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Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:

Surgeons Who Play Video Games Make Fewer Mistakes

If you're a laparoscopic surgeon and you want to improve your dexterity with the tiny instruments that are tools of the trade, researchers have a suggestion: Buy yourself a PlayStation.

Doctors who spent at least three hours a week playing video games made 37 percent fewer mistakes during laparoscopic surgery and performed their tasks 27 percent faster than average, according to researchers at New York's Beth Israel Medical Center.

Laparoscopic surgery involves making tiny incisions and inserting a small video camera into the body. The hand-eye coordination required is "like tying your shoelaces with 3-foot-long chopsticks," study author Dr. James Rosser told the Associated Press.

Based on his findings, Rosser has developed a course called "Top Gun," in which surgical trainees warm up with a video game before going into the operating room. "It's like [being] a good football player," he told the AP. "You have to warm up first."

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Antioxidant May Reverse Vision Loss: Study

The antioxidant supplement lutein appears to reverse some symptoms of vision loss associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), according to researchers at the North Chicago VA Medical Center. AMD is the leading cause of vision loss among older Americans.

In April's edition of the journal Optometry, the study authors stressed that while the supplement doesn't represent a cure for AMD, it did significantly improve patient scores on certain tests of visual function. During the 12-month study, 90 AMD patients were either given a 10-milligram capsule of lutein or a placebo.

Lutein is a naturally occurring molecule found in dark-green leafy vegetables, including spinach, kale, and collard greens, the researchers said in a prepared statement. Past research has shown that lutein appears to filter out blue wavelength light from the sun and artificial light sources, suppressing the oxidation of retinal cells that could otherwise cause eye disease, the authors said.

They stressed that larger studies were needed, noting that one in eight Americans over age 60 suffers from AMD.

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Younger Americans Ignorant About Sexual Diseases

Most Americans claim to have a basic understanding of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and how to protect themselves, but a new survey suggests otherwise, according to HealthDay.

While 84 percent of those surveyed by the American Social Health Association (ASHA) said they believed they undertook the necessary precautions, 45 percent admitted they did not use protection during vaginal intercourse; 66 percent reported not using protection during anal intercourse; and 91 percent said they used no protection during oral sex.

In addition, 68 percent said they were not concerned about contracting an STD. And one of three had never discussed STDs with their partners.

According to ASHA, one in four Americans will be infected with an STD at some point in their lives. In 2000, there were almost 19 million new infections, costing an estimated $8 billion to diagnose and treat.

The survey, which questioned 1,155 people between the ages of 18 and 35, focused largely on attitudes toward hepatitis. Pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, which makes vaccines for hepatitis A and B, funded the survey. More than half of the respondents (57 percent) did not know that hepatitis A can be sexually transmitted, while 44 percent did not realize hepatitis B could be transmitted this way.

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Importing Drugs Poses Safety Challenges: Surgeon General

The safe importation of prescription drugs into the United States from Canada and other countries presents significant challenges, said U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona.

He told the Associated Press that, during a forum Monday, drug manufacturers presented a convincing case that such a move would make it easier for drug counterfeiters to market unsafe products in the United States.

"We were not aware of the extremely robust counterfeiting system. I understand that corporate America is going to want to keep their stake in the market. But some of the evidence they presented, irrespective of their stake in the market, was compelling," Carmona told the AP.

The Surgeon General is chairman of a U.S. government task force that's examining whether drugs can be imported into the country in a safe and cost-effective manner. Carmona said he's not opposed to finding a way to legalize importation of prescription drugs from other countries, but it would have to be done in a way that guarantees patient safety.

During Monday's forum, prescription drug makers said importing cheaper drugs from Canada and other countries would be unsafe, cause price increases in other countries, and reduce incentives to market less-expensive generic drugs.

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Partial-Birth Abortion Causes Fetus Pain: Testimony

A pain expert claims that a form of late-term abortion, banned under a new federal law, would cause a 20-week-old fetus to suffer "severe and excruciating" pain.

Dr. Kanwaljeet Anand, a pediatrician at the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences, testified as a government witness Tuesday in Lincoln, Neb., during a court challenge against the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act.

In his testimony, Anand said fetuses respond to pain with increased heart rate, blood flow and hormone levels, the Associated Press reported.

"The physiological responses have been very clearly studied. The fetus cannot talk... so this is the best evidence we can get," Anand said.

The federal ban on so-called "partial-birth" abortions was signed in November by President Bush. But it hasn't been enforced because it's being challenged in three court cases in Lincoln, New York and San Francisco on the grounds that it violates the Constitution.

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Gene Therapy Used to Repair Heart Cells

Thomas Jefferson University researchers say they've successfully used gene therapy to repair damaged human heart cells in the laboratory.

They used a virus to inset a gene into cells taken from people with congestive heart failure. After the gene therapy, the damaged heart cells regained the ability to contract at full strength, BBC News Online reported.

This is the first time gene therapy has been successfully used to repair damaged human heart cells, the Philadelphia-based Jefferson team said. The researchers hope it won't be long before this gene therapy treatment can be tested on people with failing hearts.

The research was published in the journal Circulation.

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