Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1950-11-08
An Example Of Medicine
Paying for Itself Cited
Vitumin B One Royalties
Further Dietary Research
By Thomas r. Henry

Vitamin B one, thiamine chloride, was
first synthesized Is years ago by DR..
Robert r. Williams Of the Bell Telephone
Laboratories and his associates, Robert
E. Waterman and E. r. Buchanan.
They patented the process. They were
relatively poor men. The royalties, even
at the start seemed to assure comfort
able fortunes. Instead of keeping them
for themselves, however. they turned over
these royalties to fund to be used for
scientific research all over the world into
dietary diseases.
Now, according to the Research Corp.
which administers the fund. the principal
of the fund amounts to $1,436,467 and
the royalties are coming in faster thar
ever. Vitamin B one is the nerve vita
min," valuable in scores Of clinical con
ditions, but 1t is Of particular value i
the treatment of the dreaded ORIENT
disease beri-beri with its high fatalit
rate from heart failure. 1t results fron
eating polished rice from which tn
vitamin has been entirely removed in
the polishing process.
Remarkable Experiment.
Last year from the patent royalties a
remarkable experiment was undertaken
in public health-the fertilization with
the vitamin of the white rice diet Of the
province of Bataan in the Philippines.
This Is one of the areas where beri-beri
is most rampant.
The result: Preliminary figures gath
cred by field teams show the incidence
of the disease has declined by rs per-
cent in nine months. The final figures.
it is hoped, will come close to this. The
way seems open, according to the report
of the Research Corp. directors, to bet
ter the rice diet all over the East and
eventually to eliminate the disease.
Thus the profits of science went d.
rectly to the service Of humanity.
The beri-beri work. however, may be
only beginning. Last year, for the first
time, the outlay exceeded the royalties
received for B one manufacture from
the drug houses, thanks to an extraordi-
nary development.
The vitamin, which humans and most
animals get from their diet, is Synthe-
sized by various microscopic organisms.
One of these is known as tetrahymena.
DR.. George w. Kidder Of Amherst Col
lege had been given a small grant for
the study of this synthesis process.
Some Analogous Tested.
In the course of this work DR.. Kidder
tested some analogues of B one-chemi-
cal substances with nearly the same COM
position. One of these was known as
guanazolo. It showed remarkable effects
in slowing the growth both Of the one
celled organisms themselves and Of can
Ger cells. also one-celled organisms with
requirements different from those OF
ordinary animal cells.
The result is a notable new approach
to the treatment of cancer which was
entirely unanticipated and the value OF
which depends on further research
findings.
Another broad frontal attack on known
dietary deficiency diseases. initially sup
ported by grants from the B one fund
continues to expand, according to the
report. This is the program Of enrich
ment Of corn products in the Southern
States where pellagra remains uncon-
quered after half century Of research.
1t has resulted in enforced enrich
ment legislation in South Carolina. The
program now has extended into most
counties of Alabama and its expansion
into other States through the same
machinery of cooperation now Is in
progress. -
The record is cited as a remarkable
example Of medicine paying for itself.