Lifelines

Almost 40 million people will have been infected with HIV by next year. Poz Ireland, a charitable organisation working to improve access to information on AIDS and HIV, has just published its third annual directory. It includes the most up-to-date information on treatment for HIV and AIDS and has been edited by a medical advisory panel. Available free to those affected by HIV and AIDS, it is sold for £10 to organisations. Contact Poz Ireland editor, Dr John Williams, at: 0872436502; or PO Box 5187, Dublin 6.

Chronic fatigue syndrome, post-viral fatigue syndrome, or myalgic encephalomyelitis is now believed to be caused by a persistent viral infection and/or an overactive immune system. Dr Charles Shepherd, medical director of the British ME Association and author of Living with ME, will give a talk, entitled ME: Diagnosis, Research and Treatment, tonight at 7.45 p.m. in the Gresham Hotel, O'Connell Street, Dublin. Admission £3. More information from the Irish ME Support Group at: 01-2350965; or PO Box 3075, Dublin 2.

Is it a cold or flu? The flu is an acute infection of the respiratory tract caused by either influenza A or B virus. Symptoms include a very high temperature, severe headache, sore throat, aches and pains, coughing and sneezing, and lethargy. Cold symptoms include headache, sore throat and runny nose. At-risk groups such as those with severe diabetes or asthma, chronic respiratory disease, cardiac disease or chronic renal disease, and those over 65 are now recommended to discuss flu vaccinations with their GP.

It's time to question the old adage "early to bed, early to rise makes a man (or woman) healthy, wealthy and wise", as researchers at the University of Westminster have found higher levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, in those who wake before 7.21 a.m. Getting up early was also more likely to lead to muscle aches, cold symptoms, headaches and bad moods. The researchers' next task is to discover whether the higher cortisol levels actually cause early waking or is a result of it. (BBC Health)

UP TO 1,200 babies are looked after every year at the Special Baby-Care Unit at the National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street, Dublin 2. The set-up cost of each bed is £60,000, and the hospital is currently fund-raising for heart beat and blood oxygen monitoring equipment to be used in the unit. At a fund-raising event in the Radisson Hotel, Dublin on Wednesday at 8 p.m., experts will discuss issues including childhood nutrition, and developmental issues for children. Tickets cost £10 from: 01-6022228.

lifelines@irish-times.ie