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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 3, 1995)
P \< ii A4 M ay 3, 1995 • Tut P ortl and O bserver H E A LTH What Does Biotechnology Mean? Hope By Larry Lucas What pops into your mind when you hear the word “biotech nology"? New ways to grow food? The dinosaurs o f the movie, “Jurassic Park"? Biotechnology is a lot of things, but, to me, the most important thing about this new scientific technique is that it holds out the promise of cures for cancer and other diseases. Drug developers are using biotech nology to get a better understand ing of how disease works—and to stop it in its tracks. Some 24 biotechnology medi cines are already on the market— medicines for heart disease, multi ple sclerosis, the kind of anemia suffered by patients of kidney dial ysis, cystic fibrosis, hemophilia and other diseases. And 234 more medicines are in the pipeline, according to a March 1995 survey by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. Biotechnology works in several different ways. Some biotech prod ucts are “magic bullets” that bind to foreign organisms, such as tumor cells. They can be used to diagnose disease, or they can be made into homing devices that carry treatment to the disease area. The magic bullets now in develop ment are aimed at various types of cancer as well as asthma, sepsis, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple scle rosis, inflammatory bowel disease, infections in AIDS patients, chronic lung inflammation and several other diseases. Researchers at America’s phar maceutical companies are also using gene therapy to create medi cines that replace or inactivate dis ease-causing genes or increase the ability of normal genes to fight dis ease. Medicines using this biotech nology technique are in develop ment for AIDS, cystic fibrosis, and various types of cancer. These are only a few of the ways this promising new science is being used by pharmaceutical researchers. It takes a long time— and a lot of money—to turn a research project into a medicine, and not all projects will be suc cessful. But the fact that there are so many potential medicines in the pipeline is cause for hope for people with uncured diseases. For a free copy o f "Biotech nology Medicines in Development, write to PhRMA, 1100 15th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005. Larry Lucas is Associate Vice President o f the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers o f America in Washington, DC. HEALTH HEARING Pay Attention to Children’s Hearing Cues, Actress Urges (NU) - Robin Wright, co-star of the popular movie "Forrest Gump,” is featured in a new public service campaign for print and television, urging parents to be aware of possi ble hearing problems in their chil dren. The actress makes this recom mendation in "A Guide to Your Child's Hearing," published by the Better Hearing Institute. Speaking as a mother concerned about better hearing for children. Wright urges parents to watch and listen for tell-tale signs of hearing loss. She says the booklet will help them to better understand common ear problems and available hearing help for children. Early Detection Patrick Brookhouser. M.D.. pres ident of the American Auditory Soci ety, agrees. "Early detection of a child’s hearing loss is vital, as so mueh of a child's speech and language de velopment depends on hearing," he says. AAS is an organization of in terdisciplinary hearing health profes sionals that co-sponsored the hearing guide's promotion. Noticing Vital Cues "The cues I get as an actress are im portant." says Wright. "As a mother, the cues my children give me are even more vital. For exam ple. does your baby respond to your voice? Does your child complain of earaches? Does your child have dif ficulty speaking well? Not reacting to such cues early enough could leave your child with permanent News USA Robin Wright, co-star of the hit movie, “ Forrest Gump.” hearing loss. "Remember, a child is never too young for a hearing evaluation ... and never too young for hearing help.” Wright says. Free Copy Available "A Guide to Your Child's Hear ing" is co-authored by Charles W. Gross, M.D.. professor of both pe diatrics and otolaryngology at the University of Virginia, and by Judith Grav el. Ph D., director of audiology and associate professor of otolaryn gology for the Albert Einstein Col lege of Medicine. For a free copy, call toll-free Hearing HelpLine at 1-800-EAR WELL (weekdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST). Or write Better Hearing In stitute. P.O. Box 1840. Washington. DC 20013. Language No Barrier to Quality Care (NU) - Shriners Hospitals for Crippled Children do more than pro vide free care to children throughout the United States. They also prov ide a model for the thousands of insti tutions dealing with the challenges of our increasingly multicultural so ciety. In Shriners' Los Angeles Unit, about 75 percent of the patients are now Spanish-speaking. Many al ready live in the United States: oth ers come from Mexico in search of care not available there. In part because of the influx of Latino patients, the number of pa tients receiv ing treatment at the Los Angeles unit has exploded. From 1951 to 1986. the hospital treated 8,000 patients. Since 1986. it's treat ed 25.(XX) more. Like all Shriners hospitals, the L.A. Unit has accommodated its pa tient diversity by hiring bilingual staff and adding Spanish to signs and labels. But because Shriners Hospi tals specialize in orthopaedic treat ment. more w as required. Mexican games were added to recreation activities. Special training is provided for children from rural tow ns w ho may need to learn, for ex ample. how to use a wheelchair on rocky soil. And children and families are taught how to handle emergen cies when swift medical care isn't available. To refer a child to Shriners Hos pitals. or to obtain an application for admission, call I-8OO-237-5O55. In Canada, call 1-800-361-7256. All calls are toll-free. A COMFORTABLE FIT TO YOUR LIFESTYLE At Rehab Units, Life Goes On (NU) - Spinal cord injuries dev astate their victims, especially chil dren. That's where Shriners Hospi tals for Crippled Children come in. Special Spinal Cord Injury Re habilitation Units are located at three Shriners hospitals — in Chicago. Philadelphia and San Francisco. These SCI Units provide free, long term rehabilitative care and inten sive therapy, as well as counseling and research. Initiated in 1980, Shriners SCI Units were the first to specialize in children's spinal cord injuries. All children are accepted for treatment regardless of their race, religion or relationship to a Shriner. About 150 children are treated in SCI Units every year, staying for an average of about 35 days. & . 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