HIV Infection Rate Among Blacks Doubles

[Kadie]

HIV Infection Rate Among Blacks Doubles
By JEFF DONN, Associated Press Writer

Friday, February 25, 2005


(02-25) 16:08 PST BOSTON (AP) --


The HIV infection rate has doubled among blacks in the United States over a decade while holding steady among whites — stark evidence of a widening racial gap in the epidemic, government scientists said Friday.


Other troubling statistics indicate that almost half of all infected people in the United States who should be receiving HIV drugs are not getting them.


The findings were released in Boston at the 12th Annual Retrovirus Conference, the world's chief scientific gathering on the disease.


"It's incredibly disappointing," said Terje Anderson, director of the National Association of People With AIDS. "We just have a burgeoning epidemic in the African American community that is not being dealt with effectively."

more...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2005/02/25/national/a133056S67.DTL

[Must_B_Free]

1. It's a smallpox blanket, folks

man made.

[CPschem]

5. no it's not.

The fact that 50% of African Americans believe this is one of the most troubling aspects of this disease from a public health perspective.

[arwalden]

13. Irresponsible!

[Vogon_Glory]

27. AIDS Not A Smallpox Blanket, BUT

I think that AIDS is natural, but there are times I wonder if the right-wing powers that be are deliberately encouraging the conditions for letting it spread. By minimizing sex education, by attempting to discredit barrier methods of contraception like condoms, by protecting the high profits of drug companies without making the meds widely available, by failing to address the ugly fact that AIDS is spread across the gender boundary, I can't help but wonder where the furthest right of the Republican Party and the so-called "Conservative" movement begin to shade into the white racist right are deliberately fostering policies to reduce the populations of non-white, non-"Aryans." This seems to be a far more effective plan for slo-mo genocide than cock-and-bull right-wing fables concerning birth control providers and women's health clinics and decades-past, long-repudiated ties to the Eugenics movement.

We progressives have been accused by right-wingers of "seeing no enemies to the left." I find it entirely plausible that many right-wing ultra-conservatives are guilty of seeing "no enemies to the right."

[greymattermom]

28. that's what I've been thinking

for a long time. Especially when you consider Africa.

[Zuni]

36. you should study HIV history before you make irresponsible comments

It has been around for a long time, at least since 1959 and most scientists think it is a form of the Primate SIV virus, perhaps contracted by man killing chimpanzees for food in Sub-Saharan Africa.

However it started it is a natural mutation of SIV found in a certain species of Chimp. The fact that there are 2 main subtypes, HIV-1 and HIV-2 (which is rarer and less deadly) and each is evolved from a different form of SIV in a different primate in different areas. HIV-2 is linked to the Sooty Mangabe monkey in Cameroon and HIV-1 is linked to a particular type of chimp. HIV-1 has existed at least since 1959, it has been traced through blood samples to that year in the Congo.

[Warpy]

2. Public health is being ignored

and cost shifting in medicine away from insured patients and onto the uninsured is making health care prohibitively expensive for most of us, with even insured patients bankrupting over copays.

Health care is treated like a luxury because brain dead conservatives think illness is a consumer decision and the rich are too heartless to care.

There is a pandemic coming, whether it's super-HIV or bird flu. The rich and the stupid are going to be reminded the hard way of just why public health is a goal of government.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

3. Stockpile sugar based immunostimulants as described in

this here mind bending, spine tingling, ear shattering, thought provoking, medical expert confusing, skeptic destroying, mesmerizing, piece of work. I know I liked it very very much.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0345441079/qid=1109378438/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-4459311-4676060?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0345441079.01._PIdp-schmooS,TopRight,7,-26_PE20_SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg
It isn't often that you find the words sugar and heal together when discussing health matters, but Dr. Emil Mondoa is working hard to change that. As founder of the Glyconutrients Research Foundation and author (along with Mindy Kitei) of Sugars That Heal, he has found that the addition of essential sugars to your diet can affect everything from the immune system to cholesterol levels. But this doesn't mean you should start heaping table sugar on every meal! Rather, Mondoa proposes that through the use of a few simple supplements, you may be able to fight off colds, lower your blood pressure, or simply have more energy.

Mondoa is cautious when mixing research with anecdote and praise. While some people benefit tremendously from supplements, he points out that "many supplements aren't well absorbed or assimilated and are of doubtful efficacy." He later goes on to recommend consultations with your health care provider before beginning any of his specific regimens. The sources for these sugar-based supplements vary from shellfish to mushrooms, onions, and bovine tracheal cartilage, and he cautions against using the supplements without checking the ingredients, as those with allergies can experience serious reactions. Mondoa does include a few simple recipes for mushroom tea and vegetable sauce, but most of the glyconutrients are added to your diet through pills, powders, or tinctures; contact information for supplement sources is found at the end of the book. Specific chapters on the immune system, diabetes, chronic fatigue syndrome, and cancers detail the exact combinations of sugars most likely to heal.

[arwalden]

14. It Cures What Ails Ya!

[HysteryDiagnosis]

15. If you see it that way, then fine.... there are those who have been taken

off their death beds who would disagree with you... and not 2 or 3 either.

Inspired by this, in just this one situation, this one particular condition, there have been hundreds worldwide and that was years ago, who have been inspired to repeat this same scenario and live to tell about it. I understand it is a difficult concept to believe that a breakthrough in wellness could happen, but then no one thought son of shrubber would almost be elected "twice".

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2001/Apr-22-Sun-2001/living/15843088.html

Going to the doctor wasn't an option because, as Letourneau put it, "growing up in Minnesota you don't go to the doctor, you push yourself through (illness). I had never missed a day of work (at MGM) for six years. I made it 13 years in the Ice Capades, until I had to have back surgery. I had powered myself through a hundred other sore throats. That's what I was going to do with that one. The shame is I could have prevented this."

[arwalden]

20. A Well Balanced Diet That Gives Us The Required Nutrients...

... is important and a good thing to do. But these "miracle cures" are hogwash. If they had any efficacy, then it could be easily demonstrated in double-blind placebo-controlled peer-reviewed tests.

Yet... they aren't. Why?

All we have is anecdotal evidence that does not demonstrate a conclusive cause and effect. Perhaps the illness ran its course. Perhaps the body healed itself. Symptoms of many ailments will ebb and flow in their severity and intensity... all by themselves.

I can assure you that if these miracle cures were able to deliver on everything that's being promised, then it wouldn't be "alternative"... it would be MAINSTREAM. Every legitimate doctor would also be offering it to their patients... but they don't. Why?

Even the FDA requires such "nutritional supplement" products to have a black box style of disclaimer (warning) letting people know that the product is not intended to treat or cure any illness or disease and that the statements haven't been verified by the FDA. (I can hear it already... any conspiracy "big-pharma" arguments you have will be wasted typing... so save yourself the trouble.)

This is the cure-of-the month. Last month COLLOIDAL SILVER made it's biannual return.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

23. This is the cure-of-the month

More like the cure of the century... it takes 19 enzymatic steps to create fucose from glucose, it is enzyme dependant, mineral dependant, vitamin dependant, ATP dependant, ADP dependant and prone to error. Most of these sugars necessary for proper cell to cell communication require a huge amount of energy to produce, you do the math and call me when you have the answer.

Many many diseases/conditions/syndromes owe their existence to the weakening of the immune response due to a lack of these sugars and the poor cellular communication that results from this shortage. You don't think virus interfere with the production of these sugars?? You don't think chemicals do?? You don't think stress does?? Genetics?? Think again sport.

www.miracleboy.org

17,779 hits on PubMed for "Glycoproteins", no they aren't the single most important molecule for determining health and wellness... not.

[arwalden]

29. Where Are The Double-Blind Placebo Controlled Studies?

... that have been peer reviewed and with results that can be duplicated. If respectable physicians are ignoring these miracle cures, then there's a good reason why.

The most likely reason is because it provides NO or minimal benefit, or because any benefit is outweighed by the risks. Or, it could be that simply having an ordinary well-balanced and healthy diet is enough. There are physical limits to the amount of nutrients and vitamins our bodies can process and use. The rest just passes through as waste.

"Think again, Sport?" --- Oh brother... :eyes: I don't understand the passive-aggressive tone of both your replies.

-- Allen

PS What a kooky website. There seems to be a correlation between that site's HTML sophistication and the quality of information it provides. It's been my experience that the worse the HTML and graphics skills are, and the more animated graphics there are... the worse actual the content is.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

33. PS What a kooky website.

Then go for the real deal. I'm sure you will understand the significance of what is presented there.

www.glycoscience.com

[arwalden]

34. Just An Informational Backend Sales Page For These Guys...

Overhyped nutritional supplements that will cure what ails ya! Breakthrough technology! Oooooh!

This guy...



... looks like a shyster to me. A scoundrel.

-- Allen


http://www.mannapages.com/

Mannatech.
The wellness company.

Mannatech, Inc. offers a one-of-a-kind wellness solution—real nutrition—to the world in the form of glyconutritionals, vitamins, minerals and necessary nutrients that have been hailed as the missing links to optimal health.

Using our breakthrough technology, Mannatech extracts nutrients directly from plants and delivers them to you in the form of convenient and effective supplements.

[Name removed]

35. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Romulus Quirinus]

40. Some folks

need to learn about this little thing I like to call "science." :)

C'mon man, she has a WEBSITE! XD

ROFL

[HysteryDiagnosis]

25. But these "miracle cures" are hogwash

Not if one realizes that naturally ocurring extracts and plant based components are often safer and more effective than toxic, questionably effective, pharmaceutically produced snake oil. I'm sure you know what resveratrol is, and where it comes from, now you can either drink two bottles of wine a day, or you can pop a cap. It's your drivers license.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15688599
1: J Chemother. 2004 Nov;16 Suppl 4:3-6. Related Articles, Links

Polyphenolic phytochemicals versus non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: which are better cancer chemopreventive agents?

Gescher A.

Cancer Biomarkers and Prevention Group, Department of Cancer Studies, University of Leicester, Leicester LE2 2LX, UK. [e-mail]
Non steroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) delay the onset of cancer in rodent models of colorectal carcinogenesis. Clinical trials suggest that they can interfere with preneoplasia in humans; thus they may be chemopreventive agents in humans. As NSAIDs posses unwanted side effects, efforts are being invested in the identification of alternative agents with comparable chemopreventive efficacy but without the toxicity of NSAIDs. Polyphenolic phytochemicals such as curcumin and resveratrol are promising candidates. Like NSAIDs they suppress carcinogenesis in the ApcMin+ mouse model. Clinical pilot studies of curcumin show that it is safe at doses of up to 3.6g daily, and that the levels of curcumin which can be achieved in the gastrointestinal tract exert pharmacological activity. More clinical evaluation will help establish whether polyphenolic phytochemicals are indeed safe and efficacious alternatives to NSAIDs.

PMID: 15688599

I'm sure you know where I3C comes from, and if you want, you can eat two cabbages a day, (plan on spending alot of time alone) or you can pop a cap.


http://www.apjohncancerinstitute.org/cancer/breast-c.htm
Resveratrol: This phytochemical blocks the actions of a number of a number of cancer promoting genes thereby causing cancer cells to enter into apoptosis (cell death) and is included in the treatment of all cancers.

Indole-3 Carbinol & D.I.M.: These two phytochemicals block the actions of both estrogen and testosterone and are included in the regiments of both breast and prostate gland cancer.

Melatonin: Numerous studies show that this hormone blocks the synthesis of the cancer promoting chemicals in the body called Leukotrienes, and is included in the treatment of all cancers.

Artho Pro System: This combination of herbs and phytochemicals inhibits the synthesis of the cancer promoting hormone called Prostaglandin-2 and the Leukotriens and replaces the drug celebrex when liver problems are present. The Prostaglandin hormone is over active in most cancers and stimulates cancer growth. The body manufactures the Prostaglandin hormone from the bad fat, Linoleic acid, mentioned above.

Licorice Root Extract & Pantothenic Acid: This HERB and VITAMIN are added to the regiment when it is desirable to produce steroid like actions in the body. Used also to help patients gain weight and ti inhibit the growth of Lymphomas and Leukemias.

CAAT is designed to attack cancer, while keeping normal cells and tissues functioning harmoniously.

[piece sine]

16. I'm with you

the snake-oil mumbo-jumbo seen earlier needs a counter-balance.

[Deja Q]

8. Then I hope the rich succumb to these diseases first,.

Harsh? No. Realistic. They can't get away from the risks of the world they made as much as we can't get away from the joke of a world they made for themselves, with us being the expendable labor and/or guinea pigs.

[cliss]

4. This is so sad.

I think black people are more fragile. They are susceptible to many diseases that the white people are a little more resistant to. Like sickle cell anemia, and high blood pressure.

I read a few years back that by the year 2050 (I think), 1 out of every 2 people in Africa will be dead from AIDS. Hard to believe. And so tragic.

[Baconfoot]

7. "black people are more fragile"?!??!?!??!?!?!??!?!

:crazy: :wtf: :crazy: :wtf: :crazy: :wtf: :crazy: :wtf:

:argh::argh::argh::argh::argh::argh:

Consider the above my response proper and what follows as mere futility.
Let us say that a comprehensive, accurate account of the susceptibilities of various ethnic groups to diseases and disorders could be made and that we had access to such an account. So in other words lets say we knew all the diseases and disorders nature had to offer and that we knew to which diseases and disorders various ethnics groups were more or less susceptible. Ok so we've got our list. And you know... skin cancer is on the caucasion list. Sickle cell anemia is on the... is on the... I'll just use your word... "black people" list. And let's say the "black people" list was longer. Let's grant all that for the time being.

So what? Would that prove that "black people" are "more fragile?" I'll give you a hint... No actually I'll give you the answer... it's no. It would only tell you that one list was longer than the other.

Dude... take my advice and never say anything like that again. It's embarrousing. The rest of us feel bad for you.

I mean... DUDE. Just... DUDE.

[cliss]

11. Too bad.

I still feel that people of my group are more vulnerable than other Americans.

:smoke:

*And don't speak for the rest of the DU.

[Barkley]

12. 'blacks people are more fragile' except on the baskeball court...

then they have some unfair athletic gene that allows them to
perform better than everyone else who has to work hard just to be
"good" <end of sarcasism>

[applegrove]

17. I always understood that European weakness to malaria & other stuff

kept them from getting further than 10 miles from the coast of Africa for 500 years (except in dry areas). Also the black death & plague came from Africa. Flu killed million of aboriginal American 500 years ago. I think whatever you are - if you are exposed to something in your past - you get over it and adapt. I think aboriginal Americans may have a great gene for fighting off cholera where Europeans didn't so Europeans had to drink alcohol (since they often couldn't drink the local water). But it is important to remember as we argue our differences that blonds will be totally gone in 200 years. And we are getting more and more alike all the time.

And there one pretty sad stories about how AIDS jumped to human from bush apes (a lab in Congo) trying to invent a cure for polio and 'practicing' on local people and using 'local chimps to grow their version vaccine'. So there is information out there that White Man did in fact create the AIDS epidemic. Though I do not believe it was intentional - and I do believe that if they had their lab in Europe (where they were from) they would have used higher clinical safety standards at the time and would not have done a test run on the "locals". It was after all European testing that pointed out an "anomaly" in their vaccine and they had to have it destroyed.

That being said the fact that 50% of AA feels it was a planned attack does interfere with the public health aspect of treating AIDS - if it means education is not heeded. That is bad. But you know what? Many people cannot afford the require "cocktail" and that is purposeful (because every other Western nation has a universal health care plan). So we have to agree on the areas that are intentional & purposeful in their cruelty and fight to make sure this neocon/gop/corporate/rovbot revolution stops now.

[applegrove]

19. One area I hear is important is that Africans and North Americans do

not eat enough live active bacterial yogurt. And we women know that a little dose of the right yogurt will kill a yeast infection but it will also kill a whole bunch of stuff including AIDS. So we all need to eat Active bacteria yogurt (you also get to live to be 110 - but you have to move to yugoslavia or something).

[fortyfeetunder]

31. Medical source?

Can you cite a source?

[applegrove]

37. Dam - I read it somewhere recently so it could be in only one of 5 piles!

Reid Believes The Yogurt Will Help Cut
Fostering a culture that can fight AIDS
Published in Globe and Mail - Indexed on Feb 13, 2005 Similar pages

Relevance:
And yet two University of Western Ontario students arrived in the bustling city of Mwanza on the shores of Lake Victoria a few days ago to teach local women how to make the dairy product. It's not just any yogurt, but a probiotic variety rich in vital disease-fighting bacteria. It was invented by microbiologist Gregor Reid, who also works at the university in London, Ont. Prof. Reid believes the yogurt will help cut HIV transmission rates and lower the risk of deadly diarrheal disease for people already living with the virus

[morningglory]

9. Sickle Cell Anemia is a genetic mutation that is the mirror

side of a genetic protection from malaria. Out of every x number of Africans, x number are immune to malaria, a killer,and one will have sickle cell trait.

[Baconfoot]

10. You are quite correct.

Nothing in my post denies this. You completely miss the point of my post if you think that your response is necessary or relevant.

[NickB79]

22. That "weakness" you call sickle cell anemia stops malaria

People of African descent that are heterozygous for the trait (that is, they carry one gene for sickle-cell and one for normal blood cell formation) are substantially less likely to die from malaria, which is prevalent in virtually every tropical and subtropical region of the world. Not only has it not been bred out of existance through natural selection, but it has spread far and wide over the past 500 yrs as slaves were taken from Africa with beneficial effects for those carrying the trait.

[RealLifeNM]

24. Fragile?

Do you think that black people of more fragile genetically? If so, I cant think of a more demeaning thing to say.

[Igel]

30. I saw speculation once that African-Americans are more

likely to have sodium-sensitive high blood pressure, and are more susceptible to it than West Africans (where their genetic stock originated). One possible explanation was the Middle Passage. Another was work conditions in the American South. In both cases salt would have been in short supply, and survival would have been aided by retaining sodium; take away the harsh conditions, give people lots of food containing salt ...

In other words, both sickle cell and sensitivity to sodium are genetic adaptions (just like many Mesoamerican indigenous tribes are very susceptible to diabetes and obesity--they had few sources of starch and fat, and routinely ate plants that contain chemicals reducing the risk of diabetes).

[Blind Tiresias]

39. they are not more fragile

many african-americans have no money, so their diets are generally unhealthy, and they have no access to health care, and condoms due to a certain political party that thinks having access to decent doctors is a 'luxury'

in africa they have little access to condoms or drugs, especially during childbirth when you need medication to minimize the spread of the disease to the newborn. Also certain cultural customs cause problems too. I saw this documentary on a small bantu tribe in south africa and mozambique. 20 yrs ago they were and affluent, self-serving community. Today 1 out of 3 are HIV positive. Sickle cell anemia has to do with resistance to malaria, which is far more common in Africa.
thus you see increased incidences of HIV, most types of cancer, hypertension, heart disease, diabetes and whatever else you can name.

There are 'white' diseases too, like cystic fibrosis and crohns in jews

[TOOLZ]

6. Ask Cheney if he knew this. n/t

[ldf]

18. i don't believe there are many blacks

who don't know about aids, and how it is transmitted.

only a blind, deaf person could plead ignorance.

i think it is more of an unwillingness to accept that they are getting the "gay" disease, the same way gays get it, through sex and shared drug paraphernalia.

and before everyone jumps on me, i feel the same way about gays.

there is no reason whatsoever that a gay should become infected. we know exactly how to prevent it.

in our case it is pure stupidity, selfishness and the insane idea that it is curable, and besides everyone has it. don't want to be left out, do we?

in the case of blacks, it is some sort of disconnect between what they know it is, and what to do to prevent it, and the so-called macho black culture.

and of course, the drug use in both communities certainly doesn't help. but junkies don't think.

[depakid]

26. There are cultural issues in the black community

And public health officials recognize the problem, because it was discussed in one of my epidemiology lectures last term.

[RCPJAP]

21. There hasn't been

much attention paid to AIDS lately. We use to have public announcements about it, haven't seen any in quite some time. Haven't heard much about AIDS on the news in the past few years. Then we have our children learning 'abstinence only' in school, and we have uptight conservatives that don't want our youth learning about sex, condoms, and prevention of diseases. While AIDS is pretty much being ignored by all information sources, it's no wonder more people are getting it. Out of sight, out of mind.

[Nikia]

32. Some whites may be immune to HIV

In my moleculear biology class we discussed a paper that studied HIV infection rates and survival by race amongst several gay communties. They also were able to do a test which identified a binding site mutation. Gay men with one type of mutation were not infected with HIV at all. Another type of mutation enabled some people to get HIV, but they were surviving a long time with it. These mutations were each in about 25% of the white population, but rare in the black population. When I posted this another time, someone mentioned that the binding site is the same site for the plague and may have been an adaptation for survival during the Black Death.

[girl gone mad]

38. I"ve long thought inherent immunity must play a role..

Having lived in poor "black" neighborhoods and poor "white" neighborhoods, I find the arguments for behavioral differences uncompelling (and probably racist as well).

I hope I won't get flamed for saying it, but I also wonder what role, if any, racist testing practices play in these figures. If a result is questionable, does race play any role in the final decision?

HIV rates among the prison population, in which African Americans are disproportionately represented, could be a factor, too.

The medical community needs to take all of this into account.