Reporter Volume 25, No.17 February 17, 1994

By LOIS BAKER
News Bureau Staff
Wanted: 3,600 postmenopausal women from Western New York willing to
help scientists learn how to reduce the risk of the major diseases
affecting older women. 
	That's the call researchers at UB will sound when they kick
off the major recruitment drive for the Buffalo portion of the $625
million Women's Health Initiative at the grand opening of the new
women's clinical center at UB Feb. 25. An open house is scheduled from
2-5 p.m. in the clinic in 65 Farber Hall on the South Campus.
 	The Women's Health Initiative, funded by the National
Institutes of Health, is the largest clinical health study ever
undertaken in the United States. Approximately 160,000 women between
the ages of 50 and 79 at 45 centers across the country will take part
in identical studies designed to investigate the causes of coronary
heart disease, breast and colorectal cancers, and osteoporosis in
older women, and to test the effectiveness of various treatments.
	UB, which was selected last March to be one of the 16 lead
research centers in the 12-year study, will receive $11 million over
the life of the project
	Headquarters for the UB clinical trials is a newly renovated
5,700-square-foot clinical center on the ground floor of Farber Hall.
The Feb. 25 open house will feature a ribbon-cutting at 3 p.m. by
President William R. Greiner and John P. Naughton, UB vice president
for clinical affairs and dean of the UB School of Medicine and
Biomedical Sciences; a presentation by Maurizio Trevisan, principal
investigator for the UB portion of the study and chair of the UB
Department of Social and Preventive Medicine; tours of the center, and
sign-up areas for women who want more information or wish to
volunteer.
	"This a wonderful opportunity for Western New York and UB,"
Trevisan said of the initiative. "We will be taking part in a
history-making study that will answer very important questions
regarding the well-being of women.
	"In addition, information we gain from the central study will
be the seed for other studies that will contribute to our knowledge of
women's health. It is also creating a number of new jobs, and more
jobs will be created as other studies are generated."
	"But this is a massive undertaking," he added, "and we will
need the cooperation of many people, particularly the women
volunteers, to make the study a success."
	The study itself will be conducted in two parts--clinical and
observational. The clinical component will involve three
investigations: 
	n A test of the effectiveness of hormone-replacement therapy
in reducing the risk of coronary heart disease and osteoporosis.
	n A study of the effect of a low-fat diet on the risk of
cardiovascular disease and breast and colorectal cancer.
	n An investigation of the effectiveness of calcium and vitamin
D supplements in reducing osteoporosis and colorectal cancer.
	In Western New York, 1,400 women will be recruited over three
years to take part in the clinical trials.
	The observational study will follow women over eight to 12
years to try to determine physiological and lifestyle factors that can
affect the health of women. Participants in this phase initially will
give detailed medical histories and then will be contacted every three
years to update their information. About 2,200 women will take part in
the observational phase 
	Women may call 829-3128 to leave their names if they are
interested in participating. 
 	Assisting in the study will be Jean Wactawski-Wende, UB
clinical assistant professor of gynecology and obstetrics; James
Marshall, UB professor of social and preventive medicine, and several
other medical school faculty interested in women's health.