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Biotech / Medical : PFE (Pfizer) How high will it go? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: nokomis who wrote (5344)	9/2/1998 4:25:00 PM
From: Anthony Wong	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 9523

Patients Rights Advocates Call For Continued Coverage For Viagra PR Wire September 2, 1998, 4:01 p.m. ET and Other Treatments for Erectile Dysfunction Patients and Physicians Stress Serious Nature of Erectile Dysfunction Coalition to Deliver Letter to Senators D'amato and Moynihan Urging Their Support ALBANY, N.Y., Sept. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- A coalition of New York-based patients' rights associations and a prominent urologist met today to call on Senators Alfonse M. D'Amato and Daniel Patrick Moynihan to reject any amendments such as those recently approved by the U.S. House Appropriations Committee that attempt to take away coverage for Viagra and other treatments for erectile dysfunction (ED). Physicians and patient advocates, in a letter to the Senators and the N.Y. congressional delegation, pushed for better understanding of ED and the new treatment Viagra. "Despite all the media coverage of Viagra, there is still a very poor understanding of ED nationally among the public, policy makers and health insurers," said James Barada, M.D., a nationally recognized urologist, Center for Male Sexual Health. Dr. Barada participated in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Development Conference on Impotence and chaired the American Urological Association Guideline Panel on Erectile Dysfunction Treatments. "The individuals gathered here today urge legislators and policymakers to make decisions based on fact and sound medical science," Dr. Barada said. ED is a serious medical condition that affects approximately 30 million men in the United States, according to NIH, "ED often is a result of spinal cord injury, prostate cancer surgery or depression and is a marker of underlying conditions such as diabetes, coronary artery disease and hypertension," continued Barada. "Before the introduction of Viagra the only treatments for ED were inconvenient, painful or invasive. Patients have a legitimate need for a safe, effective oral treatment now that such a treatment is available." The coalition letter also noted that the introduction of Viagra had caused many men to seek treatment for ED, giving their physicians the opportunity to diagnose and treat such potentially dangerous conditions as hypertension, arteriosclerosis and diabetes at earlier stages than would otherwise have been the case. Other organizations participating in the coalition meeting today included The National Spinal Cord Injury Association, Rochester Chapter, and the Mental Health Association in New York State, Inc. "When people with disabilities such as a spinal cord injury suffers from ED, it makes so many other difficult aspects of their lives that much more problematic and painful," said Richard Aeckerle, of The National Spinal Cord Injury Association, Rochester Chapter. "Treatment such as Viagra enable people who are already suffering with very real medical conditions to have more confident and happy lives, making it much, much easier to tackle the other challenges associated with their conditions." "Through the debate over Viagra, the mental health community is learning anecdotally that many people taking anti-depressants stop taking their medication so as to get sexual function restored," said Joseph A. Glazer, president and CEO of the Mental Health Association in New York State, Inc. "A medication like Viagra can eliminate the need for making consumers of mental health services and their loved ones choose between taking their medications, enjoying normal sexual activity and having a family." The Center for Male Sexual Health located in Albany, conducts medical research for urological disorders and provides care and education for patients and their families across the northeast region. The National Spinal Cord Injury Association, Rochester Chapter, serving the entire upstate region, is a support and advocacy group representing more than 400 New York members. The Mental Health Association in New York State, Inc. is a not-for-profit, statewide voluntary organization comprised of providers, advocates and consumers. The association presently has 35 affiliates serving 41 counties across the state of New York. SOURCE Sexual Healthcare Coalition -0- 09/02/98 /CONTACT: Jon Rucket or Rose Raus, both of Sawchuk, Brown Associates, 518-462-0318, for Sexual Healthcare Coalition/ CO: Sexual Healthcare Coalition; The Center for Male Sexual Health; The National Spinal Cord Injury Association; The Mental Health Association in New York State, Inc. ST: New York IN: HEA MTC SU: -0- Sep/02/1998 15:45 EOS (PRN) Sep/02/98 15:46 86 -0- (PRN) Sep/02/1998 16:01