Your Health

By Janice M. Horowitz

GOOD NEWS

GLOWING REPORT The great thing about opening a clogged artery with angioplasty--and keeping it open with a tiny stent--is that the treatment works 90% of the time. In the short term, at least. After six months the artery closes back up again in 1 patient out of 4. Now scientists have come up with a hot new idea: blast the treated vessel, stent and all, with radiation. Two preliminary studies suggest that the odds a zapped vessel will reclog are reduced as much as 90%.

ADDED VALUE Are you on statin drugs to lower your cholesterol? Here are benefits you probably never counted on. A Scottish study shows that Pravachol, one brand of statin, reduces the risk of developing diabetes 30%. And a study of heart-attack survivors finds that Pravachol reduces the odds of stroke 20%. No, it's not time to add statins to the drinking water. They need to be taken every day for life, and they carry risks--including liver damage.

BAD NEWS

PROZAC NATION Just because it seems as if antidepressants are doled out like candy doesn't mean they always sweeten things up. A survey finds that 70% of patients treated for depression by primary-care physicians think their medication doesn't fully alleviate their symptoms. And because of side effects such as reduced sex drive, one-fifth of patients skip doses and half stop taking the pills altogether. Among those who discussed side effects with their doctor, 20% said their complaints were ignored. If you're depressed, medication can help. If your doctor is not helping, find another.

DIABETES DO'S Diabetics have a lot to be mindful of. They need to watch their weight, monitor blood-glucose levels and in some cases inject themselves daily with insulin. Most should also be popping a low-dose aspirin every day or so to ward off heart disease, but they aren't. Only one-quarter of diabetics who should be taking aspirin do so, a study finds.

--By Janice M. Horowitz

SOURCES: Good News--N.E.J.M. (1/25/01); Circulation (1/23/01). Bad News--National Depressive and Manic Depressive Association; Diabetes Care (2/01)