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Preventative Medicine
'Game-changing' lenacapavir roll-out hangs in the balance
Aids activists say that if South Africa was able to roll out the twice-yearly anti-HIV jab to enough HIV-negative people, new infections could slow...
Now Trump pulls plug on childhood vaccines
The Trump administration is to halt its funding for Gavi, which helps buy vaccines for children in poor countries, and reduce its efforts to...
Kennedy's conflicting advice leave US doctors frustrated
Doctors and medical experts in the United States are irate about the mixed messaging and controversial advice being dispensed by Health & Human Services...
World’s largest protein study to revolutionise cancer, dementia tests
The world’s largest study of proteins circulating the human body will launch in the UK this month, with tens of millions of pounds in...
Rise in kidney stones among children worries doctors
Medical professionals are noting a concerning escalation in kidney stone cases among children, with some experts implicating a familiar culprit: ultra-processed foods. Other health...
Antibiotic crisis ‘could claim 40m lives’, warns UK expert
As superbugs spread across the globe, death rates from antimicrobial resistance are likely to double over the next 25 years, with senior citizens especially...
Chewing gum linked to drop in preterm births – randomised Malawi study
Results from a study in Malawi showed that chewing gum containing xylitol, a naturally occurring alcohol sugar, was associated with a 24% reduction in...
Colonoscopies detect more colorectal cancer than blood tests, study finds
Although people might prefer to get screened for colorectal cancer with a blood test rather than a colonoscopy, the latter stool-based procedure can prevent...
Early morning, evening activity could cut bowel cancer risk – German study
Being more active in the morning and evening may reduce the risk of bowel cancer by 11%, according to a study that suggests the...
Updated stroke guidelines highlight risks for women
New guidelines for preventing strokes spell out, for the first time, the risks faced by women, noting that pre-term births and conditions like endometriosis...
Gilead in talks with SAHPRA to register twice-yearly anti-HIV jab
Gilead Sciences, which makes the six-monthly anti-HIV injection, has approached the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) to discuss how to get the shot registered...
Standing desks don’t cut stroke, cardiac risk – Sydney study
Experts say that standing desks – billed as the ultimate antidote to sitting in front of a screen – don’t compensate for being inactive,...
RSV deaths now preventable in SA, local experts say
South African experts say the implementation of prevention strategies, combined with public engagement and collaboration between stakeholders, could significantly reduce the high rates of...
Efficacy of six-monthly anti-HIV jab confirmed in second study
In June, we heard what could be this year’s biggest HIV breakthrough: a twice-yearly injection can prevent HIV infection. Findings from a second large...
Combination treatment slashes cervical cancer deaths by 40%
British researchers are hailing a new cervical cancer treatment as the biggest improvement in 20 years, cutting the risk of death by 40% and...
Blind women help detect possible breast cancers in India
In an extraordinary programme, blind women in India are assisting in the diagnosis of possible breast cancers, in a country where mammograms are in...
TIME ‘Kid of the Year’ teen invents skin cancer soap
An American teenager is making waves in the oncological research world, having invented a soap which he hopes will, in the future, be used...
Antibiotics vs surgery for appendicitis
Appendicitis is nearly always treated with surgical removal of the appendix, making it the most common cause of emergency surgery in children, but growing...
US study flags high vitamin D deficiency rates
Nearly a quarter of the US population is estimated to have a deficiency in vitamin D, particularly black women aged 20 to 29, according to data...
FDA green light for colon cancer blood test
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a blood test to be used for colorectal cancer screening among average-risk adults 45 and older...
Urgent plea for action as malaria drug-resistance grows
A group of 28 leading scientists from 10 countries has warned that millions of lives are at risk unless urgent and radical action is...
Daily antibiotic wards off STIs – Canadian study
Scientists from Vancouver say their recent small study suggests a daily dose of a common antibiotic may prevent some infections with syphilis, gonorrhoea and...
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...
WHO suggests therapeutic HPV jabs to scale up vaccination
While a vaccine already exists to prevent human papillomavirus (HPV), the main cause of cervical cancer, more than 20 therapeutic HPV vaccine candidates are...
CDC updates age criteria for RSV jabs
The US Centres for Disease Control & Prevention has narrowed its recommendation for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines in older adults this year –...
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...
SA's rollout of HIV prevention jabs stymied by price
Although HIV infections in South Africa have plummeted in 20 years, from highs of more than 500 00 to around 149 000 in 2023, new...
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...
New cholera vaccine-makers gearing up as global stocks run out
The global stockpile of cholera vaccine has dried up, with doses being given to patients as fast as they are produced, but the good...
Finnish study calls for review of HPV screening policies
Vaccines that prevent the cancers caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) are so effective that it may be time to review HPV screening protocols,...
Corporate bosses risk cardio-metabolic health from lack of sleep – UCT study
A recent study has confirmed that four years of consistently inadequate sleep for corporate executives was associated with adverse cardio-metabolic health.
The research, led by...
Plant extract combo may relieve hangover symptoms; dehydration causation challenged
A German study using a plant extract combination of fruits, leaves found evidence for a significant efficiency in the reduction of hangover symptoms such...