Your Health: Aug. 3, 1998

GOOD NEWS ON LYME

Lyme disease can be treated, but the common tick-borne illness has never quite been preventable. Two new vaccines using genetically engineered bacteria have been proved effective in protecting adults against Lyme disease. Both await FDA approval, and at least one is expected to be available for next summer’s Lyme-disease season. Vaccine tests for children are still in the works.

BAD NEWS ON RADIATION

For patients who suffer from the most common type of lung cancer, postoperative radiation therapy is often a routine part of treatment. But a study published last week urges re-evaluation of this practice, showing that radiation actually raises the relative risk of death 21% and that its effects are most detrimental for those in the early stages of the illness, pushing survival chances below 50%.

GOOD NEWS ON ARTHRITIS

A Dutch study suggests that rheumatoid arthritis and hay fever are seldom suffered by the same person, a finding that may yield new treatments. Both conditions are thought to be autoimmune disorders mediated by two types of T cells. The type active in hay fever may help suppress the type active in rheumatoid arthritis.

BAD NEWS ON OLIVE OIL

In recent years, studies have hinted that olive oil could prevent breast cancer. A new study measuring oleic acid–the oil’s chief component–in women, rather than relying on their reports of what they ate, shows no protective effect from the acid. But the oil’s cardiovascular benefits still make it a healthy choice.

–By Dara Horn

Sources: New England Journal of Medicine; The Lancet; Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases; American Journal of Clinical Nutrition