European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - September 7, 1978, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 18 the stars and stripes thursday september 7, 1978 by Michael j. Halberstam . A Stio heft of modern Medicine r01"? in elderly is   Clear. Ann Landers i am sure that Many experts on health care nodded in agreement with the conclusions of a recent task Force of the National Institute of health Nih. Called together to discuss trea table diseases in the elderly the assembled experts concluded that Between 10 and 20 per cent of elderly senile people in the United states do not have incurable brain damage but diseases that could be significantly relieved or even cured by Medicine or surgery. The Nih conference pointed out that Many elderly people when they develop confusion or apathy Are falsely believed to be suffering from irreversible brain damage. Instead the conference pointed out they May be victims of conditions ranging from drug and tranquil Izer abuse to heart disease tutors metabolic derangement and kidney or liver disease. Lowly Ocean creatures May Aid human health new York not chemical com pounds recently discovered in some of the lowliest animals that live in the sea May prove to be valuable in the treatment of heart disease nervous system disorders and tumor growth according to National oceanic and atmospheric administration Noaa re searchers. The scientists found 12 potentially Benefi Cial chemical compounds in such sea Crea Tures As sea cucumbers sponges and sea hares which live on the Ocean floor and can occasionally be found along Low tide Levels at the  cucumbers which Range from an Inch to five feet in length Are worm like creatures with warts on them somewhat resembling cucumbers. Sea hares which can grow to More than a foot in length look like common Garden slugs Clad in an overcoat. Sponges have been found in hundreds of different col ors and thousands of grotesque shapes. The researchers found that one of the most promising substances for the treatment of nervous disorders was present in the sea Hare a member of the shellfish family. The compound known As Dac Tylene is distantly related to the Terpin substances present in the Sticky resinous exp wants of Pine Trees. Dac Tylene has been tested on rats and mice and was found to increase the length of time the animals slept after being Given a Barbiturate. The researchers noted that the com Pound May inhibit the breakdown in the human body of barbiturates which react with the nervous system. The slowing of the breakdown of barbiturates which Are often used to induce sleep and can become addictive would prolong their effects and permit the use of smaller and safer doses. Others of the newly identified compounds were found to suppress cellular growth in Ani Mal tissue and Are candidates As possible tumor growth inhibitors in humans the re searchers reported. They also found that chemicals taken from a number of invertebrates in tropical Waters such As sponges and Coral and from some plants have the ability to inhibit the growth of experimental tutors in mice. The chemicals were also found to mitigate cardiovascular and Central nervous system disorders in Small mammals. The scientists Are now conducting experiments on Laboratory animals to provide More thorough validation of the observed effects of the substances. The report of their work released this week by the Noaa noted that the newly Dis covered compounds May serve As models for the synthesis of new drugs. And the chemical information gained from the research is expected to increase the knowledge of the chemistry of Marine animals and plants and define the types of compounds released Jinto the Ocean from natural sources. The research team of three scientists two chemists and a pharmacologist from the University of Oklahoma isolated and identified the compounds during the past two years As part of a Noaa sponsored sea Grant Sudy. Carter creates hunger panel Washington up president Carter has announced the creation of a 20-member advisory commission on world hunger and malnutrition and instructed it to submit final recommendations to him by june 30,1980. The participants at the conference agreed that practising physicians should be advise to examine All apparently senile elderly patients extremely carefully to Rule out curable or treatable diseases. Of course physicians have been taught for years to Rule out curable illness before diag nosing a patient As hopelessly senile. Cautionary tales have Long been told for example of patients who were apathetic and withdrawn and labelled As senile. When thyroid disease was suspected and diagnosed the senility was cured almost miraculously by just a few grains of thyroid extract daily. Similarly physicians have been taught since medical school to exclude brain tutors before concluding that bizarre behaviour in the elderly is a result of hardening of the arteries. Although physicians Are supposed to be aware of treatable causes of mental illness the Nih conference does i believe serve As a slightly useful reminder that even the Best doctor will slip up at times and assume that withdrawn or unusual behaviour in an elderly patient is the result of incurable loss of blood Supply to the brain. What is intriguing about the Nih report however is its emphasis on having physicians do aggressive examining and testing of elderly patients. Quite simply this Means that such techniques As computerized brain scans it scan radioactive isotope studies liver and kidney biopsies and extensive metabolic investigations should be used on All elderly con fund or ostensibly senile patients before they Are diagnosed As having arteriosclerotic brain damage. Certainly most authorities would agree that at the minimum a it brain scan should be done. The Nih report shows the futility of Many government efforts some of them supported by Nih itself to practice Medicine on the  practising physicians in the past few years have been condemned More often for overuse than underused of diagnostic techniques. We have been particularly lashed for what critics of the profession Call the proliferation of brain scanning machines. What the Nih report tells the Public on the other hand is that although 80 to 90 percent of the apparently senile elderly patients Are indeed suffering from irreversible brain damage physicians must make a concerted Effort using High technology to find the remaining 10 to 20 percent who can be helped by Medicine and surgery. That s just what physicians have been doing All the time and the Public should be warned that such diagnostic techniques Aren t cheap. C new York times across 1 scent 5 festivity 9 scientific work pm. 12 irritate 13 mortgage 14 before poetically 15 Good Luck 17 Colloid 18 reserved for the future 19 Dean Martin party 21 Printer s measure 22 faithful 24 daring 27 Border 28 Haw like Bird 31 Wrath 32 self 33 animal Park 34 Lily 36 past time 37 bishoprics 38 hirsute 40 overhead Railroad 41 disdain 43 French school form 47 and Feather 48 festive dish 51 tavern 52 wicked 53 molding 54 Legal matter 55 cultivate 56 Cut As grass Down 1 celestial spheres 2 Loose soil 3 table spread 4 raised 5 pleased 6 suffer ill health 7 Robert e. 8 indignant 9 make lawful 10 greek War god 11 Girdle 16 Range of vision average solution time 23 min. Imam my my h5m Bess 9-7 answer to yesterday s Puzzle. 20 Hardwood tree 22 having Long limbs 23 Melville opus 24 twice 25 valuable Mineral 26 certain hens 27 learn 29-theline 30 Dawn goddess 35 Row 37 ski race 39 Creek 40 Imp 41 awaken 42 sugar 43 chill 44 starchy Palm 45 Merganser 46 Man s name 49 All about " 50 bar offering 31 51 26 38 21 3s 39 52 55 21 32 3b 49 22 so 23 2o 28 53 56 44 o 29 9-7 dear Ann Landers i wish i had a Quarter for every time my wife has shoved one of your columns in my face and said Here read  today i am writing a letter i Hope to shove in her face. I m in business that makes it important for me to take out of town customers to dinner about twice a month. My wife in t interested in coming along because we talk shop the whole time and the men never bring their wives i am usually Home by 10 30. Last night a customer decided he wanted to go out on the town so we went to several different places. I had a few drinks and sort of lost track of the time. I got Home about 3 30 . My wife was like a wild per son. She had phoned the police checked the hospitals and All the bars she could think of. I was pretty burned up when she told me All this. After All it does t help a Guy s reputation to have his wife telephoning All Over town looking for him. I m not a juvenile delinquent on parole and i should t have to report in if i decide to stay out later than usual once in a while what do you say Annie does a grown Man have to let his wife know where he is every minute17 need breathing space dear breathing you betcha. And Why should he be reluctant to Tell her since he is never any where he should t be a Hus band who is usually Home by 10 30 and comes rolling in five hours late deserves to get what Ever he gets. His embarrassment at being tracked by phone is nothing compared to the anxiety he puts his wife through. So you d better wrap the garbage with to Day s column mister. It won t do any Good on the Home front. Dear Ann knowing that the american Public in general and the Christian Community in particular will find any Issue of sexuality threatening it is beyond me Why Gays expect to have their civil rights upheld by the Ameri can electorate. We live in a coun try where the electorate refuses to guarantee the equal rights of women and special legislation is required to protect females against discrimination. Why should Gays expect to be treated differently let us bring before the electorate a non discrimination referendum for native americans in Flagstaff ariz., or mexi can americans in Lubbock tex., or Black americans in Plains ga., or jewish americans in Salt Lake City Utah or better yet in the business Community at Large who Are we kidding to our United presbyterian Brothers and Sis ters let me quote one of their own whatever you have done unto the least of these you have done unto  i am requesting the right to withhold my name. I am just disgusted dear disgusted this column represents Many Points of View. Thank you for expressing yours. Confidential to testing your Sioux City memory i Don t know what this has to do with Sioux City but i remember it Well. It goes like this when your mind makes a commitment your body can t fill you re Over the Hill brother Over the Hill " c 1978 Field enterprises inc