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The Battalion • Page 5
White men score higher than women on
nedical school science test, study shows
SAE
Presents
2 nd ANNUAL
AGGIE
KICK-OFF
Featuring
CHICAGO (AP) — White men score high-
than women of all races on the science
hm medical students must take to become
censed doctors, and a researcher said cul-
jiral obstacles faced by women may help ex-
Jain why.
Women also may not approach the test as
who are heir impetitively as men, the researcher said,
e Mexico-New! | a study of more than 10,000 medical stu-
>y a Border f pnts, white men generally did better on the
ong the RioGi pt than all women, even after discounting
lor differences in their undergraduate educa-
;|on and in scores on medical entrance exams.
White men also did better than men from
Ither racial groups, with Asian-Pacific Is-
, , landers being the only group where the dif-
help recover «£, ^ , i • j u j-w
alf of the misij
ection still lid
ference was not explained by differences in
Irior education, researchers reported in
1 Wednesday’s issue of The Journal of the
A K •( 'J merican Medical Association.
0 e r ® ai | The findings suggest either that the test
State 8 in th ■ ^ awec ^ ' n some wa y or that the lower-scor-
n the MeadorsF ^ ^ rou P s were deficient in the subjects on
: of any such it
nave nothing
which they were tested, said an editorial ac
companying the study.
Beth Dawson, a biostatistics professor at
Southern Illinois University School of Med
icine and the study’s lead author, said she
believes women may face cultural disad
vantages.
“What kind of family support do they
have?” she asked, adding that fewer men
than women are expected to handle tasks
around the house while in school. “They
have to get home and ... do their own laun
dry and housecleaning. And THEN they
have to study.”
Women also have fewer teachers and role
models of their gender helping them succeed,
Dawson said.
A third possibility is that women may not
strive as hard on the test because they are
less likely to seek competitive residencies
such as orthopedics and ophthalmology, for
which the test is a screening tool, she said.
In 1988, 89.9 percent of white men passed
the test, compared with 86.6 percent of Asian-
Pacific Island men; 71.6 percent of Hispanic
men; and 53.9 percent of black men.
The same year, 84.1 percent of white
women passed the test; 78.9 percent of Asian-
Pacific Islander women; 55.8 percent of His
panic women; and 44 percent of black women.
The exam — Part I of the National Board of
Medical Examiners test — deals with sciences
such as physiology, biochemistry and microbi
ology. Doctors must pass all three parts of the
test to obtain a license to practice.
The study did not explore Parts II or III,
which cover clinical skills. Previous research
indicates women do as well as men on Part
II, the authors said.
“We really don’t know the relationship be
tween performance on (Part I) and the per
formance of physicians,” Ms. Dawson said.
She added that many skills, such as ques
tioning and examining patients, have noth
ing to do with science knowledge.
of detnil about
gh I am told I
ics that have
Results show Lorenzo s oil a possible cure for patients
its whether pi
ng around Ni
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WASHINGTON (AP) —
jorenzo’s oil, the treatment made
ve those," Mad 31110118 by a movie depicting it as
medical breakthrough for a
irmation neces# 3re genetic disease, helped some
jatients when given before symp-
,oms appeared but failed to help
ithers, a study shows.
“This is the first time we have
it if the balant he statistics which seem to show
illas, that wh it does help,” said Dr. Hugo Moser
rard years ago, af the Kennedy Krieger Institute
Treatment for rare genetic disease
may help boys in early stage of illness
n Baltimore, who conducted the
te
ch were tryic study of 50 young boys.
mi a friendly,i French researchers reported
year ago that the treatment
was worthless in adults who al-
eady had developed symptoms
j of the disease. Moser’s study
' iat ' n<) con ^ ro ^ K rou P’ meaning
■that it cannot be considered de-
Jfinitive evidence of the treat-
3se tos Iment’s effectiveness.
^ The oil was effective only in
I Babout half of the 50 boys who re
fill IHli ce ' vec ^ ' 1wo b °y s cbe< ^ despite
M UpWthe treatment and the condition
r / * r-.x ! -i °f others degenerated, Moser re-
1 (AP) - Aiu* ported
md 1 anhaniieft, rp de treatment was made fa-
e opposediB
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mous by the 1992 movie “Loren
zo’s Oil,” starring Susan Saran
don and Nick Nolte as Michaela
and Augusto Odone. The Fairfax,
Va., couple helped create the sub
stance for their son, Lorenzo, who
has the disease, called
adrenoleukodystrophy.
Now, even medical journals
call the treatment, a mixture of
derivatives from natural cooking
oil, Lorenzo’s oil. The Odones say
the therapy stopped Lorenzo’s de
cline and partly reversed it so
that the once-vegetative boy, now
16, can communicate slightly us
ing hand movements.
The disease, caused by a ge
netic defect, destroys the sheath
that covers nerve fibers. Women
who carry a copy of the bad gene
may show some symptoms, but
their sons experience the devas
tating cases.
The most severe form usually
hits boys ages 4 to 8, stealing
their ability to see and speak in
as little as two years and eventu
ally killing them. The adult form
progresses more slowly.
The disease affects one or two
people in 100,000 in the United
States. A hallmark is the buildup
of substances in the blood called
long-chain fatty acids. Lorenzo’s
oil returns these levels to normal.
The theory is that these fatty
acids enter the brain and cause
inflammation that then causes
the disease’s symptoms.
But Lorenzo’s oil, despite acco
lades by the Odones and other pa
tients, was never proven to work.
Now Moser, once Lorenzo’s
doctor, has evidence it can fight
the disease’s progression if giv
en to boys before symptoms ap
pear. “1 was very dubious about
it,” he admits.
“This confirms statistically the
fact that Lorenzo’s oil is a helpful
preventive,” said Mrs. Odone. “It’s
been there all along, but hal
leluiah, they’re now seeing it.”
In the journal International
Pediatrics, to be published later
this month, Moser reported re
sults from 50 boys who have tak
en Lorenzo’s oil anywhere from
one to seven years.
Fifty-six percent have re
mained stable, including one who
started taking Lorenzo’s oil when
he was 10 years old and now, sev
en years later, is healthy, has
normal intelligence and is apply
ing to college.
It didn’t always work. Two
boys died and several others de
teriorated.
Interestingly, brain scans indi
cated worsening lesions in 14
percent who showed no physical
changes. Moser doesn’t know if
that means Lorenzo’s oil made a
difference or if the scans just
show trouble well before symp
toms appear.
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