Health Report: Sep. 27, 1993

THE GOOD NEWS

-- More evidence that vitamins can prolong life: a five-year study of nearly 30,000 peasants from rural China discovered that vitamin E, beta-carotene and selenium supplements appeared to reduce cancer deaths 13% and deaths from all causes 9%.

-- A radical though still experimental technique may someday help treat brain cancer. Doctors have used genetic engineering to make tumor cells sensitive to the antiviral drug ganciclovir. When they subsequently administered the drug to patients, five out of seven improved. More extensive tests are in the works.

-- Japanese chemists have synthesized a chemical that covers up bitter tastes,...

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