WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 1971. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ARTHRITIS AND METABOLIC DISEASES WITNESSES DR. G. DONALD WHEDON, DIRECTOR DR. ROBERT Q. MARSTON, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH DR. BENJAMIN T. BURTON, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR PROGRAM ANALYSIS AND SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ARTHRITIS AND METABOLIC DISEASES W. GILBERT BAYLIS, EXECUTIVE OFFICER, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ARTHRITIS AND METABOLIC DISEASES DONALD F. CYPHERS, FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT OFFICER, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ARTHRITIS AND METABOLIC DISEASES JOHN E. SHARKEY, DIRECTOR OF FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH LELAND B. MAY, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT (BUDGET), NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH GERALD F. MEYER, CHIEF, HEALTH BRANCH, DIVISION OF BUDGET 1 Includes capital outlays as follows: 1970, $969 thousand; 1971, $485 thousand: 1971, $384 thousand. Selected resources as of June 30 are as follows: Unpaid undelivered orders, 1969, $41,643 thousand; 1970, $33,573 thousand; 1971, $33,573 thousand: 1972. $33,573 thousand. NOTES Includes $671 thousand in 1971 and $662 thousand in 1972 for activities previously financed from: Research resources. 1970, $703 thousand. Includes $1.023 thousand in 1972 for activities previously financed from: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, 1970. $1.023 thousand: 1971, $1,023 : thousand. Excludes $869 thousand in 1972 for activities transferred to (in thousands of dollars): National Library of Medicine. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development 107 755 256 Excludes $3,597 thousand in 1972 for activities transferred to: Health manpower. 1970, $3,597 thousand; 1971, $3,597 thousand. INTRODUCTION OF DR. WHEDON AND ASSOCIATES Mr. NATCHER. We will take up next the National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases. We have Dr. G. Donald Whedon with us as the principal witness. You have with you certain of your associates, Dr. Whedon. Would you like to introduce them? Dr. WHEDON. It is a pleasure to be with you. On my left is Gilbert Baylis, executive officer for the Institute, and on his left is Donald Cyphers, our budget officer. With me also is Dr. Benjamin Burton, associate director of the Institute. Mr. NATCHER. Thank you very much. We will put your biographical sketch in the record. (The biographical sketch follows:) DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ARTHRITIS AND METABOLIC DISEASES BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Name.-Dr. G. Donald Whedon. Position.-Director, National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases (NIAMD). Birthplace and date.-Geneva, N.Y., July 4, 1915. Education.-A.B., 1936, Hobart College; M.D., 1941, University of Rochester School of Medicine; Sc.D. (hon.), 1967, Hobart College. Experience.—Director, NIAMD, 1962-present; Assistant Director, NIAMD, 1956-62; Chief, Metabolic Diseases Branch, NIAMD, NIH, 1952-65; Physician, Outpatient Department, New York Hospital, 1947-52; assistant physician, Outpatient Department, New York Hospital, 1944-47; assistant professor of medicine, Cornell University Medical College, 1950-52; instructor of medicine, Cornell University Medical College, 1944-50; assistant in medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine, and assistant resident physician in medicine, Strong Memorial Hospital, 1942-44; Interne in medicine, Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital, Cooperstown, N.Y., 1941-42. Association memberships.-Association of American Physicians; the Endocrine Society (Postgraduate Committee, 1962-65); American Rheumatism Association; American Diabetes Association; American Federation for Clinical Research; New York Academy of Sciences; American Association for the Advancement of Science; American Medical Association; American Physiological Society; The Gerontological Society; American Institute of Nutrition; Pan American Medical Association; American Gastroenterological Association, Aerospace Medical Association. Special awards, citations, or publications.-Certified, American Board of Internal Medicine, 1950; American Board of Nutrition, 1968; assisted DGMS in organizing program of multicategorical clinical research centers in leading American medical institutions, 1959-61; Subcommittee on Calcium, Committee on Dietary Allowances, Food and Nutrition Board, National Research Council, 1959-64; Editorial Board, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. 1960-67; Editorial Board, Calcified Tissue Research, 1967-present; Consultant to Space Medicine Division, Office of Manned Space Flight, NASA, Nov. 1963present; Scientific Council of the Maryland Academy of Sciences, March 1965– present; principal investigator of Calcium-Nitrogen Metabolic Balance Study on NASA Gemini-VII Space Flight, December, 1965. Dr. Whedon is the author of over 50 scientific papers on metabolic and physiologic studies of convalescence, immobilization, paralytic poliomyelitis, diseases of bone particularly including osteoporosis, human energy metabolism and space medicine. GENERAL STATEMENT Mr. NATCHER. We will be happy to hear your statement, Dr. Whedon. Dr. WHEDON. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee: I greatly appreciate this occasion to report on progress made by the National Institute of Arthritis and Metabolic Diseases, and to assess briefly our needs for the fiscal year 1972. In this calendar year of 1971, we are beginning the third decade of Institute operation. We shall continue to broaden and intensify the attack on basic biological as well as on clinical problems which fall within our purview. Mr. Chairman, I believe it would be appropriate to sketch the background of the salient Institute programs, and to mention a few examples of research progress of this past year. In order to present a broader description than is possible in this brief presentation, we have prepared detailed special reports in a number of major fields which I can present to the committee if you wish. RESEARCH ON ARTHRITIS, RHEUMATOID DISEASES The arthritic and rheumatic disorders are the Nation's most prevalent painful, crippling diseases, afflicting almost 17 million people. About 100 disorders are listed under the combined heading of arthritis and rheumatism; among the major types are rheumatoid arthritis, degenerative joint disease or osteoarthritis, and arthritis associated with metabolic or biochemical abnormalities, such as gout. Although such is a separate clinical entity, they all have several features in common dysfunction, deformity or pain in the joints or surrounding tissues. Research is continuing on the likelihood that rheumatoid arthritis. is initiated by an autoimmune reaction, in which the body overreacts to proteins originating within the body's own tissues. Such immune processes may be triggered by changes brought about by an infectious agent or agents. In our attempts to isolate such an agent, we have detected virus-like particles in the affected kidney tissues of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, a connective tissue disease related to rheumatoid arthritis. Our findings do not establish a viral cause for this disorder, but presence of virus-like particles is of diagnostic importance and may shed light on the infectious aspects of rheumatoid disease. In the meantime, we are also continuing our research on new and improved agents for the management of arthritis. DIABETES According to health surveys, the prevalence of diabetes in the United States has more than doubled since 1950. There are approximately 4 million diabetic people in this country, while another 5 million of our present population are expected to develop the disease during their lifetime. The rising incidence of diabetes and the fact that the disorder ranks eighth on the list of diseases causing death make continued, intensive and effectve research on diabetes an unceasing obligation on our part. A major goal in diabetes research is understanding the basic impairment of insulin action, and why the body is unable to utilize carbohydrates normally for energy expenditure and storage. We are also concerned with finding ways to suppress the development of com |