Your Health

By Dara Horn

GOOD NEWS ON HEPATITIS

Lamivudine, or 3TC, is best known for its success as part of the AIDS "cocktail." But a study out last week shows that the drug may be useful in treating chronic hepatitis B, a liver disease with more than 300 million sufferers worldwide. In a one-year trial on Chinese patients, viral levels in the blood fell more than 90% for those who took the drug.

BAD NEWS ON BREAST CANCER

Tamoxifen, used to treat breast cancer, made headlines in April when a study suggested it could also prevent the disease. But this week, two European studies showed no proof of prevention, casting doubt on earlier hopes. The studies differed in duration (the U.S. study was shorter) and in participants (one European study included low-risk women).

GOOD NEWS FOR EPILEPTICS

For epileptics, acute repetitive seizure episodes can be extremely dangerous or even fatal--and, until now, they often required a trip to the emergency room, causing hazardous delays in treatment. Now Diastat, a gel formation of the epilepsy medication diazepam, makes it possible for a family member to stop seizure episodes before they become harmful.

MORE BAD NEWS FOR SMOKERS

Quitting smoking may be harder for African Americans. Studies published this week show that black smokers have higher blood levels of cotinine, a chemical indicating tobacco exposure, than do white smokers, possibly making smoking more addictive. Cotinine lingers longer in black smokers' bodies, which could increase risks of lung cancer.

--By Dara Horn

Sources: New England Journal of Medicine (1, 3); Lancet; Journal of the American Medical Association