P age A4
J anuary 18, 1995 • T he P ortland O bserver
H EALTH
OHSU
Makes
Progress
On Stroke
Treatment
Physicans at Oregon
Health Sciences University
use an apparatus to
evaluate patients with
symptons of stroke. The
hosptial is testing a new
treatment for stroke, a
leading cause of death and
disability.
If You Think You’re Ready To Have A Baby..
If you think you ’ re ready to have
a baby...Think Ahead! T hat’s the
message being highlighted by the
March o f Dimes Birth Defects Foun
dation during January, Birth Defects
prevention Month.
“Just as you plan other impor
tant life events, it’s important to Think
Ahead and prepare for pregnancy.
There are a few simple things every
woman can do prior to pregnancy to
help make sure her baby has a healthy
start in life,’’ says Dr. Richard
Lowensohn, Chairman ofThe Health
Professional Advisory Committee for
the Lewis and Clark Chapter.
A ccording to the M arch o f
Dimes, women who are preparing to
have a baby should see a health care
provider before becoming pregnant;
eat a balanced diet; stop smoking,
drinking alcohol and taking nonpre-
scription drugs; and consume at least
0.4 milligrams o f the B Vitamin folic
acid every day.
Folic acid can reduce the chance
o f having a baby born with serious
birth defects o f the brain and spine
called neural tube defects -- which
are among the most common birth
defects in the United States. “Think
ing Ahead about folic acid is espe
cially important since one-half o f all
pregnancies are unplanned and many
women don’t know they're pregnant
until several weeks after conception,’’
says Lowensohn. “Getting the urgent
m e ssa g e to ev ery w om an o f
childbearing age about consuming
folic acid is o f major concern to the
March o f Dimes, because folic acid
is needed very early, before a woman
knows she is pregnant.
“Today, most women do not
schedule a pre-pregnancy planning
visit with a health care provider. The
March o f Dimes recommends that
such visits become a standard com
ponent o f maternity care, along with
prenatal, labor and delivery and post
partum care.
“Whether a woman is consider
ing becoming pregnant or not, it’s
good idea for her to see her gynecol
ogist every year, eat a balanced diet,
exercise regularly, stop smoking and
lower her alcohol consumption,” says
Lowensohn.
The Think Ahead campaign was
developed as a result o f recommen
dations made by the nation’s leading
organizations concerned with m ater
nal and infant health. In the report
“Toward Improving the Outcome o f
Pregnancy (TIOP): the 90s and Be
yond,” 27 national organizations cit
Classes O ffered For
Better Health
'
Several classes open to the pub
lic are being offered in north Port
land this w inter through Kaiser
Permanente. For registration infor
m ation, call Kaiser Perm anente’s
H ealth Education Departm ent at
(503) 286-6816.
Uncontrolled diabetes can lead
to serious health problems. Kaiser
Permanente offers several classes
where you can leam self-care skills
to control your diabetes.
The three session “Diabetes:
Basic Education” will be held next
week from 9 a m. to noon on Mon
day, Tuesday and W ednesday at
Kaiser Permanente’s Education and
Conference Center, 3704 N. Inter
state Ave. Cost is $15 for Kaiser
members and $75 for the general
public. A spouse or other support
person is encouraged to attend at no
extra charge.
Parenting Skills, Ages 5 to 12 is
for people wishing to improve their
parenting abilities. The eight session
seminar will be held from 6:30 p.m.
to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesdays at Kaiser’s
North Interstate Services Building,
7201 N. Interstate Ave. Cost is $75
for Kaiser member couples and $ 140
for the general public.
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STRENGTH
TRAINING
LOW FAT
LIVING PLAN
CHILD CARE
MASSAGE
THERAPY
PDC
RACQUETBALL
E E T iiü re n y T
TAI CHI
P ò MI a ST»
' 'V
I
COMMISSION MEETING
Date: January 18,1995
Place: Portland Building
1120 SW 5th Avenue
Second Floor
T im e 6:00 p.m.
Commission meetings are open to
the public. A complete agenda is
available at PDC or by calling
823-3200 Citizens with disabilities
may call 823-3232 or T D D 823-6868
for assistance at least 48 hours in
advance.
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« "*
V «
ROWING
PDC is the City of Portland's urban
renewal, housing and economic
development agency.
ROWING
WEIGHT
TRAINING
STEAM
SAUNA
*
282-1664
1105 N.E. Broadway
Join
W eight W atchers
today and cut the fat,
not the food.
( all: 503-288-0033
N e w Year's
R esolution Solution
If 1995 is the year you plan
to lose weight and get back
into shape, then see
Lloyd Athletic Club
for the solutions to your
New Year’s resolutions.
Start with a free 10-day trial
membership Please call
Bnan or Holly at 287-4594
before January 31, 1995 to
activate your trial
membership
WEIGHT WATCHERS NEW FAT & FIBER PLAN
W ant to lose weight? You
can count on the new Fat
& Fiber Plan. It’s an
incredible breakthrough in
a weight loss plan because
it’s an entirely new way to
count food. And it’s only
at Weight W atchers. All
you do is choose foods that
meet your required daily
fat and fiber intake. You
select what you want,
North Portland
JOIN
ANY
MEETING
ANYTIME
The healthier you are, the
more you enjoy life, so keep
fitness in mind all year
round - beginning now!
when you want. At the
supermarket, at your
favorite restaurant, at fast
food places all over town.
Fat & Fiber will have you
feeling — and living —
free and easy. Weight
W atchers new Fat Fiber
Plan helps put you in
control and feeling great.
And you can count on
that!
Northminster Presbyterian:
2823 N Portland Blvd. Fellowship Hall
Tues; 7:00 pm
I'niversity of Portland:
5000N Willamette Blvd .ColumbiaHall
(Enter from Portsmouth). Wed 4 45 p m
Northwest Portland
Llo yd A th le tic C lub
Y o u r place. Y o u r pace.
V»/
Auditorium. Thurs
2 8 7 -4 5 9 4
■ ’* t i
.5
7 00 p m . Fri- 9 30 a m
Temple Baptist C hurch:
I3 I9 N 7th. Fireside Room, tues 12 0 0 1
Noon
12 00 Noon
W e ig h t W a t c h e r *
A IM lfllC lC lU B
f t '
Wed- 9 30 a m & 5 00 p m . Thurs-
Call Collect - Weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
WHIRLPOOL
81 5 N .E . H a ls e y
Northeast Portland
Tillam ook Park Bldg: 2108 N t 41st I
A w Mon- 7 00 p m . Tues- 7 00 p m . |
ESCO: 2141 N W 25th Avenue
(25th & Vaughn). 1 ab Bldg . 2nd Floor
503-297-1021
C l 9 9 5 Weight Watchers International Inc O w n e r oi the We,gh, W a tc h e r,!,a d e m a ,. All ng h t, r « e r v « l
at ,
m m
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fflii' J,lo rtl aitò (Dl. ■srrurr
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3
1
der are used to treat opportunistic
infections and other complications
that AIDS patients are susceptible
to. Physicians have found that when
a single drug does not work, two or
three administered at the same time
in sequence or alternately, are often
effective.
Just 10 years ago, w hen the
A ID S p a tie n t was id e n tifie d , no
e ffe c tiv e m edicines e x iste d to
tre a t it. P atients u su ally only
had a year or tw o left to live
N ow the lifespan o f a person
w ith the HIV virus is o ften 10
years or m ore a fte r in fectio n
has o ccu rred .
Researchers have developed
some tremendously important drugs
in the decade since the discovery o f
the HIV virus. There is still no cure
and no vaccine, but ongoing re
search holds out hope for both.
There are currently 107 drugs in
development for AIDS and 81 phar
maceutical research companies are
searching for a cure.
Many researchers are gong
back to basics to find answers to
some fundamental questions about
this virus: How does it destroy the
immune-system cells? How does
the body change as the disease
progresses? As researches leam
more about this terrible disease, the
odds increase that more effective
drugs - and perhaps a preventive
vaccine or cure - will be found.
M on - Friday 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Saturday 10 - 5:30 p.m.
YOGA
STAIRCLIMBING
AIDS is the seventh leading
killer o f African Americas. More
than 88,000 African Americans are
currently living with AIDS. In the
1990s, the number o f AIDS cases
diagnosed among African Ameri
can women has been 14 times high
er than the rate for white American
women, according to the U.S. De
partment o f Heath and Human Ser
vices.
Obviously, this disease is a ma
jo r concern to the African Ameri
can community. There is no ques
tion that the best way to beat AIDS
is through prevention and educa
tion and community leaders have a
vital role to play here.
The good news is that, although
AIDS is still a terrible and fatal
disease, new medicines are helping
AIDS patients live longer and bet
ter lives. People diagnosed with
AIDS in 1991 have nearly twice the
survival time as those diagnosed in
1984, according to the National In-
stitutes o f Health. And A m erica's
pharmaceutical research companies
are working hard to add to the arse
nal o f weapons against AIDS.
In the past year alone, five new
medicines have been approved by
the Food and Drug Administration
for AIDS and AIDS-related condi
tions. This increases to 26 the total
number o f AIDS medicines avail
able. Four o f these medicines attack
the virus directly, and the remain
Synthetic & Human Hair
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SQUASH
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Join Us in Celebrating
^ îo r tla n h © h s c rtie r’s
P a re n tin g the T o d d le r and
Preschoolerteaches parents o f 1 to4-
year-olds how to nurture and enjoy
their growing child. The class in
cludes group sessions on child devel
opment. positive discipline, building
self-esteem and encouraging respon
sible behavior.
The eight sessions o f the class
will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30
p.m. on W ednesdays through March
15 at the Education and Conference
Center location. Cost is $75 for Kai
ser member couples and $ 140 for the
general public.
AEROBICS
ed pre-pregnancy awareness as an,
important factor in improving the.
outcome o f pregnancy.
T hrough T hink A head, the
M arch o f D im es seeks to m o ti
vate co u p le s to prep are for th e ir
p re g n a n c ie s and give th e ir baby
the best p o ssib ility o f a healthy
sta rt in life.
Call the Lewis and Clark Chap
ter o f the March o f Dimes at 503/
222-9434 for more information about
preparing for your pregnancy.
The March o f Dimes is a nation
al voluntary health agency whose
mission is to improve the health of
babies by preventing birth defects
and infant mortality. Through its
Campaign for Healthier Babies, the
March o f Dimes funds programs o f
research, community services, edu
cation and advocacy.
AIDS: The Good
News Is Research
•
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