2B Wednesday, July 2, 1997 HEALTH/WELLNESS UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN Gale Garber/KANSAN Devon Kahn, Lincoln, Neb., senior and Sarah Johnson, St. Louis, Mo., senior, take a break between classes to talk and have a cigarette. Some KU students doubt that the government's plan to curb cigarette ads will halt smoking. Proposal lights up debate By Kirsten Havner Kansan staff writer James Dowell, Tulsa, Okla., senior, did not start smoking because of Joe Camel or the Marlboro Man. He started smoking because of peer pressure and boredom. "I was really anti-smoking in high school, but when I came to the dorms it gave me something to do," he said. "Everyone else smoked, and it gives you a reason to talk to people." Some smokers at the University of Kansas said the proposed tobacco agreement to limit cigarette advertising might not make a difference. "I don't think that it is Joe Camel or the Marlboro Man who influence kids to start smoking," Dowell said. "I think it is the people you are around and the environment in which you live." Tony Alaimo, Denver senior, said that he had not been influenced by tobacco advertising. "I started smoking because I wanted to see what I could get away with," he said. "I bought cigarettes underage with my best friend, and then I didn't smoke again for a year." Such an attitude is common in "By using cartoons, they are appealing to a younger audience. Children don't need to see that." Jamie Najim Wichita junior young people. They tend to try to act like adults, to be macho or to try to project a cool image, said Len Alfano, assistant professor of advertising. Under the proposed agreement, human and cartoon characters could not be used in advertisements. Jamie Najim, Wichita junior, agreed that cigarette advertising should be restricted. "By using cartoons, they are appealing to a younger audience. Children don't need to see that." Najim said. "We don't see cartoons promoting drinking or sex." Alaimo said he saw positive ideas in the proposal. "If the government allots money to really help people stop smoking, I really think it would help. I would try to stop smoking if I had help," Alaimo said. The agreement will force the tobacco industry to put its anti-smoking efforts to the test. If smoking among youth does not decrease 30 percent in five years, 50 percent in seven years, and 60 percent in 10 years, the industry would be penalized $80 million for each percentage point missed. "I think that is terrible. You can change methods, but who says that the methods are going to be successful?" Najim said. "If they don't work, I don't think they can be held financially responsible." Najim said she thought there would be opposition. "I think smoking is a personal choice," Najim said. "It is not healthy; all smokers know that. Just like alcohol, people make a choice no matter what the government decides." Scientists grind brains looking for answers Research team searches for new treatments for Alzheimer's, seizures By Crystal Honores Kansan staff writer Research assistant and recent graduate Nicole Vasko spends her days grinding rat brains. Though the job may seem disturbing, Vasko is part of a group working toward developing treatments for Alzheimer's disease, seizures and alcoholism. The research team thinks answers to medical questions could be found in the protein receptors of the nervous system in the rats' brains. Vasko is part of a 16-member research team led by Elias Michaelis, chairman of pharmacology and toxicology. The team include graduates, undergraduates, graduate students, postdoctoral students and technical assistants. Michaelis began his research in 1971. Since then, most of his research has focused on the glutamate receptors, a part of the nerve ending that receives messages from stimulated glutamates on adjacent cells. In 1974, Michaelis was the first scientist to identify glutamate receptors and publish an article about the special proteins. Small increases in glutamates in the brain may benefit learning and memory skills. Therefore, Michaelis said, the research could provide a means to enhance memory in cases such as Alzheimer's disease. worry because the increase in glutamates doesn't reach levels of toxicity. The research into glutamates may also benefit alcoholics. Alcohol consumption blocks glutamate receptors. Consequently, Michaelis said, trying to learn things in an inebriated state may not be the best method. The process of learning causes a slight increase in glatamates, but Michaelis said there was no need to On the other hand, high concentrations in brain glutamates could be toxic. During seizures and strokes, the brain produces extreme amounts of glutamates that cause cells to self-destruct. He said the research could also provide new ideas for treatment of these conditions. Michaels said that when alcoholics' receptors are blocked, their brains produce additional receptors. Michaels also said that some alcoholics are more susceptible to seizures. Without alcohol, their receptors are not blocked, causing delirium tremens — violent shaking and hallucinations. Michaelis's research could provide a medication that could block these receptors and protect the other cells in the brain from toxic levels of glutamate released during alcoholic seizures. The high levels of glutamates produced during a seizure could spread through the various layers of brain cells and cause them to self-destruct. Michaelis also said he thought that the glutamate receptors triggered the formation of oxygen radicals, an oxygen atom with a superfluous electron, in the elderly. These oxygen radicals damage proteins and could cause memory loss. Our idea is that glutamate is one of the culprits," Michaelis said. To research these theories the KU scientists need to isolate the glutamate receptors. And this is where Vasko comes in. Vasko is working on extracting and purifying glutamate receptors from experimental animals. When she is finished purifying a protein, .006 percent of the brain's original weight was a good yield. Vasko strained the rat purée through a glutamate-bead-covered surface, to which the glutamate receptors attach. This process can take approximately 10 days. "It's so difficult to purify one protein," Vasko said. "It's such a small amount." Vasko said that her role may seem minor in comparison with the bigger picture, but it was an important part. Michaelis said that his research might never be finished. "We're continuously raising new problems," he said. PRE-ORDER TEXTBOOKS FOR FALL '97 Your textbooks will be bagged and waiting to be picked up before classes begin and you'll get the first choice of used books. Stop in with your schedule and order now! 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