Tobacco Documents Online

'eonard L ahn ah andAs andAS PUBLIC RELATIONS COUNSEL SOCiateSlnC P. O. BOX 523 • 113 LINCOLN ROAD • GREAT NECK, NJY: 11021 •(212) 895,7445 FOR: THE COUNCIL FOR TOBACCO RESEARCH-U.S.A., Inc. FOR RELEASE IN AM'S OF TUESDAY, JUNE' 13, 1972 NEW SCIENTIFIC FINDINGS ABOUT CANCER, HEART DISEASE, THE LUNG, OTHER AREAS, REPORTED BY COUNCIL FOR TOBACCO RESEARCH I&% New York -- Some new and important scientific findings about cancer, heart disease, the lung, and other subjects are described in the latest annual report of The Council for Tobacco Research- U.S.A., Inc., issued today. The 1970-71 report includes research findings by independent scientists who received grants from The Council for studies in such fields as viral aspects of cancer, involvement of an enzyme in atherosclerosis, a lung disease often fatal to some newborn infants, the origin of a major lung defense mechanism, nicotine and learning, sex hormones and emphysema, and others. In an introduction to the report, Dr. Robert C. Hockett, Act- ing Scientific Director, said The Council's research policies con- tinue to emphasize study of the causation of those disease reputed to be related statistically to cigarette smoking. "Such diseases, especially cancer, cardiovascular ailments and chronic respiratory afflictions, are not only the leading causes of morbidity and death since the conquest of major in- fectious diseases," he said, "but are universally recognized~to be of multifactorial origin and to be strongly influenced by congenital predispositions. "The role of tobacco use in their etiology (causation), if such exists," Dr. Hockett wrote, "can therefore be defined or measured only within the context of a growing comprehension of the total etiological picture, involving knowledge of the com- plex interactions between endogenous and exogenous factors." (more)

C C 2. The report paid special tribute to the late Dr. Clarence Cook Little, Scientific Director of The Council from its early days un- til his death last December 22, calling the famed geneticist and cancer researcher "a towering figure as a man and as a scientist." The Council was organized in 1954 to sponsor research by in- dependent scientists into questions of tobacco use and health. Through June 1971, the Scientific Advisory Board to The Council, currently consisting of nine scientists and physicians, had made awards to 260 investigators in 192 hospitals, universities and re- search institutions totaling over $20,000,000. A total of 925 re- search papers (104 since the previous annual report) acknowledging Council support has been published by these investigators. -0- Following are brief highlights of some research projects sup- ported by The Council: Viral Aspects of Cancer Research is being done to develop a supersensitive test sys- tem that may disclose information about the interactions between the viral genome (postulated to exist in all mammalian cells) and environmental substances. In a Council-supported study, when rat embryonic cells were infected with a leukemia virus and then treated with various doses of a chemical, cancer-like changes were seen. There were no changes in uninfected cells similarly treated or in virus-infected cells not treated with the chemical. When trans- planted into newborn rats, the transformed cells produced tumors, but no tumors resulted from like treatment with the infected or chemically treated, uninfected cells. The experiment showed that, at least in this test system, both chemical and virus were necessary for cell transformation. This artificial test system does not duplicate real life sit- uations but only exaggerates certain factors and eliminates others for the sake of supersensitivity. It does not imply that external substances tested are "dangerous" or "safe," but is only another ~ new tool used in virus research. Ultimately it may be possible to ~, use human cells in this test system to compare and contrast them N i with cells from other species. A more distant goal is development ~ of a method to assess cancer susceptibility in humans. (more)

.-AS - ik. C t Enzyme Related to Atherosclerosis Atherosclerosis, the depositionof fatty substances on the inner lining of arteries, is a major killer disease in the United States. A study with human iliac arteries incubated in human serum showed the involvement of an enzyme called LCAT (lecithin-choles- terol-acyl-transferase). The scientists who did the work said an enzyme deficiency, possibly LCAT, may be important in the causation or rate of development of atherosclerosis. Hyaline Membrane Disease Little is known about the origin of hyaline membrane disease (HMD), which is often fatal to some newborn infants. A Council- supported study reported that the function of cells in the outer layer (cortex) of the adrenal gland may influence HMD. An anal- ysis of 3'87 autopsies on newborn and stillborn infants showed that the adrenal glandz were 19 percent lighter in infants with HMD than in those free of the disease. Those without the disease had a greater number of cortical cells in the adrenal gland. Also, a positive correlation was found between the presence of infection arising before birth and the absence of HMD, the infected infants having larger adrenal glands. Important findings also were turned~ up concerning surfactant, a substance that coats the inside of the lungs and is believed to play a significant role in HMD. Lung Defense Mechanism Certain lung cells -- called pulmonary alveolar macrophages -- comprise a major defense mechanism of the lung. Their origin is a matter of controversy among scientists. A study using genetically related mice and substrains disclosed that at least some macro- phages originate from bone marrow. This particular study is part of a project that is moving into the biochemistry of macrophages and will include work done with cigarette smoke. (more)

.•e.4 .; S. C 4. Nicotine and Learning A Council-supported researcher has found that rats put through a training regime (maze solving and lever pressing) learn at a measurable rate. However, if the rats are given an electric shock after a training session, they tend to "unlearn" what they had previously acquired. The shock apparently caused an amnesiac con- dition and prevented consolidation of the learning process. When the animals were treated with nicotine prior to a training session, it was found that the subsequent electric shock did not affect memory consolidation. The animals largely retained what they had learned, apparently because the nicotine blocked any effect of the shock. Another study in a related area found that the chronic admin- istration of nicotine in rats seemed to stimulate the brains of the animals, making the animals function more effectively. Sex Hormones and Emphysema A potentially significant report came from a scientist who has been working with Council support on the experimental in- duction of emphysema in rats. He has sought to determine whether such induced disease would lead to pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary heart disease as in man. It was found that daily in- jection of progesterone, the female sex hormone, and a deriva- tive called medroxyprogesterone (in a dose 1/50th that of pro- gesterone) prevented experimental induction of emphysema in the rats by a method that otherwise was successful. Twin Studies The Council provided financial aid for aninternational sym- posium on twin studies held the end of 1969 in Puerto Rico. A re- port on the symposium, published last year, discussed research into smoking that involved twin registries in Sweden and the United States. It said clinical studies of twins indicate involvement a genetic factor in coronary heart disease and also in certain physiological characteristics widely believed to be related to heart disease, among them blood pressure and cholesterol. -END-