European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 6, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Fascinated Bylas by Sharon Cohen associated press Obert Lewis of Ames Iowa has fleas. And he s proud of it. Tens of thousands of them Are on shelves. Cabinets and drawers in his office. A Lew Are Evan captured Lor posterity in giant Glossy photos. Such is the life of a Pulicco Logist or Lea specialist. And Lewis an Iowa state University entomology professor is one of an elite group of Only about a dozen experts worldwide who can claim the title. While most people see them As blood sucking pests fleas Are fascinating to Lewis who for. 30 years has trekked from the mountains of Mexico to the Sands of saudia Arabia in search of Siphon Plera the scientific name Lor the order of fleas. That Ingle minded Devotion has left Lewis open to some ribbing but it does t Bug him. I Learned if you re going to work on something like fleas you d better maintain a sense of humor said the Goatsen 56-year-old professor. The Novelty of his research occasionally thrusts him in the spotlight. Four years ago Lewis appeared on the tonight show with Johnny Carson. I Don l think i was As funny As he had hoped he confessed. The reason May be Lewis work is quite serious. One of his main tasks As a researcher is developing a computerized Catalon of Flea facts and figures. For example there Are 2.3b1 species of fleas. Almost All Are Brown. Some have eyes. Others Don t. It s hard to Tell them apart Hough. Average length is 2 Millimetres the biggest Are five limes larger but that s still less than a halt Inch. Male fleas though can be distinguished by their genitalia. Fleas have the most complicated genital structures known in the whole animal  he said. Certain males can t Mala with certain  their lives average a month to six weeks. Food and sex Are about the Only thing on their menu Lewis said. Tha wingless insects have however gained a reputation As crowd Plaa Sers in Flea circuses where they re sometimes hitched to miniature cannons. But Lewis cautions not to expect much. Nobody can train any insect to do  he said. They put the poor Little devils in positions where they can t do anything but what you want them to  Many fleas do have one Talent jumping. Tha Best he said can jump vertically 12 to 15 inches. One Premier jumper the Oriental rat Lea holds a notorious place in history. The theory is that species latched on to ship borne rats Lewis said and when the rodents moved ashore a lorm of bubonic plague called the Black death spread wiping out a Quarter of Europe s population in the 1300s. Aboul 75 percent of fleas Are found on rodents though they feed off other animals such As Birds jackals foxes dogs and cats. It Lett Vlf he my to  ump nil Turov. In the United slates fleas Are primarily nuisances infesting household Pels rather than health risks Flea collars Don l work Well either Lewis said because the Poison level is Low enough my to irritate the pets but nol High enough to kill the Leas. Most of Lewis Lime is devoted to scholarly pursuits. He and his wife Joanne Are working on several projects. Including a Flea synonym Catalon. They also publish Flea news a twice yearly journal of articles bibliography and trivia. Ii has 175 readers As far away As China where much Flea research is being conducted Lewis who received a doctorate from the University of Illinois for work on fleas thoracic Muscles came to Iowa stale More than 19 years ago. He also taught Al the american University of Beirut and has tracked fleas in India Syria. Turkey Jordan and Afghanistan. Before collecting a scientist often must trap catch or kill the Host animal. Lewis has been Lucky he says he s never been bit by Bug or beast Lewis has a collection of about 50.000 fleas All dead and Many mounted on Glass slides. Since he began his research hundreds of species have been described or discovered. Lewis said he s responsible for 50 to 60 of them. Some experts he added speculate Only 2,500 species exist in the world. But with Many to go and years of writing and research ahead Lewis does t worry about running out of work. As he says ill Long be in my grave before  treatment for sleep disorders drug offers help for narcoleptic by Alison Grant United press International some people quit Lishing because Ever time they get a strike they risk ailing asleep on he  is the culprit and any Strong emotion can provoke a Cata Pectic attack of overpowering sleepiness. Narcolepsy is but one of a number of sleep disorders but it la worse than most because it can disrupt social and professional lives. The american narcolepsy association estimates the condition afflicts Between 100,000 and 250,000 americans. Most people with sleep disorders can be successfully treated and therapy has been dramatic in the narcolepsy program underway at Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton Ohio where 70 narcoleptic Are Given cat Abate an orphan drug for which researchers seek food and drug administration approval. I have one woman who is holding her grandchild for the first time in her life because before the emotion would make her collapse said Martin Scharf Dan la the cause of narcolepsy remains a mystery and the condition is Ere Long. But Cata Bale can control the uncontrollable Sutfie to Bleep an urge often complicated by an Emo on or jeered attack in which the Pereo tows Muse control drop i hangs and Evita fun Over Scharf saw. Or. Michael Aldrich director of the sleep disorders Center at the University of Michigan medical Center in Ann Arbor says an incorrect diagnosis of narcolepsy is common. He said a person Lound to have the ailment typically has lived with the symptoms for 10 to 15 years he said the reason Many Narco Teplica go undiagnosed for so Long is because their symptom Are nut taken seriously or Are mistaken for dizziness or seizures. Although a drug is showing evidence of helping narcoleptic drugs Are usually a poor solution or patients suffering from insomnia said Mark Mahowald co director of the sleep clinic at Hennepin county medical Center in Minneapolis. Insomnia la much More common than narcolepsy and affects an estimated 17 percent of All americans. Unlike most human functions the harder you work Al sleeping the worse you can gel at it Mahowald said insomniacs Are trapped in a sleepless Cycle preoccupation with the need to rest aggravates their restlessness. They Tyrala sharply awake from bedtime rituals that Lull the average person to Steep in 15 minutes clinicians teach patients to remold bed sleep habits by following regular pattern when they go to bed and out up and by avoiding Nape. H these habit am practice. Insomniacs can Bern their Way to Wund we re getting tired of seeing healthy 35-year-Olds getting canned from their jobs because of  disturbances he said. Two filth of the patients treated at the Minneapolis clinic have Steep Apnoea characterized by repeated periods of arrested of bathing White asleep. The Piehs last 10 seconds or longer and occur 200 to 600 Umei a night. Symptoms include heavy an Orang fat Lunil Baba during sleep Morring headaches and personality changes. Apnoea la More common in obese peple afflicts 60 percent of elderly people and is a possible Causa for sudden infant death syndrome in babies researchers say scientists speculate Apnoea Cornea from abnormalities in the brain slam that Only show up during Bleep. Doctors prescribe weight Baa for heavy patients surgery to dear Airway passage obstructions nocturnal oxygen delivered through e special Mak and various drugs. A iter rom and sleepwalking afflict a Small percentage of the clinics patients. Both cond Rittof a More common in children and Are no Cuba Lor Lewita alarm Mahowald said