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The reality of eating disorders
MTV stars discuss solutions, give inspiration
By: Shanna L. Rasmussen
Veronica Portillo talks about her past experiences and how she learned from them.
12/1/2005 - Star struck students sat wide-eyed in the Edgerton as two ex-cast members from the reality MTV shows "The Real World" and "Road Rules" came on stage to talk about body image and eating disorders.
The Edgerton Center for Performing Arts was almost completely full on Nov. 17.
About 700 students took advantage of the opportunity to learn about the pressing issues of body image among young people as well as see two TV stars up close. "It kept [students] interested," said Kaitlin Mullins, sophomore, Dumont, N.J.
Amaya Brecher and Veronica Portillo, two ex-cast members from MTV's hit reality shows "The Real World" and "Road Rules" known only by their first names on the show, lectured students as a part of a lecture series sponsored by Student Affairs.
This was the last lecture of the series this semester.
Each of the speakers had personal experiences with body image and eating disorders.
"[When I was younger] my ex-boyfriend decided my nickname should be 'Chubby'," said Brecher, "I decided that if I consumed some food and threw it up I wouldn't gain weight."
Brecher described her college life as a student at UCLA when her eating disorder started. She lived in a sorority house where she felt the need to compete for beauty.
"Everyone [at UCLA] was skinny," said Brecher.
Brecher gave the audience a dose of reality when she explained the long-term damages her body suffered because of her bulimia.
Brecher's esophagus was damaged from the years of purging and it will never heal on its own. "I'll probably need to get surgery," said Brecher.
Although she has her eating disorder under control today, she is still haunted by her old habits. Brecher can't forget the feelings she used to have.
"It's like alcoholism, it never goes away," said Brecher, "I still to this day have issues, but I need to control them."
Veronica Portillo also had an eating disorder in the past.
Portillo, who told the audience she developed at a young age, always felt pressured to be sexy.
She was uncomfortable with the attention she received so she tried to lose weight in order to lose the parts of her body that drew attention.
As Portillo lost weight she received positive attention.
"I would lose weight and get the 'Oh, you look so good,' sort of thing," said Portillo, "The way I was achieving that [weight] was very unhealthy."
Portillo took the now banned from the market diet pill Fen-Phen and would use laxatives, throw up and starve herself to keep the weight off.
On a good day she would eat maybe just one small meal.
Portillo also had a boyfriend who made her feel bad about her body.
"My boyfriend told me my butt looked big," said Portillo, "I know sometimes people say things about people's weight, but it stays with them. Their words can be hurtful for years."
Brecher and Portillo showed a PowerPoint presentation to the audience with some examples of unrealistic beauty in the media.
Barbie was the first on the list. The women explained that if Barbie was a real person she would have to be six feet tall and weigh 101 pounds in a size four while the average American woman weighs 160 pounds and is between a size 11 and 14.
Brecher and Portillo spoke about several movie stars that are influenced by the negative attention they receive in the media.
Among the many stars that have been in the eye of the media because of their weight are Lindsay Lohan, Hillary Duff and Kirstie Alley, all of whom have been criticized for being under weight and ridiculed in the news for being over weight with pictures of them eating.
"If you want to eat a big old sprinkle cupcake then you should be able to whenever you want," said Brecher.
Brecher and Portillo also noted a positive example in the media from 2005. The recent Dove hygiene product advertisements have featured women of all body types.
Another common problem in Hollywood is the growing popularity of doctored images. Computer programs are used to change images in order to make people look slimmer and change their features.
Kate Winslet was furious to find out that her spread in GQ Magazine was doctored so she was made to look a foot taller and much slimmer. She is adamant about promoting herself in her natural form.
Brecher and Portillo were sure to mention that men may also suffer from eating disorders. About one out of ten people with eating disorders are men. "It's not just women," said Portillo. "It is possible for men to have anorexia or bulimia."
Students were involved throughout the lecture. The majority of the crowd responded when they were asked to participate through cheering or clapping.
"Overall it was good because it was [about people] who students look up to," said Jocelyn Novella, the assistant director of counseling at Sacred Heart, "I think this is really a good thing."
After Brecher and Portillo finished their presentation students were free to ask questions about their time on "The Real World."
Students were excited to talk to the reality stars and they responded respectfully to the presentation. "Love yourself," said Brecher, "It's the only body you have."
Four Ambrisentan Studies to Be Presented at Chest 2006 -- Salt Lake City
BIOWIRE
Oct 10 2006 - Myogen, Inc. (Nasdaq: MYOG), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of small molecule therapeutics for the treatment of cardiovascular disorders, today announced that four abstracts describing the effects of ambrisentan in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and healthy volunteers have been selected for presentation at CHEST 2006, the scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), to be held Oct. 21-26, 2006, at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Myogen expects to submit the ambrisentan New Drug Application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the fourth quarter of 2006.
Ronald Oudiz, M.D., will present "ARIES-1: A Placebo-Controlled, Efficacy and Safety Study of Ambrisentan in Patients with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension." This abstract has been selected for publication in CHEST and for oral presentation at a session titled "Pulmonary Vascular: Pulmonary Hypertension," Convention Center 255 D, on Tuesday, Oct. 24, 2006, from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. (Mountain). Dr. Oudiz is Director of Pulmonary Hypertension, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, and was a principal investigator for the ARIES-1 study.
Three additional abstracts have been selected for publication in CHEST and for poster presentations on Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2006, from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. (Mountain), in the Exhibit Hall.
Michael McGoon, M.D., will present "Ambrisentan Rescue Therapy in Patients with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Who Discontinued Bosentan or Sitaxsentan Due to Liver Function Abnormalities." The results of this study and long-term follow-up will be presented. Dr. McGoon is Professor of Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, and is a principal investigator for this AMB-222 study.
Michael Gerber, M.D., will present "Ambrisentan Has No Clinically Relevant Effect on the Pharmacokinetics or Pharmacodynamics of Warfarin." Dr. Gerber is Senior Vice President of Clinical Development and Regulatory Affairs at Myogen.
Christopher Dufton, Ph.D., will present "Ambrisentan Has No Clinically Relevant Pharmacokinetic Interaction Between Ambrisentan and Sildenafil." Dr. Dufton is Associate Director of Clinical Science at Myogen.
About Myogen
Myogen has two product candidates in late-stage clinical development: ambrisentan for the treatment of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and darusentan for the treatment of patients with resistant hypertension. Myogen and GlaxoSmithKline have entered into a global PAH collaboration in which Myogen has marketing and distribution rights to GlaxoSmithKline's Flolan(R) (epoprostenol sodium) for Injection in the United States and GlaxoSmithKline has licensed ambrisentan from Myogen for all territories outside of the United States, where Myogen retains exclusive rights. Myogen also conducts a target and drug discovery research program focused on the development of disease-modifying drugs for the treatment of chronic heart failure and related cardiovascular disorders. Please visit Myogen's website at www.myogen.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve significant risks and uncertainties, including statements relating to ambrisentan clinical data and expected timing of submission of the ambrisentan NDA. Actual results could differ materially from those projected and the Company cautions investors not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this release.
Among other things, the results of Myogen's prior clinical trials of its product candidates, including ambrisentan, do not necessarily predict the results of future clinical trials. Preliminary results may not be confirmed upon full analysis of the detailed results of a trial. There can be no assurance that Myogen's product candidates, including ambrisentan, have better safety profiles than competing products, including a lower incidence of liver toxicity or liver toxicity that is not dose dependent. Among other things, Myogen's results may be affected by competition from other pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, Myogen's ability to successfully develop and market its current products, difficulties or delays in its clinical trials, regulatory developments involving current and future products and its effectiveness at managing its financial resources. If the Company's product candidates, including ambrisentan and darusentan do not meet the safety or efficacy endpoints in clinical evaluations, they will not receive regulatory approval and the Company will not be able to market them. Even if Myogen's product candidates meet safety and efficacy endpoints, regulatory authorities may not approve them, or the Company may face post-approval problems that require the withdrawal of its products from the market. If the Company is unable to raise additional capital when required or on acceptable terms, it may have to significantly delay, scale back or discontinue one or more of its drug development or discovery research programs.
Additional risks and uncertainties relating to the company and its business can be found in the "Risk Factors" section of Myogen's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005, and Myogen's periodic reports on Form 10-Q and Form 8-K. Myogen does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in the anticipated presentation as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The company cautions investors not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release or the presentation. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual events and results may differ materially from those projected.
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