Biomedicine.

Hormone quandary Elderly women taking estrogen and synthetic progesterone are more likely to have strokes and develop Alzheimer's disease than are women not taking the hormones (163: 341). However, a drug related to progesterone helps some women extend their pregnancies (163: 371), and ultralow doses of estrogen and progesterone boost bone density in postmenopausal women without producing adverse effects (164: 133).

Shooting SARS An epidemic dubbed severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, developed in China and spread around the globe. Scientists quickly identified the responsible virus, deciphered its genes, and determined how it infects cells (163: 198, 262 *; 164: 341 *).

Take heart A technique that employs bone marrow cells to rebuild heart tissues showed early success (164: 323 *). Mesh cylinders called stents, used to prop open coronary arteries, work better when coated with a drug that inhibits the accumulation of cells (164: 214).

Allergy advance Researchers successfully demonstrated the first preventive drug treatment against peanut allergy (163: 163 *).

Unseen risk An enzyme in the blood-clotting process appeared to explain heart attacks in some Viagra users (163: 38 *).

Vexing vaccine A federal smallpox-vaccination campaign stumbled, in part over concerns that the vaccine's risks might outweigh the benefit of better bioterrorism preparedness (163: 218). Other research showed that people vaccinated decades ago may retain protection against smallpox (163: 340).

Better shots Vaccines advanced. An experimental vaccine built immunity against Ebola in monkeys (164: 83 *); a new tuberculosis vaccine excelled in animal tests (163: 318); a vaccine against rotavirus advanced (164: 204); and an experimental anthrax vaccine appeared to stop the anthrax bacterium and disable its toxin at the same time (164: 147).

Anemia cure Using stem ceil transplants and a compound called anti-thymocyte globulin, researchers in Paris cured 59 of 69 children of sickle-cell disease (163: 29).

Diabetes data Diabetes patients who adhered to a strict program of blood sugar control over 7 years showed long-term heart benefits (164: 14). Researchers found that one form of an immune system gene shows up frequently in people with diabetes or certain thyroid diseases (163: 278) and that the age at which infants first eat cereal may affect their risk of developing diabetes (164: 212).

Gene gains Scientists tracked down disease-causing mutant genes, including those responsible for some cases of atrial fibrillation, autism and early-aging syndrome (163: 21, 212, 260).

Good news Giving drugs to babies born to HW-positive mothers made the infants less likely to contract the virus through breastfeeding (164: 270). Three experimental AIDS drugs performed well in early tests (163:117 *). A harmless virus that seems to keep HIV infections from progressing to AIDS appeared to occupy key molecular receptors on immune cells (163: 173).

Bad news The first large test of an AIDS vaccine failed to shield an at-risk population (163: 133), and a combination of drugs that researchers anticipated would work well against HIV failed to stop the virus reliably (164: 222).

Renewed immunity A thymus-tissue transplant enabled babies that were born with DiGeorge's syndrome to develop functional immune systems (164: 69).

Pain pill A protein that heals injured nerve cells thwarted various forms of chronic pain in animals (164: 245).

Aging well Having extralarge cholesterol particles in the blood may promote longevity, according to a study of very old people (164: 243).

Blood check Donated blood and organs should be screened to prevent transmission of West Nile virus, federal officials said (163: 253).

Testing testosterone After reviewing recent studies on the benefits and risks of treating age-related symptoms with testosterone, a medical panel expressed concern over widespread use of the unproven therapy (163: 296 *; 164: 382).

Reading cancers Advances in magnetic resonance imaging profiling genes' activities showed promise in helping physicians identify aggressive prostate tumors (164: 123 *).

Cancer fighters Baldness drug finasteride showed hints that it could prevent some cases of prostate cancer (163: 403), and a potential AIDS drug slowed the growth of brain tumor cells in lab studies (164: 260 *). Two cancer vaccines fashioned from proteins showed promise (163: 13, 398).

Kindest cut Research confirmed that surgery to remove diseased portions of the upper lungs helps some emphysema patients breathe better (163: 323 *).

Pregnancy woes A placental protein was linked to preeclampsia symptoms, and the finding may improve detection and treatment of the disease (163: 147 *). Other research suggested that a natural compound called asymmetric dimethylarginine plays a role in preeclampsia (163: 293). Also, a study showed that pregnant women taking nonprescription painkillers, such as ibuprofen and aspirin, had an elevated risk of miscarriage (164: 115 *).

Gut reaction Given as a drug, a protein fragment called epidermal growth factor induced remission of ulcerative colitis (164: 51).

No scope A CT scan worked as well as colonoscopy in detecting signs of colon cancer (164: 355 *).

Early warning The amount of calcium in the coronary arteries and the compound adiponectin both showed promise as markers of heart disease in seemingly healthy people (164: 174, 334). And women who lose one or more fetuses during early pregnancies proved to be about 50 percent more likely than other women to later suffer heart disease (163: 157).

Liver protection A new drug prevented the replication of the hepatitis C virus (164: 276), while gene therapy that induces infected liver cells to self-destruct dramatically slowed hepatitis C in mice (163: 349).

Alzheimer's update The drug memantine slowed the progression of late-stage Alzheimer's disease (163: 211). In a lab dish, the cancer drug imatinib mesylate, also called Gleevec, reduced formation of the kinds of plaques found in Alzheimer's patients (164: 285). Spinal-fluid concentrations of two compounds linked to Alzheimer's showed promise as a test of whether a person has the disease (164: 179).

Questionable supplement The compound ephedra provides only modest weight-loss effects and poses health risks, an analysis of research showed (163: 237). Another study found that the weight-loss supplement Metabolife 356, which contains ephedra, can cause subtle changes in a person's heartbeat (164: 334).

Brain gain Bathing dopamine-making neurons with a natural protein that induces nerve-fiber growth reversed some of the symptoms of Parkinson's disease (163: 245). Inhibiting the protein eyclo-oxygenase-2 also emerged as a possible way to fight Parkinson's (163: 285).

Sour dreams Children who snore frequently were more likely to struggle with their schoolwork than were children who rarely snore (164: 173 *). Sleep apnea, a breathing disorder that often accompanies snoring, perhaps explained why President William Howard Taft frequently dozed off (164: 238).

Short supply People lacking a full complement of blood-filtering nephrons in their kidneys at birth were found to be at increased risk of high blood pressure (163:19 *).

Fat chance Research mounted that fat-derived acids called ketones could help treat a variety of disorders involving abnormal cellular metabolism (164: 376).

A new class of experimental drugs that mimic the actions of the hormone glucagon-like peptide 1 showed benefits against type 2, or adult-onset, diabetes. The drugs are based on a compound first identified in the saliva of the venomous Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum). Glucagon-like peptide 1 revs up and refurbishes insulin-making cells of the pancreas and might spawn the growth of new cells (164: 104).

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WHOLE-BODY SCANS DEBATED

Doctors are divided on whether the value of screening the torso with X rays to find symptomless disease outweighs the costs. Though the scans' imaging of lungs turns up plenty of worrisome spots signifying possible cancers, most of those spots ultimately prove harmless. Scans focusing on the heart and administered to people at somewhat elevated risk of cardiovascular disease are generally considered beneficial (164: 184 *).

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