Re: Half of survivors of stroke battle with daily tasks, July 10th
Dear Sir,
Through my contact with the Volunteer Stroke Scheme (VSS) my sister was put in touch with Mr Swannick in August 2006, and she has improved enormously.
I learned of the VSS in 1998 when my friend had her stroke, and as awful as it seems, in my opinion, the facilities for stroke victims had deteriorated in the eight years between the two events. In fact it was an article on the VSS website by Dr Michael Kirby which was the most informative piece of information available and could possibly be given to relatives of stroke victims, to help them have a better understanding of the problems the victims are encountering.
Here's hoping the VSS continue their good work.
Dolores Coonan, Dublin 16
Re: 'Playing with Violence', July 10th
Dear Sir,
My pre-teen is prone to bursts of uncontrollable, hormone-induced, anger but I have noticed that if he is in an irritated mood when starting a fight-based Playstation game, the frustrations of the game cause his mood to deteriorate and he can be off form for the rest of the day.
I was wondering if this had been noted in any studies?
I was also wondering if the rising child obesity rates could be linked to increased video games, as well as the poor diet and larger portions.
It has been shown that when an adult is stressed, the 'fight or flight' hormone is released which causes stored fat to be made available in the blood for immediate physical action. When that action is not taken this energy is re-stored, but around the middle of the body. The report I read stated that fat around the body's organs is much more dangerous than hips or thighs. So, children playing games that cause them to get over excited may be releasing the same hormones, but they stay seated, and so the same thing happens. I am interested in any studies done in this area.
Diane Lyons, Shankill, Co Dublin
Re: Screening alone won't keep a heart healthy, July 3rd
Dear Sir
Your article on statins is timely particularly because of a fact to which it refers, that is, "The first statin has recently come off patent, so the cost of these drugs should start to reduce over the coming years."
Cheap generic statins are already illegally available without prescription. The days of an annual 2.7 million prescriptions, €105.5m public medical bill, and an undisclosed private bill for the drug are on the way out.
That is terrific if excess cholesterol is a major cause of heart failure and statins remove that cause without major side effects. The Great Cholesterol Conby Dr Malcolm Kendrick raises major issues for those of us for whom statins are prescribed, and for everyone in view of the forthcoming flood of cheap generic statins.
None of those issues are addressed in the Theresa Judge article. Prof Eoin O'Brien, president of the Irish Heart Foundation, says: "While there are minor side effects associated with the use of statins, it is very rare that a person would have to stop taking them, and their effectiveness is beyond question." Is the real possibility, now being researched with urgency in the US, of a causal link between statins use and the uprise of Parkinson's a "minor" issue?
Dr Kendrick says stress- free bodies are quite capable of so processing cholesterol, from external and internal sources, as to exclude heart failure due to cholesterol, and that the side effects of statins are far from minor.
Joseph F. Foyle, Ranelagh, Dublin 6