Anyone giving at least $100.00 for CMMR this year will receive this CMMR Purple Heart Pin and a Solid
Bronze Commemorative Medallion from the Grand Master. For more
information, please contact the Grand Recorder's
office.
C.M.M.R.
Cryptic Masons Medical Research
Foundation
Philanthropy of Grand Council
of Cryptic Masons
of the State of Missouri, and the
General Grand
Council of Cryptic Masons, International
Research in the
Prevention
of Arteriosclerosis
Cryptic Masons Medical Research Foundation,
Inc.
The Problem
Arteriosclerosis is a disease
affecting the blood vessels which carry blood from the heart to all parts
of the body. It is commonly called "hardening of the arteries", and is a
process which results in the narrowing of these vessels. It is gradually
progressive, and eventually interferes with the flow of blood. When an
artery supplying the muscle of the heart is affected severely in this
manner, it results in a heart attack. When a major artery supplying the
brain is involved it results in a stroke; if the large artery of the leg
is greatly narrowed by this process, gangrene occurs (the tissue dies) and
the leg often has to be amputated, as the only method of satisfactory
treatment.
Statistical Facts
Arteriosclerosis and its
complications is the leading cause of death in the Western World. Heart
Attacks and Strokes cause many more deaths than cancer and accidents
combined, the second and third most common causes of death. In the United
States heart attacks are responsible for 35% of all deaths in men in the
35-50 age group. At present a man before the age of 60 in the United
States and Canada has a one in five chance of having a heart attack,
resulting in sudden death. Also in this country close to two million
people are affected by strokes each year, and one of ten of these loses
his or her life.
It has been proposed by some
authorities in the past that Arteriosclerosis is the result of the aging
process, and is the inevitable consequences of old age. This argument is,
however, proved wrong by the facts known at this time. First, many old
people in many parts of the world, particularly in Asia, the Orient, die
without any evidence of Arteriosclerosis being found in their bodies.
Secondly, in contrast, significant degrees of Arteriosclerosis is often
found in the bodies of young people who die in accidents, in the Western
World.
Risk Factors
Arteriosclerosis increases
progressively with age, and the risk of serious complications of it is
higher for men than for women until after the age of sixty
years.
High blood pressure, which
affects more than 20,000,000 adult Americans, greatly increases the risk
of Arteriosclerosis if not adequately treated.
Cigarette smoking represents
another substantial risk factor. A man who smokes more than one pack of
cigarettes per day has nearly twice the risk of heart attack and nearly
five times the risk of a stroke than a non-smoker. Just what the substance
is in cigarette smoke, that causes the fairly rapid progression of
Arteriosclerosis, is not clearly known at this time.
The association between diabetes
and premature Arteriosclerosis is well established as a fact. Although
many diabetics have high blood lipids, Arteriosclerosis complications
occur with equal frequency among diabetics with normal and abnormal blood
lipid patterns (the lipids in the blood are the fatty substances, such as
cholesterol, triglycerides, etc.) The mechanisms which produce or cause
the more rapidly progressing Arteriosclerosis in diabetes also isn't
clearly known at this time.
A sedentary (not physically
active) lifestyle as opposed to manual labor, or regular vigorous exercise
is claimed to be associated with an increased risk of heart attacks and
strokes; however, the factual data in support of this theory, does not
establish it as a truth.
Although often said to be a major
risk factor, obesity (overweight) in itself does not increase the
likelihood of heart attacks. Rather, the frequent companions of obesity,
high blood pressure and diabetes, put overweight people in a high risk
group.
Experimental
Research
In experimental animals
Arteriosclerosis can be produced in many different ways: through the
feeding of a diet high in cholesterol, through mechanical injury to the
inner surface of an arterial blood vessel, through the repeated injection
of blood serum from a different animal species, or through the infusion
(injection into the blood stream), of homocystine, an abnormal substance
which also accumulates in the blood, and produces severe Arteriosclerosis
in patients with a rare inherited disease, called
homocystineuria.
In short, Arteriosclerosis arises
from multiple causes. As one distinguished scientist has expressed it:
"Arteriosclerosis is the single response of the arterial wall to repeated
injury in most instances the (cause) mechanism of injury cannot be defined
today."
It is our plan to support an all
out research effort to improve our understanding of the many causes of
arteriosclerosis, their prevention and treatment. To achieve this goal,
one must bring together scientists of many different talents and areas of
expertise, for arteriosclerosis is a problem with the many different
causes, each of which can be investigated only by highly specialized
research scientists.
A research unit for the study of
the causes of arteriosclerosis has been established in the setting of a
large university medical center complex, the Indiana University School of
Medicine. Through our support a number of young talented doctors have
received their salaries enabling them to work with older more experienced
colleagues, to better understand the root causes of this number one health
killer. Thanks to the energy and dedication of these young individuals,
substantial progress has been made.
The money we spend supporting
arteriosclerosis research at the I.U. School of Medicine will make an
invaluable contribution toward speeding up progress in basic research and
the earlier achievements of practical solutions for the benefit of
patients with arteriosclerosis. With the money we donate, we can
contribute to establishing the prevention or cure of this disease that
affects millions.
In the latter part of 1990, three
full time researchers were added to our staff at the Indiana University
Center. This is the first time that we have had full time
personnel.
The I.U. Medical Center furnished
us with 500 video tapes for our use and these are available to you upon
request. They run nine minutes and fifty five seconds.
The time is ripe for a well
controlled effort to find the basic causes which lead to Arteriosclerosis,
an effort in which the many avenues of approach to the problems are
brought together working intensely as a team, in the grand aim to find the
answers to the many unresolved questions.
If a breakthrough in the
understanding of the basic causes and problems in Arteriosclerosis occurs,
it could bring within reach the necessary information which is needed to
prevent and control the largest health hazard in the Western World
today.
Through your generosity toward
The Cryptic Masons Medical Research Foundation, Inc., you can contribute
substantially to the research and eventual control of this dreaded
disease. Your contributions are tax deductible.
Make Your Contributions payable
to the Cryptic Masons Medical Research Foundation, Inc.
In Missouri, send your
contributions to your local Recorder. Or, contributions can be sent
to the Chairman of the Charities and Charity Endowment Committee
or the Grand Recorder:
Robert H. Bray
P.O. Box
290
Fayette, MO 65248-0290
Outside of Missouri, send your
contributions to:
Marion K. Crum, Scty.
P.O. Box 1489
Nashville, IN 47448 |
