SURPRISE DEFENSE PICK Risk to People Who Use Sunscreens
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g4 — MANCHESTER HERALD. Friday. Mar. 10. 1989 SCIENCE & HEALTH IN B R IE F Hospital promotes Bonney Ann L. Bonney of South Windsor has been Scientists fight common coid by footing it named director of child care services at Manchester Memorial Hospital. Bonney will be responsible for the hospital’s BOSTON (A P) — Scientists re Springer said his group has already new Child Day Care Center in the Miller ported today that the next best thing to produced a soluble form of the virus Building. She has been working on the project a cure for the common cold — a way to receptor, but they are attempting to for the past year. prevent it — may have become develop a version that will be even Bonney is also responsible for the Child Life possible at last by using a kind of more effective as a virus-fooling drug. and Parent Education Department. She was cellular illusion to trick the relentless Experts predicted that such a the founder of the hospital’s Child Life virus. treatment would probably be used as Department in 1977 and coordinated the Two teams, working separately, a nose spray or drops. Since it would hospital auxiliary’s involvement in Parents A have deciphered the chemical hitch be impractical — and probably Anonymous, creating one of the first hospital- ing post that about half of all cold expensive — to use the drops daily, based programs in the state. viruses use when they latch onto cells people might take the medicine when She co-founded Formerly Abused Children in the nose and infect them. they are especially worried about Emerging into Society and the East of the This seemingly arcane discovery getting colds. River Diabetes Club. She has served on the may be an important key to defeating For instance, parents might take Regional Child Advocacy Team, Manchester’s one of humanity’s most universal the treatment to protect themselves Adolescent Mental Health Task Force and as a miseries. when their child brings home a cold. consultant to the local Time Out for Parents “ It is clearly feasible to develop a Or an athlete might use it to keep from respite child-care program. treatment based on what we have catching a cold before an important As hospital special projectsdirector, Bonney learned,” said Dr. Timothy A. Sprin game. put together four Women’s Health Conferen ger of the Center for Blood Research Scientists said the discovery re ces, developed a marketing plan for the Fam ily in Boston. sulted from combining two lines of Birthing Center, coordinated the Pediatric Their anti-cold strategy is simple: separate research. Task Force and instituted the 111 Child Care Program for hospital employees’ children. Fool the virus. Springer has worked for several Bonney has a bachelor’s degree in human The scientists have developed a years on a structure on the surface of development and family studies from Cornell detailed picture of the rhinovirus cells called intercellular adhesion University and a master’s degree in child receptor on the cells that make up the AP photo molecule-1, or ICAM-1. This protein is development and family relations from Iowa lining of the nose. A cold occurs when the receptor that white blood cells use COLD CURE? — Dr. Timothy Springer, lead researcher in the State University. a virus attaches itself to one these to hook themselves onto the body’s receptors and infiltrates the cell. study of the common cold virus, gestures during a Thursday news conference to announce a discovery in curing the tissues —one step in coordinating the Researchers have isolated the gene response to infection and triggering More bald eagles reported Ice-cold Huskies fall to Seton H all... page 48 responsible for making the receptor, common cold. inflammation. and as a result, they can produce it in HARTFORD (A P) - Sightings of bald Meanwhile, Dr. Richard Colonno of limitless quantities. Crowell, a virus researcher at Hahne step,” said Dr. Michael E. Kamarck eagles in Connecticut increased 69 percent to 88 the drug firm Merk, Sharp & Dohme They believe they can keep people mann University School of Medicine of Molecular Therapeutics in West discovered three years ago that 90 during a recent two-day survey, state officials healthy by flooding their noses with in Philadelphia. Haven, Conn. percent of all rhinoviruses attach said. copies of the receptor. If a cold virus Even if the scientific hunch is right, Reports on the two teams’ conclu themselves to just one receptor when Rita M. Duclos, an endangered species wanders by, it will harmlessly attack it will be several years before such sions were published in the journal they attack the body. biologist with the state Department of a dummy receptor and never find a treatment is available. There will also Cell. One study was conducted at the Environmental Protection, said sightings were susceptible nose cell. be drawbacks. The therapy will only Center for Blood Research, the In the latest work, the scientists up from 52 made last year during the National No one knows for sure whether this work against rhinoviruses, which Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in found that ICAM-1 is the portal for Wildlife Federation Midwinter Bald Eagle ploy will work, although it looks causes about half of all colds, but it Boston and Boehringer Ingelheim both blood cells and cold viruses. Survey. promising in a test tube. A similar will be powerless against other cold Pharmaceuticals in Ridgefield, “ The big thing has been the Duclos said sightings were recorded by 50 scheme is being tested against AIDS. germs. And it probably will not stop Conn., and the other at Molecular identification of the two proteins that biologists and birdwatchers and were distrib iEanrIjpatpr MrralJ) “ If it works, it would be very colds once they start. Therapeutics, part of Miles Inc., a we worked on separately being one uted evenly across the state with large exciting,” commented Dr. Richard “ This is not a cure. It is a scientific pharmaceutical firm. and the same,” Colonno said. concentrations along the Connecticut River. One golden eagle was also recorded. More tests due on cancer risk of sunscreens Poor Infants get less care Manchester, Conn. — A City of Village Charm WASHINGTON (A P) - Nearly a third of all Saturday, March 11, 1989 ST. LOUIS (A P) - The active pounds notorious for their cancer- protect themselves from sun-caused “ Compounds of this structure would poor children have no health insurance and ingredient in some commercial suns causing ability. Roughly 90 percent of skin cancers should continue to use have a very low activity or are nearly 30 percent of children in low-income creens can break down into a the 300 nitrosamines tested so far commercially available sunscreens inactive,” Lijinsky said. families are uninsured, according to a substance that causes cancer, accord have been shown to cause cancer in until more testing is done. Representatives of the American Children’s Defense Fund report. ing to a study that has prompted animals. Scientists said testing so far has not Dermatological Academy and the The report by the private organization said further testing to determine whether “ We have a saying in this field — established whether the newly disco American Cancer Society said they 32.4 percent of all poor children and 28.7 there is any risk to users. guilty until proven innocent,” said vered nitrosamine is a strong enough were unaware of the nitrosamine in percent of children in families with incomes In tests by the U.S. Food and Drug Stephen S. Hecht, director of research carcinogen to present any substantial sunscreens. They said that until Administration, 14 of 17 sunscreens at the American Health Foundation in between 100 percent and 200 percent of the SURPRISE DEFENSE PICK risk to people who use sunscreens. officials reviewed any information poverty line had no health insurance in 1986. containing the sun-blocking agent Valhalla, N.Y. William Lijinsky, an authority on that sunscreens were harmful, the The report warned many children not padimate O, itself used to prevent skin “ You just never know,” he told the nitrosamines at the federally owned groups would continue to recommend covered by private, employer-based health cancer from overexposure, were Post-Dispatch. “ Basically, any nitro Frederick Cancer Research Facility the use of sunscreens to protect insurance programs are also not getting Cheney accepts found to contain a newly discovered samine is cause for concern.” in Frederick, Md., said the nitrosam against damage from the sun. adequate coverage under the federal-state nitrosamine, the St. Louis Post- But representatives of major health ine, which goes by the initials Padimate O, the sun-blocking Medicaid program and other health assistance Dispatch reported Thursday. organizations and the sunscreen NPABAO, probably was a “ very weak agent, is found in some, but not all, programs. offer by Bush Nitrosamines are a class of com industry said people who want to carcinogen.” sunscreen products. By Terence Hunt The Associated Press WASHINGTON — President Bush on Friday named Rep. Richard Cheney of Wyoming as defense FU R H lT U R t secretary, moving with surprising speed to leave behind the controversy caused by John Tower’s rejection by the Senate. Bush hailed Cheney as a “ widely respected man of principle” and. dismissed the Tower saga by saying,’’Look that’s history.” Cheney’s name had not figured in any of the speculation that arose in the hours after Tower’s TOP QUftUT'f- m rejection. Bush said he expected Cheney would win confirmation “ very fast,” and White House Chief of Staff John Sununu said he already had talked of a confirmation schedule with Senate Democratic leaders.