The Dangers of Race Based Medicine

As with many topics there are people that have taken a stand on either side of the race based medicine debate. There are those scientists who are on the side that “understanding the unique patterns of genes across patient populations defined by race will help identify population... ... middle of paper ... ...ll 2006, p 497-499. Cohn, Jay N., The Use of Race and Ethnicity in Medicine: Lessons from the African-American Heart Failure Trial, J.L. Med. & Ethics, Race and Ethnicity, Fall 2006, p 552-554.

Social Science & Medicine, 53, 1067-1080. doi: 10.1016/S0277-9536(00)00402-0 Underwood, J. M., Townsend, J. S., Tai, E., Davis, S. P., Stewart, S. L., White, A., . . . Fairley, T. L. (2012). Racial and regional disparities in lung cancer incidence.

Retrieved from http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/HPV National University Hospital (2003, November). Genetic Testing- Why When and Whom. Retrieved from http://www.nuh.com.sg/wbn/slot/u3609/Education/Healthcare%20Professionals/Education%20&%20Training%20Opportunities/Bulletin/bulletin_33.pdf World Health Organization (2013, September). WHO | Human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs380/en/

Racial tensions, in the form of prejudice and discrimination certainly contribute to the obvious health disparities experienced by African-Americans. “Health disparities refer to the gaps of quality of health and health care across racial and ethnic groups” (Wikipedia, 2014). Results from a 2003 Health Interview Survey indicated that “African-Americans and Hispanics were the most likely to report the feeling of being discriminated against when seeking health care” (Sorkin, Ngo-Metzger, & DeAlba, 2010). The perception of discrimination affects the way many patients make decisions about their medical care from adherence to medication regimens to follow-up and treatment recommendations. The increased risk of disease, as well as disability and premature death is well documented within the black community.

The Questions Surrounding the Breast Cancer Genes The process of unraveling the mysteries of the human genome creates enormous possibilities in the world of science. Knowing where on our chromosomes a specific gene lies allows scientists to look inside the human body with more intensity than any X-ray could ever achieve. By analyzing the genetic make-up of human beings, scientists can track diseases back to their most fundamental stages. In recent years, scientists have discovered two genes that play a role in the development of various kinds of cancer in both men and women. With the additional ability to test individuals for their possession of deformed copies of these genes, many ethical questions have been raised.

The report also stated details about Scarlet Fever which was big at the time. In 1678, a Boston newspaper published America’s first medical work, Thomas Thatcher’ pamphlet: A Brief Rule to Guide the Common People of New England how to order themselves and theirs in the Small Pocks, or Measles. Once again, Thomas Sydenham discovers a medical breakthrough in 1684 by concluding that the common health practices, not available to the poor, were more harmful than good in mild smallpox cases. Sydenham’s discovery would be the last big medical innovatio... ... middle of paper ... ...of antitoxin and serum therapy in 1890. To get antitoxin, they immunized guinea pigs with heat-treated diphtheria toxin.

According to public health data from numerous countries, “…disadvantage... ... middle of paper ... ... previous page shows that there is a strong correlation between the dependent and independent variables. As unfortunate as the topic of worse healthcare for “minority” races is, the findings were not surprising. Prejudice and discrimination against the races may not be as blatant as it was during the Jim Crowe era, but it has become underlying through the works of powerful institutions, health care being a prime example. These findings could influence social policy through reforming the hiring process for Doctors and Nurses. Tests should be created to analyze bias against the races to aid in stopping institutional racism.

The rapid pace of vaccine development convinces people that they are safe from the infectious diseases. Unfortunately, the anthrax outbreak in 2001, having killed five people, reveals the vulnerability of the public health, suggesting that further research on contagious epidemics should be developed abruptly. In response to this issue, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) granted Boston University a $128 million funding for the construction of a new leading facility known as the National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratory (NEIDL or BU Biolab), which would be sited on the Boston University Medical Campus, to battle against contagious ailments. Besides conducting research on infectious diseases, the BU Biolab will also perform research to prepare for bioterrorism (Le Duc). According to the Center for Disease Control, there are four levels of increasing of containment for research on infections ranging from Biosafety Levels 1 through 4 (BSL-1 to BSL-4).

Handbook of Black American Health. Connecticut: Praegar Press.2004.Print Farnan, Rose.What Nurses Know About HIV/AIDS.NewYork:Demos Medical Publishing.2012.Print Furniss,Charlie.AIDS Crisis.Connecticut:Nowhaven Press.2006.Print Gill,Peter.Body Count Fixing the Blame for Global AIDS.New York:Thunder Mouth Press.2006.Print. Jackson,Donna.The Autommune Epidemic.New York:Touchstone Publishing.2008.Print Selby,Kevin.Basis of AIDS.London:Touchline Press.2009.Print.

The process by which tumors elicit these blood vessels from the body is known as “angiogenesis”. The publication of Dr. Judah Folkman’s paper entitled, “Tumor angiogenesis: therapeutic implications” (New England Journal of Medicine, 1971) has influenced cancer research by establishing a new field of study with treatment possibilities that solve many age-old therapeutic dilemmas. Angiogenic therapy offers a universal treatment approach to all cancers, better mechanisms for catching cancer early, and also answers for previously unexplained phenomena, such as tumor dormancy. Judah Folkman was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1933. In 1953 he graduated from the Ohio State University and went on to Harvard Medical School.