A roundup of today's other health stories in brief.
EXERCISE FOR DYSLEXIA: The British government has been urged to examine research which showed that exercise could be a cure for dyslexia which affects reading and writing skills.
Two academics have spent three years testing the effectiveness of the technique, discovered by Coventry businessman Wynford Dore when trying to find a cure for his dyslexic daughter.
The technique developed by Mr Dore involved individually prescribed eye, balance and sensory exercises aimed at stimulating the brain's cerebellum area.
The research to assess the technique was carried out by Plymouth University professor of education David Reynolds and Prof Rod Nicolson of Sheffield University. Their study tested 269 children, aged between eight and 11 years, and identified 35 with dyslexia.
After carrying out a twice-daily 10-minute programme of exercises, the study found their test scores in maths, writing and comprehension were no longer dyslexic - and the beneficial effects lasted over 12 months.
Prof Reynolds said the Dore treatment was still controversial, although 30,000 people had gone through it worldwide. "What I do hope is the government has interest in the problem and will come to us and view the evidence."
There are 11 Dore centres in Britain offering treatment costing £2,000 (€3,000).
PROSTATE CANCER HELP: Scientists in Hong Kong have identified a protein that can help suppress the growth of prostate cancer cells, the third most common cancer in men worldwide.
Current therapies for advanced prostate cancer, such as chemotherapy, are far from satisfactory and carry side effects.
In a study first published online in the July issue of Endocrinology, researchers at the University of Hong Kong found that human prostate cancer cells produce a protein called sPDZD2.
The researchers found that when the protein was blocked in laboratory mice, prostate cancer cells in the rodents grew more quickly, and vice versa.
THINKER'S BIBLE: Philosophy and psychoanalytic studies senior lecturer Ross Skelton will launch The Edinburgh International Encyclopaedia of Psychoanalysis of which he is the general editor on Thursday, November 9th, in Waterstone's Dawson Street, Dublin.
According to the publishers, the new book "covers all the thinkers, movements, schools and controversies associated with psychoanalysis". Ross M Skelton is senior lecturer in philosophy and psychoanalytic studies at Trinity College Dublin. He is also an experienced psychotherapist with a private practice.
TEEN BRAINS LIKE DRINK: New animal research suggests that teenagers' brains may be better at adapting to certain short-term effects of drinking. But that's not a good thing, researchers say.
In experiments with rats, scientists found that adolescent rodents developed an "acute tolerance" to alcohol, quickly recovering from the immediate effects alcohol had on their social behaviour, while their adult counterparts remained impaired for longer.
For rats, social behaviour consists of sniffing and play fighting. In human terms, the animals' alcohol-induced impairment was akin to being unable to speak to your drinking buddies.
The teenage rodents, however, quickly regained their social skills. Thirty minutes after being given alcohol, their social behaviour appeared normal; in contrast, the adult animals were still unable to interact normally, according to findings published in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.
NO CURE FOR SEXSOMNIA: Researchers are struggling to understand a rare medical condition where sufferers unknowingly demand, or actually have, sex while asleep, according to a report in New Scientist magazine.
Research into sexsomnia - making sexual advances towards another person while asleep - has been hampered as sufferers are so embarrassed by the problem they tend not to own up to it, while doctors do not ask.
As yet there is no cure for the condition, which often leads to difficulties in relationships.
Researchers view sexsomnia as a variant of sleepwalking, where sufferers are stuck between sleep and wakefulness, though sexsomniacs stay in bed.