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THE PRESIDENCY OF THE GENERAL MEDICAL COUNCIL.
1079 the consideration of their special interests. Water Hospital, Bath, have studied its effect in The finance of the scheme is to have a trial run with a arthritis of varying severity and record in most cases fund of its own. There is apparently a hope that a rise in the red cell count during the short period of treatment. Dr. S. C. Dyke and Dr. Joan Greener, the General Medical Council will find the proposition at the and Staffordshire can ensure
working
self-supporting.
Wolverhampton
Hospital, have prepared graphs showing that the Subcommittee, in its report and recom. reticulocyte crisis at the beginning of liver treatment mendations, raises many other issues, but it may be synchronises with a rapid drop of the serum bilirubin sufficient for the present to say that it has discharged to normal. This drop of the serum bilirubin, on the the first duty of such a body by achieving unanimity face of it, seems to point to a cessation of haemolysis, and by putting forward proposals in a clear and and these observers offer an explanation of the coincidence of the two phenomena based upon the reasonable form. recent American work of Peabody. Conclusive proof however, lacking that the increase of the serum almost invariably present in pernicious anaemia, is due to haemolysis ; this is the obvious explanation, but it is possible that the increase is really due to failure on the part of the haematopoietic " Ne quid nimis. system to make use of the precursors of haemoglobin. This requires further investigation. Dr. 0. L. V. THE PRESIDENCY OF THE GENERAL MEDICAL de Wesselow and Dr. Joseph Bamforth, of St. Thomas’s Hospital, have been able to confirm the COUNCIL. fact that in pernicious as opposed to secondary Sir Donald MacAlister was appointed 24 years anaemia the plasma volume is normal and that no ago President of the General Medical Council. He variation occurs in the course of treatment by liver. was at the time a tried member of the Council, having Lastly, we may draw attention to the brief paper by in 1889 succeeded Sir George Humphry as Represen- Dr. F. C. Eve, of Hull, who has been studying pertative of the University of Cambridge, but there nicious anaemia with the technique devised by Dr. were many members of the Council senior to him, Adrianus Pijper, of Pretoria, described in our columns1 so that it was significant of the impression which some years ago. Dr. Eve reports a decrease in the he had made upon his colleagues that his nomination size of the red cells after liver feeding in cases of as their head gave immediate satisfaction to them subacute combined sclerosis of the cord. He lays all. On Tuesday afternoon last, at the opening of the stress upon the im:QVrtance of this mode of investigapresent session of the Council, Sir Donald MacAlister tion in the diagnosis of pernicious ansemia ; but the attempted to resign this long-held trust, and testified fact that he was able to demonstrate an increase in the in doing so, to the full measure of continuous support size of the red cells in a child of 2, and also in a which throughout his extended tenure of office he patient with leukaemia, suggests that the method had received from his colleagues. For the medical should not at present be relied on to the exclusion of profession we can say that the Council havethrough- other means of diagnosis. out been well advised in refusing to allow Sir Donald MacAlister to retire from the leadership of their SUNLIGHT AND HEALTH. deliberations. From the inception of his Presidency A SUPPLEMENT to the issue of the Times of Tuesday, to its close, he has displayed the qualities which all recognise as essential for leadership. He has devoted an May 22nd, forms a valuable summary of our knowledge intellect of unusual force and clearness to his far- of the part which sunlight plays in the maintenance reaching duties, not sparing himself, yet never unwilling and promotion of health in far-reaching directions, to delegate responsibility or to leave in the hands of and of its direct therapeutic value when artificially others the preliminary and detailed work necessary, applied. The whole of this large reference is well if special questions were to be presented in compre- covered in 40 fully illustrated pages ; the general hensible form to the general body of the Council. lessons in their application alike to natural and artiThe dignity of his office has been safe in his hands, ficial sunlight are delivered by recognised authorities, while he has never lost sight of the fact that the and their value is indicated by careful editorial General Medical Council was created by Act of comment; while the contributions along special lines Parliament in the public interest. Medicine and the form a fair and full story of what applied science has public already owe Sir Donald MacAlister an unpay- been able to effect in many conditions which have able debt, and the news that he has consented to hitherto defied our therapeutics. Essays by Mr. T. A. Webster on ergosterol, by Dr. Leonard Hill on give another term of arduous service is welcome. the measurement of ultra-violet radiation, and by Prof. Sidney Russ on the electro-magnetic theory of FURTHER OBSERVATIONS ON ANÆMIA. life, will be valuable to medical readers, as they THE papers on anaemia which we publish this afford the scientific evidence which is relied upon week may be regarded as supplementary to those on when sunlight therapy, a comparatively new weapon liver treatment appearing in our issue of April 28th. in the practitioners’ hands, is employed in particular In reviewing the remarkable results of this remedy treatments; the general benefits of balneological in pernicious ansemia, we then pointed out that the methods are exposed in articles by Dr. Fortescue Fox, work of Whipple and Robscheit-Robbins which led writing on the British climate and British spas, and to its adoption was carried out on dogs suffering from by many correspondents from France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Algeria, and Egypt, experimental secondary anaemia. The natural infer- Spain, what centres in those countries can offer, describing ence is that liver should have a beneficial effect in human secondary anaemia, though its action in the special praise being due here to the descriptions by Dr. Kurt Huldschinsky of open-air culture and the primary " variety is evidently much greater, and this inference seems to be justified by the work of practice of actinotherapy in Germany. A large part Dr. Janet Vaughan at University College Hospital. of the supplement is occupied with descriptions of th Two of her cases showed a small but definite increase influence of access to the sun in improving general of reticulocytes, though in others there was no environment, and though the teaching may be obvious it is none the less valuable, especially if the response of this kind. The fact that she could record information is absorbed by public authorities concerned no benefit in lymphatic leukaemia is not very surthe the provision of playingof with schools, building prising in view of the wide divergence of the origin fields, and the organisation of institutional life. The of lymphoid cells and red cells, but this negative result should not deter clinicians from trying the Times has done public and timely service in issuing this supplement. remedy in leukaemias of myeloid type. Dr. Vincent 1 Coates and Dr. J. L. Delicati, of the Royal Mineral THE LANCET, 1924, ii., 367. The
is, bilirubin,
Annotations. "
I
"
working
self-supporting.
Wolverhampton
Hospital, have prepared graphs showing that the Subcommittee, in its report and recom. reticulocyte crisis at the beginning of liver treatment mendations, raises many other issues, but it may be synchronises with a rapid drop of the serum bilirubin sufficient for the present to say that it has discharged to normal. This drop of the serum bilirubin, on the the first duty of such a body by achieving unanimity face of it, seems to point to a cessation of haemolysis, and by putting forward proposals in a clear and and these observers offer an explanation of the coincidence of the two phenomena based upon the reasonable form. recent American work of Peabody. Conclusive proof however, lacking that the increase of the serum almost invariably present in pernicious anaemia, is due to haemolysis ; this is the obvious explanation, but it is possible that the increase is really due to failure on the part of the haematopoietic " Ne quid nimis. system to make use of the precursors of haemoglobin. This requires further investigation. Dr. 0. L. V. THE PRESIDENCY OF THE GENERAL MEDICAL de Wesselow and Dr. Joseph Bamforth, of St. Thomas’s Hospital, have been able to confirm the COUNCIL. fact that in pernicious as opposed to secondary Sir Donald MacAlister was appointed 24 years anaemia the plasma volume is normal and that no ago President of the General Medical Council. He variation occurs in the course of treatment by liver. was at the time a tried member of the Council, having Lastly, we may draw attention to the brief paper by in 1889 succeeded Sir George Humphry as Represen- Dr. F. C. Eve, of Hull, who has been studying pertative of the University of Cambridge, but there nicious anaemia with the technique devised by Dr. were many members of the Council senior to him, Adrianus Pijper, of Pretoria, described in our columns1 so that it was significant of the impression which some years ago. Dr. Eve reports a decrease in the he had made upon his colleagues that his nomination size of the red cells after liver feeding in cases of as their head gave immediate satisfaction to them subacute combined sclerosis of the cord. He lays all. On Tuesday afternoon last, at the opening of the stress upon the im:QVrtance of this mode of investigapresent session of the Council, Sir Donald MacAlister tion in the diagnosis of pernicious ansemia ; but the attempted to resign this long-held trust, and testified fact that he was able to demonstrate an increase in the in doing so, to the full measure of continuous support size of the red cells in a child of 2, and also in a which throughout his extended tenure of office he patient with leukaemia, suggests that the method had received from his colleagues. For the medical should not at present be relied on to the exclusion of profession we can say that the Council havethrough- other means of diagnosis. out been well advised in refusing to allow Sir Donald MacAlister to retire from the leadership of their SUNLIGHT AND HEALTH. deliberations. From the inception of his Presidency A SUPPLEMENT to the issue of the Times of Tuesday, to its close, he has displayed the qualities which all recognise as essential for leadership. He has devoted an May 22nd, forms a valuable summary of our knowledge intellect of unusual force and clearness to his far- of the part which sunlight plays in the maintenance reaching duties, not sparing himself, yet never unwilling and promotion of health in far-reaching directions, to delegate responsibility or to leave in the hands of and of its direct therapeutic value when artificially others the preliminary and detailed work necessary, applied. The whole of this large reference is well if special questions were to be presented in compre- covered in 40 fully illustrated pages ; the general hensible form to the general body of the Council. lessons in their application alike to natural and artiThe dignity of his office has been safe in his hands, ficial sunlight are delivered by recognised authorities, while he has never lost sight of the fact that the and their value is indicated by careful editorial General Medical Council was created by Act of comment; while the contributions along special lines Parliament in the public interest. Medicine and the form a fair and full story of what applied science has public already owe Sir Donald MacAlister an unpay- been able to effect in many conditions which have able debt, and the news that he has consented to hitherto defied our therapeutics. Essays by Mr. T. A. Webster on ergosterol, by Dr. Leonard Hill on give another term of arduous service is welcome. the measurement of ultra-violet radiation, and by Prof. Sidney Russ on the electro-magnetic theory of FURTHER OBSERVATIONS ON ANÆMIA. life, will be valuable to medical readers, as they THE papers on anaemia which we publish this afford the scientific evidence which is relied upon week may be regarded as supplementary to those on when sunlight therapy, a comparatively new weapon liver treatment appearing in our issue of April 28th. in the practitioners’ hands, is employed in particular In reviewing the remarkable results of this remedy treatments; the general benefits of balneological in pernicious ansemia, we then pointed out that the methods are exposed in articles by Dr. Fortescue Fox, work of Whipple and Robscheit-Robbins which led writing on the British climate and British spas, and to its adoption was carried out on dogs suffering from by many correspondents from France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Algeria, and Egypt, experimental secondary anaemia. The natural infer- Spain, what centres in those countries can offer, describing ence is that liver should have a beneficial effect in human secondary anaemia, though its action in the special praise being due here to the descriptions by Dr. Kurt Huldschinsky of open-air culture and the primary " variety is evidently much greater, and this inference seems to be justified by the work of practice of actinotherapy in Germany. A large part Dr. Janet Vaughan at University College Hospital. of the supplement is occupied with descriptions of th Two of her cases showed a small but definite increase influence of access to the sun in improving general of reticulocytes, though in others there was no environment, and though the teaching may be obvious it is none the less valuable, especially if the response of this kind. The fact that she could record information is absorbed by public authorities concerned no benefit in lymphatic leukaemia is not very surthe the provision of playingof with schools, building prising in view of the wide divergence of the origin fields, and the organisation of institutional life. The of lymphoid cells and red cells, but this negative result should not deter clinicians from trying the Times has done public and timely service in issuing this supplement. remedy in leukaemias of myeloid type. Dr. Vincent 1 Coates and Dr. J. L. Delicati, of the Royal Mineral THE LANCET, 1924, ii., 367. The
is, bilirubin,
Annotations. "
I
"