Arteriosclerosis

In an action that increases its potential market to more than $270 million a year, Trimedyne Inc. said it has received Food and Drug Administration approval to market a medical laser system for non-surgical treatment of cancerous and non-cancerous pulmonary tumors. It is the fourth FDA-approved commercial application for the Santa Ana company's medical laser and adds a $30-million-a-year market to the arena in which Trimedyne competes.

When William Butler Yeats was an old man, his physician grimly informed him that he suffered from arteriosclerosis. "Arteriosclerosis, arteriosclerosis," the poet is said to have replied, lingering lovingly on the music of those awful syllables. "What a wonderful word! Why, I should rather have arteriosclerosis than be emperor of all Cathay." To those who garden, compost is such a word. Com-post. To speak it is to share in the poet's linguistic intoxication.

Lester M. Morrison, a physician whose research into the links between diet and arteriosclerosis predated current concerns by more than four decades, is dead. His physician and longtime friend, John Romm, said Morrison--who won his first research award when he was 16 and a student in Canada--was 83 when he died Saturday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Dr. Hyman Engelberg, Marilyn Monroe's personal physician, who prescribed her sleeping pills and declared her drug-overdose death a suicide, has died. He was 92. Engelberg died Monday of natural causes in a nursing home in Santa Monica, said Terry Kahn, a family friend. In addition to treating a number of Hollywood celebrities, the physician was known for his research and writing on cardiovascular problems, especially the effects of the blood thinner heparin.

To finance the development of two new products, Trimedyne, the Santa Ana-based manufacturer of high-tech medical devices, sold 475,000 shares of common stock and 237,500 warrants in a private placement to a group of Trimedyne investors that included Trimedyne's European joint venture partner, Nyegaard A.S. of Norway. Trimedyne grossed $2.6 million from the sale, which was managed by Trimedyne to avoid outside fees or commissions. Michael R.

Denver Bronco Coach Dan Reeves was resting comfortably in a hospital Thursday after he had chest pains due to blocked heart arteries. Reeves, 46, was in good condition at an undisclosed hospital, his cardiologist, Randall Marsh, said. "He has not, I repeat, he has not had a heart attack," Marsh said at a news conference. "This morning, he is just fine. I'm not worried about him. He has had a rude awakening by Mother Nature." Reeves was admitted to North Colorado Medical Center in Greeley, Colo.