Health Report: Jan. 23, 1995

THE GOOD NEWS

-- More evidence of the usefulness of the coronary drugs known as ACE inhibitors: new research shows that if given to patients within 24 hours of a heart attack and then continued for six weeks, they reduce the risk of congestive heart failure and increase survival rates.

-- Researchers say surgery is a safe and effective way to deal with the symptoms of prostate enlargement, including the most common -- difficulty in urinating.

-- A promising development in vaccine research: scientists have found they can use harmless proteins to trigger an immune response in the body. The discovery might help eliminate a problem with vaccines: that they sometimes cause -- rather than prevent -- disease.

THE BAD NEWS

-- Mammographies do little to reduce breast-cancer mortality for pre- menopausal women ages 40 to 49, a new analysis reveals. For women 50 and older, however, the screening tests reduce cancer deaths 26%. Researchers say mammography may be more effective for older women because their breasts have a higher fat content, thereby increasing the test's sensitivity in detecting small tumors. Despite the findings, the American Cancer Society still says women between 40 and 49 should have the screening each year or two.

-- A new study claims electric-utility workers who are regularly exposed to magnetic fields -- that would include electricians, linemen and power-plant operators -- run twice the risk of brain cancer as those with low exposure.

[TMFONT 1 d #666666 d {Sources: GOOD -- The New England Journal of Medicine; NEJM; Science; Dana- Farber Cancer Institute}]BAD -- Journal of the American Medical Association; Associated Press; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill