MJoTA (Medical Journal of Therapeutics Africa)

Extract:  "Judicial principles and doctrinal approaches do change with time. They are in the large part shaped by the jurist and lawyers of that age. A classical example is the "separate but equal" doctrine laid down in the 19th Century in PLESSY v FERGUSSON (1896) where the United States Supreme Court held that that the 14th Amendment to the United States constitution was not applicable to a black man. The court held that civil rights did not appertain to him despite the high reaching universal statements in the declaration of independence and the US constitution. Justice Henry Billings Brown of the United States Supreme Court speaking for the majority stated as follows: "That [the Separate Car Act] does not conflict with the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery...is too clear for argument...A statute which implies merely a legal distinction between the white and colored races -- a distinction which is founded in the color of the 2 races, and which must always exist so long as white men are distinguished from the other race by color -- has no tendency to destroy the legal equality of the 2 races...The object of the [Fourteenth Amendment] was undoubtedly to enforce the absolute equality of the 2 races before the law, but in the nature of things it could not have been intended to abolish distinctions based upon color, or to enforce social, as distinguished from political equality, or a commingling of the 2 races upon terms unsatisfactory to either". ......click to download entire article

New York Governor Paterson

David A Paterson JD, New York's 55th Governor, was sworn into office in Albany, the capital city of New York State, on March 17, 2008.

In 1985 Governor Paterson was elected to represent Harlem in the New York State Senate. In 2003, he became the first non-white legislative leader in New York's history when he was elevated to Minority Leader of the Senate.

In 2004, Governor Paterson, who is legally blind, was the first visually impaired person to address the Democratic National Convention and in 2007, he was New York's first African- American Lieutenant Governor.

Governor Paterson was born May 20, 1954 in Brooklyn, New York to Portia and Basil Paterson, the first non-white Secretary of State in New York and the first African-American Vice-Chair of the National Democratic Party.

Governor Paterson is trained in history (BA, Columbia University, 1977) and a law (JD, Hofstra Law School, 1982).

Summarized by MJoTA Staff from http://www.state.ny.us/governor

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Dr Nkechi Agwu: President of American Association of University Women New York City Chapter

"When I think of AAUW NYC Branch I see 125 years of visionary women who struggled to advance equity for women and girls, advocating for human rights and civil rights in the process.  I see a branch with tremendous potential to shape the future of this great land and our world in nurturing and grooming the leaders of tomorrow." So said the president of the New York City branch of the American Association of University Women, Dr Nkechi Agwu.

On July 1st, 2009, Dr Nkechi Agwu made history in New York City, when she became the first PhD mathematician to became president of the American Association of University Women New York City. Her predecessors have included many accomplished women, and members of the branch house include Eleanor Roosevelt, Lily Ledbetter, and Virginia Fields, but AAUW jumped fully into the 21st Century and beyond with its election of Dr Agwu, who is also its first president who is an immigrant from continental Africa.

Last year, I walked into the brownstone house owned by the NYC branch when leaves were falling from Manhattan trees, and the first person I saw was a bespectacled 10-year-old African boy working on his homework. My spirits lifted even further - you have to see the house to understand how just walking through the door makes you feel good - and I immediately decided to become a member of AAUW. An organization where immigrants are welcomed is my kind of organization. The young boy is the son of Dr Nkechi, and he comes from a long line of scholars. Dr Nkechi's mother, Mrs Europa Wilson-Agwu has the bearing and eloquence of the school-teacher she once was, and even now, she weekly trains high school and college students in mathematics with Mr Samuel Sackeysio at the brownstone at 111 East 37th Street which is owned by the New York City branch. And was bought with involvement of Mrs Eleanor Roosevelt in 1949.

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FDA Warns of Risks with Unapproved Use of Malaria Drug Qualaquin

Serious side effects reported when used to treat or prevent night time leg cramps

The United States Food and Drug Administration today warned that the unapproved use of the malaria drug Qualaquin (quinine sulfate) to treat night time leg cramps has resulted in serious side effects and prompted the manufacturer to develop a risk management plan aimed at educating health care professionals and patients about the potential risks.

Qualaquin is not FDA-approved to treat or prevent night time leg cramps.

A review of reports submitted to the FDA’s Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS) between April 2005 and Oct. 1, 2008, found 38 United States cases of serious side effects associated with the use of quinine, the active drug in Qualaquin.

Quinine use resulted in serious and life-threatening reactions in 24 cases, including low level of platelets in the blood (thrombocytopenia), and hemolytic uremic syndrome/thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, a blood disorder that results in clots in small blood vessels around the body that can be accompanied by kidney impairment.

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