Written by Gay Moore M.Ed.,RNC

Several months ago, a major drug company announced clinical trials of a medicine especially designed to treat hypertension in African Americans, thus reigniting the debate concerning African Americans and medical research.

Citing the horrors of the Tuskegee experiment, the 40 year study by the U.S. Health Service of African American men with untreated syphilis, critics warned against the dangers of institutional racism and medical experimentation.

Deep distrust in the African American community dates back to slavery and the purchase of women for experimental gynecological surgeries.

More recently, prisoners at Holmesburg Prison, Pennsylvania volunteered to test various skin preparations, many of which resulted in severe burns. The majority of the participants were African Americans who believed they used more hazardous preparations than the white prisoners.

The history of separate, but unequal, segregated medical facilities, remains a source of deep suspicion within the African American community. A 1986 nationwide telephone survey, reported in The Journal of Preventive Medicine, found that African Americans believed the medial community devalued their lives by not asking ample questions about their pain and not providing adequate information about health conditions and medicines.

African Americans die earlier than the general population. According to the 2000 Census, the average American can expect to live 76.9 years, while the average African American can expect to live 71.4 years. Among the ten leading causes of death among African Americans, according to the Center for Disease Control, are heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, kidney disease, and HIV/AIDs. The CDC states, “Factors contributing to poor health outcomes among African Americans include discrimination, cultural barriers, and lack of access to health care.”

Most clinical trials of new medicines are performed using healthy, white male subjects, however, there is a growing appreciation that differing age groups and races react differently to medications.

According to Pharma, pharmaceutical and biotechnical companies are researching 249 new medicines for diseases that are among the leading causes of disease and death among African Americans.

The need to develop effective medicines for differing populations extends to other racial groups. A study conducted by Chinese and American scientists comparing Chinese subjects and African Americans found genetic differences in the ways these two populations metabolize various drug dosages. The effectiveness of drugs used to treat cancer in genetically different populations is also the subject of research. Indeed, the Japanese government mandates testing on Japanese subjects before any drugs are permitted to enter the Japanese market.

While it may be scientifically and medically valid to develop medicines to provide better, more effective care for African Americans, bridging the gap of mistrust based on past performance will not be easy.

Pharmaceutical companies and the Federal government seek to include increased African American participation in medical research through contact with community groups. They emphasize not only present benefits, but also those to future generations.

Ultimately, such choices will come down to individual African Americans and their willingness to trust the commitment and integrity of government and private researchers to value their lives and seek to provide the most effective medicines for their needs.