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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 20, 1980)
THE BATTALION Page ! WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1980 science New kidney dialysis system frees failure victims from large machine Workers demand voice in decisions United Press International I; “I feel free as a bird,” Earl New comb, 49, of Austin, Texas, said. I “And I feel terrific.” |§ That’s saying something. A little over a year ago Newcomb received a medical death sentence. Both kid neys of the aircraft maintenance man stopped working. His body couldn’t eliminate poiso nous wastes and excess fluids. He as throwing up. How Newcomb got from that point to feeling “free as a bird” and jterrific”is one of science s marve lous feats. I You might guess that Newcomb was saved by joining nearly 50,000 , pthers in America who survive kid ney failure by having their blood cleansed four hours a day, every other day — while they are attached to an artificial kidney machine. |. Wrong. It so happens that Dr. Jack Mon- crief, Newcomb’s physician, is co inventor of another way to help pa tients whose kidneys have shut down. It is called — are you ready? — continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. CAPD, for short. Moncrief gave Newcomb a choice: standard hemodialysis via a station ary artificial kidney or a chance to be one of the first three patients using CAPD — a revolutionary, portable, self-care treatment system for kid ney failure. Newcomb said he didn’t need to be talked into CAPD. It sounded that good. Besides, he had confi dence in Moncrief, a nephrologist — kidney specialist — who also is co director of the Hemodialysis and Transplant Unit at Austin Diagnostic Clinic. First the doctor implanted a flexi ble tube in Newcomb’s abdominal cavity. A flexible plastic bag of dialysis solution is attached to the catheter sticking out of his abdomen. The bag with about two quarts of the special solution is raised to shoulder level and by gravity the stuff drains into his abdomen. “It takes about 10 minutes,” New comb said. The empty bag, without being de tached from the catheter, is rolled up and tucked under his shirt or trous ers — or trunks, when he’s swim ming. About six hours later, Newcomb unrolls the plastic bag, lowers it to the floor, sits down and, once more, gravity makes the solution drain out. Now, it’s full of toxins washed out of his blood. He detaches the bag from the catheter and flushes the contents down the John. Then, he attaches another bag of solution, raised shoulder high, and lets it drain into the abdominal cav ity, starting a new link in the con tinuous process. “That’s all there is to it,” he said. Four times a day he spends 10 minutes repeating the process. He said supplies are easy to carry and the procedure can be performed almost anywhere there’s privacy — whether at home, or in an office or a rest room or locker room.” The big thing to Newcomb, he kept repeating, is being free. “I can travel anywhere and I don’t need to be on a special diet, the way it is when you are on the artificial kidney.’’ He said those on the kidney machine can only have a pint-and-a- half of fluid a day and must restrict salt and cannot eat bananas and must follow strict rules on protein. There are now about 600 patients on CAPD and they are doing most Smoke detectors have been; e of his moos tz has beat le known k aid D.H.Ht npaign tons old Steaiak 1 to Niniitit d in bis ffi 1 n'tz —histo essive to sted befeb he local to ie be das" dio served amsiup MB tz’ grand toil idmiral toil® and now!*; 'museum oft .dmird Nit about 12001 gh varitiis W dinner, in fc t Hubbatfe ;ded anc»# mpletioroflk ntativelv^ jd in aboil# United Press International - WASHINGTON — A govern ment-sponsored study has con cluded that smoke detectors contain ing a tiny amount of radioactive material do not pose ahealth hazard when compared to the thousands of lives they can save. |s The report also says a recently in troduced type of smoke detector may be the best bet for the consumer. It Combines an ionization device and a photoelectric cell at a price of about $30. | Smoke detectors come in two basic types. Photoelectric units use a beam of light. Ionization chamber models — by far the most widely sold — use a speck of radioactive Amer- icium 241 to “read” smoke particles in the air. Tests have proven photoelectric units are quicker to read smoldering or slow-burning fires, while ioniza tion devices sound the alarm quicker in fast-burning fires. The report done for the U.S. Nuc lear Regulatory Commission by Sci ence Applications Inc., La Jolla, Calif., follows several years of debate on the advisability of exposing con sumers to in-home radioactivity with ionization chamber detectors. The study found 14 million such detectors — enough to protect the homes of 21 million persons — would create a risk of only .1 fatal cancer. “The normally occuring cancer mortality rate for the total population of the United States is about 370,000 per year or about 35,000 per year for a grout of 21 million people,” the study said. It added that a compari son of the figures shows there is a “relatively small risk” involved in ionization chamber devices. The report also says consumers can now find bargains in smoke de tectors. The average cost of units was about $125 each in 1972. Thanks to competition and technology, the av erage price today for an ionization detector is $12, the report said, and some units are less than $7. The study found the average price of a photoelectric detector to be $20 and a combination unit $30. Th study said the combination or “photo-ion” unit “definitely offers the greatest protection from fires to a consumers because it utilizes the sensitivities of both types of detec tors.” The report also found that advanc ing technology will bring changes in what consumers can buy. Strep vaccine questioned United Press International WASHINGTON — Three Uni versity of Tennessee researchers re port progress in the effort to develop a vaccine against the streptococcal ■bacteria that cause rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease. The question now, they say, is whether such a vaccine is needed in these days of effective strep-killing antibiotics, and if so, where? Rheumatic fever is almost always the result of a streptococcal infection of the throat although the Tennessee researchers say most people who get strep throat would not develop rheumatic fever even without treat ment. But many who get rheumatic fever develop rheumatic heart dis ease. The most common result of rheumatic fever is damage to the heart valves; in some cases the heart [muscle itself may be weakened. ’ As late as the 1940s, rheumatic theart disease was the leading cause ■of death among school age children. ‘During World War II, tens of [thousands of young men crowded together in training camps and ;troopships developed strep throat and many died or were permanently injured by resulting heart disease. Then came penicillin. The strep tococcal bacteria happened to parti cularly vulnerable to the new “mira cle drug.” Thanks to penicillin and other antibiotics, rheumatic fever is now a rare disease in the United States although it continues to crop up in areas of poverty. Unfortunately, said Drs. Edwin Beachey, Gene Stollerman and Alan Bisno, the situation is different in many underdeveloped countries “whose society can best be described as pockets of affluence amid general poverty.” And they said it cannot be assumed that rheumtic fever will continue to be a minor problem in the United States because the strep organisms that cause the disease might someday become resistant to antibiotics. They said the main obstacle that now stands hinders development of a practicable human vaccine is identi fication of the strains of streptococcal organisms that cause rheumatic fever. Ul AvJD‘Ttfc* Mdtsf/- J\wSD Be l>S£D FT?^>B££-— XOO j-r tfoNiniNis A ^mall Amount of i owivrry/ Bkt 'Don't LET TAAT FjotAet/? anything — as Newcomb claimed. Doctors implant the catheter off- center, by the way, so it won’t inter fere with sexual activity. Authorities estimate from 10 to 30 percent of the nearly 50,000 patients using artificial kidney machines — on line since 1956 — will be able to use the CAPD system. More than freedom is involved. There’s a dollar savings. Kidney machine patient expenses come to around $24,500 a year. The CAPD system costs runs about $14,000 — including supplies and fees for ser vice from doctors and others. Newcomb had to make some ad justments in clothing to allow for the slightly distended abdomen — with its nearly two quarts of extra fluid, the magic stuff that’s saving his life as it washes his blood. “I used to be a 30 inch waist,” he said. “Now I wear a size 33 so things aren’t crowded.” Foot book for joggers United Press International NEW YORK — For joggers, a new booklet entilted “How to Keep Your Jogging Feet in Sportshape Condition” defines a variety of foot ailments such as blisters, corns, cal luses, bunions, arch trouble, Mor ton’s foot, heel bruises, heel spurs, achilles tendonitis, shin splints and toe problems. The booklet, which costs 50 cents, is written in coopera tion with Dr. Louis Shure, member of the American and Canadian Academies of Podiatric Sports Medi cine, and suggests treatment and prevention of the various conditions. (Available from Burlington Socks, Dept. J., 1345 Ave. of Americas, New York, N.Y. 10019). United Press International NEW YORK — The solution to America’s falling productivity lies in adapting to people’s changing atti tudes, not in technology or govern ment regulation, says headhunter- consultant Bill Zinke. Zinke runs a firm called Human Resources, Inc. which with 20 major corporations sponsored a survey by Opinion Research Corp. on human resources management in U.S. in dustry. The survey’s conclusions are somewhat startling. The ideas and attitudes of American workers from bench hands to middle executives have changed a lot and business management is only now coming to grips with the new workaday world. “People’s commitment nowadays is to themselves and to a full and rounded personal life,” Zinke said. “Their commitment to a job or to a career definitely takes a subordinate role, and managements will have to adjust to this change if they want to attract and retain qualified people.” Indeed another study by the American Management Association concluded that the 1980s in all prob ability “will become the decade of the employee.” A basic element in what Zinke calls the “new work ethic” is that no matter on what level he or she works, Americans demand some voice in the decision process and if they don’t get it they will not be productioe. The AMA study calls this “em ployee alienation” a reflection ol broader dissatisfaction with the qual ity of social and economic life in gen eral and with the performance and leadership of most institutions in particular. The AMA study says while it is nc longer true that a company is the lengthened shadow of a single indi vidual, top management does estab lish the tone and style. Top manage ment will have to lead “in a climate oi openness, trust and participation ir which the self-motivation of every single member of the organization is encouraged.” Zinke said communication with workers is the most important task facing management. It helps to make work more varied. “General Motors accom plished a miracle at a plant at Tarry- town, N.Y., just by making assembly line work more varied and meaning ful,” he said. “Worker productivity shot up.” Dance AUDITIONS California Institute of the Arts announces auditions for entrance to the School of Dance for Fall 1 980 Semester. 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