Health Report

THE GOOD NEWS

-- Treatment with two drugs that stimulate nerve growth has been shown to stop the loss of motor function in mice suffering from a degenerative illness that closely resembles Lou Gehrig's disease. Doctors now think the drugs are worth studying in humans.

-- A brain abnormality has been found that may be central to dyslexia, the mysterious disorder that makes reading difficult for those who are afflicted. Surprisingly, the problem lies in an area of the brain that is responsible for processing quickly changing sounds. This suggests that dyslexia may begin as an inability to distinguish speech sounds and only later be translated into a problem in identifying printed letters.

THE BAD NEWS

* -- New research confirms what personnel managers may already know: the factor most predictive of violent behavior is not a history of violence or mental illness or drug abuse; it's being laid off from a job.

-- Alzheimer's disease is now the third costliest health problem for Americans, after cancer and heart disease. The average patient needs $47,000 annually for treatment and care, which adds up to a yearly national bill of $82.7 billion.

-- Smokers who hope their gene will protect them should think again: the theory that lung cancer is triggered in part by bad genes has been deflated by a new study.

Sources -- GOOD: Science; Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. BAD: Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association; American Journal of Public Health; Lancet