Your Health

By Janice M. Horowitz

GOOD NEWS

REVVED UP Rx's Wouldn't it be great if drugs had no side effects? That's not about to happen. But a new report suggests that recommended dosages for many commonly prescribed medicines--among them Prozac and the cholesterol drug Lipitor--may be too high for lots of folks. Cutting down the dose, sometimes by half or more, may reduce adverse reactions without sacrificing a drug's ability to work. Don't go tinkering on your own, though. Check with your doctor.

FERTILE MINDS Turning conventional thinking on its head, scientists have shown that new brain cells continue to be generated in the cerebral cortex of an adult brain. Alas, the adult was a macaque monkey. Still, the finding marks the first time that new neurons--thousands of them a day--have been seen in the cerebral cortex, the most advanced region of the brain, responsible for reasoning, decision making and memory. The implication: if brain cells grow as we age, the discovery may one day lead to treatments for degenerative brain disorders like Alzheimer's disease.

BAD NEWS

WALK BY Attention, parents: baby walkers--those wheeled contraptions used to prop up infants--may hinder your child's development. Data on 109 babies suggest that tots who scoot around in them are slower to sit upright, crawl and walk--and score lower on mental tests. Why? The walkers' large trays prevent infants from seeing their legs move, depriving them of feedback about how their bodies operate. They also keep them from grabbing--and learning about--things around them. That's the theory, anyway.

TO EVERY SEASON A new study confirms an old suspicion: more heart-attack deaths occur in December and January than at any other time of year. Though cold weather can cause a rise in blood pressure, it doesn't explain the phenomenon; the research was conducted in Los Angeles, where temperatures rarely dip below 50[degrees]. More likely, holiday bingeing on alcohol and salty, fatty food is to blame. Another possible explanation: wood-burning fireplaces release particles that can put stress on the lungs and heart.

--By Janice M. Horowitz

Sources--Good News: Postgraduate Medicine (10/99); Science (10/15/99). Bad News: Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics (10/99); Circulation (10/12/99)