Research so far shows that everybody is affected by some degree of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) after the age of 10.
This comment came from. Dr., Henry C. McGill Jr., pathology department heacTat the Louisiana State University School of Medicine and general chairman of the five day workshop of the International Atherosclerosis Project which began Monday at the school.
"But in later years, atherosclerosis develops at.a different rate in different populations," he added. "The United States, unfortunately, leads in the rate of population affected by hardening of the arteries."
Purpose of the workshop, he said, is to determine to what degree and extent atherosclerosis exists in other parts of the world.
RESULTS SURPRISING With a grant from the National Institute of Health, LSU is sponsoring the project whiclv has attracted representatives of medical education and research institutions from over the world.
Surprising results of the first day's sessions reveal that Indian residents of South Africa have an atherosclerosis rate as high as ours, said Dr. McGill. "This contrasts with the native Africans who have a low degree of heart disease in their populations," he said. . "We have also confirmed suspicions that the process of atherosclerosis in North Ameri-:a starts in human beings in their teens and 20's in life."
Dr. McGill said that even teenage boys in New Orleans have more atherosclerosis in their coronary arteries than their contemporaries in other parts of the world.
DISCUSS PROBLEMS
Least affected with the hardening of arteries are people in Guatemala, Peru and native Africans, he said.
Participants in the workshop discussed problems in their own labs, and offered constructive criticism on the project which will continue two more years, according to Dr. Mo-Gill. They also studied results and ovservations made by participants in their own countries. PHOTO: INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPANTS in the International Atherosclerosis Project workshop meeting in the Louisiana State University School of Medicine include Dr. Aagot C. Loken, neuropathologist at Riks Hospital in Oslo, Norway, seated, and Dr. Javier Arias-Stella, faculty member of the medical school of the University of Peru in Lima. The workshop is in progress this week at the medical school through a grant from the National Institute of Health
