Health Report

THE GOOD NEWS

-- A Louisiana couple produced a healthy baby even though both parents carry the genetic defect that produces Tay-Sachs disease, which is always fatal. Thanks to new procedures that identify genetic defects in eggs fertilized outside the mother's body, doctors were able to examine fertilized eggs before they developed into embryos. They then transferred a healthy pre-embryo to the mother's uterus.

-- A new study suggests that men 65 and older who simply monitor prostate cancer live nearly as long as those who seek aggressive treatments such as surgery or radiation. Surgery carries with it the risk of complications such as impotence and incontinence.

THE BAD NEWS

-- Shootings already surpass traffic accidents as the leading cause of death by injury in eight states, and statisticians expect that guns will become the leading cause of such deaths nationwide within the next few years.

-- Experiments with mice indicate that sunscreens may not help prevent melanoma even though they protect against sunburn. By giving sunbathers a false sense of security, sunscreens may actually prolong exposure to damaging ultraviolet radiation.

-- Women who drink caffeinated coffee all their lives are likely to suffer losses in bone density. Drinking a daily glass of milk, however, can offset those losses.

Sources -- GOOD: Eastern Virginia Medical School, The New England Journal of Medicine; BAD: Health and Human Services Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Journal of the American Medical Association