Synthetic Interferon
. First tests in on genetic engineering product
The Michigan Daily-Saturday, October 24, 1981-Page 3
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Interferon
produced by genetic engineering
shrank tumors in seven of 16 cancer
patients, researchers said yesterday.
The said they were encouraged that
the substance was passing early safety
tests,but that its effectiveness will not
be proven until it is tested on a larger
group of patients.
Results of the study, which was in-
tended only to demonstrate the safety
of the snythetic interferon, were repor-
ted yesterday by Dr. Sandra Horning
of Stanford University.
TESTS OF natural interferon, made
by the body to fight viral infections,
show it has promise as an anti neer
weapon, but results of the firs few
studies have been mixed, researchers
say.
The number of tests has been limited
by the scarcity of natural interferon,
most of which is obtained through a
complicated process developed by the
Red Cross in Finland.
A course of treatment with natural
*Police kill
^ y
oneBrinks
suspect,'
arr est
another
It appears
likely that
the tumor
regression was due to the interferon,
not an impurity. -Dr. Sandra Horning
Stanford University"
interferon can cost $30,000, resear-
chers say.
SYNTHETIC interferon produced by
genetic engineering can be made at far
less cost, and it can therefore be tested
on a large number of patients.
The synthetic product is made by
altering bacteria's genes so that the
bacteria produces interferon as a by-
product of growth and reproduction.
INITIAL TESTING involved eight
patients at Stanford and eight at the M.
D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor In-
stitute in Houston. All of the patients
had advanced cancers.
At Stanford, anti-tumor activity was
spotted in one patient with breast can-
cer, one with leukemia end two with
lymphoma, said Horning.
Three of the eight patients at Ander-
son showed Tumor regression. That
part of the trial was directed by, Dr.
Jordan U. Getterman.
THE RESULTS of the trial were par-
ticularly significant because the inter-
feron was 98 percent pure. Previous
preparation had purity levels of about 2
percent, Horning said.
Thus, it appears likely that the tumor
regression was due to the interferon,
not an impurity, she said.
Horning said the side effects were the
same as those for natural interferon:
fever, muscle pains, fatigue, headache,
chills and a decrease in white blood
cells, the body's natural infection
fighters.
ALL SIDE effects proved reversible,
Horning said.
Hoffmann-LaRoche, Inc., which
produced the interferon in cooperation
with Genentech, Inc. of South San
Francisco, said a second phase of
testing - to determine synthetic inter-
feron's efectiveness as a cancer
weapon - would likely begin later this
year.
The company, based in Nutley, N.J.,
cautioned that "the number of patients
involved during Phase I is not large
enough for a scientific evaluation of ef-
ficacy."
Horning's colleagues included Drs.
Jedd Levine, Richard Miller, Saul
RosenbergAnd Thomas Merigan.
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NW YORK (AP)- Police killed one man and arrested a
fugitive Black Panther in a shootout in New York City
yesterday after the suspects were spotted in a car linked to a
bloody $1.6 million armored truck holdup.
The surviving suspect was identified by police as Nat Bur-
ns, a member of the Black Panther Party who was indicted in
1968 on bombing charges and had not been captured since.
Both men were wearing bullet proof vests, and one 9mm
weapon was immediately recovered. Some of the bandits in
Tuesday's robbery used 9mm weapons.
POLICE SAID Burns was carrying $2,446. The car con-
tained a loaded .38 caliber revolver, 161 rounds of M-16 rifle
ammunition, 80 rounds of .44-caliber revolver ammunition,
75 rounds of M-1 rifle ammunition and a duffle bag with rifle
parts, police said.
Police probing the growing number of connections among
the radicals, black terrorists and the Brink's robbers have
raided several apartments in the metropolitan area, repor-
tedly finding weapons, diagrams and "hit lists."
At the same time, state police in Connecticut said they had
detained four people for questioning in connection with the
robbery and slayings.
T OSE QUESTIONED in Westport included three men
and a woman. State police said they received an anonymous
tip that they might be connected with the robbery. They
detained the four, who were traveling in two cars, one of
which was pulling a U-Haul van.
The cars were stopped on Interstate 95 shortly before noon
by a large number of state policemen. No shots were fired.
State Police spokesman Adam Berluti said the four had been
charged with motor vehicle and minor drug violations.
Because there was a question of their identities, and because
it was an anonymous tip, the FBI was called in to help with
questioning, he said.
In Nyack, N.Y., meanwhile, a preliminary hearing was set
for four people arrested on murder charges after Tuesday's
aborted robbery, in which a guard and two police officers
were slain. Three of the suspects are members of the
Weather Underground, including Katherine Boudin, who had
been a fugitive for 11 yeajrs.
Swish!
Sensei Takashi Kushida, Master of Aikido, demonstrates a form of the an-
cient Oriental art at the University's Sports Coliseum yesterday.
'Trusteessa MS
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.''Judge ru'le -s against abo'rti*on for it
still in financial crisis
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP)- A coun-
ty judge ruled yesterday that it is not in
the best interests of an 11-year-old girl
who is nearly 24 weeks pregnant to un-
dergo an abortion.
"The evidence is clear that if she does
not Have an abortion, extensive coun-
seling be made available .both prior ands
after the birth of the child," Kalamazoo
County Probate Judge Donald Halstead
wrote in his nine-page opinion.
BRIAN CAPLAN, attorney for the
girl's father who had sought an abortion
for his daughter, said he would not ap-
peal the ruling.
Halstead had been ordered by a
federal judge to decide by close of court,
Friday whether to order the abortion
for the girl, who is pregnant by her
mother's boyfriend. Halstead had twice
declined to rule on the issue.
In his opinion, Halstead said he found
that "an abortion is not in the best in-
terest of the minor child . . ."
" "THERE WAS no dispute that
psychologically it is a no-win situation
for this little girl and she will require
much therapy," the judge wrote.
"There are no unforseen complications
facing the minor child during pregnan-
cy as she is in good health."
Halstead made public the ruling in
printed statements hahded to repor-
ters.,
The deadline was set after attorneys
for the girl argued that she was about to
enter her 24th week, or third trimester,
of pregnancy, the time after which
Michigan law sets strict limits for doc-
tors performing abortions.
THOSE INVOLVED in the case
describe the unidentified fifth-grade
girl from Kalamazoo as confused about
what she wants.
She became a ward of the court in
August, when Halstead determined that
the mother had neglected her.
However, the mother was granted
temporary custody until the court
proceedings end, and she refused to
give permission for an abortion. The
girl's father, an ex-convict who lives in
Grand Rapids, favors an abortion.
HALSTEAD HAD said he did not
have the authority to rule on the
question.
U.S. District Judge Benjamin Gibson
said Tuesday that Halstead violated the
constitutional rights of the girl by not
ruling whether an abortion would be in
her best interest.
A Kalamazoo group calling itself
"Concerned Citizens for Children's
Rights" called for Halstead to
disqualify himself from the case
because his name appeared on a list of
supporters in an anti-abortion
newspaper advertisement in May.
The girl's attorney and her father's
attorney are concerned that if Halstead
rules against an abortion, they could
not appeal the case soon enough so that
a Michigan doctor would be willing to
perform the abortion.
The Michigan Supreme Court has
ruled that a physician who aborts a
fetus able to survive outside the womb
can be charged with manslaughter.
EAST LANSING (UPI) - The
Michigan State University Board of
Trustees refused a, faculty request
yesterday to lift the state of financial
crisis declared at the fiscally troubled
school last winter.
The MSU Faculty Council earlier in
the week voted to ask that the crisis
declaration be cancelled, saying it has,
left a cloud hanging over the university
which has affected morale, and the,
"tone" of the institution.
THE TRUSTEES, in turning down
the request, said merely declaring the
crisis over would be a cosmetic move
that would fool no one.
"In my judgment most of the things
we've done couldn't have been accom-
plished without the declaration of finan-
cial crisis," said MSU President Cecil
Mackey.
MSU has ordered temporary and in-
definite layoffs, closed departments an)d
taken other steps to trim spending to
conform to reduced income.
IN A RELATED matter, student
government leaders appeared before
the board, offering to contribute 10 per-
cent of their stipends to the university if
Mackey would do the same with his
salary. The president declined com-
ment.
And John Bruff, chairman of the
board, reported the school's breakaway
alumni association is nearly $260,000 in
debt and has a "very poor chance of
surviving.
The association and university of-
ficial shave been negotiating over a
possible reconciliation.
HAPPENINGS u'to investigate death
of N. Campus raccoons
HOMECOMING
Mudbowl, SAE vs. Phi Delta Theta, at the corner of South University and
Washtenaw, 10a.m.
Casino Party, University Club, Michigan Union, 8:30 p.m.
FILMS
Mediatrics-The Great Santini, Nat. Sci., 7 & 9 p.m.
Alternative Action-3 Days of the Condor, MLB 3,7 & 9:15 p.m.
AAFC - Mr. Mike's Mondo Video, MLB 4,7 & 10:20 p.m.
AAFC - National Lampoon's Disco Beaver From Outer Space, MLB 4,
8:40 p.m.
Cinema Guild - The Front, Lorch Hall Aud., 7 & 9:40 p.m.
Cinema Guild - Marquette Park: Parts I & II, 8:40 p.m.
Cinema II-Tess, Aud. A, Angell, 6 & 9 p.m.
PERFORMANCES
Eclipse - Concert, Bob James, Hill Aud., 8 p.m.
Ark - Friends of Fiddlers Geen, from Scotland. Loud songs and low
humor, 1421-Hill, 9p.m. For info, call 761-1415.
School, of Music-Contemporary Directions Ensemble-Carl St. Clair,
conductor, Rackham, 8 p.m. Organ Conf.-Recital, Mary Ida Yost, Pease
Aud., EMU, 8 p.m.
MEETINGS
Gray Panthers-Simulation Game, "Taking a Risk in the Later Years," 3
to 5 p.m. at the Ann Arbor "Y."
Grad. Christian Fellowship-Mtg., Michigan League, 7 p.m. For info, call
662-8860.
A' Go-Club-Mtg., 1433 Mason Hall, 2-7 p.m.
MISCELLANEOUS
School of Metaphysics-Tasyer's Dinner, 6 p.m. $5 admission, 1029 Foun-
tain, call 996-1363.
Hillel-Mincha-Seudah Shlishis (light meal), 6:10 p.m. at Hillel; Meekreh,
Keg Party, live music, 9:30 p.m. at Hillel; Jewish grads, Party, 721 Church
No. 2, 9:30 p.m.
Indian Students Assoc.-Diwali function at Clague School. Nixon Rd.. 6
The University will investigate the
actions of two University employees
who allegedly killed several raccoons
at a North Campus housing complex
Thursday, a spokesman for the Univer-
sity's Plant Department said yester-
day.
According to one resident of the com-
plex, Northwood ,V, the University
maintenance personnel killed the rac-
coons in a garbage dumpster near the
complex, with pitchforks and
sledgehammers.
GROUNDS Maintenance Manager
Doug Fasing said yesterday that the
University investigation will probably
reach a conclusioni next week.
North Campus Family Housing
Director Richard Tarrier called the in-
cident "very regretable" and stressed
that the University did not authorize the
killings. "We've never had anything
like that happen before and you can be
sure it won't happen again," Tarrier
said.
Raccoons have become a problem in
the North Campus area, Tarrier said,
and the University has contacted the
Department of Natural Resources to
find a method of ridding the complex of
raccoons without trapping or killing
them.
1981 HOMECOMING
University
Club Union
Saturday, October 24,8:30
$2.00 Admission includes:
A French Riviera Casino
A Trip to the Rosebowi in Pasadena
A German Octoberfest
Video Highlights of:
Mudbowl
Parade
Pep Rally
M ICHIGAN
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