ment Board maintains nine army laboratories. At t h e Army Medical Center, Washington, D . C , there a r e three laboratories: Medical D e p a r t m e n t Professional Service Schools for research relating to medical and surgical practice, preventive medicine, diagnostic methods, dental subjects, and t h e development of vaccines; Prosthetics Research Laboratory for research and development on prosthetics devices; and the Aural Rehabilitation Center for research on the rehabilitation of the deaf.
Professional
Service
School.
Army
MediaiJ
Center,
Vh'ashington,
D. C.
Medical Corps Research and Development S i x t h of a s e r i e s o n t h e W a r D e p a r t m e n t R e s e a r c h HIM] D e v e l o p m e n t P r o g r a m A L LEGGIN,
Associate Editor
D URING the past war the American Army of 8,000,000 men was dispersed t h r o u g h o u t t h e entire world. This global distribution presented a herculean task to t h e Army medical officer. Aside from battle wounds t h e soldier was exposed to m a n y climatic and geographic diseases a n d afflictions. He was required to fight in the jungle, where malaria a n d other jungle diseases abound, in t h e arctic cold, a n d in epidemic-ridden, war-weary countries. I n spite of the soldier's being exposed t o these new conditions, t h e Medical Corps of t h e Army achieved the record of having the lowest death r a t e from disease a n d wounds in the entire history of warfare. This enviable record was attained only t h r o u g h the cooperative research program of the Medical Corps and civilian medical establishments. Unlike most war develo p m e n t s the discoveries which benefited t h e man in uniform will benefit t h e general population everywhere since the medical problems of a world-wide army a r e little different from those of civilians. Many of the developments initiated or speeded b y the "war a r e now being m a d e available t o the medical profession throughout the world a s rapidly as possible. Although much was accomplished by t h e accelerated medical research program 168
durina t h e war, t h e task is by no means completed. U n d e r the direction of the Research and D&velopment Board, Medical C o r p s , head=ed by Col. William S. Stone, work is b-eing continued on m a n y of trie projects initiated during the war and many new problems in cooperation with t h e civilian medical profession are beinp; undertaker*. Policy-Forming*
Army Laboratories Other army laboratories are located as follows: Armored Medical Research Laboratory, Fort Knox, K y . ; Medical N u t r i tion Laboratory, Chicago, 111.; Army Ins t i t u t e of Pathology, Washington, D . C ; Engineering Development Laboratory, Carlisle Barracks, P a . ; Army Industrial Hygiene Laboratory, Kdgewood Arsenal, M d . ; and t h e Veterinary Research Laboratory, Fort Robinson, Xebr. I n addition to the laboratories research is being conducted a t other medical dep a r t m e n t installations, overseas and in t h e United States. These installations give opportunities for collecting rare clinical material, to make such studies as t h e clinical evaluation of antibiotics such as streptomycin, tuberculosis, clinical a n d field testing of antimalarial drugs, control of insect-borne and parasitic diseases, and t h e development of simplified laboratory procedures. I n addition to the projects a t the Medical Corps installations, medical officers a r e a t t a c h e d to various other Army TechnicalService installations to s t u d y problems of m u t u a l interest. Officers are a t present detailed to t h e Chemical Corps, Quartermaster, and Ordnance. Since the Medical Corps must be constantly kept abreast of the latest developments of the other services and its effect on the health of t h e soldier, a free interchange of information is maintained in the Medical Corps with t h e (Continued on page 183)
Group
Tlie Research .sand Development Board, which is the policy-forming group for the over-all research program, is composed of 11 permanent members. Additional members are invited a s consultants for specific projects. Tlie board t h u s year is conducting a S3,100,000 research program, t h e greater part being contracted t o universities and civilian medical institutions. Over 40 contracts amouuiting t o approximately $2,000,000 h a v e been made with these institutions. M u c h of the research information vital to t h e Medical Corps is now being adequately investigated by civilian institutions, b u t a g r e a t many problems a r e of sucti a nature t h i a t they cannot be studied by civilian agertcies and research m u s t be performed w i t h i n army laboratories. For this purpose th_e Research a n d DevelopCHEMICAL
Maj. Gen. Norman T. Kirk The Surgeon General
AND
ENGINEERING
NEWS
Army Medical Corps (Continued from page 168) various Army technical services, the Public Health Service, and the Navy. The most influential body in the Medical Corps Research and Development program is the Army Epidemiological Board, which is a civilian organization. This board is composed of a Central Advisory Committee and four operating commissions. The Central Advisory Committee, headed by S. Bayne-Jones of Yale University, is composed of seven civilian members who act as advisers to the Surgeon General and plan the epidemiological research programs. The commissions operate under contracts with the Medical Corps on specific problems. An unusual feature of this program is the subcontracting of projects to other universities and institutions by members of the commission for certain phases of a problem. The commission head has complete jurisdiction over the project. The operating commissions and their heads are as follows: Acute Respiratory Diseases, John Dingle, Western Reserve University; Environmental Hygiene, Gordner Fair, Harvard University; Influenza, Thomas Francis, Jr., University of Michigan; and Virus and Rickettsial Diseases, John R. Paul, Yale University. The entire board is now composed of 19 members. This board made many vital contributions during the war such as the development of the influenza vaccine, isolation of the virus responsible for virus pneumonia, and a complete study of Q fever (Balkan grippe). Studies were also made on the airborne transfer of acute respiratory diseases with emphasis on the proper means of eliminating cross infection in hospitals. Two important investigations in the field were the studies on the use of various glycol vapors such as triethylene glycol and the development of an oil-water mixture for bed clothes. Hundreds of consultants are available for specific projects; the main civilian advisory group is the National Research Council. The Medical Corps plans to limit its research program to military medical problems. An example of such a project is the present cooperative study of the physiological and psychological aspects of arctic warfare. Medical officers are participating in the arctic operations "Frost", "Frigid", and "Williwaw". Some of the problems involve acclimatization of men moved quickly from subtropical and temperate zones into colder regions; accustoming to strange clothing and equipment; determination of how much a man can do and at what temperatures and how soon physical failure will occur; collection and evacuation of casualties in frigid climates; hospitalization, sanitation, and nutrition. Because of extensive infections existing in war wounds and epidemic disease resultV O L U M E
2 5,
NO.
3
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ing from mobilization, antibiotic studies are being continued. Recent studies regarding streptomycin at Halloran General Hospital indicate that this drug is neither a cure-all nor a sure-shot medicine. Results, however, indicate that streptomycin is excellent in the treatment of gonorrheal infection. It also has proved valuable in clearing up infections of the urinary tract in cases where the organisms causing infections are susceptible, and this ordinarily can be determined within three days. It is very effective against tularemia (rabbit fever) when the specific organism responsible has been proved susceptible by test tube experiments. Although streptomycin appears effective in appropriate doses against more than half the infective bacterial organisms ordinarily encountered by surgeons, the studies show it apparently has specific toxic effects when given over an extended period. Bacteria soon become resistant to it, and for that reason, the drug probably can be used with maximum effect only once during a limited period on the same patient. In the field of prosthetics the Medical Corps, in cooperation with the Veterans Administration and the National Research Council, has awarded contracts to a number of universities and to industry for continued studies for improved design and mechanical and physical properties for artificial limbs and prosthetic devices. Continued studies are being made by various research institutions on nutritional studies to the sick and injured. Investigations in this field are now being undertaken at the Medical Nutritional Laboratory in Chicago. Projected research includes nutritional requirements and techniques in relation to disease and injury; determination of nutritional requirements in relation to varied climates, other environmental conditions and varied military tasks; and the establishment of rapid methods for assessing nutrition status by vitamin assay and other means. The most extensive program for research comes within the scope of epidemiology. The projected research includes studies on typhoid vaccine, treatment and prevention of virus and rickettsial diseases, encephalitis, mumps, smallpox, psittacosis, and the typhus group, and studies of parasitic infestations such as schistosomiasis, filariasis, and trichinosis. Much of this program is being centered at the Medical Department Professional Service Schools at Army Medical Center, Washington, D. C. The atom bomb has brought a requirement for a new type of military medical treatment, that of treating radiation casualties. Studies are now under way in cooperation with the Manhattan Project, Navy, and National Research Council to investigate the medical aspects of radiations casualties. Researchers are now at Bikini and Nagasaki studying the effects of previous atom bomb blasts.
» J A N U A R Y
2 0,
1947
ALLHEfTOSI @
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ALLOXAHTBH iEtSG A0EO ©
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ALLOXAI Etionohydrate •
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Alnor PORTABLE
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183
