Good Health Is Essential To The Good Life.

As we stand on the threshold of the new Millennium, more Black people than ever Before are poised to enjoy "the good life".

After earning several college degrees, spending countless hours in professional workshops and networking, putting in 50+ hours in a work week, many Black people have earned the rewards of their hard work in striving for the good life"-more money, more political influence, higher on the social register, respected, admired, powerful. They are envied pictures of success with all the accoutrements-fine clothes, beautiful homes, exotic automobiles, gourmet food, financial investments and the like. And yet, in spite of considerable and increasing wealth and more education, too many of Black "good-lifers" are dying prematurely before they can truly enjoy the fruits of their labor. Although alert and responsive to career and financial opportunities, all too often Black "good-lifers" access the healthcare system and make time for health in an episodic and crisis-oriented fashion. The stresses and demands of managing and maintaining "the good life" have caused too many of us to replace attention to a healthy diet, moderate exercise, and spirituality with too much rich food, too many alcoholic beverages, no exercise, and no time for health screenings. Historically, poverty has been the explanation for poor health. There is no doubt that lack of access to quality healthcare and the lack of adequate health insurance are major obstacles of the under-served representing about 30% of African Americans in this nation. However, the "poverty=poor health" equation does not explain the deplorable health outcomes of almost 70% of African-Americans who have health insurance. A recent survey conducted by Morehouse School of Medicine and New America Wellness Group, revealed that lifestyle, cultural attitudes and traditions play a significant role in health outcomes.

Studies have shown that a diet high in fruits and vegetables and low in fat and reducing stress are associated with lower risk of a number of diseases. Regular health screenings are critical to early detection which can reduce the extent of the treatment needed, extend life and improve the quality of life.

The health crisis in Black America is real and it cuts across all socioeconomic levels. It doesn't matter if you are a Medicaid recipient or a "good-lifer", being Black is a risk factor for a number of life- threatening illnesses.

With respect to a number of health status indicators, statistics for Blacks have significantly lagged behind the total population.

Although life expectancy has improved for all sectors of the population over the course of this century, it is still lower for Blacks than for others: 73.2 years for white males, 73.9 years for black females. In almost every chronic disease category, African-Americans are disproportionately afflicted.

Hypertension affects nearly 6 million African- American men and women. Untreated hypertension kills approximately 60,000 more African-Americans than white Americans do each year. Among blacks, high blood pressure starts earlier, progresses faster and is more severe. When uncontrolled, high blood pressure can cause kidney failure, stroke and heart disease-all of which occur more frequently in African-Americans than in whites.

Commonly referred to as "sugar", diabetes is a serious disease in the African-American community. Nearly 6% of African-American men and almost 8% of African-American women have diabetes-and half don't know it. Among African-American women, diabetes is at epidemic proportions-with one in four Black women-ages 55 and older having the disease. Annually, the African-American community faces 9,000 reported cases of foot and leg amputations, 3,625 cases of reported kidney failure and approximately 6,300 reported cases of blindness.

Black Americans are diagnosed with cancer and die from it more often than any other group. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among Black women, exceeded only by lung cancer. Colon and rectum cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death among African-American men and African-American men have the highest rate of prostate cancer in the world.

Although stabilizing in the gay white population, the incidence of HIV infection and AIDS is growing at an alarming rate among African-Americans. AIDS is the leading cause of death among African-Americans between the ages of 25-44. African-American women accounted for 60% of the AIDS cases in 1997 and African-American children accounted for 58% of the pediatric AIDS cases in the United States as of December 1997.

The poor health status and health outcomes of Black Americans have only been exacerbated by the tumultuous changes in the nation's healthcare delivery system. In many instances, these changes have fueled the healthcare crisis in the Black community. We strive for the day when all Americans have access to quality, affordable, culturally competent healthcare-and many committed African-American healthcare professionals are on the frontlines of the healthcare reform battlefield. However, it is more important than ever before that we individually make time to take charge of and control our own health. While you are striving for "the good life", improve your eating and exercise habits, visit your doctor regularly for health screenings, and find ways to reduce stress. Know your body, investigate your family's health roots-as tenaciously as you monitor your career, monitor your health-and live to enjoy "the good life" as we enter the new millennium and beyond.

RELATED ARTICLE: Agouron Pharmaceuticals

Agouron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is an integrated pharmaceutical company committed to discovery development, manufacturing, and marketing of innovative therapeutic products engineered to inactivate proteins playing key roles in cancer, AIDS, and other serious diseases. At Agouron, state-of-the-art molecular biology, x-ray, crystallography, organic synthesis, biochemistry, computational chemistry, and combinatorial chemistry coverage on the challenge of drug design and discovery.

A powerful HIV protease inhibitor-the first commercial therapeutic to emerge from Agouron's drug design technology-earned FDA approval in 1997 for use in treating HIV infection in adults and children. Agouron's HIV protease inhibitor has garnered the highest share of the over $1 billion annual protease inhibitor market, and has been approved for marketing in over 42 countries worldwide.

Developing new compounds that improve upon the safety efficacy, and resistance profiles of available treatments is important in the evolving area of HIV infection. Agouron has addressed this need with strategic alliances. Agouron and the Immune Response Corporation are collaborating on final development and commercialization of an immune-based therapy for the treatment of HIV infection. Agouron acquired the rights to develop and commercialize a second-generation non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) from Shionogi & Co. Ltd. of Japan, and a novel HIV protease inhibit or from Japan Energy Corporation.

AG3340, a matrix metalloprotease inhibitor demonstrating potent anti-angiogenic and anti-metastatic properties is in Phase III clinical trials in combination with the anticancer drugs paclitaxcl/carboplatin for the proposed treatment of non-small cell lung cancer, and with mitoxantrone/prednisone for the proposed treatment of hormone-refractory prostate cancer. AG3340 is also undergoing phase II clinical trials for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in the elderly.

Agouron's rhinovirus 3C protease inhibitor AG7088 is in human clinical trials for the proposed treatment of the common cold. That is encouraging news, especially for the millions of people who suffer from underlying pulmonary diseases like asthma or emphysema.

Rounding out Agouron's pipeline are more than a dozen diverse programs for treatment of cancer, AIDS, and other serious diseases.

RELATED ARTICLE: Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America 

Adding New Treatments In The Nation's Medicine Chest

Every year, pharmaceutical companies add new drugs to the nation's medicine chest. Here are a Few of the new treatments added in the past year that will be very valuable in meeting the healthcare needs of African Americans.

* Three new medicines For AIDS and AIDS-related conditions. African Americans have higher rates of AIDS and HIV infection than the general population.

* A new drug for asthma, which is on the rise, particularly in the African American community.

* Four new medicines to fight cancer. African Americans are more likely to develop cancer than white Americans, have lower survival rates and are about 30 percent more likely to die of cancer than whites.

* Six new medicines For heart disease. The death rate from heart disease is nearly 50 percent higher for African American men than for white men and 67 percent higher for African American women than for white women.

* A new medicine for glaucoma, which occurs six to eight times more often among African Americans than among whites.

How do these breakthroughs get to your medicine chest? Through investment in pharmaceutical research. It costs an average of $500 million to research and develop just one new medicine, so drug companies are investing $24 billion in R&D this year alone. They are able to do this because the U.S. environment recognizes the importance of free market incentives. It's no accident that the lion's share of major drugs are developed here, rather than in Europe or Japan where price controls are the rule. This is something we need to keep in mind as we consider new policies, such as Medicare reform: free-market incentives can keep the cures and breakthroughs coming, helping meet healthcare needs and, by keeping people out of hospitals and nursing homes, controlling healthcare costs.

--Larry Lucas

Larry Lucas is Associate Vice President of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America