Thirty-two six-foot coins with designs created by Irish schoolchildren, as part of a European art project to raise money for the social care of children with cancer, will be on show from June 1st to 12th in the Central Bank, Dame Street, Dublin 2. The coins will then go to Frankfurt, where the 1,000 coins from European children will stretch out to form the "Euro cultural mile", before being auctioned over the Internet in September. The coin pictured on the right was designed by children at Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin.
Paracetamol may protect against the hardening of the arteries. US research found that the painkiller inhibits the chemical which helps "bad cholesterol" (low density lipoprotein or LDL) damage the walls of arteries and contributes to heart disease. This comes after a succession of studies which suggest certain doses of paracetamol could inhibit LDL, but further research is needed. (BBC Health)
More than 40 per cent of all holidaymakers experience some form of sickness, with stomach illnesses by far the most common. A new book, Travel in Health, (by Dr Graham Fry and Dr Vincent Kenny, published by Newleaf) provides basic information on everything you need to know to have a healthy holiday, from vaccinations, to how to cope with jet lag and insects. For travellers to long-haul destinations such as Mexico, Thailand or Egypt, free information on travel vaccine recommendations is available (with a SAE) from SmithKline Beecham Travel Health Bureau, Casita, Saval Park Crescent, Dalkey, Co Dublin.
It is estimated up to 40 per been tested on children. A survey carried out by the British Consumers' Association shows that few drug companies are willing to undertake clinical trials with children. As part of its campaign to ensure drugs used on children are subject to the same regulatory procedures as those used on adults, the association wrote to all 79 members of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, asking them how they were addressing the issue. By mid-May, only four replies had been received, indicating "general apathy". Obtaining parental consent for sick children to enter a clinical trial can severely hamper progress, according to the companies which responded to the association's letter. (British Medical Journal)
Older men who rate their health as poor are more likely to die than older women who also rate their health as poor, according to a US study at the Institute for Health, Health Policy and Ageing. In the five years following interviews with more than 800 people (average age 73), researchers found men who rated their health as fair or poor were almost five times more likely to die than men who rated their health as very good or excellent, while such women were only 2.2 times more likely to die. Does this mean men are better able to predict their risk of death than women? Or is it a case of mind over matter - that their perception of ill-health contributed to their death? (EurekAlert)
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