Health Report

THE GOOD NEWS

-- The battle against tuberculosis may be paying off. After rising steadily every year since 1985, the number of new TB cases in the U.S. dropped 5% last year.

-- An experimental surfactant. foam that unclogs the lungs of premature babies not only reduces deaths nearly 30%, according to a new study, but would also save the U.S. $90 million a year in treatment costs if it were widely used.

-- Placebos -- so-called sugar pills -- can be even more effective than scientists realized. A survey shows that 70% of patients feel better after taking ersatz medicines -- provided they believe in the treatment and their doctors.

THE BAD NEWS

-- Breast-cancer survivors in the U.S. spend $636 million each year for chest X rays, bone scans and intensive follow-up tests that offer no significant benefit over regular checkups and an annual mammogram, a report indicates.

-- It may indeed be cruel to be kind, a study of heart-disease patients suggests. Overly solicitous spouses who are quick to tell patients to go back to bed may interfere more with such curative daily activities as walking, shopping, climbing stairs or exercising than do the patients' actual ailments.

-- A survey of U.S. aerobics classes found that two-thirds played music loud enough to cause permanent hearing damage.

Sources -- GOOD: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; New England Journal of Medicine; Journal of the American Medical Association

BAD: Journal of the American Medical Association; American Psychiatric Association; American Academy of Audiology