Cure

THE STEEP decline, nearly 50 percent, in deaths from AIDS is a cause for joy -- mixed with deep concern.Credit goes to potent new drugs, which lowered the disease to the 14th leading cause of death last year, from eighth in 1996. Once the leading cause of death of people ages 25 to 44, AIDS now ranks fifth for that age group.But the drugs are not a cure. New infections remain stable at 40,000 annually, causing fears that with longer lives, deaths will rise again, possibly to past levels.The battle must go on, not only for the sake of Americans, but for victims worldwide, especially in Africa, where a whole generation faces this ominous health threat.

Despite rain and dreary skies, about 10,000 people walked and ran through downtown Baltimore yesterday, raising $550,000 to help find a cure for breast cancer.Organizers of Maryland Race for the Cure were surprised by the turnout."We were absolutely floored at the number of people who came," said Joanne Kelsey, who co-chaired the event. "I fully expected to have about 5,000 people."Starting at 8: 30 a.m., participants raced from Conway and Light streets, through downtown to Eager Street and back to Rash Field at the Inner Harbor.

As the Cure's Robert Smith complained recently, a lot of people simply don't get his band. For many reviewers, the Cure is a "quintessential goth band," all brooding guitars and angst-ridden vocals. Even after the irrepressible "Friday I'm In Love" cracked the Top 20, Smith moped that the Cure was seen as "this kind of gloom band."Well, "Wild Mood Swings" (Elektra 61744, arriving in stores today) ought to change that.This isn't quite the Cure's "come on, get happy" album, but then again, neither does it find the group heading once more unto the breach of despair.

Trainer Dale Capuano never skipped a beat when Maryland racing shifted to Laurel Park yesterday, as Saratoga Cure drove to a two-length victory in the opening-day feature, the $40,000 Chase Me Stakes over six furlongs. Capuano won the recently concluded competition for the trainers' title at Pimlico with 47 winners, easily out-distancing second-place Scott Lake's 22. His primary rider, Travis Dunkelberger, who finished second in the Pimlico jockey standings, was aboard Saratoga Cure. "He ran like a madman today," Dunkelberger said of Saratoga Cure, a gelding by Cure the Blues out of Saratoga Smile.

Peter Horton wants to make one thing clear about "The Cure," with which he makes his theatrical film debut as a director: "This isn't a movie about a boy dying from AIDS."In point of fact, the film is about a boy with AIDS, and his fate is not much in doubt from the beginning. But the director suggests the film is more about boys in general -- and perhaps himself in particular.The shaggy-haired regular on television's "thirtysomething" (he played English professor Gary, who died in a bicycle-car accident during the series' last season)

Pink replaced purple yesterday on the parking lot and streets surrounding Ravens stadium, as nearly 20,000 walkers, runners and volunteers joined Maryland's 11th annual Race for the Cure. The crowd definitely favored the color that has come to symbolize the battle against breast cancer. They sported pink caps, scarves and ribbons and kept the rain away under pink umbrellas and ponchos. Estelle Hynson, 62, dyed her hair pink, carried a cane that her husband had painted pink and wore a pink feather boa. In deference to the Ravens, her family did travel to the race in a purple bus. "This color shows people that I am a survivor and that I am hopeful," said Hynson of Glen Burnie.

Would you like more energy, better vision, improved memory, revitalized sexual ability, smoother skin or a healthier heart? Who wouldn't be tempted by promises of enhanced health? But watch your wallet. The modern-day medicine show is picking up steam.A hundred years ago, snake-oil salesmen roamed the countryside selling worthless remedies with extravagant claims. Today's hucksters show up on cable television and use direct-mail techniques to reach every home in the country.They play upon people's fears of cancer, heart disease, memory loss and AIDS.

With the number of Alzheimer's victims expected to double or triple in the next 50 years, researchers are scrambling as never before to find treatments and ultimately a cure that could stave off a public health disaster. Few who have delved into the mysteries of the disease that claimed the life of former President Ronald Reagan dare to predict when breakthroughs will occur. The most optimistic say a cure is at least a decade away. Backed this year by $679 million in federal funds and more from private sources, researchers are working on multiple fronts.

New York -- Robert Smith does not enjoy fame.Success? He can deal with that, no problem. He's happy that his band, the Cure, can sell millions of albums -- Smith is shy, not stupid -- and that the group has devoted fans around the globe. He also enjoys playing concerts, which is why, despite his marked aversion to travel, the Cure have embarked on a three-month U.S. tour (the group plays the Capital Centre tomorrow and Tuesday).But when it comes to the trappings of celebrity -- the screaming fans, the bulb-flashing photographers, the constant requests for interviews and personal appearance -- well, you can just leave that bit out, as far as he's concerned.

The title captures this film's harrowing qualities, but not its energy, its limpid beauty or its spiritual grace. The eight "red-light kids" of Sonagachi, Calcutta, at the center of this documentary are indeed Born Into Brothels, which would normally mean they grow up without any expectation of happiness or accomplishment. The parents would sell their daughters into marriage or (more likely) break them into prostitution. The sons would do odd brothel jobs before drifting into gangsterism and the drug trade.