36% of UK doctors may suffer from workplace burnout, rising to 43% of trainee doctors,...
Immunotherapy better than 'extreme' chemotherapy for advanced head and neck cancer
Immunotherapy is better than standard “extreme” chemotherapy as first-line treatment for advanced head and neck cancer and can keep some patients alive for more...
Less sleep may harm bone health in women
Research in post-menopausal women has found that those who slept for no longer than 5 hours per night were most likely to have lower...
Dangers of alternative medicine in advanced breast cancer
Patients with advanced breast cancer that has spread to the skin are likely to cause more harm than good if they use complementary therapies...