Health Highlights: Jan. 7, 2008

The Johns Hopkins University study included nearly 5,000 Ugandan men -- half of them circumcised -- who were asked to rate their sexual performance and satisfaction. There was little difference between circumcised and uncircumcised men, the study found.

Previous studies on circumcision and sexual satisfaction produced mixed results, but the Hopkins team said the number of men and other factors make their study the most reliable to date,BBC Newsreported.

"Our study clearly shows that being circumcised did not have an adverse effect on the men who underwent the procedure when we compared them with men who had not yet received surgery," said study leader Professor Ronald Gray.

"Other studies already show that being able to reassure men that the procedure won't affect sexual satisfaction or performance makes them much more likely to be circumcised," Gray said.

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Placebo Scores Better Than Anti-Psychotic Drugs in Aggressive Outburst Study

People with low IQs subject to aggressive outbursts don't benefit from two of the most widely-used anti-psychotic drugs, according to British researchers.

The New York Timesreports that a study following 86 adults with low IQs in England, Wales and Australia found that placebos were just as effective -- and possibly more so -- as Haldol and Risperdal, two of the most popular drugs used against schizophrenia and other behavioral conditions.

These drugs had been used in recent years, theTimesreports, as calming agents for people who exhibit threatening behavior and children with attention deficit difficulties, among others.

The researchers found that after a month of treatment, 79 percent of study subjects taking pills with no medicinal value had a reduction in aggressive behavior, while 65 percent of those taking the antipsychotic drugs experienced the same effect, the newspaper reported.

The study, published Jan. 3 in theLancet, may cause a review of how Haldol and Risperdal are prescribed in the United Kingdom, the newspaper says.

Dr. Peter J. Tyrer, a professor of psychiatry at Imperial College London who led the study team, told theTimeshe believed part of the dramatic results may have been that the research subjects usually receive so little notice that their behavior was in response to all the attention.

"They're neglected, they tend to be pushed into the background, and this extra attention has a much bigger effect on them that it would on a person of more normal intelligence level," Tyrer is quoted as saying.

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15,000 Toy Wagons Recalled for Too Much Lead

Even the classic toy red wagon isn't immune from the recent spate of Chinese-made product recalls over the amount of lead contained in the toys' paint.Some 15,000 red wagons imported by Tricam Industries of Eden Prairie, Minn., violate the federal lead paint standard, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said in announcing the wagons' recall. No injuries have been reported.

The recall involves model MH1250. The wagons were sold at Tractor Supply Co. stores across the United States from September 2002 through November 2007 for about $30.

The wagon should be taken away from children immediately. Contact Tricam Industries at 800-867-6763 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday for instructions on how to return the wagon and obtain a refund.