|
1999-10-11
Janice M. Horowitz
GOOD
NEWS
CAN
THAT HEADACHE! Remember when botulism was a bad thing? Still is, if
you happen to consume the toxin from a contaminated batch of canned
food. But now, years after doctors discovered the toxin's uncanny
ability to smooth out wrinkles and quell tremors, a new benefit has
been uncovered: botulism toxin seems to alleviate migraine headaches.
In a preliminary study, half the patients whose foreheads were
injected with tiny amounts of the botulism drug Botox reported that
their migraine headaches disappeared--and stayed away for up to four
months.
BONING
UP Don't think you're immune to osteoporosis just because you're a
guy. Two million American men have the bone-thinning ailment, and 3
million more may be at risk. Now here's some help: the first major
study on men with osteoporosis shows that Fosamax--a nonhormonal drug
that helps treat the disease in postmenopausal women--also works in
men. The bone density of men who took it increased 7% regardless of
their age.
BAD
NEWS
TIME
LAPSE Sorry, jet-lag sufferers. A report shows that melatonin may be
no better than a sugar pill in alleviating the sleepiness and
disorientation of long-distance travel. Nearly 250 subjects were
given either a placebo or one of two commonly used doses of melatonin
(5 mg and .5 mg). Result: they all experienced similar jet-lag
symptoms, and all recovered after about six days.
SNOOZE
ALARM Talk about a drunken stupor. Doctors say not getting enough
sleep may dull your senses as much as drinking does. Folks with sleep
apnea--a common disorder in which sufferers momentarily awaken
throughout the night because breathing stops--did worse on 3 out of 7
tests of reaction time than those whose blood-alcohol level would
make them too drunk to drive in 15 states. Could ordinary insomniacs
run into the same problems? Probably, doctors say.
--By
Janice M. Horowitz
Sources--Good
News: American Academy of Otolaryngology; American Society for Bone &
Mineral Research. Bad News: American Academy of Otolaryngology;
American Journal of Psychiatry (9/99)
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,992237,00.html
|
