http://www.irishhealth.com Irishhealth.com - Ireland's premier independent health site. en-us http://www.irishhealth.com/rss/ih_logo.gif http://www.irishhealth.com 42 53 http://www.irishhealth.com/index.html?level=4&id=20421 A new e-learning programme to heighten awareness of high-risk medications, and the potential risks in how medicines are often prescribed and administered, has been developed by the pharmacy department at Dublin's Mater Hospital. Nearly 7,000 medication errors were reported in Irish hospitals and community healthcare settings in 2010. The new e-learning system developed at the Mater highlights the top 10 high-risk drugs, or drug groups, that can cause harm, how medication errors can occur, and h http://www.irishhealth.com/index.html?level=4&id=20420 Adults with disabilities are at heightened risk of violence, with those suffering from mental illness appearing to be particularly vulnerable to violent attacks, according to new research. This is the first study to show the extent of this problem among people with disabilities. The researchers concluded that disabled adults are more likely to be victims of violence than those without a disability. They found that adults with mental health problems are nearly four times as likely to be a vict http://www.irishhealth.com/index.html?level=4&id=20419 Eight out of 10 people agree with the Government's plan to introduce calorie counts on restaurant menus, according to our latest poll. Minister for Health Dr James Reilly recently launched a consultation process on the issue, which will canvass opinions on the best methods of putting calorie information on menus. The calorie count plan is one of a number of planned Government moves aimed at tackling Ireland's growing obesity rate, especialy among children. We asked our readers wheether they a http://www.irishhealth.com/index.html?level=4&id=20418 By Gillian Tsoi The Irish Cancer Society has launched a new campaign called 'the beauty of quitting' to address the shocking increase in incidence of lung cancer in women. More Irish women are now dying from lung cancer than breast cancer. Recent reports have revealed that the incidence of women with tobacco-related lung cancer is increasing by 3% every year. The main objective of the Irish Cancer Society's new campaign is to raise awareness about the negative effects smoking has on the bea http://www.irishhealth.com/index.html?level=4&id=20417 By Gillian Tsoi Scientists have discovered stem cells in human ovaries that could potentially be used to create a limitless egg supply for women with fertility problems. US doctors were able to isolate the stem cells in a laboratory and observed them 'spontaneously' growing new eggs. Further experiments revealed that these new eggs are capable of being fertilised. This breakthrough could have major implications for fertility treatment as it defies the traditionally held theory that women are http://www.irishhealth.com/index.html?level=4&id=20416 Only one in six people needing specialist rehabilitation for neurological conditions are getting these services, according to the Neurological Alliance of Ireland (NAI). It says the HSE's latest data shows that in 2010, just 2,510 out of 15,000 people needing this type of specialist rehab care for conditions such as spinal cord injury and stroke received this treatment. According to NAI Chairman Chris Macey, these chronic service deficits were an indictment of Ireland's neurological care servi http://www.irishhealth.com/index.html?level=4&id=20415 The world's first ever quadruple limb transplant has been carried out by surgeons in Turkey, Surgeons at an Ankara hospital attached two arms and two legs to a young man. The operation took 20 hours and it took as team of 52 doctors to help attach the limbs. The surgery was carried out at Hacettepe University Hospital. Turkish surgeons had to remove one leg from the patient who underwent the quadruple limb transplant after his heart and vascular system failed to sustain the limb. The opera http://www.irishhealth.com/index.html?level=4&id=20414 By Gillian Tsoi Colonoscopies can reduce the risk of dying from colon cancer by half, according to scientists in the US. Colonoscopies - during which precancerous polyps or adenomas can be removed - can cut the risk of dying from colon cancer by 53%. This is according to researchers at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. They studied 2,602 people, who were sent for a colonoscopy between 1980 and 1990, and compared the death rate in their study to the estimated death rate http://www.irishhealth.com/index.html?level=4&id=20413 By Gillian Tsoi Citrus fruits may help to reduce the risk of stroke in women, new research has revealed. Fruits such as oranges and grapefruit contain compounds called flavonoids, which scientists believe are beneficial to blood vessels. Researchers the University of East Anglia focused on 14 years of data from a study of 69,622 women. The women monitored their food intake, including details on fruit and vegetable consumption, every four years. The women with a diet rich in citrus fruits, co http://www.irishhealth.com/index.html?level=4&id=20412 Health Minister James Reilly has appointed a group that will help to implement his planned universal health insurance (UHI) scheme. The Minister has said UHI will lead to the introduction of a single-tier system of equal access to care for everyone, with all the population being insured for health cover for hospital and other services. It is envisaged that under UHI, people will pay varying amounts in insurance contributions to the new system depending on income, with those on the lowest incom