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Friday, 5 September, 2025

FOCUS: CARDIOLOGY

Game-changing heart health research at world conference

Venilla Yoganathan - 0
Heart health and treatment took centre stage at the world’s largest gathering of heart experts in Madrid at the weekend, where a slew of pioneering research and study findings was released, including details of a new pill to lower blood pressure, and research showing a common blood thinner is more effective in preventing CVD than good old aspirin. Other – more alarming – studies presented at the European Society of Cardiology suggested that beta-blockers, long used as a first-line treatment...
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NEWS UPDATE

Mkhize implicated in new Digital Vibes evidence

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has been given court approval to introduce new evidence allegedly exposing how former Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize, his family and associates benefited from the R150m Digital Vibes scandal. The SIU says the latest “crucial” evidence will help prove how public funds were allegedly laundered through sham business transactions, with at least R11.5m disguised as cattle purchases, reports IOL. Investigators say the money ultimately benefited Mkhize’s wife, son and business affiliates, with SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago saying the new evidence exposes money laundering without services provided. The Digital Vibes contract was originally intended to support public awareness campaigns for...

Doctors flag crippling cuts at major Durban hospital

Doctors have blown the whistle about a crisis at one of KwaZulu-Natal’s most important public hospitals, saying it is functioning far under capacity due to a series of crippling cuts, writes Chris Bateman for Spotlight. The Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital in Durban’s Cato Manor is operating at around 40% below surgical capacity, according to senior doctors there. As one of a small number of central hospitals in South Africa, it provides specialist services unavailable elsewhere in KwaZulu-Natal and serves as a critical hub for training healthcare workers. Several doctors who work at Albert Luthuli told Spotlight that frozen posts, severely...

Chronic staff shortages add to growing mental healthcare burden

The public sector averages just 0.31 psychiatrists per 100 000 people, with far fewer in remote areas, with lack of specialised facilities, collapsing infrastructure and unequal access to psychiatric specialists exacerbating the problem, reports TimesLIVE. Recently, staff at Zithulele Hospital in Mqanduli, Eastern Cape, watched in horror as a mentally ill patient scaled the hospital roof. Nurses, speaking on condition of anonymity sai: “He was not only endangering his own life but was also a danger to other patients and staff.” Security coaxed him down, but it was not an isolated incident. Zithulele serves a population of 130 000 but has no...

Dora Nginza staff down tools over unpaid overtime – again

Nurses and support staff at Dora Nginza Hospital in the Eastern Cape, who have been on a wildcat strike for a week, have apologised to patients crowding the corridors and told them doctors will handle their care until the Department of Health has settled five months of unpaid overtime. The Herald reports that the striking workers moved their protest through the psychiatric, dispensary and casualty wards after public order police dispersed them from the hospital entrance, where they had previously been blocking access to patients and colleagues who wanted to work at the Gqeberha hospital. On Tuesday, patients – some on...

Bed linen crisis hits Bara patients

Soweto’s Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital is struggling with yet another bed linen crisis, leaving hundreds of patients without basic bedding necessities and contributing to hospital-acquired infections, a situation the DA has blamed on an “alarming collapse in hospital management”. It’s not the only hospital grappling with the linen issue, reports SowetanLIVE. The Dunswart provincial laundry, which services the Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital, Tambo Memorial Hospital, Tembisa Hospital, 25 clinics and the Gauteng Emergency Medical Services, is operating at just 75% capacity. Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko said 860 beds at Bara do not have a full set of linen,...

Gauteng Health flags organ donor scarcity in SA

The critical shortage of organ donors is unlikely to improve unless more people become donors, with Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko warning that at least 6 500 patients are awaiting organ and tissue donations across South Africa, and more than 1 100 in Gauteng alone need kidney transplants. TimesLIVE reports that at a legislature sitting on Tuesday, coinciding with National Kidney Awareness Week (2-6 September), the MEC said the figures include patients already listed and others still undergoing work-ups for possible transplants. It is estimated that 6%-10% of South Africans have some form of kidney disease, and many are unaware until...

Wits team joins global mosquito observatory in malaria fight

In a collaborative drive, Wits University researchers have partnered in the continent’s first interconnected mosquito observatory network, VectorGrid-Africa, which has also launched in Tanzania, Kenya, Mozambique and Madagascar. TimesLIVE reports that the €6.1m initiative is funded by the EU’s Horizon/EDCTP programme and led by the University of Glasgow. It will establish advanced monitoring sites to collect good quality, open-access data on mosquito species and environmental factors influencing vector dynamics. This will help identify mosquito species that are susceptible to transmitting diseases, and aid in fast-tracking disease forecasting. Wits scientists Professor Lizette Koekemoer, Research Professor at the Wits Research Institute for Malaria, and Distinguished...

Limited African genetics research impacts research

Of all the human genomes that have been sequenced thus far, only 2% come from Africa, according to geneticist Veron Ramsuran, highlighting the limitations on understanding genetic diversity on the continent. The University of KwaZulu-Natal professor was speaking speaking at the Longevity Summit during the World Health Exhibition in Cape Town this week where he highlighted the connection between DNA and the ageing process, reports News24. The summit underscored that while there is no straightforward formula for extending lifespan, ongoing research offers valuable insights into how to live longer and enjoy an improved quality of life in those additional years. Ramsuran said...

Malawi low on TB drugs

Malawi is running out of tuberculosis drugs, with health officials warning that stocks will dry up by the end of September – this just months after the WHO announced that the country had successfully reduced TB cases by 40% over the past decade. The Guardian reports that in March, the WHO’s country representative, Dr Neema Rusibamayila Kimambo, said Malawi had seen a high rate of success in treating TB and a significant reduction in the number of deaths. But pulverised by the cuts in aid from the US, UK and other donors, the Health Ministry has now been forced to warn of low...

FDA approves first-in-class drug for fibromyalgia

The FDA has approved cyclobenzaprine hydrochloride sublingual tablets (Tonmya, Tonix Pharmaceuticals), a first-in-class, non-opioid treatment for adults with fibromyalgia, a chronic pain syndrome that affects more than 10m Americans, around 80% of whom are women. Medscape reports that the medication, taken once-daily at bedtime, targets non-restorative sleep, a root cause of pain, fatigue and brain fog in fibromyalgia, and is the first new FDA-approved therapy for the treatment of fibromyalgia in more than 15 years. Tonmya (formerly TNX-102 SL) is expected to be available in the fourth quarter of this year. In two double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trials (RELIEF and RESILIENT) of nearly 1 000 patients with...

Firing of CDC boss prompts wave of resignations

The White House fired Dr Susan Monarez, director of the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), last Wednesday after she had refused to resign, leading to several other key officials also walking out, reports the BBC. In announcing her departure earlier, the government said Monarez was “not aligned with the President’s agenda”, prompting a statement from her lawyers who said she had not been told of her removal and would not resign. They said she was being targeted for refusing “to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives and fire dedicated health experts”, and accused Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr of...

Tembisa fire repairs to cost R14m

Repairs to the fire-damaged Tembisa Hospital will cost R14m, according to Gauteng Health MEC Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko, in response to a question in the Gauteng legislature this week. SowetanLIVE reports that the South African Pandemic Intervention and Relief Effort (SPIRE) has offered to donate its services to the Department for repairs to the facility, which was extensively damaged by two fires within three days earlier this year. The first phase of deep cleaning and renovations will be concluded by the end of this month. The MEC said the first blaze on 19 April in the accident and emergency department (A&E) in a temporary...

Kennedy to ‘reveal causes of autism’ this month

US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr is on track to identify “interventions” that are “certainly causing autism”, and possible ways of addressing them, in September, he says. The Hill reports that six months ago, Kennedy had vowed to find the cause of growing rates of autism, an “epidemic” he described as “dwarfing the Covid epidemic”. Asking for a progress report during a Cabinet meeting last Tuesday, President Donald Trump had called autism “such a tremendous horror show… what’s happening in our country and some other countries, but mostly our country”. “We will have announcements as promised in September, finding interventions,...

Denmark says sorry for forced birth control in Greenland

Thousands of women and girls in Greenland received IUDs in the 1960s and 1970s, many of them without consent, and last week, the country – along with Denmark – officially apologised. The historic mistreatment of Greenlandic Indigenous girls and women, including forced contraception, dates back to the 1960s in some cases, reports Euronews. In their apology, Greenland's Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said the issue represented “a dark chapter in our history”, while Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said that although the past could not be changed, “we can take responsibility”. Last year, nearly 150 Inuit women sued Denmark and filed compensation claims...

Is your practice cyber-ready? Join the Ethiqal Ethics Webinar

Ethical patient record keeping is essential to modern healthcare, ensuring safe, effective and trustworthy care, so don’t miss the Ethiqal Ethics Webinar, Ethical Record Keeping in The Digital Age – Is your practice cyber ready and secure? on 16 September from 6.30pm until 8.15pm. Accurate documentation supports continuity, clinical decision-making and legal accountability, while also carrying ethical importance by safeguarding sensitive information with honesty, confidentiality and respect. Poor record-keeping can decrease patient outcomes, create confusion, impact multidisciplinary collaboration and create legal risk. Managing records ethically protects patient privacy and autonomy while allowing patients access to and control over their health data....

MEDICO-LEGAL

Psychiatrist suggests 'Ozempic-induced rage' led to stabbings

Ozempic has been blamed for a senseless attack in which an Australian grandmother apparently stabbed her daughter-in-law and young grandson, and who has since been refused bail. ABC News reports that a forensic psychiatrist told the court the woman’s alleged offending may have been caused by the “toxic side effects” of the drug. The matter is listed for a committal hearing in October. A court heard that the Wollongong woman (59) may have experienced “Ozempic-induced rage” when she allegedly stabbed her daughter-in-law and grandson during a roadside attack. She has been in custody since June, after she allegedly followed her 27-year-old daughter-in-law as...

Kenyan hospitals in organ transplant probe

The Mediheal Group of Hospitals in Kenya and two other local facilities are under investigation for illegal organ harvesting after it was discovered that foreign patients had received organ transplants paid for by the now-defunct National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF). Appearing before the National Assembly’s Health Committee last Wednesday, management from the facilities admitted that some of their hospitals had performed transplants on foreign patients, and that they had been registered and paid for through the NHIF, reports Kenyans News. A medical officer at Mediheal hospital said five patients were from Somalia. Questioned about the origin of the donors, hospital representatives said...

SOME RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS IN THE PAST WEEK

CARDIOLOGY

Wegovy slashes heart risk by 57% – STEER study

Novo Nordisk has said its weight loss drug Wegovy cut the risk of heart attack, stroke or death by 57% versus Eli Lilly’s rival medicines Mounjaro and Zepbound in a real-world...

Cheek swab IDs children with heart condition – British study

A simple cheek-swab test can identify children with a potentially deadly heart condition, five years before they would normally be diagnosed, suggests research from scientists in the United Kingdom. The...

CARDIOVASCULAR

Shingles jab may cut heart attack, stroke risk – global review

Getting the shingles vaccine could lower your risk of a heart attack or stroke by as much as 20%, according to the first study of its kind, which was...

MICROBIOLOGY

Free State doctors identify first SA case of novel fungal infection

A Free State medical team has identified a rare fungal infection in an HIV+ patient that has never been seen before in South Africa, reports Daily Maverick. The doctors and...

ONCOLOGY

Breast cancer pill extends survival in seven-year trial – Lilly

A breakthrough therapy for advanced breast cancer also works well in the early stages, improving survival outcomes for patients, according to Lilly Oncology, which says its phase 3 clinical trial has confirmed that the abemaciclib pill (brand...

Ovarian cancer blood test may ID disease early – British-US study

Scientists say they have developed a simple blood test to spot ovarian cancer early that could “significantly improve” outcomes for women with the disease, reports The Guardian. More than 300...

OTOLARYNGOLOGY

Surgery better than meds for chronic sinus condition – UK study

British experts have suggested, after a recent study, that surgery – not antibiotics – might be the best way to treat chronic rhinosinusitis, which leaves people with a permanently...

WOMEN’S HEALTH

Birth control jab linked to higher brain tumour risks – large US analysis

Research carried out by the Cleveland Clinic in the United States found that although rare, there was a higher meningioma risk in women who used the Depo-Provera contraceptive for...

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