CHECKUP\Women, men can take same hypertension drugs\NEWS, TIPS & TRENDS.

Byline: Daily News Wire Services

Blood-pressure drugs that are commonly prescribed to men are just as effective in women, a new study shows.

The findings run counter to previous smaller studies, which suggested that the drugs routinely used to treat men with high blood pressure were not as beneficial in women - and in some cases actually increased their overall death rate.

But in the new study, women treated with a wide range of commonly prescribed drugs achieved the same blood pressure-lowering benefits as did their male counterparts, Dr. Cora Lewis of the University of Alabama at Birmingham reported recently in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

"This should resolve any uncertainty, especially in white women," said Dr. Barry Materson, a professor of medicine at the University of Miami School of Medicine. "Some studies have shown that white women didn't benefit from drug treatment, and that some actually did worse."

For the most part, doctors have prescribed similar treatments for men and women with high blood pressure, Materson said. The new study is proof that they have been doing the right thing, he said.

"The key point is that there is no reason not to treat women the same, and this study shows that in fact, there is every reason to treat them the same," he said.

After the storm: Two years after Hurricane Andrew devastated southern Florida, schoolchildren who lived in the path of the storm still carry psychological scars, a new study reveals.

Nearly 90 percent of children had moderate to severe symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder eight months after the hurricane. After 21 months, 70 percent still were affected, according to Dr. Jon A. Shaw, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at the University of Miami.

The findings, published in the March issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, were based on psychological tests given to 30 children ages 7 to 13.

Key symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder in children include fear that the traumatic event will recur, regressive behavior, re-enactment of the event, problems at school, hyper-alertness and changed attitudes about themselves, the world and the future, according to Shaw.

Symptoms abated more over time in boys than in girls, the study showed.

Kids' behavior problems in school decreased immediately after the hurricane, perhaps because of psychological shock or numbing, the Florida researcher said.

Exercise, a drug?: For some people, exercise can be as addictive as alcohol or other drugs, a Texas researcher warns.

"Exercise becomes a fix, just like a drug," said Dr. Jorge de la Torre, a psychiatrist at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. "Although addicts can get some relief from exercise, it does not last, and they need to do it over and over again."

Want to know if you're an exercise addict? Here are some telltale signs:

Sticking to "loner" exercises such as biking, swimming, running or weight lifting.

A lack of flexibility with your exercise schedule.

The belief that exercise is mandatory, and that missing it is unbearable.