Evening star., 1940-11-09
Paralysis Foundation
Seeks Weapons 10
Fight All Virus Ills
Researchers Report on
Clues Found Through
Birthday Boil Funds
BY THOMAS r. HENRY,
Star Staff Correspondent.


President Roosevelt's birthday an
niversary the National Foundation
for Infantile Paralysis not only is
conducting far-reaching basic re-
search on this dreaded disease but
Is opening the way to new attacks
on virus maladies in general-per-
haps the most pressing medical
problem of the day.
During the past three years more
than 81 500 900 has been expended
in grants to experienced workers
seeking means to combat these
minute germs-compared to which
such organisms as the bacteria
which cause pneumonia are as ele-
plants to fieaS-which potentially
are the worst killers of the human
race.
The foundation has approximate
" half the money raised by the
balls, the other half remaining with
the local committees. The scientific
accounting is being made at the
first annual meeting of the founda-
ton here.
Initial Progress Slow.
Progress, it was stressed, neces-
sarily is slow and an enormous
amount of basic research must be
conducted before there is much
prospect of a specific remedy for
one of the most feared of all diseases
or for many of the other closely
related virus caused diseases which
are likely at any time to flare up like
forest fires, destroying as the great
flu epidemic did in 1918.
A new muscle patching opera
ton for polio victims was described
BY DR.. Herbert E. Hipps of Marlin,
Tex, who is working under foun-
dation grant.
DR.. Hipps and his associates found
that sometimes muscles paralyzed by
infantile paralysis failed to work
because they had bands of diseased
tissue in them, although for the
most part they were normal. Dr.
Hipps weaved strips of tendon from
the bulky part of the muscle through
these degenerated bands and SeWed
these strips into sound muscle above
and below the degenerated areas.
The results were good, he said, in
half the cases. Obviously it is of no
value where there is degeneration of
whole muscle.
Removal of tonsils definitely in
ereases the danger OF contracting
infantile paralysis, it was reported
by Dr. Alfred M. Fischer of New
York University.
Damages Breathing Controls.
Studying a recent epidemic in
Toronto, he said, 1T was found that
a recent tonsilectomy definitely in
creased the danger of developing
the bulbar type of infection in which
the infantile paralysis virus dam
ages the vital centers of the brain
which control such functions as
breathing, as opposed to those types
where other portions of the body.
such as the arm and leg muscles,
are involved"
DR.. Fischer also found that the
incidence of the bulbar form was
more than twice as great in patients
who had had their tonsils removed at
@AiJ CAhiC lAlS pdSl.
Dr.. Paul F. Clark of the Univer-
sity OF Wisconsin reported obtaining
q concentrated. purified virus of
mfantile paralysis which will pro-
ouce the disease In an experimental
animal by using a dilution of the
original brain cord Of the infected
animal as high as one part to
100000.
Other University of Wisconsin re-
searches financed by the foundation,
he said. have shown that the virus,
ordinarily thought of as invading
the brain through the olefactory
nerve leading from the nose. NAV
travel along other nerve chains and
that when nerve is inf1amed the
virus moves along it more easily.
One of the animals immune to
all strains OF the virus is the calf.
This has led to the theory that
there might be some chemical sub
stance in the membrane of the calf
nose which combatted the dreaded
disease organism. He obtained five
different protein fractions from the
\ mucous membrane and its secre-
tionS. Only one of these appeared
to have any neutralizing activity
and that only when the virus was
used in minimum infective doses.
This substance is being studied
carefully in the hope that there
may be some means of increasing
its potency.
Second Attacks poSS;hIa
Observations of second attacks of
polio in experimental animals which
have recovered from the effects of
the first incubation were reported
by DR.. John F. KeSSel of the Uni
versity of Southern California.
This is probably due, he said, to
the numerous strains of the organ
ism which probably exist.
In several virus maladies a single
attack gives more or less per-
msnent immunity to subsequent at
tacks. This is largely the basis of
treatment with convalescent serums,
or even with vaccines. The Cali
fornia findings seem to make pros
poets for any such weapons against
polio quite dim.
The present indications are that
the virus gets directly into the nerve
CELLS instead of remaining in the
blood stream. Hence any drug
used to combat it must be some
thing that can be introduced into
the cells themselves.
One possibility was reported by
Or. Harold K. Faber of Leland
Stanford University. They were able
to get considerable penetration of
nerve cells with the dye, Prussian
blue. If some drug can be found
which will kill or inactivate pilio
virus, it may be possible to attach
1t chemically to the Prussian blue
molecule.
deficiency of vitamin D in the
body, it was reported by DR.. Albert
6. Sabin of Cincinnati, makes it
possible to infect experimental an