Improving women's health through biomedical and behavioral research : hearing before the Committee on Labor and Human Resources, United States Senate, One Hundred Third Congress, first session ... January 11, 1993 (Boston, MA)

68 Pages·1993·2.9 MB·English

by  United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Labor and Human Resources

' IMPROVING WOMEN'S HEALTH THROUGH
BIOMEDICAL AND BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH
\A
GOVDOC
Y4.Lll/4:S.Hrg.
lOj* -6/7 HEARI
OPTEA
COMMITTEE ON
LABOR AND HUMAN RESOURCES
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED THIRD CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
ON
EXAMINING CRITICAL ISSUES OF EMPLOYMENT IN TERMS OF OVERALL
HEALTH POLICY ESSITES, BUT TO RECOGNIZE THE SINGULAR OPPOR-
TUNITY THAT EXISTS TODAY IN THE AREAS OF RESEARCH AND ALSO
TO FURTHER IDENTm' FOR THE NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS AREAS
AND GAPS WHICH HAVE EXISTED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF BASIC
RESEARCH AND CLINICAL RESEARCH INVOLVING WOMEN IN OUR SO-
CIETY
JANUARY 11, 1993 (BOSTON, MA)
Printed for the use ofLhe Committee on Labor andHaman Resourees
U.S. OOVERNMENT PRINTINC OFHCE
81-943CC WASHINGTON :1983
Forsaleb>theL.S GovemmeniPnntingOffice
SupcnniendcniofDocuments.CongressionalSalesOfHce.Washington.DC 2(M02
ISBN 0-16-044659-7

' IMPROVING WOMEN'S HEALTH THROUGH
BIOMEDICAL AND BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH
GOVDOC
Y4.Lll/4:S.Hrg.
HEAR!
OPThB
COMMITTEE ON
LABOR AND HUMAN RESOURCES
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED THIRD CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
ON
EXAMINING CRITICAL ISSUES OF EMPLOYMENT IN TERMS OF OVERALL
HEALTH POLICY ISSITES, BUT TO RECOGNIZE THE SINGULAR OPPOR-
TUNTTY THAT EXISTS TODAY IN THE AREAS OF RESEARCH AND ALSO
TO FURTHER IDENTm' FOR THE NATIONAL CONSCIOUSNESS AREAS
AND GAPS WHICH HAVE EXISTED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF BASIC
RESEARCH AND CLDHCAL RESEARCH INVOLVING WOMEN IN OUR SO-
CIETY
JANUARY 11. 1993 (BOSTON, MA)
Printed for the use ofLhe Committee on Labor and Haman Resounxs
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTINC OPPICE
S1-M3CC WASHINGTON :19S3
Forsaleb>theL.S GovemmeniPnniingOffice
SupenniendeniofDocuments.CongressionalSalesOfrice,V^ashmgton.DC 2(U0Z
ISBN 0-16-044659-7

COMMITTEE ON LABORANDHUMANRESOURCES
EDWARDM.KENNEDY.MiMarhi»KU.Chairman
CLAIBORNEPELL.RhodeUUnd NANCYLANDONKASSEBAUM.Km
HOWARDM.METZENBAUM.Ohio JAMESM.JEFFORDS.Vennoot
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PAULD. WELLSTONE.MixutewU
HARRISWOFFORD.Pennaylvuua
NickLnrLCnELD,Sta/fDirtetorendChiefCounul
SUSANK.HATtAN.MtnorityStaffDirtetor
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—
CONTENTS
STATEMENTS
KHeeapnlrnyee,pdayDr.re.dHBoientm.aatdEeidmnewenat,ni.DiMre,c—toar—,V^NS-a.-t-i~S—oenna-al-t.Io-nr.s—tb~iot~u—mte-st.ho~ef~-SH~eU-at-l~et-h.o~f.~M.a~w-adiu-i•e-~t;•t-.•.• 4^
Ockene. Judith, professor ofmedicine. University ofMassadiusetts Medical
School-Dr.JeanneWei,chief,DivisionofGerontology,BethIsraelHospital
anddimrtor. DivisionofAmng.HarvardMedicalSchool;and Lynn Rosen-
Ambpaerrreogp,,arpHerodorftseetsnsasotiream,oefnaetspsiocdieamtieotporgoy~f,.esBsoosrtoofnsU—oncii~va-lerasnitd,y~brSe~ch/haovoiloroafl,—Psucbi:leincceHse,alnBt"oh's,"- 20
tonUniversitySchoolofPublicHealth;andDr.LoriLaffel.seniorphysician
investigator.JoslinDiabetesCenter,preparedstatement 32
OID

—
IMPROVING WOMEN'S HEALTH THROUGH
BIOMEDICAL AND BEHAVIORAL RESEARCH
MONDAY, JANUARY 11, 1993
U.S. Senate,
Committee onLaborand HumanResources,
Boston^ MA.
The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:00 a.m., in the
HiebertLounge, Boston University School ofMedicine, Boston, MA,
Senator Edward M. Kennedy (chairman ofthe committee) presid-
ing.
Present: SenatorKennedy.
Dr. Chobanian. Senator Kennedy, Mrs. Kennedy, Dr. Heaiy, Dr.
Silber, Commissjoner.-Kurland. Dr. Van Dunn, board members of
ourinstitutions,"faculty, special guests, staff, andfriends, on b—ehalf
of the BU medical campus and its component institutions the
School of Medicine, Boston University Medical Center Hospital,
Boston City Hospital, the Goldman School ofGraduate Dentistry
I am pleased to welcome you to these field hearings of the U.S.
Senate Committee on LAbor.andHuman Resources.
We are particularly pleased to welcome Senator Kennedy, our
outstandingand distinguished'Senator, who has been a strong sup-
porter of biomedical research. A spedisLl welcome also goes out to
Dr. Bemadine Healy, who has been.s remarkably effective leader
ofthe NIH and whohas advancedmanyimportantwomen's health
reAsetartchhisinmietidaitciavlescdaumrpiunsg,hewretehnauvree.ha' d^a lo.n.g-te•rm i.nterest in
women'shealth and in clinical andresearch programsrelated to it
These have included programs in heart disease, cancer,
osteoporosis, women's health, familyviolence, and for example, the
Framingham HeartStudywas oneofthefirstepidemiologicstudies
in the country to include women in a study population and to fol-
low themformanyyears.
I would like atthis pointtointroduce PresidentJohn Silber, who
willbringintroductory welcomingremarksfromtheimiversity.
Dr. Silber.
Mr. Silber. We are honored at Boston University to be the loca-
tion of this hearing of the Senate Committee, and we want to
thank Senator Kennedy for coming here for his presentation. And
we want to also welcome Dr. Healy. Her concerns have very much
been the concerns ofBoston University.
As many of you know, Boston University School of Medicine
merged with the Women's Medical College some years ago on its
founding, and we have admitted women and taught women as phy-
sicians from thevery start. Underthe charterofboston University,
(1)
adopted in 1869, the university was by that charter committed to
opening all divisions ofthe iiniversity to women no less than men
and also to discriminate on no basis ofsex or religion or ethnicity.
And consequently, in this medical school, we have not only grad-
uated the firstwomen physicians,butthefirstblackphysician, the
firstblackpsychiatrist, and in ourlaw school, we educatedthefirst
female judge in Massachusetts, and we have had many firsts in
medical education simply because we were integrated in terms of
sex fit)m the very founding ofthe university itselfand its charter-
ing.
Our commitment to this research in areas ofparticular concern
to women will ofcourse be made clearer by the professionals who
will testify, but there is another area that will not be on the pro-
gram today, and that is the research of Dr. Jack Murphy of our
School ofMedicine, which has led to the discovery and patenting
of the fusion toxin technology now being developed under a com-
pany that was sponsored by Boston University, Seragen. Among
the products theyaredevelopingis one in which there is the fusion
of (Uphtheria toxin with the EGF, or epidermal growth factor,
lygan, which iS a productthat we beUeve is going to be ofparticu-
lar importance in breast cancer, lung cancer, and ovarian cancer,
diseasesthatareofparticularconcernto women^-obviously,ofcon-
cern tomen aswell,butofparticularlyconcerntowomen.
This is just one example ofthe kind ofresearch that goes on at
Boston University, but more than that, it is also a demonstration
of the commitment of this university to technological transfer
whereby we move an idea out from the laboratory into commercial
production, into clinical trials, and eventually to the marketplace,
so that the fruits of medical research can be accelerated and
broughttotheAmerican publicearUer.
Also, from an economic standpoint, it is important in keeping
this technologyandthejobs thatare associatedwith ithere in this
country. This indicates some ofthe ratherinnovative developments
thathave taken place atBoston University, and our opportunity to
have you here and to let you know in more detail about the re-
search that goes on in ourfacility and tohave you visit ourfacility
is, ofcourse,agreathonorforus.
Thankyou.
Dr. Chobanian. Next, Fd like to introduce CommissionerJudith
Kurland, who brings greetings from the dty ofBoston as well as
fromBoston CityHospital.
Commissioner Kurland has been an extremely effective leader of
Boston City Hospital and, in her role as CEO ofthathospital, has
brought about the development of the magnificent new fadlitA^
which will open up in August. In addition, as head ofpublichealth
in the city, she has spearheaded the drive to improve the health
ofinnercityinhabitants.
CommissionerKurland. [Applause.]
Ms. Kurland. Itis a pleasiu-e to welcome Senator Kennedy once
again to Boston University medical campus and, on behalfof the
Mayor ofBoston and everybody at the Department of Health and
Hospitals, we are very grateful thatyou are here, as we are grate-
ful thaityouarethere inWashington takingcare ofus.