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University Daily Kansan. October 12, 1982
Doctors cite risks of new contraceptive
By DONNA KELLER Staff Reporter
The health risks of a three-month injectable contraceptive now available in Lawrence are still unknown, a doctor at Watkins Health Services said recently.
Raymond Schwegler, staff physician, said Watkins staff members do not recommend using the drug Depo-Provera as a contraceptive method because the long-term effects of the drug are not known yet.
Schweigler said Depo-Provera, which stops ovulation, is gradually absorbed by the body, so doctors can only speculate on how long it remains in the body although most agree it is effective for approximately three months.
"There is no backing down with this drug," Schwegwerd said. "You just have to be honest and describe the prescription. Most physicians prefer using a continuous methods that can be discontinued."
immediately if problems occur, he said
Lea Bryan, licensed practical nurse at the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department, said the nurses there do not recommend the drug as a birth control method because there are many questions about the risk of using
She said that among the questions about the drug are whether permanent sterility will occur after prolonged use of the drug and what pregnancy complications might occur after the drug is discontinued.
AS WITH ANY birth control method, Bryan said, the question of how each person will tolerate the drug remains, and if the long-term effects were negative, he would advise women for women who did not want to have children in the immediate future.
only in extreme cases where no other contraceptive method is suitable to the woman.
Clark Mitchell, physician and adviser for the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department, said he had conducted an informal survey among physicians in the Douglas County area and had found that most use the drug
Mitchell said women who were mentally ill or mentaly deficient were among those who were not able to use standard birth control methods.
ALTHOUGH THE drug has not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use as a contractor, 100 percent effective as such, he said.
Although Depo-Provera is not associated with the side effects found in birth control pills such as depression, high blood pressure, nervous tension, and edema, he said most physicians are reluctant to use Depo-Provera on the general population until more research is done on the drug. "None of the physicians that I know of using the drug have observed any adverse effects on women," Amorenaorrhea said. Amenorrhea is cessation of the menstrual period. Normal cycles resume after the drug is discontinued, he said.
approved for use in treating endometrial carcinoma, cancer of the uterus lining, and in endometriosis, a uterine tissue disorder.
MITCHELL SAID the drug is FDA
Bryan said the clinic received many calls about the drug. "Many of the people decided immediately after we tell them that the method is not for them," she said.
Bryan said if the drug were approved by the FDA for use as a contraceptive, chances are doctors would administer it more routinely. She said it was the right of licensed physicians to prescribe or administer any drug at their discretion, but the final decision always rested with the patient.
JULIA HEWGLEY, an official at the FDA office in Kansas City, Mo., said there was concern among consumer groups about the safety of the drug. "The benefits are not as great as the risk involved right now," she said.
A formal hearing has been scheduled for January 10 to consider FDA approval for Depe-Provera, according to the company, which manufactures the drug.
Device may lead to fewer amputations Instrument tests healing
By BRET WALLACE Staff Reporter
People with broken bones may be able to take their casts off sooner because of the invention of a KU professor and two graduate students.
The experimental device, called a transient signal spectrum analyzer, tests how well bones are healing. Harvey Doermland, associate professor of electrical engineering, said he and graduate students James Spence, Fort Worth Roberts, Kansas City, Mo, had been working on the project since 1978.
"The machine does not help bones heal." Doelmand said.
ITS PURPOSE is to help physicians be more objective in judging how well hellipse works.
do not heal eventually have to have them amputated," he said.
By knowing bow well a bone is healing, a physician can determine whether a cast can be removed sooner than expected. If the bone is not healing, or is healing improperly, the doctor can correct it, he said.
About 5,000 tibia fractures a year do not heal properly or at all, he said. With this analyzer, doctors can determine whether a patient has "OFFEN NOW," patients whose bones
Spence, who has done all of programming and most of the electronic design on the analyzer, said it measured the sound passing through the bone and the time delay between when they hit the bone and when the sound is heard. Testing is done on the tibia, the larger bone between the ankle and the knee.
Doeland said the physician placed a microphone, connected to the analyzer, just below the patient's knee and struck the inside of the patient's ankle hammer. The analyzer then produces the frequency signature of the bone.
"OFTEN NOW, patients whose bones
THE FREQUENCY signature of a normal bone is between 240 and 320 bertz, he said. A bone that is completely fused is different from that of a normal bone.
Doelmand said one remaining problem was determining the point at which a bone was strong enough to stand the stress it would encounter without a fault.
Problems with current methods of testing how well a bone is healing usually cause physicians to leave casts longer than necessary. Doe琳大陆 said.
Besides inconveniencing the patient, this could be detrimental to the strength of the bone, he said. Bones are not strong enough if there is no stress on them they will Attract.
CURRENT METHODS of judging the healing process include x-ray, manipulation of the bone, the passage of time and examination whether there is any pain. he said
The analyzer, if found effective, will give physicians an objective criterion which is cheap, can be done by a clinician or physician, offers immediate output and does not require cutting into the patient, Doemlain said. The analyzer is also small, light and portable, he said.
machine that would be smaller and a lot faster.
Tests on the analyzer are being performed on cadavers and dogs in association with Rae Jacobs, professor of surgery at the College of Health Sciences and chief of orthopedic surgery at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Kansas City, Mo., Doelman said.
They slowly break the leg of the cadaver by gradually sawing into the bone they have cut through it, testing the frequency at each step, he said. These tests have shown the frequency declining as the cuts became deeper.
"This is the reverse of the way it would work if the bone was healing," he said.
Spence said they were working on a
This is the time of year when many consumers are offered a resort vacation, and they should be wary of what appears to be a low-cost vacation, consumer affairs advocates said recently.
By DONNA KELLER Staff Reporter
Bargain vacation offers may have hidden costs
"To a lot of people this kind of thing sounds like a good deal." Harris said. "But most people are smart enough to know that you can't get something for them."
Cynthia Harris, consumer services specialist at the Consumer Affairs Association, 819 Vermont St., said the research she had done recently on vacation packages offered by resort shows that their requirements varied.
SIE SAID a vacation package could include any number of things, but usually it comprised three days of lodging at the resort's expense and discount coupons for food, services, or entertainment.
Harris said people should be aware that hotels specified when the vacation is coming.
Generally it may be used only during off-season months or weekdays, she said, and often if an individual attempts to use the vacation certificate at any other time he will be charged for the resort accommodations.
AN INDIVIDUAL usually has to pay for his transportation and meals, which can be costly, she said.
She said resort officials told her that often consumers did not seem to understand the terms of the agreement, such as when the vacation certificate was valid, or that they were required to attend a sales presentation.
"Consumers have rights and responsibilities," Harris said. "They are protected by law from false and misleading statements, but they have
REPAIRS DONE RIGHT WE GUARANTEE IT!
the responsibility to read any available literature and ask questions about it. If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is."
Wheel Straightening $2.50 to $5.00
Gear Adjustments $2.50 to $5.00
Complete Tune-Up $22.50
(parts not Included)
CLYDE CHAPMAN, director of the Lawrence Consumer Affairs Association, said consumers should ask about the costs involved and the literature available before they commit themselves.
He said that usually the vacation organizations worked with the resort area and a local businessman, and he would normally go to the vacation organization and the consumer.
"People should be aware that they may be induced to purchase a product or service." Chapman said. "The concern is the right to ask what is involved."
OPPORTUNITIES for a resort vacation are generally connected to a sales position.
Chapman said consumers should be aware that under the Kansas Consumer Protection Act, a provision was made for a cancellation or "cooling off" period, in which the consumer has the opportunity to cancel the agreement with the local promoter and receive a full refund of his money within three business days after the transaction is completed.
Chapman said the vacation offers were considered complimentary, although a service fee or some other charge is required, thus making it a business transaction.
He said some of the questions raised about the companies were discrepancies between what the consumer was told originally and what he received as part of the actual vacation package. But he said most companies that used his website coupons to complete sales promotion for their business were lexitimate.
Chapman said literature was available to the public about vacation resort programs at both the downtown and campus Consumer Affairs offices.
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7th and Michigan
The shortest distance between two schools is Long Distance.
The fact is, being away at different schools just gives you that much more to talk about
Luckily, when you call anyone in Kansas after 11pm weeknights, or anytime between 11pm Friday and 5pm Sunday, you can talk 10 minutes for $1.59* Or less, depending on where you call
Going away to school is even more fun when you share it with a friend. Especially a friend who's away at school!
Reach out and touch someone.
Southwestern Bell
*Price applies to calls dialed One-Plus without operation assistance. Tax not included.*