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http;//www.thec^iarlottepost.com
Ctjarlotte
THURSDAY, JUNE 8, 2006
LIFE
Section
ZN REUGION
Grace AME 2on
Church, a his
toric church in
Uptown, has
been soid.
Study finds
many have
‘Rage
Disorder’
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CHICAGO - lb you, that
angry horn-Masting tailgater
is suffering firom road rage.
But doctors have another
name for it - intermittent
explosive disorder - and a new
study suggests it is far more
common than they realized,
affecting up to 16 million
Americans.
“People think it’s bad behav
ior and that you just need an
attitude adjustment, but what
they don’t know ... is that
there’s a biology and cognitive
science to this,” said Dr. Emil
Coccaro, chairman of psychia
try at the University of
Chicago’s medical school.
Road rage, temper outbxirsts
that involve throwing or
breaking objects and even
spousal abuse can sometimes
be attributed to the disorder,
thou^ not evsyone who does
those things is afflicted
By definition, intermittent
explosive disorder involves
midtiple outbursts that are
way out of proportion to the
situation. These angry out
bursts oflen.include threats or
a^ressive actions and proper
ty damage. The disorder typi
cally first appears in adoles
cence; in the study, the average
age of onset was 14.
The study was based on a
national face-to-face survey of
9,282 U.S. adults who
answered diagnostic question
naires in 2001-03. It was fund
ed by the National Institute of
Mental Health.
About 5 percent to 7 percent
of the nationally representa
tive sample had had the disor
der, which would equal up to
16 million Americans. 'That is
higher than better-known
mental illnesses such as schiz
ophrenia and bipolar disorder,
Coccaro said.
The average number of life
time attacks p^ person was
43, resulting in $1,359 in prop
erty damage per p^eon About
4 percent had suffered recent
attacks.
The findings were released
Monday in the June issue of
the Archives of General
Psychiatry
The findings show the httle-
studied disorder is much more
common than previously
thought, said lead author
Ronald Kessler, a health care
policy professor' at Harvard
Medical School.
“It is news to a lot of people
even who are specialists in
mental health services that
such a large proportion of the
population has these clinically
significant anger attacks,”
Kessler said.
Four a couple of decades,
intermittent ecplosive disor
der, or lED, has been included
in the manual psychiatrists
use to diagnose mental illness,
though with slightly different
names and criteria. That has
contributed to misunderstand
ing and underappredation of
the disorder, said Coccaro, a
study co-author.
Coccaro said the disorder
involves inadequate produc
tion or functioning of sero
tonin, a mood-regulating and
behavior-inhibiting brain
chemical. Tieatment with anti
depressants, ineinding those
that target serotonin receptors -
in the brain, is oftei helpful,
along with behavior therapy
akin to anger management,
Coccaro said.
Most suffera:^ in the study
had other emotional disorders
or drug or alcohol problems
and had gotten treatment for
them, but only 28 percent had
ever received treatment for
No
here
Belly dancing goes from exotic to newest fitness craze
By Erica Singleton
FOR THE CHARLOTTE POST
As the women walk in the
room at Mid-East Dance by
Yasmine, they wait for their
turn on th^ hardwood floor.
They get into position, ready
to go the distance with a
belly dance. As music fills
the room, they sway their
arms gracefully and the
light sound of coins jangling
co-mingles with the drum
beats when they move their
hips. It’s not the frenzied
shaking and gyrating as
I H oily w 0 0 d
I often depicts,
I but by the end
Yasmine
I of the first
dance, every
one has bro
ken a sweat.
“Most of our
students come
at first for the
fitness dement,” said owner
and instructor Yasmine,
‘but they stay for a hobby
they stay for camaraderie.
They find that they make
fiiends.”
From the outside, Mid-
East Dance by Yasmine is
just a granite building in an
office park, but on the
inside, it’s like a dance oasis.
“BeUy dance adapts to
anyone who walks in, for
any reason they walk in,”
said Yasmine. “They find
something where it’s just all
about them, and just leave
everything else at the door.
It’s the cheapest therapy
you’ll ever pay for. When
you come in aU you think
about is drop, drop, drop,”
explained Yasmine, while
moving her hips to the
rhythm of the music.
Yasmine studied ballet,
tap and jazz for 15 years
before going to college at
Coastal Carolina
University After receiving
her degree in physical edu
cation, she found the oppor
tunities limited She
worked as a waitress, in
sales, and as aquatic direc
tor at the YMCA in Rock
Hill, before recaving the gift
that changed everything -
her first belly dancing
lessons. From there the for
mer ballroom dance teacher
Please see BELLY/2B
PHOTO/CURTIS WILSON
Professional belly dance instructor Nayna demonstrates smooth moves
for her students.
Prepare elders for hurricane season
By Chen's F. Hodges
cheris.hodgesSfhechartottepostcom
Older Americans are more
vulnerable during natural
disasters, and with hurri
cane season upon us, a new
report highlights what
should be done to keep them
safe.
Tb help decision makers at
all levels better understand
how to better protect this
population, AARP released a
report: “We Can Do Better;
Lessons Learned for
Protecting Older P^^ns in
Disasters.” The report focus
es on three broad areas
including plannir^ and com
munications, identifying
who needs help and what
kind of help, and evacuating
elders.
In a post-Hurricane
Katrina study of 280 victims
by the New York Times,
most were over age 65.
“The recent tragedies are
reminders that disasters
imperil us all, but are espe
cially serious threats to older
Americans and people with
disabilities,” said AARP
CEO Bill Novelh. “Let’s act
with resolve now to mini
mize the needless loss of life
when the next disaster
strikes.”
One of the overarching
conclusions of the report is
that integrating the needs of
vulnerable old^ people and
people with disabilities in
existing emergency ■ plan
ning efforts is paramoimt.
The report also identifies
critical chaHaiges that need
to be overcome. They
include;
• More clearly defining
“who should do what when”
among the array of organiza
tions that have responsibili
ties dmir^ a disaster.
• Providing education and
Please see SENI0RS/4B
Restaurants get help to fight obesity
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Please see ROAD /2B
WASHINGTON - Those
heaping portions at restau
rants—and doggie bags for
the leftovers—may be a
thing of the past, if health
officials get their way
The government is trying
to enlist the help of the
nation’s eateries in fighting
obesity One of the first
things on their list: cutting
portion sizes.
With burgers, firies and
pizza the Ibp 3 eating-out
favorites in this country
restaurants are in a prime
position to help improve peo
ple’s diets and combat obesi
ty At least that’s what is rec
ommended in a government-
commissioned report
released Friday
Ihe report, requested and
funded by the Food and
Drug Administration, lays
out ways to help people
manage their intake of calo
ries finm the growing num
ber of meals prepared away
firom home, includir^ at the
nation’s nearly 900,000
restaurants and other estab
lishments that SQTve food.
‘We must take a serious
look at the impact these
foods are having on our
waistiines,” said Penelope
Slade Royall, director of the
health promotion office at
the Department of Health
and Human Services.
The 136-p^e report pre
pared by The Keystone
Center, an education and
public group based in
Keystone, Colo., said
W'
fe ffl«« teoinc#
Cewm M IftiwOT toiM
The legacy
of sickle
cell disease
Septemb^ has been designat
ed as National Sickle Cell
Awareness Month. There are
more than 70,000 Americans,
primarily Afiican Americans,
who suffer fiom this disease.
Many important advances have
., been made over the past 50
years in both the diagnosis and
management of sickle cell disor
ders. Many myths about the
disease persist, however, and
treatment remains vmavailable
or suboptimal in many
cases.The term ‘siclde cell dis
ease’ (SCD) refers to a group of
inherited disorders of hemoglo
bin (Hb) production.
Hemoglobin is a protein in the
blood that carries oxygen.
Sickle disorders are found
throughout the world, in Afiica,
India, the Mediterranean
(including Tbrkey and
Lebanon), the Caribbean, and
South and Central America. It
is foimd most often in people of
Afidcan ancestry and its migra
tion to many of these areas fol
lowed the paths of the slave
trade beginning in the mid-
1600s.
The four most common types
of sickle cell disease are; Sickle
Cell Anemia, Hemo^obin SC
disease and the Hemoglobin. _
thalassemias (HbS _-i- and _0
thalassemia). If you or a Family
member have sickle cell dis
ease, it is important to know
what type it is. The type can
affect the severity of the condi
tion as well as how it can be
inherited. All forms of sickle
cell disease are characterized:
1) by the production of abnor
mal hemoglobin, 2) a low blood
comt (anemia),, and 3) acute
and chronic tissue damage due
to vasculai’ obstruction.
Many parents are surprised
when they learn their child has
SCD. They are often unaware
that they and ffieir partner
carry the gene for SCD, known
as sickle cell trait. One in every
8 Afiican Americans is a carrier
of sickle trait, and the trait
itself usually has no symptoms
at all. Both parents must pass
on the trait for a child to be bom
with the disease. If each parent
has the silent trait, there is a 1 •
in 4 chance with each pregnan
cy tiiat the child will receive
both traits and be bom with
SCD. There is a chance that
the child wUl themselves be a
carrier of the trait.
Newborn screening, in the
form of a blood test, is now
mandatory in 44 states and vol
untary in 6 states, irrespective
of race. Newborn screening can
also determine whether a child
has been bom with the silent
sickle cell trait. Because new
born screening was available in
fewer than 14 states as late as
the 1970’s, many people
remain unaware of their own
sickle cell gene status.
Detecting the disease early
allows families to obtain com
prehensive pediatric manage
ment, including the use of daily
penicillin to prevent life-threat
ening infections during infancy
and childhood.
Pain is the hallmark of SCD.
As the sir^e most common
dinical sign and most Sequent
cause of hospitalization, it often
interrupts the lives of those
with SCD without warning.
The fiequency with which a
person with SCD has painful
episodes varies widely. Most
persons with SCD will have
pain requirii^ medical inter-
See RESTAURANTS/4B
See PAIN/3B