Health Report: May 9, 1994

THE GOOD NEWS

-- Thalidomide, which caused thousands of birth defects in the 1960s, may one day be used to prevent blindness. In laboratory tests, researchers learned that the drug stops abnormal growth of blood vessels in the eye, which can destroy vision in people with diabetes and other disorders.

-- Many older women take thyroid pills because their bodies no longer produce the hormone. Yet the medication robs their bones of minerals. Doctors have now discovered that taking estrogen at the same time reduces the risk of osteoporosis.

-- Advisers to the Food and Drug Administration have declared Prozac safe...