LOOKS, LIVERS AND LOVE

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ABit of Yourself

According to a Gallup poll, only one of five Americans who are aware of organ donation have signed an organ donor card, but all you need are two witnesses and the appropriate form. You can sign on the back of most driver's licenses, or you can get a donor card free from your local Eye Bank or Red Cross or the United Network for Organ Sharing (3001 Hungary Spring Rd., Richmond, VA 23228). Even with a signed card, hospitals will want to obtain family consent before organs can be removed, so tell your loved ones how you feel. For more information on organ donation, or to locate a donor support group in your area, contact the American Council on Transplantation, P.O. Box 1709, Alexandria, VA 22313, 800/ACT-GIVE.

Less Is Best

Folks with sensitive skins complain of dryness, itching, burning or eruptions—or all of the above. "The best way to handle skin," says Albert Kligman, University of Pennsylvania dermatology professor, "is to leave it alone. He urges such people to list their skincare products—cleansers, moisturizers and makeup—and why they use each one. If a product or step can be eliminated, Kligman advises to do so.

ACirrhosis Cure?

In just-released results of a 14-year study, colchicine, a widely available drug used to treat sufferers from gout, actually doubled the survival rate of patients with cirrhosis. What's more, two cirrhosis patients were found to have normal livers after several years of colchicine treatment. Hepatic scar tissue in seven others had reversed to the point that drug therapy was no longer judged necessary by medical experts.

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