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Editor's Pick
Processed meat a high risk factor for type 2 diabetes – UK analysis
Meat consumption, particularly of processed meat and unprocessed red meat, is associated with a higher type 2 diabetes risk, suggests an analysis of data...
Common lab tests unable to diagnose long Covid – US study
Almost four and a half years after the pandemic began, one of the biggest challenges still facing physicians is understanding, diagnosing and treating long...
Coma patients might have some awareness – US study
When people suffer severe brain damage – from vehicle accidents, for example, or falls or aneurysms – they may slip into a coma for...
Higher cancer risk with heavy cannabis use – US study
People who are regular and heavy cannabis users have a three to five times greater risk of developing some head and neck cancers, according...
Cervical cancer treatment success with heat therapy – Wits study
Researchers at Wits University have successfully enhanced the effectiveness of heat therapy to help treat cervical cancer – the second most common cancer among...
Severe tooth loss linked to higher risk of fatal heart disease – US analysis
Severe teeth loss – which can happen in older age – is not just a dental issue but could also be linked to a...
Surge in children's sugary drink intake – global study
Worldwide, children and adolescents drank, on average, 23% more sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) in 2018 than they did in 1990, according to a recent study,...
Agricultural antibiotics linked to Nigerian babies born with AMR
Colistin, one of the last remaining antibiotics that is still effective in killing bacteria and fighting infections like pneumonia, is rarely used in hospitals...
Cranberries reduce UTI risk, meta analysis confirms
Unsweetened cranberry juice is often recommended by doctors as a treatment for urinary tract infections (UTIs), and yet given a lack of solid scientific evidence, some...
Millennials and Gen Xers have higher risk of 17 cancers – US study
US and Canadian researchers have identified 17 cancer types that appear to be more common in Generation X and millennials than in older age...
European experts identify genes which increase severe Covid risk
Whether or not a person becomes seriously ill with Covid-19 depends, among other things, on genetic factors, and European researchers recently not only confirmed...
Alzheimer’s blood test scores 90% accuracy in Swedish study
Scientists have taken another major stride toward the long-sought goal of diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease with a simple blood test after researchers reported that a...
Double mastectomy no guarantee against cancer – Canadian cohort study
Women who had a lumpectomy or a mastectomy and kept their other breast did just as well as women who had a double mastectomy,...
Aspirin may lower colorectal cancer death risk – Italian study
A growing body of evidence has shown that people who regularly take aspirin have a lower risk for colorectal cancer (CRC) and are less...
First trimester Covid exposure, jab, not tied to birth defects risk
Neither Covid-19 infection nor vaccination during the first trimester of pregnancy is associated with increased risk of major birth defects, found a study of...
Common blood thinner could treat cobra venom – global study
A commonly used blood thinner can be used as an antidote to cobra venom, an international study has suggested, research that experts have described...
Over-the-counter nasal sprays may prevent full-blown flu – UK study
In the largest trial of its kind, British scientists found that using nasal sprays at the first sign of a sore throat, cough, cold...
Ultrasound cancer screening less accurate in black women – US study
Experts suggest that a common screening technique used to assess the risk of endometrial cancer may be less effective in black women, and that...
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...