8
THURSDAY. FEBRUARY 14. 19E3
MEOFORO MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORD, OREGON
demee Speonds Utile to Extend Life's
By ROBERT MUSEL
United Pri International
London - (UPll - Some primi
tive tribes have been known
to get rid of the old folk! by
pegging them out in the snow
or the wilderness and letting
them die.
No one would dare accuse
civilization of such direct
methods. In fact there would
be an outcry if anyone were
blunt enough to suggest that
western man was in no posi
tion to criticize his aboriginal
cousin on this custom.
But there are scientists
who believe that thousands,
perhaps millions, of senior
citizens in our advanced so
ciety die before their time,
or do not live at long as they
might, simply because the
amount spent on research to
keep the . healthy and active
is totally inadequate.
Foods Sati Custom
The remote tribesman lets
his parents go because he
must. In the desperate con
ditions of some primitive so
cieties those who can no
longer provide their own
food must die for the want
of it.
Civilization does not have
this excuse. The key that will
unlock some of the secrets
of longevity and provide
healthier and longer lives for
present and future genera
tions is well known. It is
money, lots of it, brought to
bear on research which l-.
at lea ?t, promising.
Out of every 1UU.O0O people
born in western countries on
the level of the United States
about 200 live to be more
than 100 years old. But
70.000 of this group will die
before the age of 80. Geran
tologists - specialists in aging
- believe they can narrow the
gap given something approxi
mating the vast sums lavished
on the maladies of youth.
Extend Human Life
Now comes the strangest
part of the story. For work
crs in the field find, surpris
ingly, very little enthusiasm
for research to extend humcn
life. Some of them report
apathy and lack of public in
terest. Dr. John Bray, the
British pathologist who iden
tificd the bacteria of infan
tile gastro-cnteritis, one of
the big killing diseases of in
fancy, says he ran into defi-jture high, it might mean an-
The Family Council
Fdltor's note: Tho Family Council conilali ol ludcr.
nnvrniatmt, mrce rlercymen, turee editors anil a women ' editor.
Kach article li a summary of family dlnairecment presented to the
.uu,i,,. me tuuuui uonib wun proDieniH. major and minor,
enrountered hy guidance rounselors and uncial workers, tdlted by
Mrs. P. V. We're stunned
by her decision to become a
nun.
Mrs. E. T. They must let
her deem." about her own life.
-
Mrs. P. V. We have an
only daughter. She's 19 and
in her second year at college.
We expected her to become
engaged to her steady beau
this summer,. and eventually
get married and make grand
parents of us.
Imagine the state we're in
now that she has sprung the
news on us that she's broken
off with her boy friend, wants
to quit school, and become a
postulant in a convent. We
are a religious family, but no
body has gone so far as to
join a monastic order. All we
can figure is that someone
from the church brainwashed
her In a weak moment. My
husband is a wreck over this
turn of events.
We keep hoping Ruth will
reconsider. But my sisters and
others say we should resign
ourselves to having her be
come a nun.
Mrs. E. T. They should
leave the girl alone. I know
my sister and brother-in-law
have had high hopes for Ruth.
She's a bright, beautiful girl,
and the apple of their eye. At
one time she wanted to ba a
doctor, but since entering col
lege she hasn't mentioned
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that and hasn't shown much
enthusiasm for anything.
Now that I know why, I can
understand the pressure she
is under and I'm trying to gel
my sister to stop moaning. In
stead she should feel proud
to have a daughter who wants
to serve sclflcssly through the
church.
The trouble is that Ruth's
parents are trying to live her
life for her. She has other
Ideas. She's old enough to
know what appeals to her.
And if she changes her mind,
she can come home.
The Council: In order lo
round out a helpful answer
for this family, we queried
inends whose daughters had
faced them with the samp an
nouncement at Ruth's. What
we say here is a composite of
actual experience plus gen
eral psychological sidelights.
Mrs. V. would never for
give herself it her "carrying-
on forced Her daughter to
abandon her plans and pursue
a course or life pleasing lo
her parents but unappealing
to her.-They'd see the nrob-
lem more dourly if thev
looked neither lo the right
nor to the left but sauarelv
into the eyes (and heart, if
possible) of their child.
Never mind the parents down
the block who have grand
children. Never mind tho
neighbor's daughter who has
Just been appointed vice
president of a Fifth Avenue
department store. What
would make Ruth happy?
That's tho answer to concen
trate upon.
She herself feels that this
Is what she wants lo be a
professod nun. The only valid
comment for a parent might
be, "Why not take a year out
In order lo be sure?" Ruth
might spend that year holding
down a job, mainly to lest her
predilection for the disci
plined, dedicated life of the
convent. She's only li) and
niHy agree In seek deeper ex
perience in the outside world
before taking the vows which
limit this.
But once she is absolutely
certain thai her peace and
happiness lie In Joining a holy
Order, there should be noth
ing but pride and encourage
ment from tile parental cor
ner. Suppose Ruth became a
doctor and was miserable?
Suppose she contracted a
wretched marriage? Then her
parents would have some
thing lo be In a "slate" about.
Instead, they'll he able to
move along, playing a useful
role iu t lie world, and enjoy
ing It more each year.
As Mrs. T., her aunt, re
minds us. the decision is not
irrevocable. There arc many
points along Hie way where
Ruth can drop out. Mean
while, her family will sec her
and be In touch with her on
frequent occasions, for many
of the Orders-thr Dominican
for one - have lenient rules
on that. As for grandchildren,
we quote the lather of a nun
who Is teaching 2nd grade
and "has" ;i!l i liildren: "She
adores them, they love her.
When we visit her class we
me we have moro 'grand
children' than any of our
friends. And we rcioice lo be
the parents of this beautiful
soul who Is livlnu ex.ietly the
sort of lite she wants to lie.
nitc hostility.
lie found this so disturbing
that he has changed the ob
jectives of a private fund he
established five years ago for
basic research into aging. It
will now deal with the physi
cal well being of the elderly
although he himself will con
tinue his own study of
germ which seems to have
some effect on cholesterol
the waxy substance implicat
ed in hardening of the ar
teries.
Pressure on Youth
"You get the reaction that
it would be a bad thing if
the population of the world
were greatly added to," Dr,
Bray told United Press Inter
national. "The pressure is to
help youth.
"It's easy to move people
emotionally about youth. But
as for the old - well, they've
had their day, the sooner they
get off the stage the better
and so on.
"That's the sort of thing
you hear. It reminds me of
a short story I once read, II
G. Wells I think, about youth
being antagonistic to the
thought of extending life be
cause it meant they would
have lo wait longer lo in
hcrit."
Bray's experience is not
unique. One of tho scientists
he has been in touch with,
Dr. Johan Bjorkstcn of the
Bjorkslen Research founda
lion of Madison, Wis. - author
of a widely-discussed theory
of aging - also reported he
had run into obstacles in his
own efforts lo prolong life.
Age Unavoidable
Finnish-born Dr. Bjorkstcn,
who is chairman of the board
of the American Institute of
Chemists, said one of these
was indifference caused by
a public conviction that aging
and senilily, as well as death,
arc as unavoidable as taxes.
Another was "fear" of the
political problems that would
be created .1 populations were
ncreascd through control of
ageing without a correspond-.
ng reduction in the birth
rale.
"11 look n war to bring
Fleming's basic discovery of
penicillin to a practical frui
tion," Dr. Bjorkstcn said.
"Must we wail for an atomic
holocaust to wipe out a large
portion of humanity before
we can have a concerted
drive for the major extension
of healthful life by control
of aging?"
One man who has made i
survey of Iho subject, Dr
Robert Do liopp, a British
biochemist and researcher for
the Rockefeller institute, said
he found scarcely one major
scientific institute in the
United Stales solely concern
ed with the problem of aging.
Little Intorest in Age
There was excellent scat
tered research in the United
States and in Europe, Dr. Dc
Ropp paid, but its total was
ludicrously small in view of
Ihe social importance of the
problem. Compared lo the bil
lions being spent on the moon
race, he said, the total de
voted to research into aging
would scarcely buy one medium-sized
rocket.
What this would mean in
actual years added to life
expectancy (now about 70
years in the Unilcd flutes) is
debatable. There have been
estimates lliHl a cure or suc
cessful treatment for cancer
and heart disease would add
nine years. If man could learn
to cool himself down at night
instead of working his body
machine at full gear while
asleep, lo keep his tempera-
other 20 years of life
The above figures mu?t be
read against the fact that sci
entists are not quite sure what
the "normal" life span is.
De Ropp says it is doubtful
if any man has ever lived out
a full span since this would
require perfect conditions all
the way. The lungs, intestines,
kidneys and brain could prob
ably live for 150 years if they
had an adequate blood supply.
Heart Gives Out
But the heart and arteries
do not appear to be strong
enough to keep pumping that
long. Dr. Louis Dublin, a life
insurance company statistici
an, holds:
"By some inexorable law,
still to be discovered and
clarified, nature has allowed
man a life span of about 100
years. But very few lives
complete this span."
Bray thinks the chief bene
fit of gerontological research
might not; be more years but
healthier and more active
years.
Despite the skimpincss of
money and facilities, scien
tists in the field are opti
mistic. For one thing life expectan
cy has been creeping steadily
upwards, largely, it is true,
because death no longer ends
so many young lives but also
because of better management
of some of the diseases of the
elderly. At the time of the
American revolution life ex
pectancy fur the colonists
was 35 years - just half of
what it is today.
Can Prolong Life
For another, scientists work
ng with rates and insects
have proved they can prolong
life and preserve youth and
in some rare cases even bring
about rejuvenation. Some in
sects were actually made
younger by treatment with a
juvenile hormone."
There is possibly an objr -l
lesson for humans in the rats
used in the experiments at
Cornell university. Those
which were well fed lived
their usual life span. Those
which were given a near-
starvation diet lived longer.
At University college in Lon
don fruit flics had their lives
prolonged by control led
changes in temperature.
Of the many theories of
aging Bray is at present most
impressed with Bjorkslcn's
contention that it is due to
a chain of events started by
a cross-linkage in the cells
of the body of large vital
molecules, such as protein
and nucleic acid molecules,
so as to tie them together.
Describes Cell Tie
"The effect is like what
would happen in a large fac
tory with thousands of work
ers if someone slipped a pair
of handcuffs on one hand of
two workers to tie them to
gether," Dr. Bjorkstcn says.
"This obviously would re
duce their ability to do their
work. And if the process were
allowed to spread through the
factory, even at a slow rate,
it would ultimately paralyze
the whole operation unless
means were found to remove
the handcuffs faster than they
were being applied. The inter
mediate products which ac
cumulate in the body when
more food is taken in than
can be ultilizcd immediately
are known cross -linking
which, if his theory is cor
rect, steadily decreases the
desistance of the cell to dam
age or infection as the years
go by.
One reason for the hostility
against gerontological re-
Span
search," said Bray, "is the
mental block most people
have which makes it difficult
for them to dissociate old age
and senilily. Most people
think we are trying to per
petuate the lives of the de
crepit. "Actually the situation is
the reverse. We are trying to
make old people the opposite
of decrepit, that is healthy
and self-supporting. Unfortu
nately the average person
cannot think of old people
this way - yet."
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