Wednesday, July 9, 1986/The Battalion/Page 3
State and Local
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Protein causes liver damage
A&M professors discover
new effects of sleeping aid
By Scott Sutherland
(7//v Editor
Texas A&M medical research
ers have discovered that a pre
viously believed harmless protein
sold in health food stores as a
sleeping aid causes severe dam
age to the liver.
Dr. Michael E. Trulson and Dr.
IT. Wayne Sampson, professors
of anatomy in the Texas A&M
College of Medicine, studied the
effects of large doses of the essen
tial amino acid L-tryptophan on
the liver.
Tryptophan has become popu
lar as a natural sleep aid and is
sold primarily in health food
stores. Trulson says former medi
cal research had concluded that
large doses of tryptophan did en
courage sleep.
FDA spokesman Brad Stone
said the FDA does not monitor
the sale of tryptophan because it
is neither a controlled nor pre
scription drug.
Trulson and Sampson focused
their research on the liver be
cause it is the organ which metab
olizes amino acids found in food.
It has been widely accepted
that since tryptophan is an essen
tial amino acid found in nearly all
foods, administration even in
high doses wouldn’t cause organ
damage, Trulson says.
Normally the liver derives
tryptophan from proteins in
gested in foods. The new A&M
research shows that excess doses
cause a dangerous buildup of fat
in the liver.
But Trulson’s and Sampson’s
experiment shows that rats which
ingested tryptophan for three
consecutive days showed an in
crease in the size of hepatic sinu
soids, channels that carry blood
throughout the liver. Also, some
of the important cells in the liver
had virtually disappeared.
In place of those cells, Trulson
says lipid, or fat, appeared. The
lipid appeared in varying sizes of
droplets that increased in size and
abundance as the dosage of tryp
tophan increased.
Trulson says this fat was grow
ing in place of much more impor
tant cells that perform vital func
tions in the liver. The lipid
droplets eventually combined to
make large masses throughout
the liver, occupying more and
more space and preventing the
important interaction between
Art by Mindy Casper
White globules shown near point of contact between cell and si
nusoids. Mass of fat eventually can choke off exchange of cell
material between blood and cell.
blood in the sinusoids and sub
stances in the cells, he says.
All the treated rats displayed
this accumulation of fat while the
control group displayed only
small amounts of lipid in the
liver.
Rats that were treated for three
days and then examined 14 days
later showed slightly decreased
levels of lipid but the majority of
the lipid was still present. Some
tests indicate that the fat remains
in the liver.
Rats that were given trypto
phan every other day for 14 days
and examined after three days
showed the highest fat concentra
tion.
The liver is the largest internal
organ and is the site of fat and
carbohydrate metabolism, regu
lates blood sugar, synthesizes vita
min A and detoxifies otherwise
poisonous substances.
Trulson and Sampson con
clude their report, published in
the June edition of Life Sciences
Journal, saying that taking tryp
tophan for sleep induction is not
advisable until further research is
completed.
Arlington woman
kills self following
daughter’s death
ARLINGTON (AP) — The
mother of an 18-year-old girl shot to
death in April decided not to live be
cause of unconsolable grief over her
daughter’s death, her son says.
Mercedes Branch, 50, of Arling
ton, died Saturday from amytripty-
line intoxication. Amytriptyline is a
prescription antidepressant drug.
Her death was ruled a suicide by the
Dallas County medical examiner.
Mrs. Branch’s son Claudio, 20,
said, “It had everything to do with
Teresa. I was expecting it. I wasn’t
expecting it this soon. To tell the
truth, I’ve been watching my mother
die, the deterioration of her person
ality.
“My mom didn’t have many
material possessions. Teresa was all
she had. She was very proud of her.
If she couldn’t have Teresa, she
didn’t want to live.”
After the slaying, Mrs. Branch
would walk around the house crying
and saying, “I want Teresa back,” he
said.
Miss Branch’s car broke down on
April 19 while she was on her way to
her parents’ house. She left a class
mate in the car and began jogging to
the house, a few blocks away.
The friend called police after Miss
Branch did not appear for 1 'At
hours. Miss Branch’s body was
found in a church parking lot across
the street from where she was
parked at about 10:30 p.m.
Arlington police believe she was
forced into a car, shot and her body
was dumped in the lot. No arrests
have been made.
“I don’t think it would have mat
tered if they had made an arrest,”
Branch said. “It would never bring
Teresa back.”
He said Mrs. Branch seemed to
take the news well at first, although
she thought about the slaying con
stantly.
“The paranoia started,” the son
said. “She was afraid the same thing
was going to happen to her that hap
pened to Teresa.”
She became more distant toward
him, his 15-year-old brother John
and their father, Kenneth, Branch
said.
Mrs. Branch was admitted to Psy
chiatric Institute of Fort Worth but
insisted on leaving after about four
days. She went with her husband to a
friend’s house for Fourth of July
weekend and was found suffering
from convulsions Saturday night.
She died later at a hospital.
5 fast food chains to give nutrition information
AUS'I IN (AP) — Some fast food
fans might cut down on burgers and
chicken as a result of nutrition infor
mation that five major chains have
agreed to provide, Texas Attorney
General Jim Mattox said Tuesday.
“They’ll find many of the fast
foods are extremely nutritious, but
at the same time they may also be
very high in calories,” he said.
Burger King, Jack in the Box,
Kentucky Fried Chicken, Wendy’s
and McDonald’s — at the urging of
several attorneys general — have
agreed to provide nutrition and in
gredient information at their stores.
Mattox and California Attorney
General John Van de Kamp led the
effort.
Ed Rensi, president of McDon
ald’s USA, said in a Monday
statement that his company decided
to offer the information because of
consumer interest. “We want our
customers to know that we use the
same quality ingredients they trust
when shopping at their local super
market,” he said.
Mattox said negotiations with the
five chains showed two major con
cerns on the part of company offi
cials.
“Some were concerned about the
cost of providing the information,”
he said. “There were some of them
that were concerned about the pub
lic’s desire perhaps not to consume
as many calories and as much salt.”
Negotiations are continuing with
several other fast food chains.
“We hope the competitive pres
sure will take place that will bring
the other fast food chains to the
point of publishing this information.
Sooner or later, we may ask some of
the others to do it, and if they don’t,
we may encourage people to just eat
at these that do publish the informa
tion,” Mattox said.
“We hope they haven’t got any
thing to hide,” he added.
The attorney general said that as a
“single adult male who can’t cook, I
consume a lot” of fast food.
“If these foods were not part of
the normal American’s diet, that
would be one thing,” he said. “But it
is what makes up a large portion of
our diet in this country.”
Whole Sale Diamonds! We’re Expanding!
Ws will be expanding soon to a larger location In the same shopping center. To celebrate, we are giving away FREE memberships to Brazos Valley Entertainment Club
with a minium $25.00 jewelry purchase. Make your selection now and wear It out on the town, compliments of Texas Coin Exchange and Brazos Valley Entertainment
Club. Limit 1 per family. Also look for our private safe rentals available soon!
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Largest Stock of Gold Coin Jewelry in the Area!
All gold chains sold by weight {IS 30 ^ 95 penny weight (S^-IB 68 a gram)
=>’<V IM > r 3
TEXAS COIN
404 University Or. East • College Station • 846 8905 <• 3202 A Texas • Bryan • 779*7662
i Smce - J958 J _One_2f ii TexasMJIdest_Rare_Couj_Dealers^
Bryan Store Hours:
Mon.-Fri. 9:30-5
Sat. 9:30-3
College Station Store Hours:
Mon.-Fri. 9-5:30
Sat. 9-3
Next to Cenare
Mattox said he has some other
concerns about the fast food indus
try — particularly about the pack
aging in which some hamburgers are
served.
“I’m trying to figure out how
much they charge for that little box,”
he joked. “I feel real wasteful after I
finish one of those things. What do I
do with this perfectly good little
box?”
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