Health Report: Apr. 25, 1994

THE GOOD NEWS

— George Bush’s mom was right — at least about broccoli. Scientists have shown that a substance found in crucifers (broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and other crunchy vegetables) actively blocks formation of cancerous tumors in rats.

— Experts say new vaccines and treatments for a common type of influenza called Hib can prevent up to one-third of the cases of hearing loss in young children.

— People who have AIDS are living about a year longer than they were at the start of the epidemic, largely because of improved treatments for Pneumocystis carinii, an AIDS-related pneumonia.

THE BAD NEWS

— Two leading antioxidants, beta carotene and vitamin E, gave no protection against lung cancer in a controlled test of 29,000 Finnish smokers, and may have done some harm.

— Researchers investigating the high incidence of breast cancer on New York’s Long Island found that women who lived near chemical plants in the late 1960s have a 60% greater chance of developing breast cancer after menopause.

— Many blacks lack an enzyme that breaks down a key carcinogen in tobacco smoke, which may help explain why black men who smoke are 48% more likely to develop lung cancer than white men who smoke.

Sources — GOOD: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Ear and Hearing, Journal of the American Medical Association.

BAD: The New England Journal of Medicine, New York State Department of Health, American Health Foundation.