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Science
Center launches Stroke prevention study
The Detroit Medical Center is the
only medical center in Michigan par­
ticipating in an extensive, multi-state
study o f stroke prevention medica­
tions in the African-American com­
munity.
Under the title the African-Amer­
ican Antiplatelet Stroke Prevention
Study (AAASPS), the project is de­
signed to accomplish what, histori­
cally speaking, few other large stroke
studies have done.
All participants will be African-
American and as such, all the data
produced wi 11 relate to A If ican-Amer­
icans.
“ There have been numerous stud­
ies about stroke, but in many cases,
African-Americans were not well
represented in the data,” said Dr.
Seemant Chaturvedi, Harper Hospi­
tal neurologist, co-director o f the
acute stroke unit and assistant pro­
fessor o f neurology at Wayne State
University. “With this study we will
focus on that portion o f the popula­
tion that is at highest risk for stroke,”
he added.
Stroke is the third leading cause o f
death in the United States with a half
million people suffering strokes each
year, resulting in ¡50,000 deaths.
Most strokes are the result o f a
blood clot formed in the brain or
from the heart the blocks and artery
to the brain. In the African-American
populat ion, the risk o f hav ing a stroke
is twice as high as the risk in the
general population. Also, African-
Americans suffer more com plica­
tions. The AAASPS will recruit 1,800
African-Americas who have suffered
a stroke up to 90 days prior to enter­
ing the study. Potential participants
will undergo a screening examina­
tion and laboratory tests to deter­
mine their eligibility. Study related
medical care, medications and lab
tests are free.
The multi-year study is designed
to compare the effectiveness o f two
Your liver lets you live
By Larry Lucas
Did you know that your liver is
the largest organ in you body?
Located behind the lower ribs on
the right side o f the abdomen, the
liver weighs about 3 pounds and is
about the size o f a football.
Without a liver, you couldn’t
live. it performs several vital func­
tions, including:
♦ converting fo o d into chemicals
needed fo r life and growth:
♦ producing substances used by the
rest o f the body:
processing drugs into fo rm s us­
able by the body;
♦ detoxifying substances that would
otherwise be poisonous;
storing important vitamins and
minerals, including iron
Since you can’t do without your
liver, you’ll want to take good care
o f it.
One way to do this is to protect
your liver against hepatitis.
The word “hepatitis” means in­
flammation o f the liver, usually caus­
ing swelling and tenderness and,
sometimes, permanent damage to
the liver.
Hepatitis is a virus, which is
spread from one affected person to
another. In the U S. alone, there are
more than four million “carriers" o f
hepatitis-people who are not ill them­
selves but who may pass hepatitis on
to others, according to the American
Liver Foundation.
There are several kinds o f hepati­
tis. The most common is hepatitis
“ B”.
About 200,000 Americans are in­
fected with this disease each year.
While most people fight off the in­
fection themselves, 5 to 10 percent
develop serious liver disease.
About 5,000 Americans per year
die o f causes related to Hepatitis B.
The disease is more infectious that
AIDS and is transmitted through in­
fected blood and other body fluids.
A simple blood test can diagnose
Hepatitis B. Many infected people
don’t know they have hepatitis, al­
though some people have symptoms
that mimic the flu, including:
♦ loss o f appetite, nausea or vomit­
ing:
♦ fever;
♦ weaAzieji or fa tig u e lasting weeks
or months;
♦ abdom inal pain;
♦ dark urine;
♦ yellowing skin and eyes.
Currently, there is only one ap­
proved medicine to treat Hepatitis
B. It’s an “interferon,” a medicine
that interferes with the ability o f a
virus to reproduce. Several other
promising medicines are in devel­
opment.
Fortunately, there’s a safe and
effective vaccine that protects
against this virus. Three injections
are required—the second one a
month after the first and the third
six months later.
Hepatitis B vaccination is rec­
ommended for all newborns, in­
fants and teenagers. The vaccine
provides immunity for most people
for at least five years.
Hepatitis can be avoided. You
should always practice safe sex and
never share objects such as needles,
razors, toothbrushes, nail files and
clippers.
When you get a manicure, tat­
too, or body piercing, make sure
steri le instruments are used. People
who are exposed to blood in their
work should be vaccinated.
Larry Lucas is Associate Vice
President o f the Pharmaceutical
Research an d M anufacturers o f
America.
medications, aspirin and ticlopidine,
in the prevention o f recurrent stroke
Both have been approved by Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) for
that use These medications belong
to a group o f drugs that render plate­
lets, a component o f blood that is
important for clotting, less sticky,
decreasing their tendency to form
clots within blood vessels. Once in
the study patients will randomly as­
signed to one o f the stroke preven­
tion treatments o f either aspirin or
ticlopidine.
“We can be very assured that the
data we are collecting is quite accu­
rate. Also, in our study every patient
receives medication that has been
shown to be a good treatment for
preventing another stroke,” add
Chaturvedi. For more AAASPS in­
formation, call 313-577-4244.
Cultural
identity
linked to
low stress
A Florida A&M University psy­
chology professor, conducting re­
search on how stress affects African
Americans, says students with the
strongest cultural identity may live
healthier lives, writer the Daytona
Times. Dr. John W. Chambers and
his team randomly chose about 100
A&M students from the school’s
freshman health classes to wear blood
pressure monitor.
The monitoring devices are part
o f a five-year study begun in 1991
and paid for with a $448,000 grant
from the National Institute o f Mental
Health (NIMH).
“Individuals grounded in their
culture are going to have a much
stronger positive view o f them ­
selves,” said Dr. Chambers. “Those
with the highest level o f Black con­
sciousness have the most positive
stress response.
Fruits and veggies better than pills
Can supplemental vitamins, fiber,
and natural fruit and vegetable com ­
pounds, called “phytochemicals”, in
pill form work as well as foods to
fight off cancer?
At a recent symposium presented
by the American Institute for Cancer
Research, leading diet and cancer
researchers said supplements are not
a substitute for eating plenty o f plant-
based foods.
W hen o u r b o d ie s a b so rb
phytochemicals, vitamins, and fiber
from plant-based foods, they work in
different ways to protect our health,
by shielding cell membranes form
damage to affecting rates o f the cell
division that is key to the cancer
process.
According to Dr. Gary G. M ead­
ows, Professor o f Pharmacognosy,
Washington State University, “ Re­
searchers still have not discovered
answers to questions about dosage
and combined effects o f these plant
food elements. Studies that find ben­
efits from food su b stan ces use
amounts that are far greater than in
normal diets, and the toxic effects of
large amounts o f some vitamins and
phytochemicals, and combinations
o f them, are still not known.”
That’s one reason why taking large
doses o f vitamin and phytochemical
supplement pills is not advisable, the
researchers pointed out.
“ Many people believe that if a
little is good, more must be better,”
Meadows commented. “ In fact, over­
doing any one thing often has nega­
tive effects. When people rely too
much on supplement pills, they tend
to forget about eating a balanced
diet.”
O ther uncertainties, M eadow s
said, are the lack o f standardization
in the manufacture and labeling of
com plex phytochem ical su p p le­
ments, and not knowing how early in
life or how long consumers have to
take them to get beneficial effects.
For example, people may take
supplement pills that claim to isolate
the phytochemicals such as beta-car-
otene or sulphur compounds found
in broccoli, garlic and other vegeta­
bles.
However, in reality there may be
so much processing in making sup­
plements that the chemical com posi­
tion o f the compounds may be al­
tered and ultimately yield few health
benefits for the consumer, noted Dr.
John D. Potter, head o f the Cancer
Prevention Research Program at the
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research
Center and professor o f epidem iolo­
gy at the University o f Washington.
As for the familiar refrain o f “no
“ W e’re a pill-taking society,”
Meadows pointed out. “Instead o f
changing our eating habits, w e’d like
to eat potato chips and take a pill to
counteract the negative effects. But
that’s not very realistic.”
Meadows advised looking at what
we can do to eat for better health.
Making a personal commitment to take time o u t for
you may mean reshuffling priorities.
With our unique roles as mother, wife, sisters, career
women - and sometimes all of the above - our schedule
is already full.
Cherish your body fo r the great g ift th a t it is, and give
it the best o f care.
If you are 4 0 or older you may
qualify fo r a free Women’s Health
Check, which includes a pap te s t
and mammogram.
Sign Up for the Race For The Cure
September 8th, 1996
For more information call 795-3908
T in R«v « I«,i (lit: C u l t * It«» « rim ali l i n t — ili«, t i « il n a ilo n
o f breast cancer as a life-threatening disease. You can help
us win. D o a monthly breast sell examination. And support
Presented by JCPenney
Proceeds from the Race for the C ure* help fund breast
cancer research, education, screening and treatment. For
more inform ation, call (503) 242-1874.
Sunday, September 8, 8am
W aterfront
Park, Portland
•rr<
o
9
ih r (Antonian
Chevron
Multnomah County
Breast and
Cervical Cancer
q
P«rtn*r«hiO
NATION A I SPONSOaS
A*A
This class is designed fo r peo­
ple with little or no prior First Aid
or CPR training. For more infor­
mation, call 823-3698.
This class has been made pos­
sible by a generous grant from
the Columbia-Willamette Area
Health Education Center.
Health van cruises
your neighborhood
The Adventist Medical Center
Healthvan travels to various Port-
land-area locations each month, of­
fering free and low-cost health test­
ing, screenings and education.
Services are open to the public
at each Site.
-Sept. 6—United Way DAY OF
C A R IN G , P ioneer C ourthouse
Square, 7 0 1 SW 6th Ave., 11:15am-
1:30pm. 228-9131.
-Sept. 8—RacefortheCure, Wa­
terfront Park, Front Avenue 423-
2365.
-Sept. iO -F ringe Renefits Fair,
David Douglas High School, 1500
T
he
same
SO
SE 130th. 261-8225.
-S e p f. 15—A m e ric a n H eart
Walk, Springwater Corridor Trail,
1200 N Main, Gresham, OR. 233-
0100.
-Sept. 2 0 - "Spirit S u m m it" Re­
gional Drug Initiative, Salvation
Army(M ooreCenter), 5335 N Wil­
liams Avenue. 294-7074.
-Sept. 22— Fujitsu Classic 8K
Benefit Run, Main City Park, G re­
sham, OR. 251-6162.
-Sept. 2 4 -H ollyw ood Senior
Center, 1820 NE 40th. 288-8303.
-Sept. 2 6 -V alue Village, 82nd
& SE Foster. 771-5472.
energy
MANY
that
T H IN G S
TO
L IF E
time to cook,” the researchers ad­
vised Americans to put health before
convenience by making the time to
prepare and cook more healthy foods
like vegetables, even if it means giv­
ing up some TV-watching time.
It is recommended th a t women 4 0 and older get
annual health exams. Early detection saves lives.
the Race. Please join us to walk, run or simply cheer.
Learn CPR from Portland Firefighters
Cardiopulmonary Resuscita­
tion (CPR) instruction on Sep­
tember 21st, 9:30a.m .,at the Matt
Dishman Community Center (77
NF Knott)
Includes adult, child, and in­
fa n t CPR and Choking tech­
niques.
B R IN G S
Make Self Care A Priority
IIIlH
Free! Free!
Ufptime
B C C P
R0GIS
CAN
ALSO
TAKE
A
L IF E
AW AY.
K
eep this in
mind when
you're working
outdoors, and avoid
electrical accidents
altogether by
following these
important safety
tips:
❖ Before working
on your home or
property, locate
all lines on
nearby utility
poles and
structures.
❖ Treat every line
you see as an
energized power
line.
❖ Stay at least 10 feet away from these lines at all
times.
Exercise caution and use common sense
around your home or property. When it comes to
working outdoors neat power lines, safely is n o
accident.
#
PACIFIC POW ER
THE RIGHT KIND OF ENERGY
A P tt’ision
of PaciftCorp
Susan G. Komen
Rreast Cancer Foundation
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