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Thomas $80,000 to $500 Stetson hat from the $275,000 Houston Club
HEALTH REPORT
THE GOOD NEWS
--HIV PROTECTION without condoms? Preliminary research on animals shows that a vaginal gel containing a drug called PMPA can stop transmission of HIV by preventing the virus from replicating. Further study is needed.
--Research on patients with CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE finds that carvedilol, a type of drug known as a beta blocker, can significantly lessen the risk of dying from the disease. The pill is taken daily, along with other standard medications.
--A cool remedy from hot peppers: a topical cream made from capsaicin, the ingredient that gives chili peppers their fire, appears able to reduce long-standing PAIN IN SCARS from breast- and lung-cancer surgery.
THE BAD NEWS
--Just worrying about whether salt can raise BLOOD PRESSURE seems enough to make anyone hypertensive. Now, more confusion. A U.S. study finds that in healthy people, salt does not affect blood pressure; a British study concludes that it does--especially in middle-age adults.
--Most women undergoing surgery for early stage OVARIAN CANCER are not thoroughly checked to see if the disease has spread to their abdomen and lymph nodes, a study shows. The step can make the difference between life and death.
--Heavy MOSQUITO INFESTATIONS are expected this June in the Pacific Northwest, Midwest, Great Lakes, Southeast and New England regions. The winter's wet and wacky weather is why.
Sources--GOOD NEWS: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; New England Journal of Medicine; American Society of Clinical Oncology BAD NEWS: Journal of the American Medical Association and British Medical Journal; National Cancer Institute; Benadryl Itch Index
LOCAL HEROES
WILLIAM MAGEE, 52, and KATHLEEN MAGEE, 51; NORFOLK, VA.; founders of Operation Smile Plastic surgeon William and his social-worker wife Kathleen began "OpSmile" in 1982; since then it has performed surgery on 18,000 kids in 15 countries to correct--without charge--such disfigurements as cleft palates and burn scars, while training local doctors in the procedures. Says William: "The world is changed by emotion." On June 20, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation will award the group a $1 million prize.
EVIE ROSEN, 69; WAUSAU, WIS.; retired needlework-shop owner Disheartened by news stories about the homeless, Rosen wanted to do something to help: "Almost every home has little balls of yarn. I thought if we all could knit 7-in. by 9-in. rectangles, we could stitch them together and make a lot of afghans." She started Warm Up America in 1992, getting the word out to churches, retirement homes and craft shops. Last year, with help from other organizations, the group distributed 16,000 afghans.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
LALO SCHIFRIN, 63; LOS ANGELES; composer