Five babies in New Orleans
"will have a chance at life if
a delicate heart operation can
be perfected in experiments
on dogs.
Sufferers from high blood pressure may hope for a cure or relief through experiments on dogs.
The intestinal ailment which struck President Eisenhower may be shown to have a bacteriological cause —if experiments on dogs are continued.
Medical research projects in these three fields are Under way at Louisiana State university school of medicine in New Orleans. Projects Wait on Dogs
They are among the projects for which New Orleans medical leaders are seeking a new supply of dogs for research.
The city council has turned its back on the doctors' request for an ordinance which would allow unclaimed dogs picked up in New Orleans to be turned over to the medical centers for such projects.
At LSU medical school this week, doctors involved in the projects told of their work and how it is served by dogs. Dr. Harold Albert, assistant professor of surgery, is using dogs exclusively in research on a congenital heart disease among infants.
In the disease, a heart defect creates an imbalance in the blood flow so that the pulmonary artery must be constricted to hold back the flow through that artery. Dogs Used in Experiment
Dogs are being used in experiments to determine if the artery can be restored to normal size after a second operation to repair the defect is performed.
Five babies in New Orleans have had the first operation. Whether the second operation can be performed successfully will depend on the experiments of Dr. Albert and other doctors over the country.
Dr. Floyd Skelton, research i director for the Urban Maes foundation, is collecting dog kidneys for studies on the importance of an enzyme called renin in causing high blood pressure.
Dr. Isidore Cohn Jr., associate professor of surgery,
what effect bacteria in the intestines may have in producing intestinal obstructions. Ileitis, the disease which President Eisenhower suffered last year, is an intestinal obstruction. SPCA Kills Many Dogs
In their use of dogs as experimental animals, t h e s e projects follow those which produced insulin, liver extract for pernicious anemia, the rabies treatment, ether and the.famous "blue baby" operation, .among numerous other advances.
For these experiments, the LSU medical school buys about 1200 dogs a year at a
cost of about $5000. They are bought from health units in other parishes and surrounding states. Meanwhile, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in New Orleans kills over 20,000 stray dogs a year.
Dr. Albert says he prepares dogs for operations just as he would a human patient.
"The conditions must be the same if the experiment is to be any good," he says. "The dogs are always completely anesthetized. We use masks and caps and gowns. The operating room is sterile. Everything except the amount of nursing care after the operation is the same as we give a human patient."
