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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lane3 who wrote (96635)	1/24/2005 10:52:57 PM
From: Ilaine	Respond to of 793694

Speaking from the perspective of a plaintiff's attorney, BiDil sounds like a potential litigation nightmare if it turns out that people who "look black" but are genetically indistinguishable from whites have more heart attacks while taking this medication. Scenario: a man who "looks black" but has a high percentage of white/Asian/Native American/Latino ancestry takes BiDil and has a heart attack, and dies. His family wonders -- would he have been better off if he had taken another drug, say, one that is prescribed for whites? So, they consult a cardiologist, who tells them that actually nobody really knows whether BiDil was better for ALL black people or just some. In fact, the dead man probably would have been better off with another treatment. And there you have it. Minimum recovery in the millions. Especially when you learn that genetic testing costs only a couple of hundred dollars per patient. FYI, I am presently taking part in a clinical trial where my genetic material was assayed before the test and will be part of the test results. Not for any particular drug, it's actually a couple of tests involving rheumatoid arthritis and heart disease. They tested my heart and cardiac arteries and carotid arteries, and I have to keep them up to date on my medical treatment, every six months. A simple buccal swab is all it takes.

To: Lane3 who wrote (96635)	1/25/2005 1:28:31 PM
From: Mary Cluney	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 793694

A new drug illustrates the issue. BiDil is a medication for patients with heart failure that appears to be much more effective in treating black patients than whites. It may soon become the first drug marketed specifically to members of a particular racial group. This has to be some hoax. What do they mean by black? Is it just Afro-Americans and not Africans from Africa that are black (leaving Afro-Europeans aside for the moment)? Is it just due to skin color and regardless of where you are from? Or do your ancestry have to contain a certain percentage with a certain skin coloration and geographic location within similar tribes. So, if I am treating Tiger Woods - what do I do? Just because somebody writes about this stuff, doesn't mean it has validity. I am sure you can find some correllation with drugs that work on short people more effectively than on tall people. There is no doubt people with red hair may be more prone to certain kinds of skin cancer. Ugly people may be more prone to certain ulcers? We know that all kinds of stuff can happen to fat people. Tall fat people may even be more susceptible. Short, fat and ugly people may have diseases of their own. (Edit: I couldn't resist. I left out the beautiful people. They have to have medicine that are targeted for them).