A round-up of this week's other news in brief
DIAGNOSING ALZHEIMER'S: Substances in cerebrospinal fluid could be used to diagnose elderly people with early signs of Alzheimer's disease, scientists said yesterday.
Confusion and loss of memory can either be early indications of dementia that will progress over time or normal signs of ageing. Determining which patients will progress to Alzheimer's disease is difficult.
But scientists in Sweden have found that compounds, or biomarkers, in cerebrospinal fluid could be a diagnostic tool to help determine early signs of Alzheimer's. "Using these biomarkers, we can identify patients with Alzheimer's disease when they have only mild memory disturbances," said Kaj Blennow, of Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Goteborg, Sweden.
Blennow and his colleagues found that elderly people with mild cognitive impairment who have raised levels of b-amyloid, and tau biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid were more likely to suffer from Alzheimer's.
HEALTHIER CRISPS: Walkers Crisps has cut the amount of saturated fat in its crisps by 70 per cent. It is now cooking them in sunseed oil, which has lower saturates than olive oil. "We have also reduced the salt in our crisps so that a packet will contain just 0.5g, which is 8 per cent of an adult's daily guideline amount of salt," the company said in a statement.
The company said it was not claiming it had turned its crisps into a health food, but it would make them a healthier snack.
SAMARITAN TALK: Self-awareness, recognising our strengths and our fragility, mobilising our personal coping strategies and knowing when to reach out for help are the themes that Martin Rogan, HSE national care group manager, will explore in a talk tomorrow night at 8pm in the Bank of Ireland Arts Centre, Foster Place, Dublin. The talk is the second in a series, entitled From Fragility to Resilience organised by the Samaritans. Admission is free but seats must be pre-booked by calling 01 6712261.
HERBALIST REGISTER: A register for herbalists was launched last week. The register includes herbalists trained in various traditions including Chinese herbal medicine, Ayurvedic herbalism and western herbalism. See also www.nationalregisterofherbalists.com. The Irish Institute of Medical Herbalists also operates a website for its members - www.iimh.org
IDA APPOINTMENT: Ciara Murphy has been appointed chief executive officer of the Irish Dental Association (IDA), the body that represents the majority of Ireland's general dental practitioners, public dental surgeons and specialists.
Ms Murphy has been working full-time with the IDA since 2000 and as deputy secretary general since 2003, and takes up the position with immediate effect.
UNTESTED MEDICINES: Ninety per cent of medicines used to treat newly born babies have not been tested to ensure their appropriateness, according to an all-party House of Lords select committee report.
Peers said 50 per cent of all medicines given to children of all ages are similarly untested.
These figures are highlighted in the report on the European Commission's proposals for paediatric medicines.
The Lords EU Sub-Committee on Social Policy and Consumer Affairs praised the Commission for attempting to set up common EU-wide procedure for testing and approving medicines for use in children and incentives to encourage manufacturers to develop or adapt medicines specifically for children.
TALL AND EDUCATED: A study of 950,000 Swedish men has shown that taller men get a better education, a new study has found.
The study, to be published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, could suggest short people are discriminated against as they are expected to be low achievers, said researcher Finn Rasmussen at Sweden's Karolinska Institute.
"The probability of achieving higher education in later life increases linearly with height," said the study.
The scientists did not draw conclusions, but Rasmussen said it could be something to do with social attitudes.
"We do not know if people have negative attitudes to short people. It is possible that there could be something in society about the expectations of people or attitudes to what people can perform," he said.
RED MEAT RISK: Eating large quantities of red meat can increase your risk of bowel cancer by producing substances in the gut that damage DNA, a new study has claimed.
A comparison of cells from the lining of the colon shows that people who eat a diet high in red meat have a significant increase in levels of DNA damage compared with vegetarians.
This damage can increase the risk of developing cancer, say researchers at the Medical Research Council's (MRC) Dunn human nutrition unit in Cambridge, southeast England.