Doctor's Orders: Jun. 6, 2005

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CAN VIAGRA MAKE YOU BLIND?

The FDA reported that 43 men have suffered vision loss after taking the impotence drugs Viagra, Cialis and Levitra. There's no evidence, however, that the drugs actually caused this rare type of blindness, which is linked to the same conditions--such as diabetes and heart disease--that cause impotence.

THE ANATOMY OF SARCASM

Recognizing sarcasm when you hear it involves a complex sequence of cognitive skills, according to Israeli researchers. People with brain damage in the prefrontal lobe--where language and social cues are processed--don't get, for example, why anyone would tell a slacker, "Don't work too hard!"

ASTHMA IS NO LAUGHING MATTER

According to researchers at the American Thoracic Society meeting last week, a good joke may bring on asthma symptoms as effectively as tree pollen or exhaust fumes. In a study of 235 asthmatics, laughter induced symptoms like coughing and chest tightness in 56%. How much laughter is too much? For some patients, a giggle was as dangerous as a guffaw.

DANGER: SHARK CURES AHEAD

TV reports of Cuban cancer patients cured by shark cartilage created a stir in 1993. But a new study of breast- and colorectal-cancer patients in the journal Cancer found that the cartilage didn't help any of them. In fact, it was so toxic, some patients dropped out of the study after a month. --By Sora Song