Health Report

THE GOOD NEWS

-- Dipping raw oysters in Louisiana hot sauce may be frowned upon in fancy French restaurants, but it could keep an aficionado out of the hospital. In laboratory tests, the spicy flavoring killed four kinds of bacteria that can contaminate shellfish and that cause ailments ranging from mild diarrhea to potentially fatal blood poisoning.

-- Two promising announcements were made at an obesity conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In the first, researchers reported they may have found the chemical in the brain that triggers a person's craving for fat, as well as a way to block its action. Another group said it had developed a cream, not yet available to the public, that can melt fat from a woman's legs. After applying the salve for five weeks, 24 women reduced their thigh size by 1 1/2 in.

THE BAD NEWS

-- After reviewing eight studies, the National Cancer Institute concluded that routine mammograms save lives only when performed on women over age 50 or on women who have a family history of breast cancer.

-- More people are developing fungal infections while undergoing treatment for other conditions in the hospital. One of the chief culprits is the greater use of catheters, or tubes that penetrate the body and inadvertently allow fungal spores easy access to a patient's insides.

-- A 15-year study found that 90% of foot-surgery patients are women and that most of their problems stem from wearing shoes that are, on average, two sizes too narrow. Researchers estimate that roomier shoes could cut $2 billion from the U.S. health-care bill.

Sources -- GOOD: American Society for Micrbiology; North American Association for the Study of Obesity. BAD: Journal of the N.C.I.; American Society for Micrbiology; American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.