Fraternity-Testvériség, 1961 (39. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

1961-12-01 / 12. szám

FRATERNITY

13

NEW DRUGS, NEW TREATMENT FOR OLD ILLS

All the latest news about ways of dealing with heart disease, kidney stones, diabetes and other ailments is emerging from reports just made to the American Medical Association and other major medical groups.

Given here are the developments covered in those reports.

KIDNEY STONES

Medical scientists at the University of Cincinnati developed a new chemical solvent that they said could dissolve kidney stones in as few as 15 hours. The solvent, a buffered organic acid, softens or reduces kidney stones to the point where they can be eliminated from the body.

ATHLETE'S FOOT

A pill that is “effective in curing” athlete’s foot, ringworm of the scalp and other fungus diseases was described by a group of researchers from the University of Miami. The pill contains a medication known as griseofulvin, which is made from a mold related to penicillin. Tested on 200 patients in Miami, the pill was shown to work against eight different types of fungus that attack the human body.

CHOLESTEROL

A prompt and effective way to cut the level of cholesterol in the blood was reported by two Wisconsin researchers. They said the treatment involves large doses of nicotinic acid. The lowering of blood cholesterol is believed to be a factor in preventing or arresting arthero- sclerosis. Nicotinic acid was said to have been used with only brief side effects in most cases.

DIABETES

Latest treatment for diabetes, in adults or children, is an oral drug called phenformin. After tests with 1,708 juvenile and adult diabetes patients across the country, researchers reported that the new drug gave satisfactory relief to about 70 per cent of the patients. Among milder cases, it was said to have proved a satisfactory substitute for insulin.

HARDENED ARTERIES

A new drug to relieve the crippling effects of hardening of the arteries was perfected by a team of New York researchers. They said that the drug, when administered to a group of patients suffering from hardening of the arteries, resulted in an increased ability to walk without pain in 85 per cent of the cases. The drug, isoxsuprine hydrochloride, also was said to have increased the flow of blood to the hands and feet of the 46 test patients.