P age A4
M ay 15, 1996 • T he P ortland O bserver
New Editor For Heart & Soul
Stephanie Stokes O liver is the
E d ito r-in -C h ief o f Heart & Soul
magazine, the African-Am erican s
Guide to Healthy Liv in g . O live r
brings over 20 years o f experience in
women’s service editorial to the
young, healthy lifestyle magazine
published by Rodale Press. Am eri
ca’s leading health and fitness pub
lisher
Oliver joined Heart & Soul in
September 1994, after a 16-year ca
reer with Essence magazine Her
evolution through the Essence mast
head includes serving as Contempo
rary Living editor, Senior editor, West
Coast and Mothering editor O liver
was promoted to Editor in 1986
Prior to working for Essence,
Oliver was fashion and beauty mer
chandising editor ar Glamour maga
zine She has been published in Good
Housekeeping, Alaska Airlines Mag
azine, Pacific Northwest, and many
other publications Oliver also served
as guest writer at Pacific and the
Sunday magazine o f The Seattle
Tim es during the summer o f 1985.
Oliver is a journalism cum laude
graduate o f Howard University from
which she received an outstanding
Alumni honor in 1986 In 1993, she
also received a Y M C A - N Y C Wom
en o f O utstanding Achievem ent
Award. Currently, O liver serves as
An implant containing the drug
ganciclovir has been approved by
the Food and Drug Administration
to treat cytomegalovirus retinitis,
an eye infection common among
A ID S patients.
"This implant gives us anther op
tion for treating this devastating in
fection. which causes blindness in 95
percent ofthe cases.” said Dr Roberto
Diaz-Rohena. an assistant professor
o f ophthalmology at Bay lor College
o f Medicine in Houston and one o f
the physicians who studied the im
plant in clinical trials.
Ganciclovir has traditionally been
judge o f the National M agazine
Awards. Other professional affilia
tions include the National A ssocia
tion o f B lack Journalists, the Fashion
Group International and the Wom-
en’s Media Group.
O live r and her fam ily live in
Monte lair. New Jersey. Her husband,
Reginald Oliver, in an account exec
utive with Dun & Bradstreet.
believe, the inhalants increase the
abuse parents should look for paint
heart’s sensitivity to adrenaline. This
causes the heart to beat erratically,
which can lead to cardiac arrest.
But despite the dangers involved.
Batholomew reports, disturbing sign
posts point to rising inhalant abuse
among America’s youngsters.
—Among 18,000 eighth-grade sur
veyed nationwide, more than one in
five admitted trying inhalants at least
once according to University o f Mich
igan survey sponsored by the National
Institute on Drug Abuse
—When the Partnership for a Drug-
Free America interviewed kids aged 9
to 15, two-thirds said that trying inhal
ants once or twice wouldn’t be ex
tremely risky.
—There’s even a home page on the
Internet that tells where to get inhal
ants and how to use them It does not,
however, warn them how risky huffing
can be.
Nobody knows the actual death
toll o f huffing. These chemicals of
ten leave the body too quickly for
coroners to track. T o spot inhalent
maker or correction-fluid stains oi
clothes or skin; empty spray cans,
rags or plastic bags in youngsters'
room; rashes or sores around the
nose or mouth; drunk, dazed or dizzy
behavior; excitability, anxiety or
irritability; nausea or loss o f appetite
or increasingly poor school perfor
mance, apathy or absenteeism.
Because “happy cans” o f inhalable
poison are readily accessible in any
home or store, education, awareness
and involvement are the only weapons
parents have. Lobby schools, legisla
tors and community leaders to make
awareness a priority. Studies show that
kids do say ‘no’ to certain substances
when they are fully informed o f the
dangers.
But perhaps the greatest to children
is adult denial. Parents who insist “my
kid would never do that” could be in
for a terrible surprise. While the drug
war rages on our streets, "huffing" has
gone mainstream in America’s homes.
For further information, please call
1-800-269-4237.
Until recently if you offered a
chocolate brownie to a diabetic, he
or she would have to say No. But, no
longer!
Last year the American Diabetes
Association announced there is no
scientific reason to deny the nation’s
16 m illion diabetes the use o f sugar.
But many diabetics have still not
heard this new message Many o f
those who have heard need help in
know in knowing how to incorporate
these changes in their daily meal
planning
The statement from the A D A fol-
Glaucoma
Risk May Be
Relative
Glaucoma damages the optic
nerve and can lead to blindness.
T h is M ay, Prevent B lind ne ss
Am erica devotes its Sight-Saving
Month observance to the fact that
“Glaucoma is a Fam ily A ffair.”
G laucoma occurs twice as often
in people whose parents, grand
parents or great-grandparents had
the disease Fam ily has another
aspect, too: support for the glauco
ma patient
A c tre ss and sup er-m o del
Beverly Johnson is joining three
medical experts to warn Am eri
cans o f the dangers o f glaucoma.
But heredity is only one risk fac
tor. Here's another: African-Amer
icans get glaucoma 4 to 5 times
more often than Caucasians do.
Often overlooked: Treatment
can slow or even halt vision loss
but cannot restore lost sight, mak
ing early diagnosis critical.
Researchers Test New Drug Fc Angina
There are an estimated 350,000
new cases o f angina, the illness caused
by a partial blocking o f a coronary
artery that brings blood to the heart
Angina, affecting an estimated 5.6
m illion people in the U .S., is a symp
tom o f coronary artery disease, the
buildup o f a fatty material called
plaque in blood vessels.
When a coronary artery becomes
completely blocked and blood flow
is cut o ff to the heart, the result is a
heart attack or myocardial infarction.
Unlike a heart attack angina does not
normally damage the heart Angina,
usually lasting a few seconds, often
occurs during greater than normal
physical activity and emotional stress.
Sym ptom s o f the illness include
heaviness, tightness, pressure or burn
ing in or near the chest or back;
heaviness, numbness aching or tin
glin g in one or both arms, elbows or
wrists; discomfort in neck or jaw s or
fatigue, nausea, sweating, shortness
o f breath or indigestion.
Calcium channel blockers or beta
blockers are used to treat nearly half
o f the over 6.3 m illion Am ericans
that suffer from coronary artery dis
ease.
The use o f these drugs in com bi
nation with nitroglycerin, for angina
or chest pain, allows many people to
lead relatively normal lives. How ev
er, a significant number o f individu
als taking calcium channel blockers
and beta blockers experience side
effects from the medication includ
ing headaches, ankle sw elling and
AIDS Memorial Mobalizes
Portland is among 290 cities in
over 40 countrys to participate in
13th International A ID S C a n d le lig h t
M emorial and M obilization The
w orld's largest annual grassroots
A ID S Can dlelight M em orial and
M obilization on Sunday. May 19,
The event, which began in San
Francisco in 1983, honors the mem
ory o f those who have died o f A ID S ,
demonstrates support for people liv
ing with H IV and A ID S , and m obi
lizes community involvement in the
fight against H IV / A ID S . It’s the
world largest annual grassroots A ID S
event.
The Portland observance o f the
event w ill be hosted by the Com m u
nity A ID S Network at 7:00 p m at
Pioneer Courthouse Square
The
event w ill also serve as an opportuni-
taken intravenously The implant has
been shown to reduce many o f the
problems associated with that ap
proach. including catheter infections,
kidney damage, anemia and insuffi
cient drug levels, Diaz-Rohena said
The implant is placed surgically
inside the ey e under local anesthesia
and does not require a hospital stay.
After surgery, the patient may experi
ence some blurred vision initially, but
the implant fits without discomfort.
The medication is delivered to the
retina in a time-released fashion and
lasts no more than six to eight months
“ While this new technology* rep
resents a substantial improvement
in treating the infection, the implant
alone is not enough to treat C M V
retinitis if it is affecting other areas
o f the body or the other unaffected
eye,” said Diaz-Rohena “ It is crit
ical for patients to take additional
oral or intravenous medications to
help stop the spread o f the infec
tio n."
C M V retinitis develops in up to
50 percent of all people with A ID S .
The infection destroys the retina
and cannot be cured, although it can
sometimes be slowed with medica
tion.
HELP FOR DIABETICS
Is Your Child Huffing?
While crack and hero in get the head-
lines, more and more youngsters are
“huffing” their way to a dangerous,
sometimes deadly high on common
household chemicals.
It’salready too late foryoungFreddy
Bustaque Bright, articulate, a 16-year-
old computer wh iz, Freddy was found
ed dead in his room, a spray can o f air
freshener on the bed near his body
The autopsy pointed to S S D - sudden
sniffing death The toxic chemicals in
the spray’ s gas propellant had stopped
his heart
Foolishly looking foracheap, quick
high, kids are abusing a variety o f
common household products: lighter
fluid, adhesives, permanent-ink-felt tip
makers, typewriter correction fluid,
spray paint and paint thinners, gaso
line and a wide range o f aerosols -
even fluorocarbons from air condi
tioners and butane
In exchange for a brief euphoria,
huffing can cause hallucinations, dis
orientation and far more permanent
harm: brain damage, liver or kidney
failure, even death In S S D , experts
Implant For Eye Infection
ty for the citizens o f Portland to learn
about the H IV / A ID S services offered
locally, and about volunteer oppor
tunities.
Over 2,600 citizens o f Oregon
have died o f A ID S . It is important to
realize that we’ve got to improve
educat ion and prevent ion in our state,
as well as take care o f the people who
are already infected.
The theme o f the 1996 event is
“ A ID S Discrimination Is a Global
Epidem ic." Around the world, peo
ple with H IV and A ID S suffered
discrim ination caused by fear, igno
rance, and misconceptions about the
disease Such discrim ination pro
motes, rather than prevents, the
spread o f H IV .
For more informaton call 234-
0175.
constipation.
Physician investigators at 25 med
ical centers in the United States are
testing a new type ofcalcium channel
blockers that may have fewer side
effects.
In addition to possibly reducing
side effects, this new drug may also
reduce the number o f angina attacks
individuals experience, allow for
greater physical exertion without pain
and reduce blood pressure. The name
o f the drug is mibefradil and it is
being developed by the pharmaceu
tical company Hoffman LaRoche,
Inc.
Researchers are looking for 250
reasonably healthy people with angi
na to participate in an eleven week
study, They w ill receive comprehen
sive card io vascu lar testing and
mibefradil and nitroglycerin for use
during the study.
A n y one interested in participat
ing in the study is urged to consult
their physician.
For more information call (800)
393-9866.
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lowed a review by a panel whose co-
chairman was Edward Horton, medi
cal director at the Joslin Diabetes Cen
ter in Boston. In analyzing at least 15
studies the panel found that diabetics
digest and absorb table sugar just as
they do pasta and other complex car
bohydrates, D r Horton said. Even
with the former sugar restrictions gone,
diabetics still need to carefully moni
tor their eating habits.
Based on the 1995 Exchange Lists
for Meal Planning prepared by the
Am erican Diabetes A ssociation,
"D iab e tic Meal Planning Made
Easy!” is a complete 30-day meal
plan for diabetics. In planning for 30
different breakfasts, 30 different
lunches, 30 different dinners, and 30
different snacks, a variety o f over
300 foods is used.
Diabetic Meal Planning Made
Easy! was written by Marilyn White,
an insulin-using diabetic who was
trained in meal planning by a regis
tered dietitian. A free-lance writer,
Mrs. White is a member ofthe Amer
ican Diabetes Association and the
National League of American Pen
Women.