Health Report

THE GOOD NEWS

-- Clean-needle-exchange programs intended to help prevent the spread of AIDS by reducing needle sharing are controversial because some believe they may encourage drug addiction. New research has shown that exchange programs in the U.S. and nine other nations caused a drop in dangerous needle sharing but did not increase drug use.

-- A transplant of blood from the umbilical cord of an unrelated donor has apparently helped restore the bone marrow of a three-year-old with leukemia. Umbilical blood is rich in marrow-producing cells; previously, doctors had used it successfully only when it had been taken from the siblings of leukemia victims.

THE BAD NEWS

-- Although the risk of breast cancer rises with age, and so does the chance of early detection, the Centers for Disease Control has found that the older a woman is, the less likely she is to have an annual breast exam and mammogram.

-- Regular use of some asthmatic drugs, such as salbutamol, can be counterproductive, making asthma sufferers more, rather than less, susceptible to allergens.

-- In a survey of 1,000 people, only 39% reported that they were trying to follow experts' guidelines on eating right, down from 44% in 1991. One cause of nutritional backsliding, respondents said, was the endless advice they get on nutrition.

| Sources -- GOOD: AP (2). BAD: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Lancet; American Dietetic Association