J Natl Med Assoc
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Comparative Study
Anatomical and profile analysis of the female black American nose.
An anatomical and anthropometric study was conducted that compared nasal pyramid measurements of Negroid with Caucasian skulls and surface measurements of black with Caucasian controls. Eight external surface measurements were used to develop a classification system to show the range of the female black American nose. This classification will be described along with the range of measurements on which it is based. This classification may provide a better understanding of the anatomic characteristics of the normal variation of Negroid noses, and thus improve the surgeon's ability to evaluate black patients for rhinoplasty.
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Empirical observations suggest a preponderance of cases of sporadic Alzheimer's disease among whites relative to blacks. If true, this might indicate a genetic basis for non-familial Alzheimer's disease. Among 6,000 consecutive autopsies performed at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, 242 adults with dementia were identified. ⋯ Among the remaining 144 cases, the proportions of whites and blacks were similar, yet the frequency of Alzheimer's disease was 2.6 times higher among whites (P = 0.001), dementia due to Parkinson's disease was more frequent among whites (P = 0.05), and the frequencies of multi-infarct dementia and dementia due to chronic ethanol abuse were higher among blacks (P = 0.004 and P = 0.007, respectively). Moreover, in brains from neurologically intact controls, incidental histologic lesions of Alzheimer's disease were observed more frequently in whites than blacks (P = 0.01). These findings provide a strong argument in favor of genetic transmission of sporadic Alzheimer's disease.
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Comparative Study
High density lipoprotein cholesterol as a determinant factor in coronary heart disease in Africans.
A study of the lipid profile of 200 normal Nigerian subjects (Group A) shows a steady increase in the total cholesterol and triglyceride values with increasing age in both sexes, while the high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and percent HDL cholesterol values show a steady decrease with increasing age in both sexes. A similar study of 160 patients with high-risk factors (Group B), ie, patients with hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cigarette smokers, and obese patients, shows significantly higher values of mean triglyceride than in the normal subjects (P less than 0.001). The HDL cholesterol and percent HDL cholesterol values are significantly lower in the high risk patients than in the normal subjects (P less than 0.001). ⋯ These values were also found to be significantly lower in Group C patients than in Group B patients (P less than 0.01). A comparison of the lipid profile of normal Nigerian subjects with those of black Americans shows that the total cholesterol values of normal black Americans are significantly higher than those of normal Nigerians of comparable age and sex (P less than 0.001). Although there is no significant difference in the HDL cholesterol values of both black American and Nigerian males and females, the values of the percent HDL cholesterol of black Americans are significantly lower (P less than 0.01) than those of Nigerians of comparable age and sex.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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Current opinions regarding the prevalence of coronary artery disease in black Americans are conflicting. Some physicians believe that the prevalence of coronary artery disease in black Americans is less than that in the general population; some find no difference; still others argue that the high prevalence of risk factors, such as hypertension, should result in a higher prevalence of coronary artery disease in black Americans. This article will not attempt to resolve these conflicts but instead will review some of the medical literature that may have influenced prevailing opinions.
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The Food and Drug Administration in its efforts to facilitate the drug approval process so that promising treatments may be offered to seriously ill or dying patients has established an innovative regulation, commonly known as the Treatment Investigational New Drugs (TIND). The benefits of this new policy should prove to be particularly appealing to black Americans. ⋯ Until then, the utilization of the TIND may prove to be one of the most significant influences in the advancement of our health care. Barriers to the use of the TIND regulation in the black community must be addressed as well.