Today's other stories in brief
Dentists urge patients to beat PRSI deadline
Dentists are seeing a surge in PRSI-related appointments for the new year. The Irish Dental Association (IDA) has taken out advertisements encouraging consumers to make appointments before the end of the year.
The IDA says that as long as the appointments are made in time for December 31st, then related treatments will continue to be eligible for PRSI dental benefits.
Cuts in dental benefits announced in this month’s Budget will mean that only dental examinations are covered by the dental scheme.
Screening is a risk to multiple babies
Screening IVF embryos for genetic defects increases the death risk of multiple birth babies five times, a study has found. But the procedure, known as pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), appears to be harmless for singletons.
PGD involves removing one or two cells from an embryo to test it for abnormalities and diseases. There have been concerns that the test might itself adversely affect babies created through in-vitro fertilisation (IVF).
Free health lectures at RCSI
Starting in January, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) is to host its MiniMed Open Lecture series.
Topics to be covered during the series include ethics in medicine, cardiovascular disease, breast cancer, hospital infection and sexual health in Ireland. The lectures are free. Further information from www.rcsi.ie/minimed2010.
Activity toys urged for kids’ presents
Physiotherapists have recommended that people buy gifts that encourage active play for children this year. The Irish Society of Chartered Physiotherapists (ISCP) says it is concerned the most popular toys involve sedentary play. Among the alternatives suggested by the ISCP are skipping ropes, roller skates, hula hoops, trainers and pogo sticks.