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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 25, 1981)
i| /age4 THE BATTALION WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 1981 Local Interferon cancer curer Editor’s Note: This is the second of a two-part series on the work of ihe Wadley Institutes of Molecu- jar Medicine, to which the blood Collected in the Aggie Blood Drive is sent. ; By DANIEL PUCKETT Battalion Staff |j DALLAS — Even if interferon ; pan cure cancer, its cost may pro hibit its widespread use for some ijime, says the head of a Dallas J research institute. ■ The president of the Wadley J Institutes of Molecular Medicine, i Or. Norwood O. Hill, said cancer ' clinics around the world are hav- A&M Football Childcare ing great success in treating can cer with interferon. Although still in the early test ing stage, the drug seems effective not only in the treatment of tumors, but also in the treatment of many viral diseases. However, he said, interferon is not a drug that can he produced in quantity as other drugs are; in stead, it must be produced in small amounts through a complex process. Interferon occurs naturally in the blood of humans and many animals, hut in such minute quan tities that it does not combat can cer, he said. Scientists must sti mulate production of interferon by blood cells and then concen trate ’it to obtain usable doses of the drug. Since the interferon produced by animals is ineffective in hu- HAPPY DAY Southwood Valley College Station 2 For Reaervationa Your Danskin Headquarters Manor East Mall 779-6718 mans, only human blood can be used in the process and obtaining that blood is easier said than done, he said. Most of the blood used by Wad ley cancer researchers is obtained from the Wadley Central Blood Bank. However, the blood is diffi cult and expensive to obtain, de spite the blood bank’s numerous blood drives. Actual production of interferon also is expensive, said Sal Com- parini, interferon supervisor at Wadley’s Leland Pikes Research Institute. Comparini said cancer patients receive a daily dose of interferon, which requires from two to 32 pints of blood to produce. Over the course of treatment, a patient, on average, receives interferon made from more than 800 pints of blood. In other words, all the blood from this fall’s Aggie Blood Drive, nearly 2,500 pints, could have produced only enough interferon for three cancer patients. The production of interferon for one cancer patient takes about two days and the cooperation of sever al teams of technicians, Comparini said. The blood is first separated into its components, and the white blood cells sent to the production lab. Then the cells are suspended in a nutrient culture made out of chicken blood and Sendai virus is added to the mixture. The virus causes the cells to produce interferon in an attempt to destroy it. After overnight in cubation the interferon is har vested from the culture, concen trated and quickly refrigerated. A minimum daily dose of inter feron costs about $120, Comparini said, but for some cancer patients, one day’s dosage of interferon can cost as much as $1,600. And an entire course of interfer on treatment usually costs about $40,000, he said. Until researchers can discover a way to produce interferon more cheaply, interferon will remain among the most expensive drugs, he said. In Wadley’s department of molecular genetics, researchers are now trying to find a way to manufacture the drug cheaply and in bulk. Dr. Arthur P. Bollon, de partment chairman said. The best hope is through gene tic tailoring of bacteria, Bollon said. Once this is done, scientists will be able to increase the supply and reduce the cost of the drug, he said. Although researchers have sev eral prospects for the synthesis of interferon, they have not yet been able to produce it, Bollon said. The researchers already know what methods they must use; all that remains is applying those methods until they produce a re sult, he said. A result that could take a long time. way ium «tn I Dr. Norwood O. Hill bolds a beaker of interferon at the Wadley Photo By Job HU Blood Institute! TWO HEAVY HITTERS TOUCH BASES ON BATS, BALLS. AND BEER. BOOG POWELL (Former American Baseball Great): Koichi here has been giving me a new angle on baseball. It seems the game’s a little different in Japan. KOICHI NUMAZAWA (Former Japanese Baseball Great): i, m t K 'J v £ &> Tf *a 0 B00G: That’s right. The field is smaller over there. KOICHI: '> 3 - b T'J S £ ^ 4 s 0 AfzA, T‘f J: 0 BOOG: Well, now that you men tioned it, I guess you guys are kinda smaller. Does that mean you drink Lite Beer ’cause it’s less filling? KOICHI: &L' L ^ X T J: o BOOG: Fastes-great 9 That’s why I drink it, too! I gudss we have a lot more in common than I thought. KOICHI: ! £ 7 X T, BT BOOG: Me 9 I’m too big to play on a Japanese team. KOICHI: *4,4 0. £4L'T-tcfc, > 3 — h IdfilT T cfco BOOG: Shortstop?! Very funny. ©1981 Beer Brewed by Miller Brewing Co., Milwaukee, Wis. Murphey to perfon tonight after Bon fin' 11 ** By NANCY WEATHERLEY Battalion StalT In the bonfire’s afterglow, Michael Murphey — Mr. Wildfire himself— will perform tonight at 9 in G. Rollie White Coliseum. Presented by the MSC Base ment and Town Hall committees, Murphey has been called a "cos mic cowboy, a real country rocker with a strong satirical thrust in his earlier songs, by Rolling Stone magazine. Murphey, a native Texan, is now living in New Mexico. His music appeals to many musical tastes, including both country and rock preferences. Some of Murphey s best known songs include “GeronimosCj lac, off the Cosmic Co*i Souvenirs album, “Wildfire"i “Carolina in the Pines,” fromij Blue Sky/Night Thunder albi: Recently, Murphey madelj film debut in the movie" Country." The screenplay based on his song by the name. According to a press lease, background for the came from his childhood esi ences on a Texas farm. "I wanted to show both side rtJCift the coin —- the real Texas lifffi jrr aid r" ■ Battalion Classifieds Call 845-2611 today,’ Murphey said. “1 praisi and knock it.” RL! Murphey and his hand. i e 49 0i Great American Honky li h'10.0 Band, are no strangers to At nor Me land, having appeared at ktr.WIm seven times on the Texas At :e«. University campus. Tickets are still available at Aq a. MSC Box Office for $2.50, W _ and $4.75. • Bo pjrojiinininLn^^ a i — i- 5 I $ Lz [D P rJ jo b □ p P rO I —* IAKEZ TEQUILA ...stands above the rest 1C < GOLD OR SILVER IMPORTED 4 BOTTLED BY TEQUILA JALISCO S.A, ST LOUIS. MO. 80 PROOF IWUSr 0 ^ma7Tonc» inch The MSC CRAFT SHOP Is sponsoring the CRAFT FAIR Dec.1*2 If you are looking for that unutsua.1 handmade grift fo r CHRISTMAS be sure to visit our Craft Fair. And be sure to check out the Craft Shop’s Gift Gallery