Evening star., 1953-12-14
Way to Stop Hardening
Of Arteries Seen Near
Scientists Develop Foetor
Thot Muy Halt Process
By Thomos R. Henry

Failure Of O highly complex body
chemical system probably Is the major
cause Of hardening Of the arteries, one
Of the chief causes Of death among
persons Of middle age. and whose fire.
Quency appears to be on the increase.
BY duplication Of this process In the
laboratory, scientists Of the National
Heart Institute have produced O sub
stance, called blood clearing factor"
which breaks up large. fat-like mole
culeS in the blood stream.
The deposition Of these molecules on
arteries walls Is now believed to cause
the dreaded arteriosclerosis.
While still probably far from the
stage Of clinical use, test-tube trials Of
the new clearing factor are quite prom
ising, according to the National In
Stitute workers. In most persons the
material is produced in sufficient guam
titles in the blood plasma, but the
process Is so complicated that it easily
can break down. especially in older
persons.
Most Vital Element Noted.
The most vital element in the process
is the anticoagulant heparin, normally
produced in the liver. This heparin,
however. must combine with two fac
tors found in the blood plasma and one
produced in the stomach or lungs in
order to break up the giant fat mole
cules. Failure in normal production
OF any Of the four factors may we'll
result in the hardening of the arteries
syndrome.
The three factors In addition to
heparin have been obtained by use Of
the centrifuge and some progress made
toward their proper combination. Tests
with few experimental patients have
been quite promising, but as yet un-
conclusive.
In normal persons the blood takes
on a slightly milky appearance after
a meal containing a good deal of fat.
This milkineSs disappears in a few
hours in most individuals, but in a
few it persists. Such persistence prob
ably denotes the beginning of the
arterioScleroSis process. In experimental
animals the milkiness can be made to
disappear quite rapidly with admins
tration Of little heparin. It's per-
Sistence in man may reveal the prog
resS Of an arteriosclerotic condition
before there are any overt symptoms.
First Real Insight into Disease.
More than 95 per cent Of all coronary
heart attacks are due to hardening OF
the arteries. National Institute doctors
say. For many years this disease was
thought to be a natural, irreversible
process. part of the inevitable degenera-
ton of old age. This is no longer con-
Sidered true. Some die of coronary
attacks in the early twenties. The
arteries Of others remain unaffected in
old age. Discovery of the blood
chemical system by the National Insti-
tute doctors furnishes the first real in
sight into the true nature of the
disease.
The fact that it is accompanied by the
appearance Of giant fat molecules in
the blood was recognized several years
ago, and these were supposed to he
specific for its victims. It now appears,
however, that these are formed in
cverybody's blood. but with nature pro-
viding way for breaking them down
almost Immediately.
Research into the ability of the BODY
to handle the fat, from which the
clearing factor" discovery has come.
was conducted by DR.. Christian B. An
finson of the National Institute staff,
associated with Drs. Ray K. Brown.
Edwin Boyle and Joseph H. Bragdon.
Their present plans are to activate in
the laboratory very large patches of
the new-found clearing factor, so that
1t can be used for extensive tests with
experimental animals. 1t is of particu-
lar Importance at present, they say. to
determine what makes the chemical
system go haywire in the human body.