DRUG IMPROVES LIFE FOR STROKE VICTIMS

A drug already used to treat heart attacks also reduces the damage caused by strokes, a European study shows. The medicine, TPA -- tissue plasminogen activator -- enabled stroke victims to live healthier lives, but did not reduce their death rate, according to researchers at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. "For stroke victims this news is important because just a little more ability goes a long way," saysTIME science writer Christine Gorman. "If you have 10 percent more ability in your left hand -- it's amazing how important that is to someone who has had a stroke and survived." Approximately 500,000 Americans suffer strokes annually and strokes are the top cause of adult disability in the U.S.