MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE.
The Medical Roundup
Emtrltns ComulUnt In Medirlnt
Mayo clinic
Emtrltui Professor of Medicine
Mayo Clinic
(Regliter ud Tribune Syndicate.
1962)
Alvaraa
Acromajaly, or Glganliim
Every 10 often I see a man
who it perhaps seven feet
tall, who has a big lower
law, a big
nose, perhaps
big hands and
feet, perhaps
a coarse skin,
and a raucous
voice. For ev
ery one of
these persons
I see with a
marked form
of aprnmoDn-
ly. I see manv more with a
form so mild that many an
observant young doctor will
fail to notice it or realize
what it is.
The person may have only
an overly-wide or big nose
and perhaps a slightly over
size face. Some of these men
and women, because of their
badly proportioned faces, are
distressed because they feel
they are homely.
In these cases, what hap
pened, in childhood, was that
the little pituitary gland at
the base of the brain became
too active, and produced too
much of the "growth hor
mone." Fortunately, in all but
a few cases, the gland later
quieted down and did no more
harm. I cannot remember
when I saw one of these peo
ple who needed an operation
to remove from the gland a
little adenoma o r benigh
(non-cancerous) tumor.
With x-rays, one can show
that many of 'these people
have a large "sella turcica"
(Turkish saddle) which is a
doctor's name for a bony saddle-like
cup at the base of
the skull which contains the
pituitary gland. As the gland
enlarges, the bony "saddle"
enlarges. Years ago, my good
friend Professor Her'iert Ev
ans isolated from the pituitary
glands of dogs the "growth
hormone." On Injecting it in
to little dachshunds, he caus
ed them to grow into great
big hound-like dogs. Recently,
Dr. Li has obtained enough
of this growth hormone from
human pituitary glands to
cause some stunted boys to
grow. The sad feature is that
growth hormone made from
the pituitary glands of cattle
Is so different chemically
from that made from the
glands of men that It cannot
be counted on to help boys.
Chamisl. Working
It is greatly to be hoped
that, some day, a simple
growth - producing chemical
can be made perhaps from
the growth hormone of ani
mals a drug that will cause
boys and girls to grow taller.
Chemists now are working
hard on the problem. I hope
that a few ' hundred people
who read this will not imme
diately write me or Dr. Li
for some growth hormone to
help their child. I haven't
eny at all, and Dr. Li has only
enough for a few experi
ments. He has none to hand
out. One can easily see that
it is not easy to get pituitary
glands from people who have
just died and have not been
embalmed.
People who for long have
suffered from acromegaly
write to ask me if their faces
will start growing again, and
1 am pretty sure they -ill not.
Others write to ar'-. if their
minds will be affected, and I
see no reason for fearing that.
I am sorry that 1 know of no
treatment that will cause an
acromegalic's legs to shorten,
or his face to grow smaller
and more handsome.
Amebiasis
Many persons, and especial'
ly those who get a diarrhea
while traveling in a foreign
country, have now been found
or supposedly found, to have
amebas (a single-celled micro
scopic organism) in their bow
el. A poorly-trained or overly-enthusiastic
1 a b o r a t o ry
technician can easily make a
mistake because amebic cysts
(like tiny eggs) look some
what like the fat droplets
which are common in stools.
Also, there are several types
of amebas, and probably only
one of them causes trouble.
Also, few people, and some
of us physicians, do not know
that a person's b ols can be
full of amebas and yet he can
be perfectly healthy. I re
member a big, husky Mexi
can rancher whose sick wife,
while going through the Mayo
Clinic, talked him into getting
1 a check-up.
We found his bowel to be
swarming with almost every
ameba and worm known to
man; he was a walking me
nagerie; but he maintained
thai he felt wonderfully well;
heTiad never been illi his
life and he had never had any
diarrhea. This is why, when
I find a few of the bad ame
bas. called histolytica, in I
person's bowel, I often say to
him, "Let's kill them off
but I doubt if they are making
any of your symptoms, and
hence when you get rid of
them, you will probably be
no better off."
Cured in One Day
Many physicians, when
they see a patient with ame
biasis, feel that they should
put him in a hospital for
weeks and should keep giv
ing him "shots" of this and
that, and medicated enemas.
During my three years in
Mexico, back around 1907, I
saw many people with ame
biasis, and learned to cure
most of them in one day. I
realized that when I gave per
haps one tablet of medicine
three times a day, the ame
bas were not hit ha. . enough
by the drug; so they did not
die. So I gave six or some
time 12 tables of carbarsone
at one time. This one "wal
lop" was not big enough to
hurt the man, but that day, it
usually killed off all of his
amebas. Another thing I
learned, was that if with most
of the amebas killed off the
patient wasn't any better, his
or her troubles were not due
to the amebas and it was
up to me to find a tvw and
belter diagnosis. This is a
good thing to know.
Do you know the proper
diet for hypertension? Exact
ly what is normal blood pres
sure? D r. Alvarez answers
these and other questions in
his booklet, "High Blood Pres
sure." To obtain it, send 25
cents and a stamped, self-addressed
envelope with your
request to Dr. Waller C. Al
varez, Dept. MMT, The Reg
ister and Tribune Sjndicate,
Box 957, Des Moines 4, Iowa.
CONVERTED BY CROOKS
Moscow (UPD The newspa
per Red Star said Saturday a
military accessories factory in
Leningrad was converted by
crooks into a private plant
producing pens, folders and
shaving goods.
MEDFORD.
OREGON
MONDAY, MAY 21,
I-
9 Frr''4s s
t
mw
m
YIKESl-Chcckers. a Chicago canine, encountered a strange
sight as he looked up a tree in Schiller Woods forest pre
serve when he saw a pair of hands protruding from a hole
in a tree. What Checkers didn't know was that a girl had
climbed the tree to perform the trick. (UPI)
Small Worlds
Around Us
By LYNN M. WATKINS
(Registei and Tribuna
Syndicit. 19621
Prolific Hamster Is
Hit Own Predator
Not even the zoologist knew
much about the golden ham
ster until about 30 years ago
when half a dozen of the tiny
animals were discovered in
Jordan in a hole in the
ground.
Residents of the region
knew there was a small, sol-den-colored
animal that raid
ed grain crops and seemed to
enjoy living in a dry, almost
waterless area, but they ac
cepted the animal as a part
of the native fauna.
No Equal
The scientist who discover
ed the babies was interested.
He took the animals home
and raised them. He made
some startling discoveries. By
the time the youngste.'s were
two months old they became
parents.
As experimental animals in
medical research they have
no equal, being particularly
valuable in cancer research.
This, mainly, because the
hamster is tough, easily rais
ed and has two cheek pouch
es. In these fleshy recepta
cles, human cancers can be
implanted and the progress
of the disease checked from
day to day.
Mrs. Hamster is ready to
raise a family when she is
two months old. In a little
over two weeks sh . will give
birth to as many as eight
tiny hamsters. These little
ones will be raising their own
children in another couple
of months.
In the meantime, the orig
inal mother has produced a
couple more litters. She only
has to wait about threl weeks
between litters.
Such a staggering birth rate
makes the efforts of mice or
guinea pigs seem pretty ama
teurish. The rabbit isn't even
playing in the same league.
Tops As Pets
As pets the hamsters are
tops. They are playful, harm-
less, clean and always good
natured. With such a procliv
ity for biological multiplica
tion, how does it happen the!
hamsters haven t taken over?
With such an exploding popu
lation potential they could
overrun the place. Or, why
aren't we up to our necks in
hamsters?
The reason la simple. If
left alone, the hamsters are
their own predators. E v e n I
" 7
mama and papa hamster, Just
beginning to raise a family,
will leap at one another and
fight until one or the other
is dead. Every hamster seems
to have an irresistible urge
to kill another hamster.
100
FINANCING
on AN Strvica or Repair Work
Drivo in for fraa attimata ar
Call 2-6208
WHITNEY OLDS
41 S So. Riveriida
BICYCLES & TRICYCLES
REPAIRED
Large Stock Tires and Parts
Many Foreign Bike Parts
SIMS CYCLE & HOBBY SHOP
23 North Fir 772-2472
i aiiiuaj in i una mi. urn n
SB
ig Bays !
7-Pieee kaSLfl
Dinette fSBl
1 iv S'i
HaaMauiaiKBnanaK
mssm
Open Tonite and
Thru Friday till 9
STOftEWIDE!
These are true values reduced drastically from our
every day prices. Check throughout the store and
compare with sales prices anywhere.
1
EgcIs
36" x 60"
Table
Zenith TV
19" Including $13.95
Rollaway
Stand
ONLY
Visit
Before You
Giant Swivel Rocker
ONLY $4788
Beautiful Decorator
PICTURES
24"x30" .
QMLY $H95
Buy!
Reversible
FOAM CUSHIONS
liiH
ALL WOOL
CARPET
CARPETING
$3 -
$388 ?3:
NYLON TWEED
With Foam Padding
1
m --at'
3-Pieces With
Salem Maple Finish
Mattress
6 Legs.
Bedroom Set
59788
Twin Hollywood Beds
37
Box Snrina tAIOC
UirUY
SPACE SAVER Tffij fg?? jU
MATTRESS 'tk
, II I. I iJK,W . : I.
BUNKS
54
Dj
KELVINAT0R BUILT-IN OVEN SSSt. $H.00
20 GAL GARBAGE CANS 13.78
3 CUSHION 80 IN. SOFA Hand tied sprint b"e
$188.88
TV TRAYS : : 98c
Wroughl Iron Book Sland $2.88
6 Transistor Radios $12.88
50 Gal. Water Heater ...$59.95
5 Tube Radios ...$9.88
30" Norga Range : $124.88
8V2 Ft. Norge Refrigerator ....$147.88
339 Lb. Norge Upright Freezer $157.88
Fully Automatic Norge Washer , $169.88
QaGaaeri
3-Piece Table Group .nd co $1888
Maple Milk Stools - $P
Rattan Shell Chairs S2.83
3-Piece
CHAISE LOUNGE
SETS $16.88
I 9
LIVING ROOM SET
8788
DIVAN and CHAIR
$9988
SECTIONAL
$1888
2
Piece
Loose F-oam
Cushions ....
2 Piece with
Foam Cuihioni
Table
1 ..w
i t valuti to
II .! e
i I . h II "
IHMLV free U
iiiiHiiiivF uri iirni rTiN;
KWBWP r ' TRANSFER as FUriTURE OOi
LAMPS
Reg. $9.95
2 ... 8'5
Floor Lamps
$598
POLE LAMPS
$488
ALL SALES FINAL
1
Be sure to look for taqs on other merchandise ijiot listed here! There's many, many
items on sale duringhis clearance that will probably include just the things you
want.