Lifelines is compiled by Dr Muiris Houston and Sylvia Thompson
FORENSIC MEDICINE: The first ever postgraduate course in forensic medicine in the Republic will begin in UCD next September. The one-year part-time course, leading to a diploma in forensic medicine from the NUI, is the brainchild of Prof Denis Cusack of the Division of Legal Medicine at UCD. It will provide the basic skills for a doctor to practise forensic medicine and is aimed at medical graduates who work in general practice, psychiatry and obstetrics as well as other specialities. While entry to the first year is confined to doctors, it is envisaged that the course organisers will invite applications from nurses, lawyers and those working in law enforcement. For further details log on to www.ucd.ie/legalmed
UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL: A really close relationship can halve the risk of subsequent heart attacks, research has shown. The lack of a close confidant, not depression, predicts further cardiac events after myocardial infarction. Researchers from Manchester University found that having a really close relationship with another person, whether it be friend, lover or relative, helped prevent further heart attacks. Patients who had someone close in whom they could confide had a better outlook than those without such a confidant, even after taking account of the severity of the heart attack and other risk factors.
MUSIC THERAPY: The benefits of music therapy for teenagers undergoing cancer treatment will be discussed at a seminar in Limerick on Wednesday, April 28th. Vicky Abad, an Australian music therapist, will address the session, entitled Music Therapy for Healing in Medical Settings. Tel: 061 213122 or email vicky.abad@ul.ie for full details.
MIGRAINE TRIGGERS: Late nights, too much study, irregular sleep and diet proved to be triggers for a migraine attack in one young sufferer. Writing her story in this current issue of Brainstorm, the newsletter of the Migraine Association of Ireland, Una O'Connor explains how correct management and education about migraine has reduced her migraine attacks from once a week to once a year. The MAI helpline is 1850 200 378.
DANGERS OF AEROBICS: Unfit people or those who only exercise sporadically can cause serious chemical damage to their bodies if they suddenly participate in strenuous aerobic exercise, according to researchers at the University of Ulster. The scientists have found that unaccustomed exhaustive aerobic exercise - which involves taking the heart rate to about 85 per cent of its maximum capacity for more than 10 minutes - releases dangerous free radicals that can adversely affect normal biological functioning in unfit individuals. The only people who should push their bodies to this level of exercise on a regular basis are trained athletes, according to Dr Gareth Davison from the University of Ulster. He warns, however, that the study should not be taken as an excuse to take no exercise.