PPS OnLine is a new alerting service for medical news from over 30 pharmaceutical companies. Connect to and request information on specific diseases, allergies, or drugs. PPS will create a new web page to fit your medical condition, and will email the address to you. Links to all relevant product releases will be posted to your page, at no charge. [Kent Bulmer . Richard Lee Holbert , BESTWEB, 7/11/95. net-hap.]

The Internet Addiction Support Group (IASG) is for sufferers of Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD). Send a "subscribe i-a-s-g" message to . [Ivan Goldberg , alt.conspiracy, 4/22/95.]

is a Famous Name Syndrome page, for those afflicted with the name Stephen King. :-) [Stephen King , 5/28/95. net-hap, 7/20/95.]

Health anecdote: The international leader of the Karatedo Doshinkan martial arts group was diagnosed this March with a fist-sized tumor at the head of his pancreas. I'm told that this is one of the most deadly cancers. He was given three months to live, with no treatment possible. He returned to his dojo in Vienna, where he began to rebuild his strength and focus his energies. One member remarked, "He's teaching us how to die like a samurai." By the end of June, Hanshi was again leading international training sessions, and much younger black belts and instructors couldn't keep up with him. A specialist in pancreatic cancers says that Hanshi should be dead, but could find no sign of the disease.

(I don't know whether faith, stress reduction, meditation, prayer, Chinese herbs, acupuncture, exercise, or a feeling of "doing something" might be responsible. And I don't know whether to believe in chi, in most of its definitions. But there is healing power in Qigong (Chi Gung), Tai Chi, Hatha Yoga, and, evidently, in this somewhat yoga-like karatedo training. Learning the skills _before_ you need them is the best course, as the learning takes many years and is beneficial in its own right. But it's very interesting that this tumor grew until it was diagnosed. Hanshi was active and in outstanding physical condition during the tumor development. Consciously directing attention, relaxation, "chi," or blood/lymph/energy flow to the trouble spot may be necessary for healing.)

Martial arts do have their dangers, of course. "The Fitness Bulletin reports that 'aside from brain and body damage, boxing is a superb fitness sport.'" -- The Globe and Mail. [Duncan Thornton , QOTD-L, 8/2/95.]