Get Your Hands on Some Yoga>>>The benefits of yoga seem to have no bounds. In addition to increasing balance, positive energy, and heart health, new evidence indicates that yoga is an effective treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome. The Journal of the American Medical Association recently published a study reporting that patients who followed a yoga-based regimen experienced more significant improvements in grip strength and pain reduction than those wearing wrist splints or receiving no treatment.

Quick Fix?>>>Women over 59 years old who visit physicians are 37% likelier to receive a prescription for tranquilizers, and 33% likelier to receive a prescription for antidepressants, than men over 59, according to a recent study by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University. Jeanne Reid, senior research associate, says, "We're concerned the doctors give a woman a pill and send her home, where with a man they might give the case more thought and look for an underlying problem."

Breathe Easier While Pregnant>>>Are you pregnant and concerned about the potential dangers of asthma or allergy medications? The American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology offers a new brochure, "Advice from Your Allergist . . . Managing Asthma and Allergies During Pregnancy." The pamphlet identifies methods of minimizing allergens in your environment and evaluates medications for the safety of their use during pregnancy and while nursing. To obtain a copy, call (800) 842-7777 or visit http://allergy.mcg.edu/Advice/pregnasth.html.

Follow Their Lead . . .>>>Georgia has become the first state to pass legislation requiring health insurance companies to cover chlamydia screenings. Chlamydia is the number one bacterial, sexually transmitted disease in the U.S., with four million cases reported each year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Infertility Prevention Program has shown that with routine screenings, the rates of infection can be lowered by as much as 67%. Women suffer more severe first heart attacks than men, resulting in a 70% higher risk of death for women in the first month after their attacks, reports the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study also found that, on average, from the onset of symptoms, women wait an hour longer than men to go to the emergency room.

BY JEANANN PANNASCH