Women who have migraine headaches with visual symptoms (or aura) have a 1.5 times greater risk of ischemic stroke than women who do not have migraines, according to a report published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. The study of 386 women also showed the risk increases further when other factors are added, such as recent onset of these headaches, smoking and oral contraceptive use.

www.heart.org 

The ability to listen to a phone message in one ear while a friend is talking into your other ear - and comprehend what both are saying - is a skill dependent on your genes, say researchers at the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. The study of 194 same-sex twins found that as much as 73 percent of the variation in dichotic listening ability was due to genetic differences - comparable to well-known inherited traits such as type 1 diabetes and height.

www.nidcd.nih.gov 

Men who binge drink have an insufficient intake of n-3 fats, one of the two types of Essential Fatty Acids, according to a study of 4,168 adults published in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. Previous studies have also shown that requirements for these nutrients actually increases with greater alcohol use. They have advised those drinking more than one drink per day to increase their intake of oily fish.

www.niaaa.nih.gov  

Two-thirds of nursing students believe it’s wrong to lie to patients - twice as many as in 1983. The survey, carried out by the School of Nursing in Greater Manchester, found that 66 per cent felt it was unprofessional to lie to a patients compared with 33 percent of those questionned in 1983. It also found that those agreeing with the statement ‘a good nurse should be prepared to change shifts at short notice to help out’ had halved to 25 percent.

www.blackwellpublishing.com/Nursing/news/news.asp?id=196