Radioactive materials are playing an important role in research at the Louisiana State university school of medicine.
This study may lead to the discovery of new methods in the treatment of liver diseases.
Dr. Ralph W. Brauer, assistant
professor in the university's department of pharmacology, said today the liver research involves combining radioactive materials with proteins from the blood plasma (the clear part of the blood) and injecting these proteins into laboratory animals."For many years" Dr. Brauer said, "scientists have known that certain proteins are manufactured in the liver. But there has been no definite knowledge as to the mechanism involved in getting these proteins into the blood.
"By 'tagging' the plasma with these radioactive isotopes, we hope to gain that knowledge.
Naturally, the better we understand the workings of the liver, the better we can treat its ailments."
