Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1955-09-06
Palm Prints May Reveal
Unborn Heart Disease
BY THOMAS r. HENRY
Science Editor Of The star


BY THOMAS r. HENRY
Science Editor Of The star
| LANSING, Mich, Sept. 6.-I
Heart disease may be palm
printed"
This possibility was presented
before the American Institute,
of Biological Sciences whose AMI
nual meetings started here today
by Irene Ushida Of the TorontoI
Hospital for Sick Children.
Her findings apply specifically
Ito congenital heart disease which
either is present at birth or ap-I
pears in early life and is be-
llieved to be due to some de-
Ivelopment failure before birth.
THE condition. she noted. often
lis associated with mongolism in
(which q child Is born with o de-
Icidedly Monaghan appearance
land usually is an irnbecile. The
1.-TWO maladies. however. are not
necessarily associated.
It has been known for some
time. DR.. Uchida said. that the
lMongolian imbeciles have q dis
ltinct pattern Of loops and whirls
on their fingertips. soles Of the
feet and palms. This has led
Ito the belief that both the pat
terms and the brain condition
have genetic factors in common.
Palm Patterns Found
| The children studied at the
Toronto Hospital had only the
heart malady. DR.. Uchida was
liable to find nothing in common
lin either their finger or sole
prints. But among the $50
patients certain peculiar pat
terms on the palms, very similar
Ito those found in Monaghan
Idiots, appeared far more fire.
Iquently than would have been
Expected In q random population.
lit was not found. however, as
many times as would have been
Expected in the same number OF
IimbecileS.
This particular palm print
pattern, she stressed, does not
mean necessarily that q child has
congenital heart disease but its
existence is certainly q danger
signal. It also can be inter-
Ipreted to mean that there is q
common prenatal disturbance
lin the two diseases which can
cause one or the other, or both.
Finding Of three hitherto un-
known human blood groups
which have no relation to those
classified in the past was an
Inounced by DR.. o. g. Smithies
Iof the University of Toronto.
These groups are based on the
distribution Of proteins In the
blood serum. While there may
Ibe slight variations for each in
|dividual, DIR. Smithies said. the
majority Of the population ap-
Iparently fall into three general
patterns. So far as known these
blood serum differences have no
medical significance. 1t was
pointed out. They probably need
mot be considered in cases Of
TRANSMISSION
Determine Percentage
Experiments to date, how.
lever, have indicated strongly
THAT they are directly inherited
land may be Of considerable value
lin determining cases Of disputed
Iparentage. he said. In such
cases the evidence Of the hith-
lerto known blood groupings may
Ibe Of quite debatable value.
A substance extracted from
plants in flower prevents the
growth Of tumors-closely anal
agous to animal cancers and be-
Ilieved due to much the same
basic disturbances-in other
plants.
This finding, which may be Of
considerable fundamental i'm.
portance in cancer research. was
announced by Drs. r. H. Rob- |
erts, B. Esther Struckmeyer and
S. o. Fogelberg Of the Univer-
sity Of Wisconsin. Plant cancers
can be produced at will by most
of the substances, chiefly tar
products. which produce the
same kind of growth in animals.
They also can be produced byl
various animal products, not
known to have any effects onl
animals themselves.
Keeps Growth Normal
The new substance Is described
as a "hormone," or chemical
regulator. similar in Its mode Of
action to secretions Of the pitui-
tary and adrenal glands in ami
mails. Most of the hitherto