U    snW       .   N    E  W      S    FROM THE UNIVERSITY OFWISCONSIN NEWS SERVICE, MADISON 6, WISCONSIN
9/7/57                          RELEASE:                     Imnediately
MADISON, Wis.--An initial#32,987 grant from the National Institues of
Health to support the first year of a five-year research program on leukemia by
JrfHarry A. Wa         aof the University of Wisconsin Medical School was accepted
by the UW regents Saturday.
The grant is the first of five totalling $165,000 which will be expended
in the program.
Dr. Waisman will study the changes in body chemistry which occur in
human beings and animals when they develop leukmia. He will also conduct research
on the clinical use of existing anti-leukemic drugs and new drugs as they become
available.
A pediatrician, Dr. Waisman points out that cancer and leukemia are the
second greatest cause of death in children, exceeded only by accidents.
By combining the biochemical studies with clinical research, clues to
the cause of leukemia may be uncovered and lead to development of chemicals more
effective than existing ones for treatimg the disease, Waisman said.
He pointed out that the grant will permit expansion of the leukemia
research which he has been conducting for several years. The work has been concerned
with abnormal chemical balances in the blood and tissues of leukemia patients and,
more recently, the testing of drugs which offer temporary relief and prolong life.
Dr. Waisman adds that the blood levels of certain of the amino acids--
phenylalanine, tyrosine, glutamic acid, for example--are higher in leukemia patients
than in normal individuals. This provides a research clue which may lead to improved
-more-