Hamburg - Sensitivity to light, a steady decline in eyesight or blurred vision can all indicate the formation of a cataract.

Cataracts, a thickening of the eye's lens, impairs vision and can occur at any stage of a person's life, though they are more common among the elderly.

Bonn, Germany - Retirement once meant imminent death in many cases. People stopped working at age 65 and some dropped dead a few months later.

"This was a much greater problem in former times," remarked Uwe Kleinemas, director of the Centre for the Cultures of Ageing at the University of Bonn. Thanks to improved working conditions, people today were no longer so physically exhausted at the end of their working lives.

Kleinemas noted a wholly different problem faced by many older people, however: "They want to continue working but are not permitted to do so." This, too, can be hazardous to health.

Durham, England - A study conducted on 200 university students has linked high caffeine consumption to a higher tendency to hallucinate.

The study, carried out at Durham University in England and reported in a German magazine for physicians, asked students to outline the amount of coffee, tea, caffeine tablets and energy drinks consumed. Their stress levels and tendency to hallucinate were then recorded.

London, January 24: "Healthcare enthusiast" Prince Charles' organic brand is set to launch its complementary medicines made of traditional herbal ingredients.

The Duchy Originals brand, acclaimed for it upmarket organic biscuits, sausages and marmalade, will sell three products, all priced at
10 pounds.

London, January 23 : Harvard University researchers have shown that small plastic disks, when impregnated with tumour-specific antigens and implanted under the skin, can coax the mammalian immune system to attack tumours.

The researchers claim that their research represents the most effective demonstration to date of a cancer vaccine.

They have revealed that the study involved mice with an aggressive form of melanoma that would usually kill them within 25 days.

London, Jan 21 : The risks of severe complications linked with epidurals and spinal anaesthetics are "exaggerated", according to a study.

The study, led by Dr Tim Cook of the Royal United Hospital, Bath, suggests that the procedures are safer than previously thought.

It showed that the risk of permanent harm linked with spinal anaesthetic or epidural was about one in 23,000 to one in 50,000.

Permanent injury in the study was defined as symptoms lasting more than six months.

The risk of being paralysed was two to three times less than of suffering any permanent harm.