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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 5, 1995)
T he P ortland O bserver • A pril 5, 1995 P age A5 HEAL Good News for Sickle Cell Sufferers B y L a rry L u ca s A drug already in use for other diseases has been found highly effective in reducing painful crisis episodes in adults with sickle cell anemia. Hydroxyurea, manufactured by Bristol-M yers Squibb, was given daily to volunteer patients in 21 medical centers across the country in a clinical trial. The study show ed that the m edicine cut painful episodes— and hospital admissions for those episodes— in half. H ydroxyurea also reduced by half the incidence o f acute chest syndrome— a life-threatening com plication whose symptoms include chest pain, fever and an abnormal chest x-ray. The drug is not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration, but because it is approved for other purposes, sickle cell patients can get it with a doctor’s prescription. A ccording to Dr. Claude L’Enfant o f the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, “This is a significant advance in the treat ment o f adults with sickle cell ane- Spring Cleaning For The Kidney Association Of Oregon mia. Although it is not a cure, hydroxyurea therapy is the first effective treatment for this serious illness and may greatly improve the quality of life of sickle cell anemia patients.” Sickle cell anemia is an inher ited disease most prevalent among people whose ancestors come from Africa, the M iddle East, the M editerranean area, and India. About 72,000 African Americans suffer from this disease— as well as a growing number o f people of other races or o f mixed race. In addition, one in 12 A frican Americans carries the sickle cell trait. If people with this trait marry, their children are likely to inherit the disease. In patients with this disease, red blood cells take on a sickle shape and become rigid. Scientists think hydroxyurea prevents the cells from become rigid, reducing the pain as the sickle-shaped cells try to squeeze through tiny blood vessels. This breakthrough illustrates how drug research can not only save and improve lives— it can save healthcare dollars, too. Each time a sickle cell patient has to go to a hospital or em er gency room because o f a pain crisis, it costs hundreds— often thousands— of dollars. Add that to the wages and productivity lost when sickle cell patients c a n ’t work because of pain episodes, and ’ you have a whopping bill. This new drug, plus others still in test ing for sickle disease, should cut this bill— and also cut the suffering o f people with sickle cell disease. L a rry L u c a s is A s s o c ia te Vice P re sid e n t o f th e P h a r m a c e u tic a l R e se a rc h a n d M a n u fa c tu r e r s o f A m e r ic a in W a sh in g to n , D C . Teen Line For Pregnancy Prevention O reg o n now has a statew id e to ll- f r e e in fo rm a tio n lin e fo r te e n a g e rs in a strateg y to p rev en t teen p reg n an cy . Oregon SafeNet will provide information about sexuality, absti nence and referrals to health and birth control services. The number is 1 -800-998-9825. Hours o f operation will be Monday through Friday from noon to 9 p.m. The information line is one o f a number o f broad-based strategies as outlined in form er Gov. Barbara Roberts’ comprehensive plan to cut the teen pregnancy rate in Oregon by half by the year 2000. Gov. John Kitzhaber has also indicted his strong support o f this issue. Sharon Kitzhaber, wife o f the governor, has agreed to be a spokes person for Teen Pregnancy Preven tion Month and will champion O re gon's teen pregnancy prevention ef forts. “The most important thing we can do is to reach young teens so that they choose not to be sexually active, so that they do not get pregnant wh ich robs them o f their youth,” Mrs. Kitzhaber said. families as appropriate; To provide referral to other lo cal health and social services; To id en tify fam ily p lanning se rv ic e s, gaps in th o se serv ices 1,700 people are on dialysis and an other 79 patients are waiting for kid ney transplants. KAO is an affiliate o f the National Kidney Foundation (NKF). The NKF helps more Amer icans prevent, treat and cure kidney and urinary disease than any other nonprofit health agency . The Foun dation's ultimate goal is to take kid ney disease from treatment to cure. For more information or to do nate your vehicle, call us collect at (503)228-1898. Sm okers Who Quit Sm oking Smokers who quit smoking - even temporarily -- heal faster from wounds and surgery according to a study at Baylor College o f Medicine in Houston. The privately funded clinical study used nicotine patches to mea sure the difference in blood flow in people who underwent hand surgery. As a result, researchers have been able to learn more about how nico tine from inhaled smoke affects nerves and constricts blood vessels leading to the incision. “Each time nicotine entered the nervous system, blood flow was re stricted at the site o f the surgery,” said Dr. David Netscher. an associ ate professor o f plastic surgery at Baylor. “The decrease in the amount o f blood that flowed to the incision area was significant.” Insufficient blood flow can cause the skin to slough, a term used for improper healing and eventual death o f the tissue. A skin graft may be necessary, and in some plastic sur gery procedures where large amounts o f skin are involved, the procedure must be redone. In some general sur gery cases, the incision may have to be sutured again. However, the restrictive effects o f smoking on blood flow are short lived. A smoker who ceases smoking when a wound or incision is made will see the risks for complications drop significantly. “There is always a slight risk for failure in any surgical procedure,” said Netscher. "Previous studies have confirmed that among smokers the failure rate is two and sometimes even three times greater than in non- smokers.” The red u ctio n in blo o d flow to the w ound site can be as high as 3 0 -p e rc e n t in the first few m inutes a fte r n ico tin e has tra v eled through the n e rv o u s system . A fter sm oking a c ig a re tte itta k e s an a v e ra g e o f 25 m in u tes for nerves th at c o n stric t b lo o d v e s sels to return to norm al. “ We are te llin g su rg eo n s to advise th e ir p a tie n ts w ho sm oke to cease the activity as clo se to the surgery date and as long after surgery as p o ssib le ,” N etsch er said. ¿Panuint/ia ¿Rue To Advertise in g iu rila nò (O b se rv e r, Samantha Rae Gershowitz, the daughter o f Larry J ay Gershowitz and Deborah Elizabeth Baltus o f Portland was bom March 11. 1995 at Good Samaritan Hospital and Medical Center. She weighed 6 pounds, 13 ounces. Her brothers are Shane an Kyle Baltus. Maternal grandparents are Don and Diane Ferris o f Portland. call (503) 288-0033 or Fax 288-0015. March of Dimes WalkAmerica THE LARGEST. MOST COMPLETE RETAIL FABRIC STORE IN THE WEST Walk for Someone You Love A P R IL 4 , 1 9 9 5 T H R O U G H A P R IL 1 8 , 1 9 9 5 % AIL OFF PRINTS Teeth Reflect Cultural Tastes INCLUDES: CALICOS • CHILDRENS PRINTS RAYON PRINTS • DECORATOR PRINTS SILKIE PRINTS News USA 1% Your son, granddaughter, nephew, OFF cousin, sister, neighbor’s child. • NOTIONS • TRIM • DENIM • CORDIÎROY • FUR • ALL FLEECE A pregnant friend, a healthy baby, a sick baby. Babies bom and babies yet to be bom. 5 0 % o ff Walk with us! Selected Home Decorator Fabrics Call the March of Dimes and Limited to Stock on Hand sign up today! BE SURF. TO CHECK OUR STORE. FOR “MANAGER’S SPECIALS" •Discounts dn n<H jpph io special purchase or pnswush discounted <w marked down items 4 4 thru 4 IS 9$ Prices m*xl Ypnl 4 through \pril IS, 1905 Ä / / n J STARK S T R F lfl l»34Sf>u¿Zl advertise In (The Piirtktnïi (ID User Her ( all 503-288-0033 be given instructions on where and when to drop-off your vehicle. The Car Contribution Campaign is a hassle-free way for people to get rid o f an unwanted automobile and help drive down the rate o f kidney and urinary disease. Vehicles donat ed to KAO are sold at auction. Pro ceeds to support programs in re search, patient services, organ dona tion, public information and profes sional education. In the state o f Oregon alone. abric WORLD WISE (NU) - It’s said that beauty is in the eye o f the beholder. And that may explain why Americans like to see a full com plem ent o f bright white teeth, while just the opposite is true in other cultures. The researchers at R em brandt Oral Care Products looked into these cultural differences and discovered that, in som e parts o f the w orld, beauty really is more than skin deep. For instance: • Natives in remote Malaysia in lay their teeth with bits of brass, wire and semiprecious stones to enhance their beauty. • In A frica, m em bers o f some tribes remove one tooth or more for tribal identification. • In some mountain villages of Taiwan, the back teeth are extract ed as a sign o f beauty. • Many native populations of A m erica stain their teeth for c o s metic purposes, just as their ances tors did. The practice began in 200- 500 A.D. • Centuries ago, people in some regions of China covered their teeth with thin pieces o f gold. • The Fulani of Sudan blacken their lips and surround their eyes with black pigment to emphasize the whiteness of their teeth. To ask the folks at Rembrandt how you can have whiter teeth, call I-800- 548-3663. and b a rrie rs to te e n a g e rs s ta te w ide, re p o rt the finds and p ro vide ad v o c a c y fo r n ecessary se r v ic e s fo r teen s; To ensure that information and referral services delivered are cul turally appropriate. A television public service an n o u n c e m e n t, title d “ S h o u ld I Shouldn't I? will be broadcast across the state during April which is Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month. The Teen Health Information line is a program o f Oregon SafeNet, Oregon Health Division and Medi cal Assistance Program. State D epartm ent o f Human Resources officials said the objec tives o f the information line are: To provide accurate, non-judg- mental sexuality information to ado lescents and families as appropriate, including information about absti nence; To provide birth control infor mation and referral to local family planning services for adolescents and If unloading a used car is on your list of things to do for spring cleaning, the Kidney Association o f Oregon (KAO) can help. Donate an unwanted vehicle to KAO and you’ll be helping to fund the fight against kidney and urinary disease in Oregon. You may even qualify for a tax deduction. The donation process is simple. Anyone interested in making a con tribution should call (503) 228-1898 and talk to a KAO representative (collect calls will be accepted). You’ll RFI A II HOI RS M «l\ IRI'H«i,tin ‘><Hipni M il Rim M \l l\1 W IIO IF S A It HOI RX Ml IX IK I_ Mkim-S Ripm SVH R im ,ii«l.im-Spni M XI m LI («Uni-ipm RETAIL-WHOLESALE Pkntvof FREE PARKING S a tu r d a y , A pril 2 9 , P o r tla n d I S a le m I V a n c o u v e r CARS • BUSES • RVs 7 0 0 S.E . 1 2 2 n d Ave P o rtla n d , OR 252-9530 < Jo in O u r C a m p a ig n fo r H e a lth ie r Babies March of Dimes 222-9434
