Health Report: Sep. 26, 1994

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THE GOOD NEWS

-- After an intense four-year search, researchers report that they have isolated the gene responsible for a hereditary form of breast cancer that may afflict one in 200 women. Although the discovery will not lead to any improvements in medical treatments in the near future, scientists hope it will teach them something about how breast cancer develops.

-- Some people with leaky heart valves may not have to undergo surgery for their condition. A study of 143 patients shows that taking Procardia, a widely prescribed drug for the treatment of high blood pressure, can decrease the size of a leak, thereby reducing the need for an operation.

THE BAD NEWS

-- When it comes to prostate cancer, an ounce of prevention may lead to too much cure. According to a controversial mathematical analysis, routine screening of men over age 50 may lead to treatment of tumors that are growing so slowly they are unlikely to prove fatal. In those cases, the risk that surgery could cause incontinence or impotence may be greater than the risk of dying from cancer.

-- Current tests for genital herpes are not sensitive enough to detect all cases in which a mother might pass the virus on to her newborn child. Researchers estimate that the true rate of infection is about eight times higher than standard tests now show.

Sources-GOOD: Science; The New England Journal of Medicine. BAD: Journal of the American Medical Association, Journal of the American Medical Association.