fly
VOLUNTEERING FOR TV—When Newsweek Broadcasting needed a
volunteer for a diet program feature they were shooting here a couple of
weeks ago, David Hansen, the director of Environmental Services,
agreed to help. The TV feature centers on a diet kit (Inlercom, April 16,
1976) developed by Dr. Susan Schiffman, assistant professor of medical
psychology (standing). Seated across from Hansen is the TV reporter,
Norma Davidoff. Newsweek Broadcasting, which syndicates features to
65 stations across the country, also did stories on the Duke Rice Diet; on
Carolyn Cohen, biomedical engineering student who has developed a
respiratory pacemaker (Intercom, Dec. 2, 1977); and on Edith O'Neal, a
deaf laboratory technician (see photo on page 3). The'story on the rice
diet program will be used by WFMY (Channel 2) in Greensboro, but has
not yet been scheduled. The other stories have not been released to local
stations. (Pholo by Parker Herring)
i
Ehike University
Medical Center
Intercom
VOL. 25, NO. 7
FEB. 17, 1978
DURHAM, N.C.
Scientists urged to find out why men die before women
"Whenever you have a serious distortion in population, you are faced
with a potentially enormous social upheaval. The predominance of
females over males has an impact upon all our social values, our economic
system and medical services."
By David Williamson
The gap between the number of elderly
women and elderly men in the United
States continues to grow, and scientists
should spend more time to find out why, a
leading gerontologist said in New
Orleans last week.
In an interview.
Dr. Ewald W.
Busse said that if
present trends
continue, by the
year 2000 there
will lie almost
two women for
every man over
age 75, and the
imbalance will
have an increas
ingly significant impact on society.
Busse, dean of medical and allied health
education here, was in New Orleans to
discuss research on aging at the annual
meeting of the American College of
Psychiatrists.
"Whenever you have a serious
distortion in population, you are faced
with a potentially enormous social
upheaval," he said. "The predominance of
females over males has an impact upon al!
our social values, our economic system
and medical services."
Heart disease leading factor
The psychiatrist, a principal founder of
Duke's Center for the Study of Aging and
Human Development, said that 40 per
cent of the excess male mortality has been
attributed to heart disease. Roughly
another 35 per cent results from males
having higher rates of suicide, fatal
automobile and other accidents, cirrhosis
of the liver, l”ng cancer and emphysema.
The remaining 25 per cent, he said, is
due to a complex interaction between
genetic and environmental factors that
are not yet understood.
As recently as 1900, there were slightly
more older men than older women, he
pointed out, and even today, there is a
ratio of 106 newborn boys to a 100
newborn girls.
Still, the average life expectancy for
men is 68 years, while for women, it is 74
years.
More emphasis on why males die
"I Selieve we should place a great deal
more emphasis on why males die earlier
from infancy onward and try to do more
about the illnesses and behavior patterns
that affect them in particular," he said.
The differences in life expectancies
underscore the need for women to be
included in the productive work force as
proponents of the women's movement
have urged, Busse added.
, The previously accepted social patterns
of having almost all women be
housewives is no longer valid, he
explained, because there will be far too
A 15-year-old leukemia patient has
flown to Seattle this week for treatment,
and the trip was made possible by a
number of financial gifts from friends and
neighbors in North Carolina.
The treatment and its "good chance" of
success are being made possible by a
significant gift from the youth's twin
brother.
The gift is a transplant of some of the
patient's brother's bone marrow.
Referred to Duke immediately
Mitchell Royal of Vander, a small
communify near Fayetteville, was found
to have leukemia in December. He was
brought to Duke that same day.
His physician here. Dr. Joseph O.
many who cannot be housewives, but
who still require a source of financial
security.
"Most older men are married while
most older women are widowed, divorced
or have never married," he said. "There
are almost four times as many widows as
widowers, and the sex imbalance is
enhanced by the practice of men to marry
younger females."
Science should benefit society
Busse said he believes all scientists
should strive to make their work result in
beneficial applications for society by
Moore, an associate in the Division of
Hematology-Oncology, said the teenager
has a type of leukemia, acute lymphotic
leukemia, which is highly treatable.
Having a transplant from an identical
twin "provides him with the greatest
chance of cure for his disease. There are
good chances that this operation may
cure his leukemia," Moore said.
improving the link between basic and
applied research.
"Although the United States remains
the most affluent of the developed
nations in the world, it is becoming
increasingly evident that our resources
are limited," he said. "In contrast, the
wants and needs of humans are
inexhaustible.
"Therefore we cannot afford
investments whether they be in research,
production or services that will not at
some reasonable point in time contribute
to satisfying human needs." .
Doctors here decided to send Mitchell
to the University of Washington Medical
Center, which has the most experience in
bone marrow transplants.
Major obstacle overcome
A major obstacle was the family's lack
of money to pay their expenses to Seattle,
but a fund-raising effort initiated by
Beverly Rosen, Comprehensive Cancer
Center social worker, had raised more
than $9,000 before Tuesday when
Mitchell, brother Michael and their
mother Nadine Lockey left for the west
coast.
Rosen said that McE)onald's restaurant
in Fayetteville contributed $3,000 and its
(Continued on page 3)
DR. BUSSE
Family, friends rally for young leukemia victim