Evening star., 1942-06-09
German Pep Pills
For Soldiers Known
BY u. ). Doctors
Believed Desoxyephedrine,
SimiIor to Drug Used by
Students to Ease Fotieue
By THOMAS r. HENRY,
Star STAFF Correspondent.

Star STAFF Correspondent.
ATLANTIC CITY, June Ger
many's alleged pep pills for SOL
diers were revealed here today as
probably made of a relatively new
drug, desoxyephedrine.
A derivative from the ancient
Chinese remedy ephedrine, this sub
stance has essentially the same ef-
feet as the American benzedrine
sulfate which, a few years ago. was
being used to an alarming extent by
college students and others to re-
duce the sense of fatigue and pos
sibly to increase mental activity.
Desoxyephedrine does the same
but has a slower and much more
prolonged action, it was shown in an
exhibit arranged for the American
Medical Association by Drs. Nobert
Enger, Ernst Simonson and S.
Blankstein of the Mount Sinai Hos
pital. Milwaukee.
They used it In experiments on
fatiguability of the motor centers
of the brain which promise a new
approach to the study OF brain dis
orders. The average person can
tap key with the right hand ap-
proximately so times in 10 seconds.
After the first 10 seconds there is
a steady drop in the number of
taps possible in the same interval
This is due, the Milwaukee phyci-
clans said, not to fatigue of the finger
muscles but to the firing of the
motor centers of the brain.
Sleeplessness Worst Effect.
After measured doses of benze-
drine sufate, they found, tapping
was considerably faster at the start
but dropped off even faster than
in subjects who had not taken the
drug. With desoxyephedrine there
was little change in the rate at
first. but at the end of a given
period it was much faster than
normal. In other words the brain
had not become tired so fast. al
though its activity had been some
what speeded.
This drug, which has had almost
no use in American medicine, gives
a considerably less kick than benze-
drine. the physicians explained, but
the same effects can be produced
with larger doses. Like benzedrine,
its worst effect is sleeplessness and
a jittery feeling. This does not
come, however, until after two or
three days. 1t probably would ma
terially raise the efficiency OF SOL
diers for a brief "blitz" campaign.
American commanders have frowned
on the use of any such drug because
there is little question but that the
soldiers must pay for the increased
energy in a bad letdown afterWard.
The Milwaukee physicians fol-
lowed the tapping test with a So
called flicker test" which seemed
an even better measure of the
firing of the brain. In front of a
light was placed revolving cylinder
with Sits. When the cylinder IS
turned slowly the eye sees series
of light flashes. When it is turned
rapidly there is a continuous light.
When the brain is tired the flashes
disappear at a slower speed of revo-
luton.
Heart Patients Tire Faster.
There were the same comparative
effects, it was found, between
benzedrine and desoxyephedrine.
More startling were the findings
from a variation of the test on the
tiring of the brain in disease. Per-
sons with heart maladies, for ex-
ample, became mentally tired faster
than others. 1t was found that the
effects of brain conclusions per-
sisted sometimes for two or three
years, although all other signs of
them had disappeared.
The activity of the brain the tests
showed, is increased in normal peo-
pie by moderate exercise which ap-
parently increases the blood flow
through cerebral tissues. 1t is slowed
down by violent exercise which robS
these tissues of some Of their nee
essary oxygen.
A method of putting youth in cold
storage for indefinite periods was
demonstrated before the associa
tion by Drs. ]. A. Saxton, c. N. Nc
Cay, G. A. Sperling and A. L. Barnes
of Cornell University Medical
School.
The results are confined to rats
IN whose lives 10 days are about the
equivalent of 10 years in the life of
man. From shortly after birth the
diet of their animals was limited so
that they did not grow, or grew very
slowly. Growth in any animal de-
pends on various proteins in the
foods and can be restricted by re-
stricting these proteins.
Normal Growth Started Again.
They retarded the growth of their
rats for 300, 900 and LOO days-cor-
responding to 80, 80 and 120 years
in the life of man. Even after 1000
days. they found, normal growth
could be started again by giving the
proper proteins.
They found, first, that the length
of life was greater. Rats in all the
growth-retarded groups were alive
when all those fed on normal-growth
diets were dead.
The retarded rats always remained
undersized. But even animals cor
responding in age to humans 120
years old remained young and Wig
orous. Most important of all, the
Cornell doctors pointed out, they
seemed much less subject to NAL