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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (March 8, 2000)
Page A6 March 8, 2000 — (Elje $lortlaub (ßhsertter ■■■■■i Smarter baby milk formula sought The mental development o f babies improves significantly when infant formula is enriched with two essential fatty acids that are found in mother’s milk, a study says. Researchers at the Retina Foundation o f the Southw est in Dallas said Monday that intellectual capacity increased by about seven points among 18-month-olds who had been fed the enriched formula for four months. The study appears in the March issue o f th e jo u rn a l D ev elo p m en tal Medicine and Child Neurology. Experts said the study is important because it is the first to compare formula supplemented with the fatty acids with unsupplemented formula. Eileen Birch, researcher, Retina Foundation o f the Southwest: A very a ttu n e d m o th er m ight notice a difference, but it’s not necessarily a big one Eileen E. Birch, first author o f the study, said the research shows that adding the fatty acids can closely mimic the effect o f mother’s milk on brain development. T h e stu d y a d d s to g ro w in g international support for adding to commercial baby formula two fatty acids, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (A A), that are in breast milk. M o re th a n 60 c o u n trie s have approved supplem enting formula with DHA and AA. Officials at the Food and Drug Administration said the issue is under review and new regulations for U.S. formula makers may be issued within eight months. In the study, Birch and her colleagues divided 56 newborns into three groups and fed them different formula for four months. A control group received a commercial formula with no addition. One test group got formula supplemented with DHA, while the third group got both DHA and AA. At the end o f four m onths, all three groups began receiving only commercial formula. At age 18 months, the children were tested on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, a standard test used to gauge physical and mental progress o f infants. A score o f 100 is considered the national average for mental development. Birch said infants receiving the double supplement, both DHA and AA, sc o re d 105.6 on the m ental development index o f the Bayley Scales. She said this is virtually identical to the 106 score of a separate group o f babies, in another study, who were breast fed only. For the control group o f infants, who received commercial formula, the average score was 98. This is within the statistical range o f normal, but seven points below the average for the test group. For the group that received formula supplemented only with DHA, said Birch, the score was about 102, a statistically insignificant difference from normal. Birch said that although the infants on supplemented formula scored significantly higher than the control group, the study does not prove that there will be a similar IQ difference when the children are older. “The test is not a perfect predictor of school age intelligence,” said Birch. “It does provide a good profile o f mental development at the early stage.” Children in the study will be tested again at age 4 and 9 to determine if the enhanced early brain development translates into higher IQs among school-age children, she said. Dr. Karen K. Winer o f the National Institute o f Child Health and Human Development said the research was “a well-designed study,” but that the number o f children is too small to draw fin al a n sw e rs ab o u t supplementing baby formula. “ It is showing a trend, but we would need to do further studies to draw a definitive conclusion,” she said. Birch agreed that more research is needed before the FDA approves DHA and AA supplements for baby formula. “There are still som e im portant questions to be answered” regarding the long-term effects, she said. “There is always caution when you are adding so m eth in g to baby form ula,” said C hristine Lewis, Debt from page 1 that the entire $3.6 trillion o f the national debt held by the public could be wiped out by 2013 under current projections for budget surpluses. The rest o f the national debt is held by the g o v ern m en t’s large trust funds, primarily Social Security. In addition to the debt buybacks, Treasury has already reduced the debt held by the public by $ 140 billion overthepasttwoyearsjustbyoffering fewer new issues o f the government se c u ritie s d u rin g its q u a rte rly auctions. WhileTreasury officials initially said the government had not repurchased any debt for at least a century, they said Tuesday that further research indicated there were limited debt buybacks in the 1920s, the last ones occurring in 1930. The 1920s were the last decade in w hich th e fed eral g o v ern m en t enjoyed consistent surpluses. Then the Great Depression and World War II sent the government’s ledgers into the red. The first budget surplus in 29 years — $69.2 billion— occurredin 1998, followed by last year’ s $ 124.4 bi 11 ion su rp lu s, the first b ack -to -b ack surpluses since 1956 and 1957, w hen Dwight Eisenhower was president. The Clinton administration, which counts elimination o f soaring budget d e fic its as one o f its g reatest achievements, has argued that the most responsible thing to do with the excess cash is to reduce the national debt, putting the government on a soundef footing to deal with rising costs when the baby boom generation begins retiring in a few years. W h ile the a d m in is tra tio n and Republicans in Congress agree the su rp lu se s g e n e ra te d by Social Security payroll taxes should be dedicated to paying down the debt, they are split on how to use the non- Social Security surpluses, estimated to total $800 billion or more over the next 10 years. Republicans would like to see more money returned to taxpayers through tax cuts while the administration is proposing more modest tax cuts and greater government spending. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Archer, R-Texas, said Tuesday that the surpluses resulted from Republican efforts to restrain Clinton’s spending plans. “ I hope the White House remembers debt relief in the fall if it is tempted to c o m p la in th a t C o n g re ss is n ’t spending enough,” Archer said in a statement. Treasury officials said anyone who wants to participate in this w eek’s buyback must do so through brokers, known as primary dealers, who handle the initial sales o f Treasury securities. And the offers must be submitted by 11 a m. EST Thursday to the New York Federal Reserve. The winning offers will be announced around midday Thursday. Downtown weekend MAX closures eor T he A ssociated P ress S e v e n -w e e k -o ld D e re k B u rn s o f St. Joseph, M o., is in tro d u ced to ba b y m assa g e techniques on Oct. 6, 1997. director o f the FD A ’s office o f n u tritio n a l p ro d u c ts. “ W e are reviewing it actively, but this is a serious issue” that may take months to resolve. B arb ara L ev in e, a n u tritio n a l researcher at Rockefeller University in New York, said the Birch study “is a great, giant step” because it was a direct comparison o f supplemented and straight formula and that the use o f DHA and AA in formula "is very, very promising.” You Can Now Find Us On The Web!! P ortland O bserver Buses serve riders during Portland Streetcar construction MAX light rail train service through downtown Portland will be shutdown for Portland Streetcar construction during four weekends this spring, startingtheeveningofFriday, March 3rd. During weekends that train service is curtailed, shuttle buses will run every few minutes serving closed MAX stations between Civic Stadium and Morrison/SW 3rd Ave. Downtown MAX closure weekend Closures begin at 7:30 PM on Fridays, continuing through Sundays, with regular service resuming on Monday mornings. Dates are: March 24 through 26 April 14 through 16 May 12 through 14 The closures will allow tracks for the Portland Streetcar to be connected with MAX tracks on Morrison and Yamhill streets at 10th and 11th Avenues. Shuttle bus stops for MAX MAX shuttle buses will pick up and drop o ff passengers at temporary shuttle bus stops paralleling the MAX tracks. A stop on 9th between Yamhill and Morrison, will serve Galleria/S W 10th Ave and Library/SW 9th Ave station passengers. O ther closed downtown stations will have temporary stops conveniently located across the street from the stations. Volunteers will be on duty throughout downtown Nighttime lane closures planned for Airport MAX construction P a rtia l n ig h ttim e c lo su re s o f southbound 1 -205 near Airport Way will start Sunday, allowing Airport MAX co nstruction o f the final alignment o f the freeway barrier between the “fly-over” bridge and the Parkrose/ Summer station in the median Southbound 1-205 will remain open, however, with only the left (fast) lane closed. O n A irp o rt W ay, n ig h ttim e construction at the intersection of 82nd Ave. will narrow traffic lanes. Bechtel crew s w ill rebuild the intersection to accom m odate the stre e t-le v e l A irp o rt M A X rail crossing. However, two-way traffic w ill be m a in ta in e d d u rin g the intersection construction on both SE 82nd Ave. and Airport Way. Thursday, March 9: Same as Sunday, March 5: Partial I- 205 lane and Airport Way intersection closures. Friday, March 10: Same as Sunday, March 5: Partial I- 205 lane and Airport Way intersection closure. The limited 1-205 lane closures start at 9 PM. All lanes go back into services by 5AM T he SE 82nd A ve. in te rse c tio n construction at Airport Way starts at 9PM All lanes go back onto services by 5AM. RENTAL CAR S E R V IC E CHEVY CAVALIERS AUTOS Tuesday from page 1 Super Tuesday votes were counted. Indeed, Engler said in an interview that he thinks McCain could wind up as vice presidential nominee on a Bush ticket. “If John McCain is willing to go, I think he’s going to be right there at the top o f the list,” Engler said. Bitter rivals have run together before. But M cCain’s rhetoric could be an obstacle: His attack on two leading figures o f the Christian conservative movement backfired and hurt him on Tuesday, according to Voter News Service exit polls. That is a part o f the Republican base the party needs to hold in the fall. In the Democratic contest. Gore and Bradley both had tempered their attack tactics in the final push toward Super Tuesday, with the end in sight for the challenger. “I think competition is good for the CARGO VANS ONLY $19.95 party," Bradley said as he greeted voters in New York, where he trailed badly in home territory. Gore won Ohio, Georgia and Vermont, the first states to report their primary votes. He led comfortably in polls in the o th er eight S uper T uesday prim aries. And h e 'd turned his campaign sights from Bradley to Bush. Voter polls in Tuesday’s primary states pointed to some vulnerabilities facing Bush. One voter in three questioned w hether he had the k n o w le d g e re q u ire d to se rv e e ffe c tiv e ly as p re sid e n t, an impression reflected in prior primary polls, and one that will burden him unless he can dispel it. There also were signs that McCain may have, as he claimed, a broader a p p e a l than B ush to v o te rs Republicans will need against Gore. Nearly 20 percent o f Republican voters on Tuesday said they would support Gore over Bush, twice as many as said they would do so were McCain the nominee. Polling of Democratic voters produced the mirror image o f those opinions. G ore’s victories were built on the votes o f Democrats who said they wanted a strong, experienced leader. “This year in this election we are the party o f the mainstream," Gore said. The primaries are by no means over. There are 23 states to go, major ones including Illinois, Pennsylvania and New Jersey among them. Along with states like M ichigan and Super Tuesday'sCalifom iaandN ew York, they will be the battlegrounds in the final contest to succeed President Clinton. Advertise in pottiani» (©baerUer and on it's web page www.portlandobserver.com Call 288-0033 f / 8 PASSENGER VANS TOYOTA CAMRYS 15 PASSENGER VANS $31.95 SPECIAL RATES PROMPT PICK-UP OVER 30 YEARS OF SERVICE 408-7900 1(800)554-2322 CALL FOR IMMEDIATE PICK-UP 8444 NE COLUMBIA BLVD. I