davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-06-14
STOP KILLING YOURSELF
Diabetes Stones
Should Come Out
= BY DR.. PETER J. STElNcRoHN

diabetic in your 30s or 40s
and your doctor discovered
that you have d poorly func-
tioning gall bladder, you
should consider operation
even if you have no indiges-
ton or other symptoms.
Otherwise, if you come to
operation with emergency
gall bladder difficulties in
your sos or COS, you actually
lessen your chances of pull
ing through.
y 50
Dear DR.. Steincrohn: My
doctor has discovered that I
have an absence of hydro
chloric acid in my stomach.
He call it achlorhydria. He
suggests that / come in at
least twice a year for X-rayS
of my stomach. Isn't this a
dangerous amount Of radia-
tion?-Mr. N.
SUPPOSE he has told you
that the reason for the in
creased vigilance Is to rule
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-06-14

Dear DR.. Stsincrohn: 1
have read in your column
about the management of
gallStoneS in otherwise
healthy people. What I'd like
to know is your feeling about
what the dianet:c patient
should do if lie has gall
stones. Suppose ne doesn't
have any symptoms from the
stones. should he have the
gall bladder out any way?-
Mrs. K.
STATISTICS - which are
really q collection of the
doctors experience in a large
number Of patientS--tell us
that the diabetic is better
off playing safe. In other
words, having the gall blad-
der out before complications
set in. If he is rushed to the
hospital because of infection
or other emergency he has
much less chance of surviving
the operation.
For example, If you are a
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-06-14
USELESS
INFORMATION

If you wear a Zulu" or
modified Micronesian" style
beard. you better wear a
h airnet at night, male
grooming experts recon-
mend.
Engineers have designed a
computer that can type con-
tinuously the phrase, 81 can't
see a thing without my
glasses"
The odds against being
dealt a perfect whist hand "a
complete suit to all four
players are 2,235.197, 406,-
8S5, 1866, 36S. SO1 100000 to /.
British slide rule experts
have figured.
The average meteorite is
4,500,000,000 years old, as
tronomers say.
-
SongStresS Hildegarde
repeatedly is the owner of
several dozen $50 lace hand
kerchiefs.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-06-14
MASON ON EDUCATION
Summer School Holds
Rewards and Pitfalls

either to the slow group or
the fast group of learners
not both.
Parents should determine
what kind of pupils their
child will be associated with
as well as the purpose for
which the course is being Of
fered.
Summer school provides an
opportunity for students to
maintain skills between school
terms as well as to catch up.
The 12-week vacation is
long enough for many stu
dents to grow stale in their
work habits and to forget
partially learned subject mat
ter, especially in languages.
Repeating the last course
may be helpful.
Rewards in Electives
Summer school offers OPP
portunity for pursuing re-
warding electives.
High schools students find
it hard enough to meet COL
lege requirements during the
regular school year. There
is no room in their programs
for tipping. shorthand, art or
music.
Each Of these subjects re-
quireS some manual skill.
Training hands to do an I'M
accustomed task may require
an extended period of prac-
tice.
I have known high school
students with all "A's" and
IBIS" on their records to
avoid manual skill subjects
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-06-14
By LESLIE ]. MASON

University. Of Southern California
There are pitfalls as well
as opportunities in summer
school for credit.
Summer school courses
crowd about 10 weeks work
into six weeks. For some
students this is good.
If they have made low
grades in geometry, history
or any other course, and can
run over the same work
quickly in summer school. this
will give them an opportunity
to organize their thoughts
and strengthen their basic
knowledge. They already
have in mind many of the
basic facts and ideas. and
rapid review will necessitate
a broad approach, leaving out
uneSSential details. Such an
experience prepares weak
students for better work in
the fall.
Hurdle for Beginners
On the other hand, a stu
dent taking a beginning
course for the first time in
summer school may be
headed for trouble. Unless he
has unusual ability, there is
a good chance that he will
not acquire a satisfactory
foundation.
This is especially true If he
is placed in a class made up
largely of repeaters. Summer
classes offered for credit at
the junior or senior high
school level should be geared
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-06-14
MAN, WHAT A DRUMSTICKH

out a growth in the stomach,
which is not uncommon in
patients with achlorhydria
Under the conditions, I see
no standardization to the
X-rays. Your doctor is Just
being careful.
= + =
Dear DR.. Steincrohn: Is
playing bridge dangerous?
And I'm not referring to the
old joke about the wife
shooting her husband because
he has careleSsly lost a sure
slam. What 1 mean is this.
My husband has high blood
pressure and had a severe
attack of coronary throm-
bosis about six months ago.
He loves to play duplicate
bridge. But he is one of those
intense creatures who puts
his whole heart and soul into
it.
After a game he seems all
washed out. His face is pale,
he looks weary. and I'm sure
1T hasn't done him any good.
Don't you agree that bridge
can be a dangerous game for
some people?-Mrs. G.
IN LIKE MANNER, I re-
ceive inquiries from readers
who wonder if their husbands
can attend football games,
horse races and other excit-
ing sporting events. OF
course, the final answer must
depend upon the patient him
self and upon his own doc
tors decision.
In a general way, 1t seems
evident that these activities
certainly add some strain to
an already weakened circula-
ton. They increase the heart
rate and the output of blood
from the heart, and raise the
blood pressure.
There are some people who
have had a coronary attack
who play bridge and come
away from the game relaxed.
If you deprive them of such
pleasure you are really doing
them more harm than good.
In your husbands case, I'd
guess that he goes through
too much stress when he
plays. He should agree with
the experience of most doc
tors that too much emotional
excitement isn't good for
coronary patients. Perhaps
he will be willing to cut
down, rather than cut out,
his bridge sessions.
+ y
For Mrs. E. From your
description of thin, spidery
veins in your legs and thighs,
the usual Judgment is to
leave them alone and not in
ject them.
Il 4
DR.. Steincrohn'S IedtIet,
"HolO to Manage ArthritiS,"
tDiH be mailed on receipt OF a
stamped, Selt-1ddreSsed en-
Oelope and 10 cents in coin
for handling. Address DR..
Steincrohn, care of The Eue-
ming Star.
BELL Syndicate Feature)
Tomorrow: Loss of potency.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-06-14

Tomorrow: Loss Of potency.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-06-14

for fear Of receiving a low
grade.
Actually low grade in one
of these subjects is not that
important. What is impor-
tant is that the students stay
with such training until they
are reasonably proficient,
The ability to use their
hands in tipping, shorthand
or art will prove beneficial
not only throughout the rest
of their schooling, but all
through life.
Sunday Ion School Pose): Pre-
porins for outomotion.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-06-14
By THOMAS COLLINS


81 am not going to move
away from my home when I
retire because I'm a coward.
I think a lot of other people
would be better off it they
were, too =. :"
This is how a man named
Miller answers a man named
Harris who advocated last
week that retired people
move away from the old
home when the pension
comes.
1T kid you somewhat when
I say I'm a coward" says Mr..
Miller. "At my age the word
is conservative But it's all
the same. I am simply afraid
of what I would run into If
I moved from a community
that has been my friend for
81 years.
Suppose I retired North,
say to Chicago or Philadel-
phia. The awful cold, the
racial problems, the big-town
politics. wouldn't. know
how to cope with those
problems. Suppose I moved
West, or South. I'd run into
weather problems, insect
problems and air condi-
TONERS.
But here where I live I
know the problems intimately
and know how to handle or
dodge every one of them. I
know which are good folks
and which bad folks, safe
streets and mean ones, where
to buy things for the lowest
price and where I can go see
a doctor for S. per office call
instead of going to a special
list for SIS"
Prizes Reputation
Mr.. Miller is afraid to swap
his problems for some he
won't understand. He says
he's afraid, too, to give up
his reputation as a reason
ably decent fellow and his
credit rating, and try to es-
tablish them again in a COM
munity that doesn't know
him.
This is very important, /"
he says, land some people
don't realize it. If my wife
and I moved into a new area
the people there would pre-
sumo we were nice people,
but it would take a while to
convince them. And credit
in the corner store or at the
hardware, which I have now,
probably would never come
not to a pensioner in a new
town. All right, you don't
need it. Still, it's a great COM
fort to know you don't have
TO prove things all over again
to get it if you do"
Mr.. Miller also feels quite
negative about the effort he
The Nome nugget., 1962-10-03
NucIcm Ship
 Savannah Goes On Display In Seattle

SEATTLE tR - Sleek and shin ing, the nuclear ship Savannah sailed into Elliot Bay Monday after an 18-day voyage from the East Coast.
 Water-spouting fireboats tagged along after the big white ship and aerial bombs exploded over head. Dlgnitaries and pretty girls welcomed the ship and her crew.
 The 595-foot Savannah will be on public display here until Oct. 26, after the Worlds Fair closes. Then she goes into drydock for a week before voyaging back down the West Coast Officials said the ships future ports of call are un- certain, but she will visit num- Der of other coast ports. The Savannah has accommoda- tions for so passengers and carries a crew of 1l0. Most of the pas sengers space on this voyage was occupied by teehnieians and | traineeS.
 Her 74,O00 kiloWatt atomic power plant can move the Savan- nah at speeds up to g knots. She l can go 300,000 nautical miles dur ing an estimated three years with out refueling.
 The ship was built by the Atomic Energy Commission and the US. 1 Maritime Administration at cost of s537 million to demon- l strate the peaceful uses of atomic energy.
The Nome nugget., 1962-10-03
Mariner Is Still on Course

WASHINGTON R - A report on the progress of Mariner was released Tuesday by the National Aeronauties and Space Adiminstra- tion. Mariner 2, launched Aug 27, is expected to pass within 5000 miles of Venus on Dec. IA.
 Mariner 2 at am. yesterday was 5,784,O75 miles from the earth and 37,380,840 miles from Venus.
 The radio signal is good.
The Nome nugget., 1962-10-03

  
  "
The Nome nugget., 1962-10-03


 <  tNSS
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-08-26
Some Side Effects

Doctor x recalled there was
a question about potential liver
toxicity, but he does not re-
member any question about
other side effects. He does re-
call, however, that the report
of the FDA pharmacologistS
was more unfavorable than
favorable.
"At that time" he said,
there was no question of cata-
racts in humans and I don't
recall any question of cataracts
in animals. There may have
been clues but I don't recall it. "
On the question of how much
had shown up in animal tests,
there is some difference of
opinion. Scientists outside Food
and Drug said there already
was evidence at that time that
the drug might interfere with
reproduction and cause other
adverse side effects.
Mr.. Harvey, in his recent
bar association speech, made 1t
clear that the FDA pharma-
cologiStS did not clear the drug
for safety. He quoted them as
saying that MER /29's safety
would have to be based on
clinical evidence-that is, use
on patients.
Doctor x, in recalling what
happened in the spring of
1860, said that in his last letter
rejecting the drug application
as incomplete, he told the COM
pany that he wanted longer
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-08-26
Misleading Claims

When FDA doctors infor-
mally consulted with outside
scientists. they were told the
claims made for the drug we're
misleading.
There was accommodating evil
dence of danger. A Howard
University doctor reported the
drug appeared to inhibit owl
lation in chickens. Other re-
search men reported the drug
might endanger persons in
shock and under stress by in
terfering with the body'S me-
chanism for meeting these con-
ditions. There were also re-
ports that the drug interfered
with pregnancy in animals.
In mid-October, Mr.. Muir
ray proposed that the COM
pany issue a warning letter.
The FDA doctor now in charge
of the drug objected that the
proposed warning only touched
on a few relatively minor side
effects and might give physi-
clans a false sense of security
about the drug.
He asked the company to
provide all the information it
had gathered about adverse
side effects. The company was
more in a position than FDA
to know about these effects
since doctors and researchers
usually dealt directly with the
company and, under existing
law and regulations, were I'M
der no compulsion to notify
FDA.
Before the company came in
with its data, more light was
shed on the effects of MER /29
at a meeting of heart special
lists. Mayo Clinic doctors re-
ported two cases of cataracts.
Three authorities argued there
was no need for drugs when
the right type of diet would
keep down cholesterol. The ex-
pertS said the drug might prove
dangerous and was unjustified
except in unusual cases and
where the patients were main
tanned under close supervision.
1t was also proposed by some
specialists that all doctors in
veStigating drugs should send
the FDA duplicates Of their re-
ports to the company, but there
was no law or regulation to re-
Quire it.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-08-26

and shock, possible liver dam
age, impotence and other eff
fects on the reproductive
organs.
While the doctors were fu-
tilely struggling to get the drug
off the market, q two-page
C o mpany advertisement ap-
peared in the weekly journal Of
the American Medical Associa-
ton on November 4. 1861. The
ad said at one point: I'VE know
that, after use in more than
100000 patients, few toxic or
serious side effects have been
reported, thus tending to reaf-
firm the safety margins previ-
ously established"
Elsewhere, the ad said that
no one can yet be certain that
lowering cholesterol would pre-
vent or alter atheroSclerosis
(the type Of hardening of the
at which the drug was
particularly aimed. But, the
ad continued, "the current evil
dence strongly supports this
concept"
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-08-26
FDA Wanted Action

BY the end Of October, 1861,
FDA doctors were convinced the
drug should be pulled off the
market.
They argued that there was
no proof that the drug did any
good in preventing or alleviat-
ing heart trouble, but there was
proof that the drug produced
serious reactions in both ami
mails and humans.
Doctors and other scientists
at FDA who fine-combed the
original new drug application
said much Of the evidence OF
adverse effects could be spotted
in the application, but much
had been gathered since. They
cited these effects:
CataractS, loss Of hair, Skin
peeling, reduced libido, dimin-
ished production Of the hor-
mones needed to resist stress
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-08-26
Continued From Page Al

Of a body process. has been
blamed for hardening and
thickening Of the arteries by
its fatty deposits on the walls
Of blood vessels.
The theory of MER 90 was
that it would block the forma-
ton of cholesterol by halting
the last step in the body'S man.
ufacture of this substance.
Interest in the drug extended
beyond medical men.
The vegetable oil industry,
for example. was contending
that the level of cholesterol
could be lowered safely and eff
fectively by using its polyun-
saturated oils.
On the other hand. the dairy
and meat misunderstanding
because of publicity that their
animal fats contributed to
cholesterol - were urging the
public not to change its eating
habits.
The voluntary health aSso-
Citations were split. Some said
cholesterol should be controlled
by watching the diet. Some ia
vored a cholesterol = inhibiting
drug. And some pointed out
that it was not yet proven that
cholesterol had anything to do
with heart disease.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-08-26
A Different Account

The withdrawal letter ap-
proved by FDA on April II had
no such statement. Instead, il
told doctors that the decision
to take the drug off the market
"is based on additional reports
Of side effects Of the kind re-
ported to you in our letter OF
December l, 1861, some of
which occurred at usual
dosage"
A drug which had crossed
millions for the manufacturer
was now off the market. Hos
pitfalls, pharmacies and other
possible outlets were asked by
the company to return their
total supply Immediately.
AS Mr.. Harvey brought out
in his speech. the action could
have been taken sooner if the
law had allowed it. The bill
passed by the Senate Thursday
would allow FDA to demand
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-08-26
An ANA Wurninq

One week later, on November
II. 1861. the ANA Journal car
ried a report from its Council
on Drugs saying that clinical
studies of the drug had not
been pursued long enough to
insure that "multifariouS and
serious alterations may not
occur" especially on prolonged
treatment.
The council expressed the
opinion that patients receiving
MER/29 should get it only
under the carefully controlled
conditions of clinical investi-
cation and that the only occa-
Sions for its use should be In
extreme conditions that did not
respond to other treatment
such as diet, NICOTINE acid and
polyunsaturated oils. This
recommendation would have
had physicians use the drug in
relatively few cases.
Mr.. Harvey in his speech said
that by mid-November, the
Government scientists had
recommended that the drug
should be removed from the
market.
When this recommendation
was presented to the FDA Com
misSioner'S office and to the
HEW general counsels office,
Mr.. Harvey said, at became
apparent that while there was
substantial doubt as to the
safety Of the drug and reason
to believe that upon further in
vestigation it would be found
that the drug was causing harm
when administered in recon-
dosage, at that time
the FDA did not have sufficient
evidence to satisfy the require
set forth in the law for
suspension of the new drug
He said the company had
given strong assurance that It
had ample evidence of safety
with which to refute the Gov
ernment's position If an at
tempt were made to get MER
% off the market.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-08-26

Der of the second Citizens Ad-
visory Committee now making
a study of FDA, its adequacy
and effectiveness, for the HEW
Secretary.
Mr.. Harvey said Mr.. Mint
ener. an attorney in private
practice here, appeared in my
office with representatives of
the Merrell Co."
On December /, after the
decision was made that the
law would not allow FDA to
pull the drug off the market
in a hurry. a warning approved
by FDA was mailed to doctors
by the Merrell Co. calling at
tention to the side effects and
cautioning them not to use the
drug above the recommended
dosage.
Asked why the warning was
sent out by the drug company
rather than FDA, Mr.. Harvey
pointed to the cost of a mailing
to more than 100000 physi-
clans.
Early this year, when the
drug investigation by Senator
Kefauver, Democrat of Tennes-
see, spotlighted drug advertis-
ing, the two-page November
advertisement Of few toxic or
serious side effects" was COM
pared with the two-page De-
cember warning letter on side
effects.
Senator Kefauver commented
to advertising agency officials
that from the number Of side
effects listed in the warning, it
would seem that you would
not have found out all at once
that there were side effects,
but over a course Of time dur
ing which these side effects
would have been reported"
After the December warning
letter. according to Mr.. Har-
vey, additional reports Of side
effects came In. In his bar
association speech, he said
simply that by mid-April, 1862,
"the drug caused sufficient in
juries, some at the recon-
mended dosage, to permit FDA
to require the manufacturer to
withdraw the product from the
market. The firms withdrawal
letter issued on April IT. 1862,
and upon its request the
new drug application was sus-
pended"
1t was learned, however, that
there was more behind-the-
scenes activity than Mr.. Harvey
related in his speech.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1962-08-26
Attended Meeting

1t was then. he recalled, that
he attended a meeting of the
American College of Physicians
in San Francisco where he
heard discussions comparing
various methods of lowering
choleSterol.
One paper impressed me, "
he said. because the author
reviewed various drugs and
MER/ 20 came out in the No. l
position. 1t was one of the
things that Swayed me toward
passing the drug. I heard re-
Gently that the paper was never
published and the author sub
Sequently reviewed his data and
questioned whether what he
had said was completely valid"
While in San Francisco, he
said, he was entertained at
dinner by a doctor from the
Merrell company.
I'VE went to lunch or dinner
with industry many times" he
said. Il don't think anybody
was ever bought by a dinner. "
A short time later, he cleared
the drug with the stipulation
that the company was to con-
tinue tests and report the re-
suits as they became available.
II released the drug" he said,
with the knowledge that
things might appear later which
were not obvious at that time. /"
The hitch was that lawyers
and other laymen in the higher
echelons of FDA-not doctors
would make the decision as to
whether the law would allow
them to force withdrawal of
the drug.
Within six months after the
drug was released, Doctor x
said, it became apparent that
MER/29 was probably doing
little good. OminouS reports of
its side effects were trickling in.
By now, studies showed that
desmosterol-the precursor of
choleSterol - acted the same
way as choleSterol.
Doctor x went to his su-
periors and asked if there was
any way the drug could be
taken off the market.
Il was told there was no
way we could do it," he said.
Doctor x recalled that a
Mayo Clinic bulletin reported
Use of MER/29 made hair fall
)ut and skin peel. He said he
JAILED the company to ask
hem to revise the drugs
abelling.
The last report Doctor x got
before he left FDA, was from
professor who reported the
drug was producing cataractS
in rats. He said he called Mr..
Murray at Merrell and got a
report back that the company's
pharmacologists would look
into it, but that eye damage
could occur in rats for other
reasons.
Doctor x left Food and Drug
in September, 1861. He left be-
hind a problem that was giving
the doctors mounting concern.
The company was advertising