Lifelines

When picking out toys for children this Christmas, don't only listen to your child's request, also listen to the toy itself. Noisy toys can damage children's hearing. Toys such as electric guitars, drums and horns emit sounds as loud as 120 decibels. Toy phones can measure between 123-129 decibels, while 85 decibels is about the level of city traffic. The advice is, if you have to raise your voice to be heard over the sound of the toy, or if it hurts your ears or causes ringing, do not buy it. (Ivanhoe)

You'll never get to see art at an earlier age. Babies born between next Friday and March 2000 can, together with their families, view paintings and prints from the Irish Museum of Modern Art which go on display in the National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street, Dublin. Intersections is the first exhibition at the hospital since it began its arts programme in 1994. Included in the 20 pieces are prints by Italian sculptor Mimmo Paladino, Spanish artist Joan Miro (Hors du Cercle, above) and works by Irish artists Eithne Jordan, Gwen O'Dowd and Michael Mulcahy.

Physiotherapy could play a major role in improving the treatment of Parkinson's disease, according to researchers at the Institute of Rehabilitation at the University of Northumbria. It was found to be particularly useful for reducing the side-effects of drug therapy, which include writhing movements and difficulty in initiating movement. There are also indications that physiotherapy can help to reduce some symptoms of the disease, such as rigidity. One in 100 people over the age of 65 will develop Parkinson's disease.

People with persistent ankle pain now have the possibility of having their ankle joint replaced. The procedure, called total ankle arthroplasty, is being performed at the Vanderbilt Medical Centre in Nashville, Tennessee, and involves the use of two different kinds of metal. Until now, artificial ankle replacements worked only minimally. (Ivanhoe)

lifelines@irish-times.ie