By Gavin Fletcher, special to GBMNews.com

A Food and Drug Agency (FDA) advisory committee recommends HPV vaccine Gardasil be approved for use with boys and men ages nine to 26 to prevent genital warts caused by human papilloma virus (HPV) Types 6 and 11, based on data related to efficacy, immunogenicity and safety from clinical trials data.

 

Click here for CDC information site

"Merck has been committed to pursuing the use of Gardasil in both males and females since the vaccine was discovered over a decade ago," said Peter S. Kim, Ph.D., executive vice president, and president of Merck Research Laboratories. "We are pleased that the Advisory Committee agrees that the data support the use of Gardasil in boys and men.” HPV Types 6 and 11 cause approximately 90-percent cases of genital warts. About one million people, both males and females, have visible genital warts at any point in time, and currently, there are no routine HPV screening methods in place for men. More than 60 percent of men without HIV and 90 percent of men with HIV, who have sex with men, are infected with different types of HPV in their anal canals, according to the CDC. The vaccine may also have implications for the increasing incidence of anal cancer among Black gay men as it also prevents HPV Types 16 and 18. HPV Type 16 has been found in 86 percent of anal cancer specimens in a study discussed in the New England Journal of Medicine. Anal HPV infections are one cause of the rising incidence of anal cancer, especially among men that have sex with men.

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by Borgna Brunner
Source: Tuskegee University

One reason why African American men don't trust doctors.

For forty years between 1932 and 1972, the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) conducted an experiment on 399 black men in the late stages of syphilis. These men, for the most part illiterate sharecroppers from one of the poorest counties in Alabama, were never told what disease they were suffering from or of its seriousness. Informed that they were being treated for “bad blood,” their doctors had no intention of curing them of syphilis at all.

 

The data for the experiment was to be collected from autopsies of the men, and they were thus deliberately left to degenerate under the ravages of tertiary syphilis—which can include tumors, heart disease, paralysis, blindness, insanity, and death. “As I see it,” one of the doctors involved explained, “we have no further interest in these patients until they die.” Using Human Beings as Laboratory Animals The true nature of the experiment had to be kept from the subjects to ensure their cooperation. The sharecroppers' grossly disadvantaged lot in life made them easy to manipulate. Pleased at the prospect of free medical care —almost none of them had ever seen a doctor before— these unsophisticated and trusting men became the pawns in what James Jones, author of the excellent history on the subject, Bad Blood, identified as “the longest non-therapeutic experiment on human beings in medical history.” The study was meant to discover how syphilis affected blacks as opposed to whites —the theory being that whites experienced more neurological complications from syphilis, whereas blacks were more susceptible to cardiovascular damage. How this knowledge would have changed clinical treatment of syphilis is uncertain. Although the PHS touted the study as one of great scientific merit, from the outset its actual benefits were hazy. It took almost forty years before someone involved in the study took a hard and honest look at the end results, reporting that “nothing learned will prevent, find, or cure a single case of infectious syphilis or bring us closer to our basic mission of controlling venereal disease in the United States.”

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By Jerome Whitehead

Publisher's note: Mr. Whitehead is a health care worker and a contributing editor for GBMNews. This is the first installment of a comprehensive and informative series on America's heatlth care system.

Rochelle entered the office building quietly, greeting her co-workers with a wane smile, hung up her coat and seated herself behind her desk. She had just enough time to sign herself into her personal computer, launch the necessary applications that would enable her to perform her job responsibilities, and then log herself into the company's phone system. She took a deep breath, placed her headset on, and waited until 8:00 when the cues would open and she would take her first call.

 

She didn't have long to wait. The moment that the second hand ticked past twelve, her phone began to ring. It was a sound that she had become accustomed to over the years…it was a sound that she had grown to despise.

"Thank you for calling Customer Service. My name is Rochelle and my goal is to provide you with superior customer service. May I have your tax id or member identification number please?" She listens to the member who seems to be a little irritated that she was calling for the same issue that she has been calling about for several months now. It seems like there's a claim that has been outstanding that hasn't been paid and now she is being referred to a collection agency. The member goes on to say that she's angry and frustrated that she has had to call about this issue several times and that her employer is taking her portion of her premium out of her check every pay period. She also states that she doesn't understand why an insurance company as large as the one that Rochelle works for can't seem to get it rights the first time. Rochelle listens patiently and then apologizes for the mistakes, something that she has also grown tired of doing over the years. She asks if she can place the member on hold while she researches the issue of her claim. The member agrees begrudgingly, and while Rochelle looks over the system she can't help but feel that this is the very first call of the day…the first call of many that will be reflective of this same kind of scenario. She'll wonder why her company didn't pay out the claim correctly the first time. Why did it take more than one telephone call to resolve the individual's issue? Why does the subscriber have to be threatened with the possibility of being referred to a collection agency before her insurance company will take the time to correct such a miniscule issue as the proper and timely payment of a claim? Even more importantly, is this subscriber an isolated incident or are there many people that go through this same type of issue?

On any given weekday, across the country, hundreds upon thousands of members place calls to their insurance carriers to determine what the current status is of any outstanding claim that may be on file from healthcare providers that have submitted the claim for consideration of payment.

Most of those claims have been paid correctly and the issue resolved to the members satisfaction. However, a disproportionate amount result in repeat calls with the member becoming frustrated, feeling as if the insurance company is working against them rather than for them. From a customer service standpoint, the person taking the call also feels frustrated because they are addressing difficult issues, some of which are beyond their control. However, the buck doesn't stop there. In fact, that is just the tip of the iceberg. If you delve deeper into this issue, you will see that a member's experience, positive or negative, is more than just the level of service that they receive from the moment that they pick up the telephone. In order to address some of the areas of concern for most Americans, you would have to backtrack and take a look at our health care system to see how we got to this point in the first place.

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Chris begins his search for help: Callen-Lorde and ASC

By Sr. Correspondent, Antoine Craigwell

At a time when economic and financial resources are not only scarce, but hard to come by, for anyone who has to navigate paths to getting assistance from social service agencies, it can seem both tedious and informative, and frustrating with little rays of reward.

 

When Chris, his and other names have been changed to protect identities, who is of Caribbean descent living in New York lost his job, his work permit had expired, and with no job prospects, was facing imminent eviction because not only was he unable to pay the current rent, he was behind for two months.

Feeling the cold fingers of desperation beginning to close in, in September Chris turned to Thomas, a close friend asking not only for help, but where he could get help. Referred to the Chelsea-based Callen-Lorde Center in New York City, Chris was advised by Thomas to contact Maria, a social worker he had turned to for help. Given her name, Chris called and spoke with Maria, explaining what was happening. She advised him that first he needed to have a medical form filled out, a M-11Q, completed by a doctor who declares a patient's HIV status and other sexually transmitted diseases for eligibility for services from New York State or the City. Maria suggested that since her agency couldn't help with his rent problems, he could call and speak with Karen at the AIDS Service Center (ASC), whose Union Square-based office is located on East 11th Street. Chris called ASC, asked for Karen and secured an appointment with her for 2:30 pm.

Photo Art by Joseph Hirsch

Hastening to Callen-Lorde's West 19th Street office, Chris met with Maria who gave him a blank M-11Q form for his doctor to complete and asked him to let her know how he fared. Fortunately, Chris's doctor's office, located a few blocks away on 14th Street, and he had a good relationship with the doctor and office staff, he went there, spoke to the nurse/office manager, and was able to get his doctor to fill in the M-11Q Form, made a copy and hurried to his appointment at the ASC office. Nine years ago, Chris was diagnosed HIV positive and every three months since then he has had a blood test and evaluation by his doctor to determine his relative health. Just a week ago, Chris had been to see his doctor for his tri-monthly visit to review his blood test results. His T-Cells were high at 531 - the amount of helper cells in a milliliter of blood and his viral load, how many copies of HIV were in a milliliter of blood, was 4,400 - the lowest it has ever been in years. But what concerned Chris's doctor was the percentage level, which was recorded at 14 percent, because according to the doctor, if this percentage drops below 12 percent, then Chris would become extremely susceptible to opportunistic infections including pneumono-cystis pneumonia or PCP. Yet, Chris was feeling healthy. His main concern at the moment was not only how was he going to pay his rent and avoid eviction, but to try to keep his stress level down. It is well known that elevated stress contributed significantly as a direct cause and effect to an increase in the viral load, or a further weakening of the body's immune system.

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By Antoine Craigwell

The following is a story of 32-year-old Mark Ramos, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, who has been living in New York for 15 years. Mark's story is similar to many and is the first in a series of presentations of the struggles that Black gay men have with depression.

 

By Antoine Craigwell The following is a story of 32-year-old Mark Ramos, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, who has been living in New York for 15 years. Mark's story is similar to many and is the first in a series of presentations of the struggles that Black gay men have with depression. Over the next several weeks, I will endeavor to share with you the stories and lives of Black gay men, some who are HIV positive and some who are not, as they tell of their depression. This story forms part of the narrative or personal section of a book, which is underway, and which examines depression as a mental illness affecting Black gay men and Black gay HIV positive men. It is intended as a resource for Black gay men. Names have been changed and situations altered to protect the identities of those who are mentioned in all the stories. The No.1 at 34th Street There was nothing remarkable about this day just after Thanksgiving Day in 1999. Everything was in order and physically Mark was feeling okay, and even though there was a slight chill in the air, he was well dressed, feeling warm and not hungry. No aches or immediate feelings of physical pain, his mental self, on the other hand, was a cauldron of swirling ghostly memories of wraiths writhing in agony. Standing on the uptown platform of the Number 1 train in at the 34th Street/Pennsylvania Station in the early evening, Mark suddenly felt the urge, not just simply to jump, but as if he is propelled, unwillingly, in front of the train as it roared into the station. Yet, whenever he speaks of this memory 10 years later the feelings he had then come rushing back, threatening to overwhelm him once again. But as if to clearly identify a time why Mark wanted to jump, goes back to a day in March 1999 when his sister called to tell him she had been to see her doctor who had given her six more months to live. Immediately, Mark and his family gathered around, and on her final day at her bedside in the hospital when, in September, with a trembling which began from her feet and moved up to her chest, she inhaled and exhaled for the last time, and with a slight shudder she died. Looking at his mother across the room and seeing on her face an imperturbable mask and up to the time that she died, Mark recalled that his mother had, at least in front of any of her remaining children or grandchild, not shed a tear for her daughter.

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Ariel Aparicio's "Pretty In Pink" inspires hope for women battling breast cancer

New York, NY, April 1, 2009- During the entire month of April, rocker Ariel Aparicio's song "Pretty In Pink" will serve as encouragement for women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. From April 1st-30th, Ariel will donate his proceeds of $.54 cents from each iTunes sale of his take on the Psychedelic Furs' 1980s classic to the Greater New York City Affiliate of Susan G. Komen For The Cure ®.


 

This campaign was inspired by Celeste Orangers- Ariel's extremely close friend of over 20 years (they met the very first day Ariel checked into NYU's Weinstein dorm) who was diagnosed in May 2005 with stage III breast cancer, and today can call herself a survivor. While recording his uplifting, violin-laden version of the song, Ariel decided he wanted to utilize the track as a vehicle for spreading optimism and hope amongst women battling the disease. By partnering with Komen Greater NYC, Ariel was able to utilize the song as a tool to raise money to be put towards the advancement of breast cancer research, education, screening and treatment to eradicate breast cancer as a life threatening disease. Celeste Orangers' treatment included chemotherapy, mastectomy, radiation, and what was then a brand new gene therapy- an IV drug treatment called Herceptin. In April 2005, Herceptin was just approved as a wonder drug in treating breast cancer, and Celeste was one of her doctor's first patients to receive it. "I believe I am here today because of that new protocol. Without the fundraising done by organizations like Susan G. Komen For The Cure ®, Herceptin would have been many years off, and I probably would not be here," says Orangers.

Richard Butler (lead singer of The Furs), heard Ariel's cover and reached out to say- "I loved the version… well done!" "Pretty In Pink" just hit #4 on MTV Logo's "The Click List" for the second week in a row and with continued fan support is on the rise to the top.

Ariel's previous single, "Life and Times" held the #1 position for 5 weeks in a row. While "Pretty In Pink" was released as a digital single only, Ariel released a full-length album, All These Brilliant Things in the Fall of 2008. The album received praise from the likes of The Deli Magazine, Skope Magazine, Out Impact, Gay Agenda, New England Blade and After Elton. Ariel's sound and musical style has been compared to David Bowie, The Stooges and The Strokes. His next live performance is set for Friday, April 24th at 8:00pm at Public Assembly in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The Greater New York City Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure was founded in 1990 and has raised over $45 million to date. The organization is devoted to its local community, disbursing up to 75 percent of net income to local breast health programs in the five boroughs of New York City, on Long Island and in Westchester and Rockland Counties. In 2008, Komen Greater NYC awarded close to $3.2 million in grants - $2.3 million will support 38 community-based organizations that provide breast health programs to underserved women, $225,000 will increase capacity of local researchers to enroll women in breast cancer trials, $45,000 will help fund local breast cancer conference and education programs, and $1.3 million will go for research. For more information, visit the Komen Greater NYC Website, www.komennyc.org. For a direct link to purchase "Pretty In Pink" on iTunes, please visit: www.arielaparicio.com/komen For more information on Ariel Aparicio and to watch the "Pretty In Pink" music video, please visit www.arielaparicio.com or www.myspace.com/arielapariciomusic.

Scientists have come up with an answer for those of us who don't like exercise but want to shed a pound or two - a pill.

The pill can make you fit without your needing to move a muscle, scientists at California's Salk Institute for Biological Studies say.

The find came after researchers genetically engineered "marathon mice" that could run for hours and came up with two pills that could mimic the effect.

The drugs reproduce many of the biological benefits of exercise, helping cells burn fat better and boosting energy levels endurance, said researcher Ronald Evans.

One of the pills might be good for athletic people to enhance their exercise or training, while the other might equally satisfy the couch potato who needs a kick start.

The scientists first made the discovery in 2004 when they genetically engineered the mice by tweaking a particular gene.

They found the gene-engineered mice could run twice as far as normal mice and stayed lean even when fed a high-fat diet - so they went on to find a drug that could mimic the effects.

"If you're out of shape - and most of us are - and you want to change, you have to do some exercise. The way we re-programme muscle in adults is by training."

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The US House of Representatives has voted to treat tobacco as a drug and have it regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The bill would tighten restrictions on advertising, impose new penalties for selling to children and require all new products to be approved by the FDA.

But the White House threatened to veto the bill, saying it would put an enormous burden on the FDA.

It also said having FDA approval could make people think cigarettes are safe.

Industry funded

The bill cleared the House with a 326 to 102 vote, as 96 Republicans ignored the president's position and voted in favour of the bill.

The programme would be funded by levying millions of dollars in fees from the tobacco industry.

Senator Edward Kennedy hopes to get the legislation before the Senate by the end of the year.

Representative Henry Waxman has been trying to get the House to pass tobacco regulation legislation for more than a decade.

"This is truly a historic day in the fight against tobacco," he said.

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By Stephanie Saul

Free cigarettes are no longer handed out at Congressional Black Caucus functions. And it has been years since anyone referred to Edolphus Towns, Democrat of Brooklyn, as the “Marlboro Man” for his campaign contributions from the tobacco industry.

Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick of the Congressional Black Caucus.

But the Congressional Black Caucus has not severed its financial ties to big tobacco. And that can complicate matters when the political discussion involves smoking’s impact on African-Americans.

A rift has opened in the 43-member caucus over a menthol provision in legislation that would enable the Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco. To reduce smoking’s appeal to teenagers, the legislation would outlaw flavored cigarettes — except for menthol cigarettes, which are specifically exempted.

With menthol brands making up about 28 percent of the $70 billion American cigarette market, the exemption was seen as a necessary compromise to win broad backing for the legislation.

But menthol has become a politically charged subject in Washington because an estimated 75 percent of black smokers choose mentholated brands.

Scientists have long wondered whether menthol might play a role in the disproportionate share of smoking-related cancer among African-Americans — if for no other reason than the additive may mask the harshness of the smoke, making it easier for teenagers to begin smoking.

Critics of the menthol exemption tend to denounce it as a sellout to the tobacco industry, and some members of the black caucus are pressing to narrow the exemption or ban menthol outright. But other caucus members oppose any changes, saying that pushing too hard now on menthol could endanger the legislation.

Concerns about the racial implications of menthol may have been heightened last week by a Harvard study stating that cigarette makers had deliberately manipulated menthol levels to attract young people.

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By Donald G. McNeil Jr.

Bill Gates and Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York announced Wednesday that they would spend $500 million to stop people around the world from smoking.

Tobacco could kill as many as one billion people in the 21st century, most of them in poor and middle-income countries, according to World Health Organization estimates.

In an effort to cut that number, Bloomberg's foundation plans to commit $250 million over four years on top of $125 million that he announced two years ago. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is allocating $125 million over five years.

Those sums far outstrip current spending of about $20 million a year on anti-smoking campaigns in poor and middle-income countries, according to a recent WHO. report.

The $500 million would be spent on a multipronged campaign nicknamed Mpower that Bloomberg and Dr. Margaret Chan, director of the WHO, outlined in February. Under it, governments will be urged to raise tobacco taxes sharply, outlaw smoking in public places, outlaw advertising to children and free giveaways of cigarettes, start anti-smoking advertising campaigns and offer their citizens nicotine patches or other help in quitting.

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By Sewell Chan

A survey of 452 New York City men who had had sex with other men within the past year found that 39 percent had not disclosed their sexual orientation to their doctors, a problem particularly acute among black, Hispanic and Asian men, the city’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene announced on Wednesday.

Health officials said the survey results had troubling implications for H.I.V. prevention. The survey found, for example, that men who disclosed their sexual activity with other men were twice as likely as men who did not to have been tested for H.I.V. (63 percent versus 36 percent).

The survey found a striking distinction: While 78 percent of the men who had sex with men and identified themselves as homosexual said they had discussed their sexuality with their doctors, none of the men who had sex with men but identified themselves as bisexual had told their doctors.

The survey also found wide racial and ethnic variation in disclosure rates. Sixty percent of black men who had sex with other men said they had not discussed their sex lives with their doctors, compared with 48 percent of Hispanic men, 47 percent of Asian men and 19 percent of white men.

Other differences in disclosure were also observed. Men who were 28 or older were more like than younger men (69 percent vs. 52 percent) to be out to their providers. Those born in the United States were more likely than immigrant men to disclose their practices, and those who were better educated disclosed at higher rates than the less educated.

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Conference provides free screenings, tests for African-Americans

By Nick Madigan

For a grown man, David Murphy looked a little sheepish. Having to admit that he didn't take good care of his health was not something that came naturally.

Murphy, a 57-year-old publisher, had a lot of company yesterday at a conference - the first of its kind - that targeted the health concerns of African-American men. Any who showed up at the Baltimore Convention Center, and hundreds did, were provided with free screenings for all manner of ills, from diabetes to hypertension, immune deficiencies to heart disease.

Black men fail to seek health care

"I'm not feeling 100 percent, and that's why I'm here," said Murphy, who publishes an online business and consumer guide, The Maryland Portal, and who admitted that he is uninsured and does not have a physician. "I'm being screened for everything. When you get to my age, you start getting the aches and pains, and you've got to get checked."

As a nurse was about to draw a droplet of blood from his finger, the only thing Murphy asked was not to be photographed "screaming and hollering."

The notion was apt, given the reluctance of many people to see a physician once in a while and to pay attention to whatever emerges from the visit.

"African-American men have a problem going to the doctor," said Joe Cooke, an educator in the HIV/AIDS unit of the state's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. He said there were enormous health problems in the black community that were not being addressed, primarily because, he said, African-American men often disregard their higher propensity toward certain diseases that do not affect other races to the same degree.

"The disparities for all of this - prostate cancer, HIV, diabetes - are alarming, much higher than in the majority community," Cooke, 50, said after discussing his own cardiovascular system with a specialist. "We need to educate people. If you're not getting treatment for a lot of these killers, they're ticking time bombs waiting to go off."

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By Anna Boyd

Believe it or not, masturbation appears to have more benefits than previously thought or at least this is what Australian researchers suggest. According to the latest study in this field, men could reduce their risk of developing prostate cancer through regular masturbation.

For the study, the researchers questioned over 1,000 men who had developed prostate cancer and 1,250 who had not about their sexual habits. They found that men who had ejaculated the most between the ages of 20 and 50 were the least likely to develop prostate cancer.

More than that, the researchers also have an explanation for their findings. Apparently, ejaculating may prevent carcinogens accumulating in the prostate gland. The prostate provides a fluid into semen during ejaculation that activates sperm and prevents them sticking together.

According to Dr. Graham Giles, of the Cancer Council Victoria in Melbourne, who led the research team, fewer ejaculations may mean the carcinogens build up.

“It’s a prostatic stagnation hypothesis. The more you flush the ducts out, the less there is to hang around and damage the cells that line them,” he told New Scientist.

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Health authorities are warning Internet shoppers against buying dodgy libido-boosting drugs that have been linked to one death and up to 90 people becoming ill worldwide.

The New Zealand Director-General of Health, Stephen McKernan, said yesterday that four products illegally marketed in Singapore as treatment for erectile dysfunction had been found to contain dangerous levels of a drug used to treat diabetes.

So far in New Zealand,  Customs and Medsafe had intercepted one product destined for New Zealand that appeared to be a counterfeit version of erectile dysfunction drug Cialis.

The drug was believed to have been bought through the Internet. Samples were being tested by Environmental Science and Research.

Singapore reports the products - Power 1 Walnut, Santi Bovine Penis Erecting Capsule, Zhong Hua Niu Bian and the fake Cialis - are believed to have caused one death, up to 30 serious illnesses and 59 adverse reactions.

All four products contain glibenclamide, a prescription medicine used to treat diabetes.

Glibenclamide lowers blood sugar and can be deadly for users who do not have diabetes.

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ACTwatch, is funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

NAIROBI, Kenya, April 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A multi-country project called ACTwatch, which will monitor the availability and affordability of effective malaria treatment, will be launched in Nairobi Friday -- World Malaria Day. Over the next five years, ACTwatch, which is funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will provide ongoing evidence related to access to antimalarials, specifically artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), the most effective malaria treatment on the market. This evidence will inform policy discussions ongoing at both the global and country level to increase access to effective antimalarials for those who need them most.

ACTwatch is being implemented by a consortium of partners led by the nongovernmental organization PSI. Other partners include the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, United States Pharmacopeia and the market research firm, Nielsen. The project will be carried out in six African countries (Benin, Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Nigeria, Uganda and Zambia) and two countries in Southeast Asia (Cambodia and one other, yet to be decided upon).

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In honor of World Malaria Day today, U.S. Senator Russ Feingold, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, made the following statement in which he urged Senate leadership to quickly take up legislation to provide resources to combat the disease in Africa where 85% of the world’s malaria deaths occur.

“The U.S. and international efforts to combat malaria, an often invisible killer, are critical in the fight against a disease we deal with infrequently here in the United States. Malaria is no longer perceived as a threat to us – particularly when compared with the devastation wrought by HIV or cancer -- but in sub-Saharan Africa or Asia, malaria is anything but invisible. In these parts of the world, a child dies of malaria every thirty seconds.

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By Louis Charbonneau

African countries hardest hit by malaria are failing to contain it and a new U.N. campaign launched on World Malaria Day on Friday aims to ensure that all Africa has access to basic malaria control measures.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said some African countries have fallen behind in fighting the disease, which the World Health Organization estimates kills 1.3 million people each year, mostly children under age 5.

"In recent years, several African countries have made dramatic strides in malaria control, but the most affected nations remain off track to reach the goal of halting and reversing the incidence of the disease," Ban said.

"We need desperately to step up our efforts to roll back malaria."

More than 40 percent of the world's population in more than 100 countries is at risk of catching the mosquito-borne disease. Although malaria kills most of its victims in sub-Saharan Africa, the disease also hits people in much of Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

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The American Heart Association/ American Stroke Association sponsors Power Weekend and celebration to award top African Americans including Tom Joyner, Pastors Lyle & Deborah Dukes, Grammy nominated R&B singing group, Az Yet and Gospel Legend Marvin Winans, May 2nd -- 4th in Atlanta, Georgia

April 24, 2008 -- More than 400 African-American leaders are expected from across the country to participate in the Power Weekend sponsored by the American Heart Association/ American Stroke Association at the Ritz Carlton Buckhead in Atlanta, Georgia to discuss progress and future strategy concerning the "Power to End Stroke" campaign in the African American community.

According to the American Stroke Association, a division of the American Heart Association, the burden of stroke is greater among African-Americans than any other ethnic group in America. Blacks have almost twice the risk of first-ever stroke compared to whites, and blacks 34-54 years old have four times the relative risk for stroke. More than 100,000 African-Americans have a stroke each year and many don't know that they are at risk. The American Stroke Association states that stroke is the number 3 killer in the United States and a leading cause of disability.

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Ms. Jorja Jamison, M.S. Ph.D. Candidate in Counseling Psychology University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is conducting a survey on the health care experiences of gay men and women. She is looking for volunteer participants.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The study examines the experiences gay men and women have  come out or not come out to health care providers. Participation requires filling out an online survey.

The survey takes approximately 30 minutes to complete and is anonymous, meaning that your responses cannot be traced to you. Individuals who complete the survey can choose to be entered into a drawing for one of ten $25 cash prizes.

Participation in this study is voluntary and may end at any time. In addition, you do not have to answer any questions you do not want to answer. Any individual may take the survey, and no person will be denied access to completing the survey. However, this survey is designed to gather the health care experiences of individuals who identify as same-gender-oriented (e.g., lesbian, gay). Participants who identify as bisexual, transgender, or intersex may feel that there are additional experiences that they have had with health care providers that are not asked about in this survey.

To begin the survey: Please click the icon on the right

EAST HANOVER, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nearly 3 million African-Americans are estimated to be diabetic, representing 17 percent of all diabetes patients in the United States; and this figure is growing as the proportion of African-American patients diagnosed with diabetes consistently increases year to year, according to new research from GfK Market Measures’ Roper Global Diabetes Group. A new study of the diabetes market suggests that African-

Obesity is under-diagnosed in people with diabetes overall and particularly in African-Americans, even though both conditions are more prevalent in African-Americans than whites

American patients are being diagnosed at higher rate than other patients. According to GfK Market Measures’ Roper Global Diabetes Group’s 2007 U.S. Diabetes Patient Market Study, 14 percent of African-American diabetes patients were diagnosed with diabetes within the past 12 months compared to 8 percent of other patients.

Furthermore, the Roper U.S. studies have shown that the proportion of African-American patients diagnosed in the past 12 months has consistently increased, from 8 percent in 2004 to 14 percent in 2007.

In comparing the African-American Type 2 diabetes population to the rest of the Type 2 diabetes population in the United States, the study uncovers several notable differences between the groups’ demographic, concomitant conditions and therapy profiles. In terms of age, the African-American diabetes population tends to be younger than other patients, with 73 percent under age 65 (compared with 57 percent under age 65 for other patients). It is also important to note that patients in this group are diagnosed at an earlier age – 47 vs. age 51 for other patients.

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