53

Notes and News

THE CYCLE OF DEPRIVATION

THE Secretary of State for Social Services, Sir Keith

Joseph, returned to the subject of the cycle of deprivationwhen he spoke at the 60th annual conference of the NationalAssociation for Maternal and Child Welfare on June 27.He explained that the joint working-party set up last yearby the Department of Health and the Social Science ResearchCouncil to explore the practicability of mounting a pro-gramme of research into the transmission of deprivationfrom one generation to another, and to advise how such aprogramme might be implemented, would make its reportthis summer. Consultations between the Department andthe voluntary and professional organisations concerned withchild development had also taken place, and the NationalChildren’s Bureau had presented an interim report on thesubject. It had been clear, Sir Keith went on to say, thatfamily income, family housing, and family planning wereall crucial to family functioning, and he had thought thatthe missing link could be provided by replacing ignoranceof children’s needs with knowledge. But now he realisedthat this was too narrow a view, and that the intricate webof pressures with which families were surrounded in our

society, and indeed the nature of the family as we generallyknew it today, must be taken into account. The characteris-tics of the nuclear family-the relative isolation of parentsand children from other adults and children and otherage-groups, the economic inactivity, loneliness and isola-tion of mothers, and the small size of the family, with allthe children usually born within the span of a few years-combined to provide relatively limited opportunity forchildren to observe their mothers and fathers acting outtheir roles, or for the interaction of older children andadolescents with babies and younger children. Althoughthe nuclear-family structure could provide great stabilityand security, the foundations on which many families werebuilt were too shaky for the burdens they had to bear, andall too often the family was thrown on to its own-inade-quate-resources in seeking to cope with its problems.Contact and support from outside the family were essentialin this situation, but care must always be taken to ensurethat help was not given in such a way as to provoke anxietyor impede natural functioning and communication withinthe family. The institutions which were there to helpmother and child must be sure that they were not in facthaving a reverse effect. As examples Sir Keith cited thehabit of discouraging the father from being present at thebirth, and the separation of mother and baby after birth.In preparation for parenthood the presentation of an ade-quate model of the father’s as well as of the mother’s rolewas necessary, but it was probable that the role of thefather in our society had been undervalued. In seeking toresolve these complex and interrelated problems, thecharacteristic concentration of multiple disadvantage thataffected particular areas, particular groups, and particularfamilies would have to be faced. The aim, Sir Keith con-cluded, was on the one hand to attempt by carefully designedand monitored pilot projects to explore some effective waysof equipping individual families to function better, and, onthe other, to seek to gear social policies generally to contri-bute to the same end.

GENERAL PRACTICE AT EXETER UNIVERSITY

A DEPARTMENT of general practice is to be established inthe Postgraduate Medical Institute of the University ofExeter to undertake the vocational training of doctors who

1. See Lancet, 1972, ii, 774.

wish to make a career in general practice. It will be thefirst department of general practice to be established in auniversity without a medical school. The scheme is

something of an experiment and will run for a minimumof 6 years in the first instance.

CANCER RESEARCH

IN the 50th annual report 1 of the Cancer ResearchCampaign, Sir David Smithers has observed that much of theadvance of recent years had been, and still more in thefuture would be, due to developments in diagnosis.Microscopical classification of cancer into subgroupsagreed round the world meant that doctors could talk toeach other with greater confidence that they really werediscussing similar disorders. New methods of detection,chemical and physical, were being rapidly developed.Knowing what type of tumour you had to deal with, whereit was, and how far it might have extended, gave precisionto treatment planning. The future looked bright becausewe could see that much was already being achieved. Wecould also see the probable lines on which further progresswould be made and plan to establish the organisationsnecessary to achieve the advance. The Government hadthis year set up four regional cancer organisations, coveringpopulations of about 3 million people each, in order topromote education, prevention, and early detection ofcancer and to see that the best investigation and treatmentwere open to all.

Cancer patients, Sir David concluded, were more likelyto derive real benefit in the near future from organisation,prevention, detection, integration of laboratory and clinicalresearch, and joint consultation over clinical treatment thanfrom any dramatic breakthrough of the improbable kindthat many people once seemed to expect. No-one was

suddenly going to find the cause or cure of cancer in manany more than anyone was going one day to announce thediscovery of the cause or cure of all social disorders in acommunity. As the problems posed by cancer were betterdefined, as more of them were tackled on a national scale,and as others were increasingly dealt with by groups ofexperienced doctors with research backing, who workedtogether in teams, further progress of the sort achievedover the past few years could be confidently predicted.

University of LondonThe title of professor of pathology has been conferred

on Prof. G. W. A. Dick in respect of his post as honorarylecturer at the Institute of Child Health.

Professor Dick, who is 58, graduated M.B. from the Universityof Edinburgh in 1938, B.sc. in 1939, M.D. in 1949, and D.sc. in1955; he became F.R.c.rA’rH. in 1964. Following a year as

assistant pathologist at the Royal Infirmary, Edinburgh, he wasa pathologist in the R.A.M.C. in 1940-45 and in 1946-51 a

pathologist in the Colonial Medical Research Service. Duringthis period he was a Rockefeller Foundation fellow (internationalhealth division) and a research fellow at Johns Hopkins Univer-sity. From 1951 to 1954 he was on the scientific staff of theMedical Research Council, and in 1955 he was appointed pro-fessor of microbiology, Queen’s University of Belfast. Since1966 he has been director of the Bland-Sutton Institute ofPathology and Bland-Sutton professor of pathology at theMiddlesex Hospital Medical School. He has lately been appoin-ted postgraduate medical dean in the South-West MetropolitanRegion, and an assistant director of the British PostgraduateMedical Federation.

The title of reader in drug dependence has been con-ferred on Dr J. G. Edwards in respect of his post at theInstitute of Psychiatry.

1. Cancer Research Campaign, 2 Carlton House Terrace, LondonSW1Y 5AR.

54

University of AberdeenDr A. S. Milton has been appointed to the chair of

pharmacology.Dr Milton, who is 39, graduated B.A. in biochemistry from the

University of Oxford in 1957 and obtained the D.PHIL in pharma-cology in 1959. In 1959-61 he wasa Fulbright visiting lecturer to

Dartmouth Medical School, NewHampshire, and to StanfordUniversity Medical School. Hewas I.C.I. research fellow andhonorary lecturer in the depart-ment of pharmacology, EdinburghUniversity Medical School, in1961-63, and following a periodof research became, in 1966,lecturer in pharmacology at theSchool of Pharmacy, University ofLondon. He was promoted to

senior lecturer in 1967. Hisresearch interests are the centralcontrol of body temperature, themode of action of bacterial

pyrogens in producing fever andof antipyretic drugs, and in

particular the role of prostaglandins in these processes.

Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and HygieneProf. A. W. Woodruff has been installed as president of

the society for 1973-75. The Chalmers medal for 1973 hasbeen awarded to Dr P. D. Marsden.

Royal College of PsychiatristsThe annual meeting of the Royal College of Psychiatrists

will be held in Cardiff on July 10-12. Details may be hadfrom the secretary of the college at Chandos House,Queen Anne Street, London W1M 9LE.

Permitted Antioxidants

To accord with an E.E.C. directive the Ministry ofAgriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Department ofHealth propose to add to the list of antioxidants permittedin food nine more substances: L-ascorbic acid, sodiumand calcium L-ascorbate, ascorbyl diacetate and palmitate,extracts of natural origin rich in tocopherols, and synthetica, y, and a tocopherols. Comment on the proposals isinvited by July 16.

Dr Mervyn Gotsman, professor of cardiology in the Universityof Natal, and head of the Natal cardiothoracic unit, has beenappointed head of the cardiac service at Hadassah Hospital andMedical Centre, Jerusalem, Israel.

CORRIGENDA: Through no fault of our printers in Menasha,Wisconsin, the two sets of illustrations on the art plate in theNorth American edition of The Lancet of June 16 were trans-posed. The colour illustrations should face p. 1360.

Neurotoxicity of Vincristine.-We apologise to Dr DouglasC. Tormey for an error introduced into his letter of May 22(p. 1312). The fourth sentence should read: " In view of thesedata it seems that your (not Livingstone and Carter’s) statementconcerning ...

"

Oral Lesions in Pregnancy.-In the letter by Dr Iyengar(March 24, p. 680) the second sentence of the third paragraphshould read: "32 women were given 5 mg. of riboflavine daily,and the other 24 had 10 mg. of pyridoxine daily, orally ".

Diary of the Week

JULY 8 TO 14

Wednesday, 11thROYAL POSTGRADUATE MEDICAL SCHOOL, Hammersmith Hospital,

London W12 OHS2 P.M. Dr P. P. Anthony: Primary Carcinoma of the Liver-A Model

of Environmental Carcinogenesis.INSTITUTE OF ORTHOPEDICS, 234 Great Portland Street, London

WIN 6AD6 P.M. Mr J. Rowland Hughes: Soft-tissue Injuries to the Ankle.8.15 P.M. Mr C. L. Colton: Ankle Fractures.

Friday, 13thROYAL POSTGRADUATE MEDICAL SCHOOL

11 A.M. Cancer of the Breast. Mr D. G. Lambley: Radical Surgery.Dr R. D. Bulbrook: Endocrine Assays and Prognosis inBreast Cancer.

ROYAL FREE HOSPITAL, Gray’s Inn Road, London WC15.15 P.M. Prof. D. Rabin (Jerusalem): Isolated F.S.H. Deficiency and

Panhypogonadotrophic Syndrome.

Pamphlets and Reports

Census 1971, Great Britain: Advance Analysis. The sex,marital condition, and economic position of the 53,827,550persons enumerated in the 1971 census are presented accordingto region. 9 further reports on this census are planned, includingfertility tables; these will give statistics derived from informationsupplied for married women under 60 about the number andspacing of the children born to them in marriage. (H.M.Stationery Office. E4.50.)

International Directory of Investigators in Psycho-pharmacology. The World Health Organisation and NationalInstitute of Mental Health have produced this directory to

facilitate communication among researchers. The names of

approximately 2200 workers actively or administratively involvedin the investigation of psychotropic drugs for the treatment ofmental illness are listed along with their addresses and majorfields of research. A limited number of copies are available tothose who require this information. (Available from Dr. AliceLeeds, International Reference Center for Information on

Psychotropic Drugs, National Institute of Mental Health, Room9-105, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20852, U.S.A.)

Hints for Graduates Studying Abroad. This usefulbooklet contains down-to-earth information and advice forthose intending to study in the U.K., U.S.A., Australia, andSouth Africa. There is also a section on visiting Europe andRussia. Although the booklet was written for postgraduatemedical students from New Zealand, it contains information ofinterest to any graduate intending to study in the countriesdescribed. (Available from Dr Stewart Peddie, ExecutiveSecretary, New Zealand Postgraduate Medical Federation,Christchurch Hospital, Private Bag, Christchurch, New Zealand.$1 N.Z.)

A Catalogue of Medical and Biological Videotapes andFilms. This is a complete list of all productions in the medicaland biological sciences which have been made by the Audio-Visual Centre of the University of London for use in postgraduatemedical teaching. The catalogue will be updated in June andDecember each year and the new pages can be added to theloose-leaf folder. The films and videotapes are available forsale or hire. (Obtainable from the Audio-Visual Centre, 11Bedford Square, London WC1B 3RA. 50p.)

Health. This book forms part of an Open University course ondecision-making in Britain and has been designed to give studentsan understanding of the origins and organisation of the N.H.S.(Open University Press, Bletchley, Buckinghamshire. El.90.)