Evening star., 1941-05-03
Virginia Scientists
Hear OF Method 10
Prevent Adhesions
Hepurin HoIts Clothing of
Wutery Substance Which
Is Sturt of Trouble
Ey the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
RICHMOND. Va MAY 3.-Discov-
cry of a preventive treatment for
abdominal adhasions with the new
chemical compound, heparin, was
reported to the Virginia Academy
Of Science today
Adhesions, by which intestines
grow fast to other organs, have been
a serious cause Of major abdominal
operations, and there has been no
satisfactory remedy Surgery. used
In bad cases. more often than not
resulted in forming still more ad-
hesions.
The heparin discovery was report
ed by DR.. Floyd BOYS, assistant pro-
fessor of surgery, University of Vir-
ginia Medical School Heparin is a
natural product of the body, 1t
keeps blood from clotting too quick
". Recently method was found
for extracting it for medical use.
Clothing Is Prevented.
Heparin prevents clotting not only
of blood, but of the water white sub
stance left after the red corpuscles
are taken out. It is this watery
substance which starts the abdomi-
nal adhesions.
Either infection in the abdomen or
injury which scuffs off the outer
lining of intestlneS results in ap-
pea-ance of this water substance at
the site of the scraped place.
When this white fluid cIots, it be-
comes the soil for growth of tissue
known as fibrin. Fibrin acts as a
scaffold, over which scar tissue
grows, and this scar tissue forms the
adheSions.
DR.. Boys experimental by inject
Ing heparin into the abdominal cav
ity after adhesion operations. In
the majority of cases the chemical
prevented the clotting, and no ad-
hesions formed. The remedy already
has been used on human beings with
apparently favorable results. 1t first
was tried on dogs, where it succeeded
remarkably.
Work at Johns Hopkins.
On these animals, when no
heparin was used. surgery for re-
moval of adhesions resulted in a 1876
per cent increase in the number of
growths. But with heparin. the
surgery reduced the number of ad-
hesions by 66 per cent.
At Johns Hopkins University Med
ical School a similar heparin expert
ment has been tried on cats. and
confirms the work at Virginia.
Oil wells of California may sup
plant cinchona trees of Java, in the
Dutch East Indies, as the source of
medicine for the 100000 malaria
sufferers in the continental United
states, a research chemist told the
Virginia academy yesterday.
Experiments are well advanced
with compounds, the base of which
Is obtained from petroleum, DR..
Alfred Burger, chemistry professor
at the University of Virginia. re-
ported. These compounds give prom
1se Of having more effectiveness
than the universally used specific,
qulnlne, the source of which is vir-
tual monopoly of the East Indies. or
t'iC SNHti4StIC coal Tar derivatives
pIaSmochln and atropin.
Jefferson Prize Awarded.
The academy gave its highest
award for scientific research paper
the Jefferson Prize-to DR.. A. T.
Gwathmey, associate in chemistry at
the University of Virginia, for his
paper on the action of gases on a
copper crystal.
The award carries with it $50
cash prize and makes the paper eli
glble for competition next wear for
the sl00 inter-academy prize in
which papers compete from the
academies of North and South Caro-
lima. Florida and Georgia as we'll as
Virginia.
DR.. John H. Yoe, chemistry pro-
fessor, and Dr. Lyle G. Overholser,
research assistant in analytical
chemistry of the University of Vir-
ginia, received this years inter-
academy award, which carries with
1t the Jefferson gold medal, for their
paper on the detection and determi-
nation of palladium "a metal of the
platinum group. This paper won
the Jefferson Award of the Virginia
Academy last year
The annual academy research
prize Of $50 was awarded to Charles
Ray, jr.. of the University of Virginia
Experimental Farm for his genetic |
studies on the fax genus.