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Show Anemia A Health Problem The World Over By ROGER SIGNOR The advertiser who drones on about blood sounds especially suburbia, land of the opulent juaint-isupermarkets. But hematologists students of that (vondrous substance, blood have good reason! to believe that in the major cause of anemia among affluent Americans, as well as among people ivith'the lowest incomes and most meager food budgets. Leading hematologists such as Dr. Carl Vi Moore, chairman of Washington Universitys department of medicine, St. Louis, estimate that at least 100 million persons in the world are ill from n - as. anemia. It isnt a dramatic illbut it keeps people functioning at child-bearin- g cent. Current statistics on nutritional needs this country are aLmost nil and, therefore, hematologists dont know the specific iron heeds of special groups. It wasnt until two years ago that pilot nutritional surveys were begun to pinpoint nutritional needs of groups. Moore and his associates launched the first definitive study to show how much Iron is i actually absorbed from various foods. .Tiis work was summarized in reports published in 1961 and 1964. The experimentation was done by Moore, Dr. Reubenia Dubach, Dr. Elmer Brown (present head of hematology), and Virginia Minnich. It was the first research to provide a sound basis for dietary recommendations on iron needs in normal people, and in pregnancy or other special medical problems, such as bleeding due in a , low-inco- an ulcer. to is readily managed by physicians who have been equipped with basic data by medical researchers. But special groups of people may be unknowingly harming themselves through their dietary habits. Many housewives obsessed with stringent diets, for example, may be getting insufficient iron. Their problems seem rather less urgent, however, when one considers environmental factors in other groups of people. One such factor may startle some Americans who take their plentiful diets for granted. It is a reality, known to medical authorities for some time, that many chOdren and women eat dirt, clay, plaster, or consume large quantities of cornstarch, among other tinnatural dietary habits. Recent research has provided documentation that the habit is more widely practiced than commonly believed. It is almost always found among women and children who live in impoverished areas, both in the United States' and in underdeveloped nations. Compounds of magnesium are used in various antacid preparations for indigestion, so Miss Minnich gave four of her associates magnesium and iron to see what would happen. In each person, one-hagram of magnesium (the amount in a typical antacid dose) blocked iron absorption completely. Miss Minnich now plans to test the effects of various antacids themselves. If certain antacids Jo block to a high degree, they could present serious problems if taken by pregnane women or individuals with bleeding ulcers. Such Individuals develop and must take iron supplements; they also frequently take antacids, either with the iron or for digestive upsets. lf subnormal levels. In the United States, from 10 to 20 per cent of all women of age in areas such as the are Far East, where medical care is very limited; the incidence of in this group may be as high as 50 per Dr. Carl Moore launched first definitive studies of anemia. The clinical term for the habit is pica, which is derived from the Latin word meaning magpie. And, not unexpectedly, it is frequently associated with anemia. Clinicians have suspected for many years that substances such as clay and dirt may themselves cause iron deficiency, but no systematic study was done to determine whether this was true until Virginia Minnich recently undertook such a task with the help of Turkish researchers. Miss Minnichs project was launched four years ago when die was helping to set up a hematology laboratory at the University of Ankara. She saw many mothers from nearby fanning villages who brought their children to the university pediatrics clinic with the complaint that they could not be broken of the habit of eating dirt and plaster. In Turkey, plaster is essentially dirt covered with a whitewash. According simple, to the mothers, their children would often tear out large sections of walls in their huts to get at the plaster. A typical child brought to the clinic with this symptom was Demirel Berkel, age 6. She was underweight and pale. Tests showed that she was markedly deficient in iron. Demirel was hospitalized for several weeks, placed on a balanced diet and given an iron supplement During her first days in the hospital, she still non-tox- ic ... ." 1 -- S Virginia Minnich of Washington University department of medicine has been doing anemia research for many years. wanted to eat dirt, but after she was cleared of her she completely lost her appetite for it. She returned to her village, where her diet was limited, but did not resume her habit of . pica. Tests of ninety-fou- r children from Demirels region indicated that the dirtaneeating was linked to mia: 41 out of 66 children with the habit were found to be com pared to only three out of a control group of 32 children who did not eat dirt. After children such as Demirel were cured of anemia, they rarely returned to dirteating. In a second study, they examined Turkish women who eat clay (a form of pica also widespread among Negro women in the United States). In Turkey, clay is a common household item used for washing clothes and shampooing hair. Throughout the day, women pop small chunks of this talc-lik- e clay into their mouths. Some claim they do it because of nervousness, indigestion, or from habit simply acquired by mimicking their mothers. In 1965, Miss Mkmich returned to Washington University and immediately began a project to determine whether the in clay directly blocked the body. In addition to Turkish day, she obtained samples of day that were t, known to bt eaten by Negro women In Georgia and Mississippi. Another type of clay from New Mexico was induded in the test because of its unusually hard, acid consistency which Miss Minnich wished to compare with the other softer, alkaline types. Miss Minnich and 24 fellow university staff members then proceeded to test the effects of these types of clay on iron absorption by using themselves as guinea pigs. They ate five grams (about one teaspoon) of clay, then five minutes later took radioactive iron. The iron level in the subjects waste material was then measured with a radioactivity detector. It was established that the alkaline Turkish clay was the most effective in blocking iron absorption; that Georgia and Mississippi day also blocked absorption to a lesser extent, and that the hard, acid New Mexican clay had no significant effect. Because of the many variables and difficulty in getting thorough information Miss Minnich about child this of pica one in form out that points can only deduce that the habit probably anemia. contributes to But fee more detailed data gathered on strongly implicate the habit anemia in as a cause of many women. In another phase of the day research, dirt-eater- s, clay-eater- Studies also are needed to pinpoint the effect of several changing aspects ol our environment on our iron supply. For one example, Moore points to the absence of iron cooking utensils in contemporary society. Iron cooking pots, former old standbys in both homes and in food processing plants, used to contribute significant levels of iron to diets in this country. Now these utensils have been largely replaced by aluminum and stainless steel ware. Anemias may be inherited, that is, passed on from parent to child by way of an abnormal gene. Such a malfunctioning gene may affect the production or molecules. formation of hemoglobin These molecules are the main components of red blood cells and give the cells and the blood its red color. Iron takes part in biochemical events outside hemoglobin to help all cells function, but the iron in the hemoglobin molecule plays an exquisitely critical role. Hemoglobin uses iron to perform its primary role of transporting oxygen in the body. Each hemoglobin molecule has 10,000 atoms of hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur, plus only four atoms of iron. The iron is at the center of a small group of atoms that give the molecule its ability to combine with oxygen and therethroughout by enables the bodys tissues to sustain life. In order that is, pick up to function chemically the oxygen, transport it and release it molecule must be very precisely constructed and retain a special configuraoxygen-transpo- rt tion. If some slip-u- p is made in hemoglobin construction, the molecules shape will be affected and it will not function properly. In the 1950s it was found that the underlying lesion in sickle cell anemia was one abnormal chemical unit, an amino acid, among thousands and thousands of such units in the basic structure of the hemoglobin molecule. Ibis brought about a sickle shape in red blood cells, the vote of the Legislature. And, in the whose malfunctioning is fatal without extrue spirit of unenlightened public opintensive treatment. ion, it is always the lawmakers or the Sickle cell anemia is prevalent among who get the blame for causgovernor Americans and Africans. Three black raise. the tax ing decades ago, it was thought to be the Virtually every agency of state gov- only inherited anemia. all of them created in answer ernment In recent years, however, many such to some demand by die public for service hemolytic anemias have been traced is asking the upcoming Legislature for to defective Genes. more money. To provide even a portion Inherited anemias incapacitate milof that money will almost certainly lions of people in Asia and Africa, and require a boost in taxes. many thousands in this country. The best current medical hope Is to develop extenCitizens who do not want these services or who want no Increases in ser- sive clinics to detect individuals who can make themselves heard carry sickle cell and other traits, and to vices disthrough their legislators. Groups who offer genetic counseling to prevent want these services certainly will make ease. their desires known. In nutritional diseases such as anemia, there is highly effecGovernors and legislators pay taxes, which could be extended treatment tive But them. raise like not to do too. They to many people who need it. But first, they respond to the desires of the people. studies must be done to People making demands on their govern- community-leve- l the specific needs and, hopefully, ment for more services are the genesis define of almost every tax hike. Think it over. prompt action to provide treatment. Don't Blame Governor For A Tax Boost - SPEAKING OF POLITICS By M. DEMAR TEUSCHER Deseret News Political Editor There is a saying, meant to be humorous, to the effect that only two things in this world are certain death and taxes but the death rate does not go up each time the Legislature meets. A kernel of humor some truth in even lies this statement. But the implication it carries is patently unfair to both and legislators government leaders alike. public beliefs, Contrary to widely-heltax hikes are not the result of a conspiracy between the governor and the Legislature to grab off more of the taxpayers dollars. d Most tax Increases come about as the result of demands from some of several segments of the public for increased gov' ; ernmental services. In his inaugural address this week, told it like it Gov. Calvin L. Rampton is. There is no reason for the existence of government except to provide services that are requested by the people, said the governor. And people at all levels of governARE demanding services. They ment want better law enforcement, more protection against criminals, better schools, better highways, more social legislation, more and better recreational facilities and many more requests. The governor made his message very what we demand, we must pay clear for. No one else will do it for us. But this is not the message of the governor alone. The Republican leaders of the Legislature have also said the same thing time and again. It is true that not every citizen of Utah demands all of these services. Many, in fact, do not want all of them. But rare indeed is the citizen who has not demanded of his government at least one or two of them. is also true that it is the responsibility of the governor and the lawmakers, who represent people in all areas of the state, to provide programs to meet the pressing needs of the citizenry of the It state. Likewise, it is also true that citizen demand alone cannot bring about increased services and attendant tax hikes. No tax increase can be imposed without 1$ Thursday, Dr. Lawrence Wilding, associate professor of agronomy at Ohio State, collaborated with Washington Universitys hematology group by doing analyses of the clay samples to identify the chemicals that interact with iron to bring about the absorption effect. In general, he verified what he and Miss Minnichs group had guessed: that calcium and magnesium in clay (or dirt) are the critical elements. These chemicals are replaced by iron in the clay compounds, thus putting the iron in an insoluble form which the body does not absorb. iron-poor ness,' DESERET NEWS.. Eskimo Is Lobbying Against Hickei DaVinci's Life Recorded By HAROLD LUNDSTROM Deseret New's Music Editor If you would give your child an insight into the life of one of the worlds greatest artists, Leonardo da Vinci, you s h ould consider the new Enrichment Record of , die same name. This recording details the major of da aspects Vincis life and times, including rich background of Italy material the 15th during Century. The flip side of the album is a biographical history of Joan of Arc and her times in 15th Century France. Leonardo da Vinci is based on the World Landmark book of the same title by Emily Hahn and published by Random House. It recounts da Vincis boyhood experiences exploring the hills that surrounded his native town, his youthful discovery of any questions about natural phenomena, and his intimate artistic talents evidenced by the accurate, detailed sketches he showed his lawyer father. Believing that his sons future lay in the world of arts, the elder da Vinci arranged to have his son apprenticed to the artist Verrocchio in Medici-ruleFlorence. The young man spent four years there studying and learning refined d artistic techniques under this master of all teachers. But even as a youthful student da Vinci showed the breadth of his interests and became known as a man of great skill, adept at many forms of artistic expression, capable of outstanding work in many media. He also became known as a man of a multiplicity of diversified Interests. The recording describes the multilevel city envisioned by da Vinci wherein vehicular and pedestrian traffic were separated and wherein running water was used to carry away waste. The stories of many of his greatest paintings and sculptures, including Mona Li' a, The Madonna of The Last Supper, AdoratNon of the and the Rocks, are told in some detail. Never Magi, satisfied with Ms work, da Vinci always sought to achieve perfection. The recording summarizes da Vincis contributions to the study of anatomy and to the science of avionics that became available in the notebooks and sketches published after his death at the age of 67 in 1519. The record al90 describes the brilliant contributions to military science developed by da Vinci in his service to Cesare Borgia. Joan of Arc is given similar extensive biographical study on the side of the disc devoted to her life. The recording was developed from the material in Joan of Arc, by Nancy Wilson Ross and published by Random House. By, DREW PEARSON and JACK ANDERSON - An Eskimo named WASHINGTON Charlie Edwardsen, wearing a shirt but present oil strike at five to ten billion no jacket, has been calling on Senators barrels, but other estimates of the surabout the new Secretary of the Interior, rounding area go up to 40 billion barrels. There is only one white man on the Walter J. Hickei, now governor of AlasThe Eskimo has been hunting and entire north slope," explained Charlie. ka. Edwardsen wears a shirt because he on this land for hundreds of He has a liquor store at Mead River, finds it hot in Washington offices, and of fishing continued Edwardsen. Then the where he makes money selling whiskey course the weather here is a years, white man comes along and wants to to the Eskimos. lot warmer than the weather at take it because of oil. All the white man Point Barrow where he lives. Twenty years ago the Bureau of Inthinks about is oil. It was the Eskimo Point Barrow is the Alaskan town who showed the white man oil seeps in dian Affairs sent a real estate man up nearest to the North Pole. It was 1923, and after that the Navy set aside here to tell the natives that they should file for mineral rights. But the Bureau named for Sir James Barrow of Lancas- an oil reserve. didnt supply the man with any money ter, England, who financed an expedition The state of Alaska has 103 million for travel so he couldnt get around to to Alaska in 1828, Charlie explains. "Acfederal acres given it by the government tually I live at Utkavik, a fishing village under statehood. And the state selected a tell the natives of their rights. As a result, out of the total 50 million acres on near Barrow. block of land at Point Lay, down here, the north slope, the Eskimos have stakpd the Charlie Edwardsen is in Washington Edwardsen pointed to the map. Its out only a few hundred acres. Yet we to protect Eskimo land from the best polar bear hunting in the world and hunted here before Leif Ericson knew about encroachment of oil companies and to also has excellent coal deposits how to row. the confirmation of Wally 80 billion tons of coal in about 200,000 challenge When one Eskimo lady, Lucy Ahvak-ana- , Hickei as Secretary of the Interior. acres along the coast. went up to her summer fishing are Charlie said, Polar getting bears, an Edwardsen doesnt think Hickei, on the north slope last summer, camp scarcer in Alaska. oil and gas man himself, will be imparhe she found that Sinclair Oil had taken tial regarding Eskimo land. Already You hunt thm by airplane. over her shack and was using her home Hickei has announced that he would reexplained. "So you cant lo.se. You fly move the freeze which Secretary of the around until you see a bear. If you're a for storage. Sinclair had built an air which of course will scare Interior Stewart Udall has put on the disbad shot, your guide will shoot it for you. strip nearby, the all away game. tribution of land until Congress can It costs you about $2,500 per bear. The act. Hickei indicated in Seattle last month Alaskan big game guides make about How long must we sit by while that he would unfreeze government land $30,000 to $10,0000 a year through this creeping wolves sneak away our territokind of hunting. right away without waiting for Congress. ry? Charlie asked. We have fought for said Americans in foreign wars. It was an The north slope of Alaska is 58 milLet Hickei have his oil, lion acres about the size of PennsylvaEdwardsen, but we want to codec: a Eskimo who frst raised the flag on Iwo nia," explained Edwardsen. "It contains royalty on it when its taken from our Jima. We believe the land should remain some of the richest oil lands in the hunting lands. Theyll take oil the way frozen under Udalls executive order until world. Gov. Hickei has estimated the they took gold and therell be nothing the Congress has a chance to act. I V m fflii left. The v hite man makes a killing, and then he leaves. In Nome, there were 45,000 inhabitants in 1910. Now there are 2,500. Its one of the worst slums in the Arctic. MERRY-GO-ROUN- D a 3 Hu ( mu V, 1969 OUR MAM JONES Here's One That Runs On Thin Air By HARRY JONES Some guys are born with silver spoons in their mouths, but for C. R. Wells up on Colorado Street, it must have been a wrench. It may not have been a silver wrench, but it gave him a golden touch with an engine. C. R. Ray to h i s friends probably crawled out of his baby buggy as a kid in St. Louis and took off the wheels. His rompers became work overalls . . . teethed on tools. Ray has been puttering around with a certain engine that could revolutionize the auto and oil industry. Ever since he and his pretty wife, Clara, decided to come to our beautifiJ City of Salt, Ray has had the idea for an engine which operates on air . . . the kind of free fresh air you breathe here in the valley when there is no smog. Now Im no expert on mechanics . . . the gas lawnmower started and never did find the engine in the family j cant get VW. But his engine looks good to me. This much I can report. It is protected by seven patents. It operates on a regular battery. A thing called a to 110 volt. converter changes the e A power engine getting its power from the converter operates an air compressor that runs the motor and also regenerates the battery. Ray put the engine in an old auto and this is what it did. It idled for three days. He then placed the converted car on the rack at one of his three gasoline stations. He revved the motor and put it through some tests. i lt lt one-hors- lt 1 t. He figures the car when road tested will go 100 to 120 miles per hour. The only place he will be able to test it that fast is on State Street when all the teenagers are digging. The car, he says, should be able to operate chi all this fresh air for the life of the battery . , , two to three years! I run (mi a lot of hot air, and get by with it. But this engine is something else. What happens to all the gasoline stations including the three which Ray operates? Imagine Hie impact on die oil industry. We wouldnt have to worry about the government They would have taxes on fresh air long before die engine got on the market! But other industries would be in trouble too. The car has no cooling sysno no fan belts tem There is no need for sparkplugs or air no exhaust. filters no points. There is no carburetor The oil tycoons might be having convulsions, but the rest of us would be breathing the sweet fresh air that we Utahns are used to breathing. But what would happen to all our gasoline credit cards? Anyway, I just wanted to warn you well in advance . . . you guys with all the oil stocks you guys out on strike at the refineries! Ray is from Missouri and likes to be shown . . . likes to show, too. Hell be out road testing the car soon when the weather is better. Its so simple to operate he may even let Howard Pearson drive! ... ... ... anti-freez- e. i ! J ... O r1 ' ... Wit's MUSICAL WHIRL January End It was Pearson who suggested the next moon astronauts take candles and tapes of soft music get some atmos-spher- e up there! ... j iuiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnimnniniiiniinTimninuintiiiniiinimiiiiiii BIG TALK "The size of that new Social Security bite out of my paycheck is giving me an awful feeling of in- - , security!" From photo Dtseret New HKen by Uooal V. McNttly (or th popular dally Baby Birthday fwtvr uiiiiiii;iiiii!iiiii:i!iiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiim;iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiBi K b ; |