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Duke University Medical Center
VOLUME 24, NUMBER 3
JANUARY 21,1977
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA
Tax Deferment Plan Offered Employees
By John Becton
Thanks to a special act of Congress
and special arrangements made by
Duke, all biweekly employees now
have access to a tax-sheltered savings
and investment plan.
The plan is totally optional and in
no way affects any other benefits
presently received by employees. It
is available to all biweekly
employees, except Duke students.
It is offered by the Variable
Annuity Life Insurance Company
(VALIC), which was selected over a
number of others following a
year-long study by the university
More Gallstone Patients Eligible
Changes in eligibility
requirements will allow more
patients with gallstone disease to be
treated at government expense in a
major research study under way
here.
The study, entering its second
phase, uses concentrated amounts of
a natural body chemical,
chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA), to
dissolve gallstones.
Under the expanded eligibility
rules, men between 21 and 79 years
of age may now participate in the
study, according to Dr. Malcolm P.
Tyor, chief of the Division of
Gastroenterology.
Women between these ages are
also eligible if they are no longer
fertile or are over 40 and using an
intrauterine device for
contraception.
Letter to Physicians
Tyor said a letter explaining the
study and its revised eligibility
requirements has gone out to all
physicians in the Research Triangle
area.
The same letter soon will be sent to
all other physicians in North
Carolina and neighboring Virginia
and Tennessee counties, Tyor said.
The Duke physician said the
study's primary objective is the
reduction of the number of people
requiring hospitalization and
surgical treatment of gallstones.
Million New Cases
About a million new cases are
reported and half a million
gallbladder removal operations are
performed each year in the U.S., said
Tyor.
Duke is one of ten institutions
chosen by the National Institutes of
Health as a treatment center using
additional quantities of CDCA, a bile
salt normcdly produced by the liver,
to dissolve gallstones.
Pilot studies have shown that
CDCA increases the ability of liver
bile to dissolve cholesterol, which
contributes to 85 per cent of all
gallstone disease in the U.S., Tyor
said.
“This larger study is needed to
establish the effectiveness, safety
and most beneficial dosage of
chenodeoxycholic acid," he added.
Controlled Doses
CDCA will be administered in
controlled doses to selected groups of
patients who have been referred to
Tyor by their own physicians or
clinics. Patients who are grossly
overweight or who suffer from other
major diseases cannot take part in
the study, Tyor said.
The earlier studies demonstrated
that the amounts of CDCA to be
administered in the larger
investigation have no recognizable
side effects.
Scientists hope the study will also
give them a better understanding of
bile salt metabolism, gallstone
formation and the mechanisms of
CDCA, Tyor said.
Older gallstone patients stand to
benefit more from the new
technique, he said, because surgical
risks increase with age.
administration.
Biweekly employees are being
notified today of the VALIC program
in a letter from President Terry
Sanford.
Off the Taxable Top
Through this program, employees
can set aside a portion of their pay
into an account on which they earn
interest. But they do not pay income
tax on either the investment or the
interest it earns until they withdraw
it.
VALIC is set up as a retirement
plan, and most participants use it as
such. By doing so, they can save
significantly on taxes.
Unlike many other annuity plans,
one can withdraw money at any
time, though it should be
remembered that doing so makes the
amount withdrawn taxable.
Fixed or Variable
VALIC also offers two types of
accounts.
One is a fixed account, which
accumulates interest at a current
fixed rate. That rate presently is eight
per cent and is reevaluated each
quarter. Thus, it can fluctuate some,
although little if any, according to
VALIC representative George
Downing.
The other option is the variable
account, in which deposits are
invested in common stocks. While
these are not high-risk stocks, the
investment is subject to fluctuations
in the stock market.
With the fixed account, there is a
limit to hov,' much interest one can
earn, but one can always get back at
least 100 per cent of his or her
investment, and more if enough time
has elapsed to allow interest to build.
Upon retirement, the fixed account
can provide a guaranteed lifetime
income (a predetermined, certain
amount), while the variable account
will provide a monthly income
which may conform more closely to
the changing cost of living.
VALIC WiU Help With Planning
One actually has a third choice,
since it also is possible to purchase a
mixture of fixed and variable
annuities in any desired ratio, as
■ wetl as to transfer accumulated cash
values from one account to the other
at any time and without cost.
VALIC representatives will be
(Continued on page 3)
Center a Year Ahead of CBS
On Thyroid Cancer Problem
The Comprehensive Cancer
Center here and the state Medical
Society are spearheading a
state-wide program to alert North
Carolinians at high risk for thyroid
cancer.
The program will try to reach an
estimated 100,000 people in the state
who, as children or young adults.
WILL GALLSTONES DISSOLVED—More patients are now eligible for a study to
determine if gallstones like these can be treated without surgery. The two large
formations are single stones. The cluster in the center is made up of five crystallized
stones, each about the same size. (Photo by Thad Sparks)
received radiation treatments to the
head and neck for non-cancerous
conditions.
As many as 9,000 of these people
may now have thyroid cancer,
according to Dr. Seymour
Grufferman. Grufferman, director of
epidemiology at the cancer center,
leads the effort at Duke.
The high-risk patients were
irradiated during the 1930s through
early 1960s for conditions such as
enlarged tonsils or thymus glands.
Radiation was considered the best
therapy at the time.
Spotlight on Problem
The CBS television program “60
Minutes" spotlighted the
radiation-thyroid cancer problem
Sunday night. By mid-afternoon
Monday, the Cancer Information
Service here had answered more
than 30 calls on the subject from
worried parents or former patients.
Anyone who thinks he was
irradiated can call the service for
more information at 286-2266 (or at
toll free 800-672-0943 outside the
Durham surea).
Although publicity about the
thyroid alert appeared only this
week, the groundwork at Duke was
laid a year ago. At that time the
Division of Therapeutic Radiology
began reviewing its records to
(Continued on page 4)