Page A6
March 8, 2000
— (Elje $lortlaub (ßhsertter
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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.”
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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.
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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
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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.
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