MEDICAL RESEARCH FACILITIES/DETERRENTS TO MEDICAL RESEARCH

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00047R000300440002-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 7, 2003
• Sequence Number: 2
• Publication Date: October 1, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

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INFORMATION REPORT
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COUNTRY Hungary
DATE DISTR. f QC S.3
SUBJECT Medical Research Facilities/Deterrents NO. OF PAGES 4
to Medical Research
PLACE
ACQUIRED
DATE
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DATE OF INFORMATION 25X1
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CLASSIFICA e A L
CEN CY
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M ,eC~
b. Fizikai kemiai Inteze? (Physical Chemistry), Budapest VIII.
Pusktti u011. An apparently well-equipped and well-staffed de-
partment.
c. Gyogyszertani Intezet; I. Khrtani Intezet (Pharmacology; I.
Pathology), Budapest VIII. lif.nt. These institutes are
located on the grounds of;: also so-called "Inner Clinical Group".
Pharmacology occupies one and one-half floors of the Admini-
stration building and is adequately equipped. Pathology has its
own building which was damaged and looted by the Soviets. Its
equipment is being replaced slowly. The department was complete-
ly re-staffed after World War II, which greatly hampered its
operations.
d. KOreettani Intezei; Bakteriologiai Intezet, (Pathophysiology;
Bacteriolog..y ), Budapest IX. H8gyes Endre u. 18. These depart
ments share a three story building. Their teaching facilities
are greatly overtaxed. Their research facilities are spotty
because the fields of interest of the two departments were re? -
Njusted after World War II. Since then the Bscteei?logy department
has bed purged dada'mesta ?fed0 Research seemed. to pr. gress:O,teadily
in tae nutritional field. in the Pathoph siolo setion o
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REPORT NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
1. Qa What arp the correct names, locations and physical descriptions
of the physiological vsearch facilities in Hungary?
Ao a.. Elettani Intezet; Biokemiai Intezet (Physiology; Biochemistry),
Budapest VIII.Puskin uD9. This is an old, two and. one-half
story brick building, shared by the two institutes. The bio-
chemistry section was modernized after World War II. Equip-
ment in the physiology section would be considered inadequate
by US standards but competent work is being put out in a number
of fields.
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e. Anatomiai IntCzet; Sz8vettaiii Intdzet; T8rvenyszeki 0rvostani
Intezet; 1I4 Kdrtani:Intezet (Anatomy, Histology, Forensic Medi-
cine, II. Pathology). Budapest IX. Ull8i ut. These departments
comprise a separate group of buildings close to the "Outer Clini-
cal Groups". Their teaching facilities are overtaxed. There was
an extensive change in personnel following World War II and repeat-
edly since. Research 'acilities should be adequate although some-
what out of date.
f -In the "Outer.Clinical group" there are experimental facilities in
the Busznyak (name of professor) - clinic (medicine) and at the II.
Surgical Clinic. These laboratories are small but apparently well
equipped.
All of the above groups are under the direction of the University
and thus indirectly under the M;-nistry c Education.
K8zegeszsegdgyi Intezet (Institute of Public Health),,Budapeet IX.
Gyeli ut. A modern complex, erected with the financial aid of the
Rockefeller, Foundation,, it was doing research in t4e?.broadest sense
of P~,b ic'?' > e8lth. It is under the Ministry of 'Public Health, ' afad. is
well-equipped and well-endowed. Staff changes under political pres
sure greatlyreduced its working efficiency?up to 94g
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function properly
h. Vbradd Vzpont'(Central blood-bank) was to be established in 1949
somewhere in Vida) in a new building withhbrand-new equipment.. It
was to do research in blood clotting as well.
i. Repifl.8orrosi Intezet (Aviation Medicine). This institute was to be
setup new since the old one was a total loss following World War II.
It is under direct army supervision and has apparently. unlimited funds.
The choice of ersonnel was an umforty to compromise between ability
and pplitical'reliability. It'wily take considerable time for it to
J.
postwar facilities at Pecs. Dur-
ing World.War'TI all departments were adequately equipped for the
i aten8ive research work then pursued. The department of Medical
Physics and Anatomy,seem to have been re-equipped.
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reeen. a .o universities were ~a t in the 30's and should be
quite modern* Debrecen suffered a great deal from Soviet plundering.
1. New facilities in early stage of planning as of 1949 were as followso
0 0 N F I D E:N T I A L-
1. The Military, Academy buildings adjacent to the "Outer
clinical group" in Budapest along the 01181 ut were to
be taken over bp:the medical school.
2.' All experimental medical departments at Budapest were
to be,central'j.zed in one new 8 to 10 story building.
The planned location of this building was changed re-
peatedly and finally the entire fund was scrapped,
but the actual plans called for one department to each
floor, a central library and a central division'which
would handle scarce and expensive research equipment
like electron microscopes, ultracentrifuges etc.
3. Biologiai Kutatbintezet (Biologioa1 Research Institute),
Tihany, Hungary. Located son 70 miles from Budapest..
~_'Thi 3e an excellently equipped institute. At latest
news its.field of research was to be narrowed down to
plant and cell biology and investigations of the M ichu-
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rinian theories.
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2. Q: Were these. research facilties adequately equipped for the programs carried c:
on in.l949? What was the general status of.research equipment in Hungary?
Aa a. Most scientific emsipment,in Hungary came from. Germany.: Repairs
could 'be made in $ungarr and there was a smell-scale but quite
adequate local production of most instruments. The setup for
this was such however that I seriously doubt, it could be expand-
ed to cover any, significant demand. After World War II larger
num jWs of British instruments were imported and there were negotia-
tio with Swiss, Swedish and Czech firms as well as with German
(Soviet zone factories.
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b. Electronic equipment could probably be manufactured in Hungary in
the Tungsram, plant to match most Western products, although the'
quantity would necessarily be restricted. The plant is probably
used to capacity for higher priority non-medical electronic devices.
c. Glassware,'particularly precision glassware was.extremely scarce.
Optical glassware, such as cuvettes, was practically. irreplaceable.
d. Warburg manometers were standard equipment in most institutions,
Phase microscopes have probably been obtained since 1949.from Austria
and other countries. Deep-culture vats may have been arranged for 25X1
through some of the breweries. There was no freeze-drying equipment
from Sweden, as well as an ultracentrifuge. More important,
there were only two or three spectrophotometers available, none of
them for medical research. In fact the-lack of up to date photometers,
.precision scales and recording apparatus was one of the most important
bottlenecks.in research. Another bottleneck was the lack of tracer ele-
ments
3. Q: Were the supplies of chemicals adequate?
A: Chemicals, particularly analytic grade were-in desperately short supply.
Replacements came from the UK and to some extent from Switzerlando Czech
chemicals were of such poor quality as to be practically useless., The
same appligd to dyes but since they were required in smaller quantities
they could*be replaced more easily.,
4. Q: Were supplies of x-rays, drugs and medical instruments aufficient?
A: X-ray films were manufactured locally before the war and..the Kodak-plant
in Vac Hungary was working in 1949. The pharmaceuti
actually exporting drugs to the Near and Middle E'as't 25X1
that hormone-preparatbojs like insulin, cortisone and ACTH would be in very
short supply, Antibiotics were Just starting to get ready for"local pro
duction in 1949, ked cal.it'struments were largely manufactured locally.
the situation was with regards to X-ray apparatus.
Q: What, F were the deterring factors in the development of
a researc program in ungary?
A: The situation was ,completely fluid in 1949. Up to. that' t .me the 'vhole?-
sale exchange of university personnel (where the overwhelming part of medi-
cal research was centered) prevented ,in lligem~,plan ing for any length
ahead. In 1949 the Ministry of Education requested long-range plans which
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were to be basetnia substantially increased. budget.
tion to know,r this increase ever materialized, and more important
'whether the eq.p-ent requested -could be 'made available from. foreign
To my mind., 1 .c the lack of certain types of apparatus ? nd radio=iso-
topes, the4carci'tyof, middleechelon rese ch~Workers and probabl,
is now `the most; serious bottlene"ck. in? any researc1r program that may be
adopted in A "yd Practicalli everybody between the ?agep of 25 and 1f0
.0ch ce~ left 'the country and: this" generation ' is now engaged,
rho had t4
in re..ea ch or 46 icsl' work` all over the 'Western worldo A loss of somem
thing` like 100 workers is the field 'would be 'ct parable to `the disappear-
ance 0f' two thoa sand 'trained: young medical 'research men in the US ... The
full severity `oil' this' siuation will not 'be seef until a few years from
now when the present prewar generation will have to retire. in most, cases
there 'will not be workers of the same q lit~- to take their place; much
less to train future scientific nerationso'
A people of eight -nillion cannot have. its independent"scientific life:"
In prewar days Eun,Carian science was intimately linked with the German
and constant cognizance was taken of achievemerits in the 'nglo4rnerican
and to a'Ie se1;'tkteat in; the Romance 13 erature. Practically every
worker had a vorking knowledge of at least. one western language.. With
the new generation the know :edge of these lamgnages 3s( icour d,, .st
ern journals, are scarce ~, h y and abstracting 'services are quite:, '
inadequate. The resulting isolation from the past~and present body of
scientific achievement will.also certainly decrease the productivity and"
fruitfulness,,-of research work
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