There are around 20,000 "gifted" or exceptionally able children at primary and secondary level in the Republic. An Oige Threitheach, the Irish Association for Gifted Children, is hosting a talk, Positive Communication, for the parents and teachers of gifted children. Expert in the field, psychologist Dr David Carey, will focus on learning skills for communication without conflict, on Friday at 7.45 p.m. at Carmichael House, 4 North Brunswick Street, Dublin 7. Cost £3. Tel 01 8735702 for further details.
Coffee could be dangerous, say US researchers. Drinking four or five cups of coffee during the morning increases levels of stress hormones and elevates blood pressure - and the effects last until bedtime. While the stress hormones are vital to help the body react quickly in times of danger or stress, they can damage the heart over a lifetime of heightened production. The problem is worsened when the effects of real stress are added to this coffee-induced stress. Tea, anyone? (Duke University Medical Center, San Diego)
Chocaholics are a lot like alcoholics and drug addicts - because they suffer greater anxiety, guilt, restlessness, and depression than non-chocaholics, when "exposed" to chocolate, according to Finnish and Scottish research. The chocolate addicts studied were more likely to engage in bulimic behaviour and to be significantly more depressed. (Reuters)
Women tend to feel more depressed and angry after viewing magazine pictures of skinny models, than after viewing pictures without people, according to a report in the International Journal of Eating Disorders. Women with the highest propensity to eating disorders "responded with greater anger to the slides of fashion models". The Canadian researchers believe their results "support previous findings that suggest these images have a detrimental effect on women and may play a role in episodes of binge eating in response to negative mood states". And for this, they needed a clinical study?
International breast cancer research reveals new facts almost weekly on the disease which affects a further 1,600 women in Ireland each year. Contrary to common belief, breast cancer can be safely treated during pregnancy, according to a report published in the March issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. No link has been found between levels of dietary fat intake and a woman's risk of breast cancer, reports the Nurses' Health Study in the Journal of American Medicine. The findings of this research, which tracked 88,000 women for up to 14 years, are contrary to previous studies. Tel Cancer Helpline Freefone 1 800 200700.
Cardiologists have often noted that many heart patients suffer from depression, but it has always been a chicken-and-egg issue - which came first, the heart disease or the depression? US research suggests depression may increase the risk of heart disease, because the circulation system in people who are highly depressed does not appear to control their blood pressure very well. However, the treatment is simple: exercise. (Eureka)