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Notes and News

MEDICAL OPHTHALMOLOGY UNITAT LAMBETH HOSPITAL

Lord Cohen of Birkenhead will formally open a medical

ophthalmology unit at Lambeth Hospital on April 2. The unithas been in full operation since the beginning of the year. In itsreport on Blindness in England 1951-54 the Ministry of Healthemphasised the need for medical units for eye patients, as

distinct from the traditional surgical units. The underlyingcauses of blindness are still more often medical and need tobe treated medically; glaucoma and cataract and other con-ditions amenable to surgical treatment form a small proportionof the causes of blindness. Although much useful work hasbeen done for eye patients by physicians attached to eye

hospitals and by the medical staff of general hospitals with eyedepartments, the need for special facilities has becomeincreasingly urgent.The unit, which has been established primarily to supply a

service for patients rather than to serve as a research centre,has 20 beds under the general direction of Prof. ArnoldSorsby. Dr. Clifford Rose has been appointed as neurologist;Dr. Geraint James as physician for patients with inflammatorydisorders; and Dr. Michael Harington as physician forcardiovascular disorders. Arrangements have been made totransfer patients to the neurosurgical unit under Mr. WylieMcKissock at Atkinson Morley’s Hospital without delay whenthere is need for neurosurgery. Specialised laboratoryinvestigations of autoimmune reactions and virus and otherinfections will be undertaken by Dr. J. A. Dudgeon, consultantmicrobiologist to The Hospital for Sick Children, Great OrmondStreet.

PORTSMOUTH MEDICAL CENTRE

ON March 26 Lord Cohen of Birkenhead opened a medicalcentre in the grounds of St. Mary’s Hospital, Portsmouth. Thecentre is designed to further postgraduate education andresearch. The building contains a large lecture hall, a library,a quiet room, offices, and kitchen, and it is intended to be afocal point for doctors and dentists in the area. The buildinghas been provided by the Wessex Regional Hospital Board andthe Nuffield Provincial Hospitals Trust. The PortsmouthMedical Society, which has some 200 members, has raised themoney to furnish and equip the building, which will be thesociety’s headquarters.

CYCLIZINE

THE Well come Foundation Limited announced last weekthat investigations carried out in the company’s laboratories,and by Prof. H. Tuchmann-Duplessis of the department ofembryology of the University of Paris, indicated that veryhigh doses of cyclizine had produced abnormal foetal develop-ment in a small proportion of laboratory animals. Cyclizineis sold under the name Marzine ’ as a motion-sickness remedyand as’ Valoid’ by prescription. Marzine has been in use forten years in this country and abroad, and hundreds of millionsof doses have been taken without (the company’s statementadds) any clinical evidence whatsoever of damage to or abnormaldevelopment of the human foetus.The statement concludes : " In the present state of know-

ledge it is not possible to relate this teratogenic effect inanimals to an effect in the human. Since the possibility thatthere may be some risk, however slight, cannot be entirely dis-counted, this statement is being made at the earliest oppor-tunity to advise against the use of this drug in early pregnancy.Until there is greater knowledge of the effect of drugs on thedeveloping human foetus we believe that no drug should betaken by a pregnant woman except on the advice of her doctor.The Ministry of Health has been informed of the situation andof this statement."The effect of drugs on the human embryo is discussed in a

leading article in this issue.I

University of OxfordA Radcliffe travelling fellowship has been awarded to Dr.

J. Dupre.

University of LondonDr. J. B. Cavanagh has been appointed reader in neuro-

pathology at Guy’s Hospital Medical School. The title ofreader in cytochemistry has been conferred on Dr. S. J. Holtin respect of his post at the Middlesex Hospital Medical School.

University of LeedsAt recent examinations the following were successful:M.D.-G. M. Aber (with distinction).D.P.H.-J. S. W. Brierley, Joseph Briffa Boothman, Charlotte N. Capes,

J. M. B. Carr, J. A. Farrer, M. A. Hill, Shirley Hoyes, J. J. G. Kneafsey,Douglas Mortimer, J. H. McP. Robertson, Moira C. Robertson, HilarySanderson, Margaret Steane, Geoffrey Warnes.

University of LiverpoolAt recent examinations for the degree of PH.D. in the faculty

of medicine, M. B. Skirrow was successful.

University of AberdeenOn July 5 the honorary degree of LL.D. will be awarded to

Sir Christopher Andrewes, Prof. W. C. Wilson, and Prof.J. S. Young.

Dr. John Mackenzie, at present senior lecturer in embryo-logy, has been appointed to a readership.Lady Jameson has made a donation for 10 years to facilitate

international exchange of senior medical students. The giftis in memory of her husband, Sir Wilson Jameson, who was agraduate of the university.

University of EdinburghThe Queen has approved the foundation of the James

Mackenzie chair of medicine in relation to general practice.Dr. L. Gordon Whitby has been appointed to the newly

instituted chair of clinical chemistry.Dr. Whitby, who is 36, is a son of the late Sir Lionel Whitby.

He was educated at Eton and at King’s College, Cambridge, wherehe was a scholar from 1945 to 1948. After graduating in 1948 withfirst-class honours in both parts of the natural sciences tripos, heproceeded with the aid of a Medical Research Council studentshipto a PH.D. degree in the department of biochemistry. In 1951, hewas elected to a fellowship of King’s College, which he held until1955. This enabled him to pursue medical studies at the MiddlesexHospital Medical School, where he completed his medical degreecourse in 1956. Since then he has held posts in the Middlesex andHammersmith Hospitals and at the Postgraduate Medical Schoolof London, and in 1959 with a Rockefeller fellowship he workedfor a year in the laboratory of Dr. J. Axelrod of the National Insti-tutes of Health at Bethesda. On his return to this country in 1960,Dr. Whitby took up his present post of university biochemist toAddenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge. His research work has beenchiefly on the metabolism of adrenaline and noradrenaline.

Dr. W. N. Eastham has been appointed lecturer in pathology,and Dr. M. D. W. Low assistant to the dean of the faculty ofmedicine.

Queen’s University, BelfastDr. W. E. Glover has been appointed lecturer in physiology.

Royal SocietyThe following doctors have been elected fellows of the

society:Dr. J. L. Gowans, Henry Dale Research professor of the society,

Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, Oxford; Dr. J. H. Humphrey,head of the division of immunology in the National Institute forMedical Research, London, and deputy director of the Institute;

; Dr. P. L. Krohn, professor of endocrinology in the department ofanatomy of the University of Birmingham ; Dr. J. F. Loutit, directorof the Medical Research Council’s Radiobiological Research Unit,

. Harwell; Dr. C. G. Phillips, fellow of Trinity College and readerl in neurophysiology in the University of Oxford; and Dr. J. A. FraserRoberts, director of the Medical Research Council’s Clinical Genetics

t Research Unit at The Hospital for Sick Children, Great OrmondStreet, London.

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Wellcome TrustThe following Wellcome senior research fellows in clinical

science have been appointed:Dr. G. F. Joplin, Postgraduate Medical School of London, who

will continue his work on therapeutic pituitary ablation by means ofradioisotopes, and on diabetic retinopathy.

Dr. R. D. Lowe, St. George’s Hospital, London, who is studyingthe control of vascular tone in man and the direct measurement ofcerebral blood-flow.

Dr. A. Murray Harper, Royal Infirmary, Glasgow, who is elaborat-ing methods for the measurement of blood-flow in the cerebralcortex.

The Children’s Research Fund

This fund has been set up, with headquarters at 6, CastleStreet, Liverpool, to raise funds for research into children’sdiseases. The council which administers the fund includesLord Cohen of Birkenhead and Dr. G. H. Newns.

Central Midwives Board for Scotland

Dr. J. Bruce Dewar, Dr. D. McKay Hart, Dr. G. DouglasMatthew, Dr. T. N. MacGregor, Dr. H. B. Muir, and Dr.Nora Wattie have been appointed members of this board onits reconstitution. They will hold office until 1968.Schedule of Fees for Private Practice

The South African Medical and Dental Council have

accepted the principle of a schedule of fees for all doctors inprivate practice. An executive committee is now to work outdetails. The proposal is one of the recommendations of theSnyman Commission, a committee set up by the Governmentto examine medical practice in South Africa. The MedicalCouncil also accepted a recommendation which makes itbinding on doctors to tell patients beforehand what theirservices would cost.

Assessment of DisabilityThe British Council for Rehabilitation of the Disabled, in

association with the Welsh National School of Medicine, isto hold a study course on this subject at University College,Cathays Park, Cardiff, from July 16 to 18. Further particularsmay be had from the Council, Tavistock House (South),Tavistock Square, London, W.C.l.International Conference on Renal Hypertension

This conference is to be held at Columbus, Ohio, on July12 and 13. The speakers will include Dr. I. H. Page, Dr.W. S. Peart, Dr. L. J. McCormack, Dr. J. Genest, Dr. 0. M.Helmer, Dr. A. Rapoport, Dr. E. F. Poutasse, Dr. C. C.

Winter, Dr. P. T. DeCamp, and Dr. M. E. DeBakey. Furtherparticulars may be had from Dr. John A. Prior, Center forPostgraduate Medical Education, Ohio State UniversityCollege of Medicine, 113, Hamilton Hall, 1645, Neil Avenue,Columbus, 10, Ohio, U.S.A.

Haematological CongressesThe International Congress of Hxmatology and the con-

gress of the International Society of Blood Transfusion willbe held in Stockholm between Aug. 30 and Sept. 8, 1964.Further particulars may be had from P.O. Box 638 (hsema-tology congress) and P.O. Box 434 (blood transfusion con-gres), Stockholm 1, Sweden.

Anti-smoking Clinic at Ministry of HealthA clinic for the staff has been opened at the headquarters of

the Ministry. Sessions are held during the lunch hour and twomedical officers of the Ministry are available for consultation.So far over 30 members of the staff have sought interviews.

Dr. Michael Galton and Dr. Maureen Henderson have beenawarded Markle scholarships.A meeting of subscribers to the Naval Medical Compassionate

Fund will be held at 2.30 P.M. on Friday, May 3, at the MedicalDepartment of the Navy, Empress State Building, Lillie Road,London, S.W.6, to elect six directors of the fund.

Sir John Barraclough has been appointed chairman of the UnitedBirmingham Hospitals Board of Governors in succession to Mr.E. Ag. Norton. Mr. Norton will remain a member of the board.

The National Spastics Society and the British Council for ihWelfare of Spastics have amalgamated and will continue the::activities as the Spastic Society at 12, Park Crescent, London, W.1,The director will be Dr. C. P. Stevens, formerly director of thesociety.The Scottish group of the Association of Industrial Medical OiEctn

is holding a symposium on cooperation for health in industry onFriday, April 5, at 9.45 A.M., at the Queen Margaret Union, Universityof Glasgow. On Saturday, April 6, at the Western Infirmar,Glasgow, there will be a lecture-demonstration on the pressure-

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chamber as an aid to medical and surgical treatments. Further ,particulars may be had from Dr. D. J. B. Fletcher, 23, Montrose ;Street, Glasgow, C.1. ;

Smith & Nephew Associated Companies’ Limited are offering soX I

fellowships in surgery (El 200 each) to doctors from the Common.wealth and developing countries for postgraduate study in theUnited Kingdom during 1964. Application forms must be returnedto the secretary of the associated companies, 2, Temple Place, iVictoria Embankment, London, W.C.2, by May 31. ,

Mr. G. H. Wooler, Dr. V. A. Grimshaw, and Dr. P. G. F. Nixonare visiting Turkey, under the auspices of the British Council, toadvise doctors there on the latest techniques of open-heart surgery.The Sheffield Regional Psychiatric Association will meet on

Saturday, April 6, at 11 A.M., at Mapperley Hospital, Nottingham,when Mr. D. F. Clark will speak on specific desensitisation inbehaviour therapy and Prof. Joseph Wolpe on the current clinicalstatus of conditioning methods of therapy.On Friday, April 5, at 5 P.M., in the Clinical Sciences Building,

York Place, Manchester, 12, Mr. Terence Cawthorne will lectureon vertigo.

Dr. Peter Sainsbury will speak on aspects of suicide, on Tuesday,April 2, at 8.30 P.M. at the North Middlesex Hospital, Silver Street,London, N 18.

The General Practitioner Research Group has received a furthergrant of$8000 from the National Institutes of Health of the UnitedStates to continue research on psychotherapeutic drugs in generalpractice. Any general practitioner who wishes to take part in thiswork is asked to write to the group’s secretary at 325, Staines Road,Twickenham, Middlesex.

Diary of the Week

MARCH 31 TO APRIL 6

Tuesday, 2ndROYAL SOCIETY OF MEDICINE, 1, Wimpole Street, W.1

8.30 P.M. Orthopcedics. Dr. Sophus von Rosen (MaIrLi6), Mr, T. G.Barlow, Dr. Cedric Carter: Congenital Dislocation of the Hip inthe Newborn.

WEST END HOSPITAL FOR NEUROLOGY AND NEUROSURGERY, 91, Dean Street,W.1

5.30 P.M. Dr. G. F. Swann: Interesting Neuroradiological Cases.

Wednesday, 3rdROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS OF ENGLAND, Lincoln’s Inn Fields, W.C.2

5 P.M. Wing Commander T. C. D. Whiteside: Visual Perception ofMovement. (Edridge-Gleen lecture.)

ROYAL SOCIETY OF MEDICINE5.15 P.M. History of Medicine. Dr. William Hartston: Medical Dispen-

saries in 18th-century London.ROYAL FREE HOSPITAL, Gray’s Inn Road, W.C.1

5.15 P.M. (Department of medicine.) Dr. E. R. Froesch (Zurich) : Herd-tary Fructose Intolerance.

BIRMINGHAM MEDICAL INSTITUTE, 36, Harborne Road, Birmingham, 158.30 P.M. Dr. Denis Williams: Brain Damage and Behaviour.

Thursday, 4thALFRED ADLER MEDICAL SOCIETY

8.30 P.M. (11, Chandos Street, London, W.1.) Dr. Felix Brown: EmotionalInferiority.

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Friday, 5thROYAL SOCIETY OF MEDICINE

6 P.M. Anæsthetics. Dr. P. W. Nathan, Dr. T. A. Sears: Susceptibility ofNerve Fibres to Local Anaesthetics. Dr. Ian Verner: Problems ofthe Clinical Evaluation of Relaxant Drugs, with special referenceto a New Competitive Agent.

INSTITUTE OF LARYNGOLOGY AND OTOLOGY, 330, Gray’s Inn Road, W.C.13.30 P.M. Mr. Kenneth Rotter: Dysphagia.5.30 P.M. Mr. Anthony Radcliffe: Surgery or Radiotherapy for Cancer of

the Throat.

CORRIGENDUM: Pregnancy Anæmia.—In the second paragraph oiDr. McGovern’s letter last week, the penultimate sentence shouldhave ended: "... it seems logical that the patient is more likely todevelop thromboses and to have pulmonary emboli."