Drug Approved for Heart Failure in Black Patients

NY Times ^ | July 20, 2004 | ANDREW POLLACK

[neverdem]

This was placed in the business section of the hardcopy paper apparently, but I found it in the Health section online. The word "business" is within the URL. NitroMed

[neverdem]

PING

[neverdem]

This was placed for breaking news. Obviously comment# 1 wasn't read, much less the story, before the all knowing admin moderator relocated it to frontpage news.

[TheBattman]

Pharmaceutical FUBU?

[OSHA]

Wonder how lond before the "It's a white trick to make blacks sterile" starts.

[cyborg]

It failed in the general category, so they tried it exclusively on black patients. One day medicine will custom made to everyone's particular genes I think.

[Hank Rearden]

There's an "Association of Black Cardiologists"? Why? Are their treatment protocols different from White Cardiologists?

Or are these Cardiologists Who Treat Only Black People?

The language and culture gets more twisted every day.

[cyborg]

No just that they are black, and since there are not that many of them, they form an association. They've been around a while.

[cyborg]

http://www.abcardio.org/about.htm

[Hank Rearden]

It's another one of those deals (like the National Association for the Advancement of White People) that, if it existed as the Association of White Cardiologists, would be tarred, feathered and run out of town on a rail.

The old politically-correct double standard. We've got a ways to go to meet MLK's standard.

[neverdem]

Pharmaceutical FUBU?

I think the FDA had enough statisticians, so maybe it's a FDA Political Correctness boo boo in that they didn't do a subset analysis. From the article:

BiDil is a combination of two old generic drugs, neither of them approved for heart failure. Jay N. Cohn, a professor at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine, first thought of combining them to treat heart failure in the 1970's, and a trial was conducted in the early 1980's.

That trial showed the drug to have some effect, but the Food and Drug Administration rejected the drug, arguing the data were not strong enough. After Medco Research, a company that had licensed the drug, dropped it, the rights reverted to Dr. Cohn. NitroMed, which was interested because the drug fitted its focus on nitric oxide, licensed it in 1999.

Reviewing the data from the old trial, Dr. Cohn and NitroMed found that the drug had been remarkably effective in the subset of patients who were black.

Three cheers for Dr. Cohn's persistence and insight!!!

[cyborg]

No need to have a white cardiologists' association. There are plenty enough white cardiologists that they don't need their own advocacy group. It ought to be good news that there aren't any. Sometimes joining these groups, a person can easily develop bad habits and mindsets about one's social standing. Plus if you disagree with the group agenda, it's out you go. I stay far away from ethnic based organizations, too much group mentality. I don't care if people join them, but unless you are down with their cause, forget it.

[Age of Reason]

There's an "Association of Black Cardiologists"? Why? Are their treatment protocols different from White Cardiologists?

Or are these Cardiologists Who Treat Only Black People?

In a similar vein, I always wanted to know . . .

What's a black church?

Is a black church one that only allows black members?

Are there white churches, and do they only allow white members?

[cyborg]

http://www.racesci.org/in_media/race_drug_trials.htm

[neverdem]

Thanks for the link. I was quite surprised to find the Congressional Black Caucus is in agreement with me. Who'da thunk it?

[cyborg]

How are they going to determine everyone's race I wonder. That's why this sort of thing will have to get very specific.

[TheBattman]

I freely admit that this is a stupid question - and it's meant tongue-in-cheek, sort of.

If a similar drug had shown a surprising efficacy only among Caucasians - would there be an outcry of racism? I'm sure "Reverend" Jessie Jacka$$ would be the first to speak up.

[neverdem]

PING

[neverdem]

PING

[lainde]

bttt and thanks!