CHO QRS RX KX XK Ainees Aa t "HUY. (RVR TVET IRS UEREP Ae “are°ea aaa au! CESS, “ WANAKA CEG LATTA AER WEE pwnl twas kms ‘SESESREBREIBET AEG RUSERBESRESECEERE NEWS photo Terry Peters SILHOUETTES as the sun fades, show pedestrains crossing bridges which span the Capilano River at Marine Drive. NOT ONLY LOSE WEIGHT AND INCHES BUT ALSO & trim forever. RESULTS win vary with in- dividuals so call to find out what Asher can do for you re. SATISFACTION GUARANTEED written money-back guarantee ined personnel personalized attention KCLUSIVE FIGURE APING exercise equip t to firm and shape your NET with a nutrittonally sound an you can use the rest of your to give you ASHEK FIGURE SALONS NORTH VANCOUVER BROADWAY PLAZA RICHMOND COQUITLAM CENTRE 4200 No 3 Road Open Monday Saturday 1401 Lonsdale Ave 601 West Broadway 980-2606 879-0961 270-7554 2929 Barnet Highway 464 6911 Credh Cards Wettamed By MARY FERGUSON VANCOUVER (UPC) - The discovery of a natural substance in babies which has properties similar to the heart drug digoxin raised doubts Thursday about tests that blamed digoxin over- doses for the deaths of seven infants at Toronto’s Hospital _ for Sick Children. Doctors on a_ medical team which detected “substance x” in premature and newborn babies said that blood tests on the Toronto infants hospital could have confused the previously unknown element’ with digoxin, a drug used to stabilize the heart beat. A report by the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, Ga. suggested that at least seven and as many as 28 infants at the Toronto hospital died from deliberate digoxin overdoses between July 1980 and March 1981. Susan Nelles, a nurse on the cardiac ward where the children died, was cleared of four counts of murder during an extensive preliminary hearing last year. Four Vancouver doctors discovered “substance x” in studies begun last summer on more than 100 children. Tests showed some infants had “digoxin” levels four CS - Sunday, April 17, 1983 - North Shore News Digoxin foundin babes times the normal level although they had not received the drug. The doctors said “sub- stance x” appeared in its highest levels in premature children and was not detected in infants older than two months. The suspect deaths in Toronto involved children of an older age level. Dr. Morris Pudek said five of the seven commercial testing kits, including two of the most commonly used systems, confused ‘“sub- stance x” with digoxin, raising the possibility that some of the babies at the Sick Children Hospital might have had high levels of the natural agent in their bodies. Pudek said,“There were several children in the Toronto study that had values of 70 to 90 (billionth of a gram of digoxin per milliliter of blood), which is 40 times as high as the values we're reporting. “In those situations it is unlikely that this substance would account for the levels seen in those cases,” Pudek said. “But there are other children who had levels much lower than that that were in the toxic range as well,” he said. Dr. David Seccombe said, “We don't know how (the study) affects the Toronto situation until we've had a chance to study the methods they used to measure digoxin and confirm the presence of digoxin in the babies that died.” Pudek added, “It is fairly probable” that testing methods could have con- fused the presence of the natural substance with that of digoxin. The Vancouver team presented their findings six weeks ago to Toronto medical officials and police but have not had a response to their offer to study the test results, Seccombe said. The research team has been unable to determine how — or if — “substance x” and digoxin react to each other, he added. Dr. James M. Hayward FAMILY PHYSICIAN Wishes to announce the opening of his office in the location previously occupied by DR. D. PONESSE #4-1548 Lonsdale Ave. North Vancouver Phone 988-1211 Day or Night GOLDMART Jewellers Announces their MOVING SALE SAVINGS TO 5* We must sell... ... we don’t want to pack!) International G O L DM A [2 146 West 14th St. N. Van. In the Marlborough Towers jewelers Ltd 980-GOLD 980-2252