Traffic fatalities have become an unfortunate holiday tradition, especially on New Year's Eve. Yet certain myths about drinking and driving persist, despite numerous attempts to debunk them. For example, say experts at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, merely obeying traffic laws isn't enough to keep you safe: a few drinks can rob you of the quick reflexes and sound judgment that also characterize a good driver. And don't think chasing your cocktails with some coffee will help you sober up. Only time does that, because the alcohol must be metabolized and flushed from your system. Meanwhile, your judgment and coordination may be affected for as long as 12 hours after you imbibe. Sometimes even a night's sleep isn't enough, because heavy drinking can impair your rest and leave you feeling groggy and sluggish the next day, which may also affect your driving. The bottom line: Don't underestimate the effects of alcohol. And don't drink and drive.

ALCOHOL, DRUGS BOOST BRAIN CHEMICALS

Why do humans love to drink despite its sometimes deadly effects? Doctors at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill may have discovered one of the reasons: one of the body's natural painkillers and euphoria producers, called beta endorphin, increases significantly in a key region of the brain that controls addiction, in response to alcohol. Cocaine and amphetamine have a similar effect. The study was conducted in rats but strongly suggests that the same thing happens in humans, the researchers say. They injected alcohol, cocaine, amphetamine, nicotine, or an inactive salt solution into the rats, and then measured the endorphin levels in specific areas of the brain 3 hours later. The first 3 drugs all produced a rise in beta-endorphin, but, surprisingly, nicotine did not. One of the researchers, Dr. Clyde W. Hodge, says these findings could help scientists design drugs to help humans conquer certain addictions.

NEW THERAPY FOR MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS?

Minocycline, a member of the tetracycline family of antibiotics, shows promise as a treatment for multiple sclerosis, say the authors of a new paper in the current issue of the Annals of Neurology. They tested the drug in rats with a condition called autoimmune encephalomyelitis, which mimics the effects of MS. Animals given the antibiotic either did not develop the neurologic symptoms associated with the disease, or if they did, their symptoms were much milder than those seen in untreated rats. Minocycline also seemed to prevent the nerve damage characteristic of the disorder. Ian D. Duncan, MD, one of the investigators, suggests that the drug may have anti-inflammatory properties that may be even more important than its role as an antibiotic in these patients, and it may even have a place in the treatment of people with Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease. Studies in humans with MS are planned for the upcoming year.

"SCARED TO DEATH" MORE THAN JUST AN EXPRESSION

Is it possible really to be scared to death? A new study published in the British Medical Journal suggests that it is. Capitalizing on Chinese and Japanese superstitions surrounding the number 4, sociologist David Phillips and colleagues at the University of California, San Diego, studied more than 200,000 death certificates of Asian Americans and 47,000 Caucasian Americans and found that there were 13 percent more cardiac deaths than expected among Japanese and Chinese-Americans on the fourth of each month. In California, which has an especially high concentration of people of Asian descent, the death rate among them was 27 percent higher on the fourth of the month. This could be because Chinese and Japanese people change diets, drink more alcohol, refuse medicines, or otherwise overstrain themselves at this time. Whatever the reason, the researchers concluded that their data suggest a link between psychological stress and heart attacks.

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