"The more different your cultural background, the more the disparity in pain treatment is likely to be," said Dr. Todd, who was also an author of the JAMA study.

The bottom line: The 2003 JAMA study was a black eye for guggul.

I'm not sure what the controls were for the JAMA study.

Mr. Teret said yesterday that because the JAMA study was the only one on the issue, he had no idea whether the laws worked.

Nor, despite the mixed showing in the JAMA study, has psychotherapy lost its role in treatment for depression.

Another JAMA study, written up at the WP and NYT , calculates that the cost of treating the nation's gunshot wounds for a recent year, 1994, was $2.3 billion.

The JAMA study also looked at seasonal influenza-associated deaths over a 23 year period, from 1976-1977 and 1998-1999.

The JAMA study reported screening about 3,200 people and finding 144 with lung cancer.

Because the JAMA study examines mortality, it is the more valid study.

The JAMA study also highlights the tradeoffs involved in lung cancer screening.