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Ninety-two percent of children taking corticosteroids and 71 percent of children using beta-agonists to control asthma attacks exaggerate how often they take medication, according to a National Jewish Medical and Research Center study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. Children who didn't follow prescription instructions had a significantly greater chance of having a severe asthma attack than children who took medication correctly.

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Topics: * Diagnostic 'bad news' doesn't always signify a problem, spine surgeon says * Don't give kids cigarette premiums, expert says * Reduce infection risk by cleaning your dishwashing tools properly, epidemiologist advises * Feeling down? Some simple tests could point to easily treatable thyroid disease * Call for an ambulance when a 'brain attack' is suspected, then prepare to answer some simple questions

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More than 75,000 people become crime suspects each year in the United States based on being identified from lineups and photo spreads. Some identifications will be false and lead to mistaken arrests and imprisonments.

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New evidence that the mumps vaccine wiped out one specific type of heart failure raises a question: Would vaccines against other viruses known to infect heart muscle cells prevent other types of heart disease?

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Once youíve made those New Yearís resolutions to take better care of your health, do you know how to get started in making those promises a reality? One possible first step is to follow your mouse to the American Heart Association's Home Page at http://www.americanheart.org where you can take a unique interactive quiz, available 24 hours a day, to learn your personal risk of heart attack and some steps you can take to reduce your risk.

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A Johns Hopkins discovery that certain proteins interacting with RNA or DNA have nearly identical shapes and function similarly came as a surprise and may help chemists find more effective antibiotics.

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Jan story ideas from the Univ. of Colorado Health Sciences Center 1. Bloodless surgery available at Denver's University Hospital 2. Hepatitis C Virus: what everyone should know 3. Sickle cell disease: facts and fallacies 4. Shingles Pain, rash can strike without warning

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Thousands of people at risk of sudden cardiac death walk around wearing an implanted device that will shock the heart back into the right rhythm if it starts malfunctioning. The device, called an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), is popular and growing more so. The ICD is also under scrutiny because of its considerable expense, said Dr. Douglas Owens, a senior research associate in health services research and development at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System.

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In the January π97 Neuron, Harvard Medical School researchers report that mutant mice lacking a certain gene fail to weave the neatly layered pattern that is the trademark of the cerebral cortex, a finding that comes one step closer to understanding how the cortex unfolds during embryonic development.

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Researchers at Harvard Medical School report in the December 27 Cell their discovery of a genetic mutation responsible for venous malformations, the most common type of birthmark and describe what role a gene might play in the assembly of veins during embryogenesis.

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News about the so-called ìgoodî cholesterol -- HDL -- just keeps getting better. Elevated high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol -- which has been shown to increase a personís resistance against heart attacks -- may also protect against ìischemicî stroke, Israeli scientists report today in the American Heart Association journal Stroke. Ischemic stroke, the most common form of stroke, occurs when blood flow to part of the brain is blocked. The other type, ìhemorrhagicî stroke, is caused by bleeding from a ruptured blood vessel. Study co-author Uri Goldbourt, Ph.D., of the Neufeld Cardiac Research Institute at Sheba Medical Center in Tel-Hashomer, Israel, says, ìOur study indicates that high levels of HDL may be associated with protection against more than one vascular disease entity.î

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A solvent used in the food-processing trade is expected to help the pharmaceutical industry replace environmentally unfriendly and expensive solvents in the manufacture of drugs. By using supercritical carbon dioxide, or CO2, in the pharmaceutical process, researchers at the University of Kansas have successfully replaced some chemical solvents.

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The federal Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR) today announced the funding of 13 new research projects: eight projects to determine how the referral of primary care patients to medical specialists and other specialized services affects the quality and cost of health care; and five projects to improve primary care services overall.

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Most patients are very happy with their dentists and their dental care, according to a recently released national survey.

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January 1, 1997 Annals of Internal Medicine Tips 1) Coronary Artery Bypass Rates in New York State and Ontario Differ, But Which Rate is Right?; 2) Polycystic Ovaries Associated with More Extensive Heart Disease, Metabolic Abnormalities; 3) Satiety Hormone is Higher in Obese People; No Genetic Factor Found; 4) Three Conditions for Bedside Rationing

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Two studies published in the December issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA) suggest that dental x-rays are effective screening tools for strokes and osteoporosis.

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Dentists around the world are using amalgams (silver fillings) every day to fill decayed teeth, despite some erroneous news reports stating that many countries have banned the use of amalgams. International dental experts meeting recently at the American Dental Association (ADA) headquarters in Chicago discussed the use of amalgam in their respective countries.

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Scientists have recognized for more than a century that some molecules exist as pairs of mirror images. But, are such molecules really righties or lefties, chemically speaking? New research funded by the National Science Foundation is providing an answer.

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Nevirapine, a potent new drug used to treat HIV-infected patients, can be safely used in combination with protease inhibitors, according to one of the nation's leading AIDS researchers. Nevirapine is a member of a class of antiretroviral drugs called non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors. Embargoed: Friday, Jan. 24, 1997, at 9 a.m. EST