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Notes and News

GUIDELINES FOR RESEARCH ON CHILDREN

THE fact that the British Paediatric Association has set upa standing ethics advisory committee could turn out to be moreimportant, despite the dual publication,’ than the B.P.A.’sguidelines on research on children. For a long time now therehas been too much talk about broad principles, usually in alegal vacuum, and too little attention to the day-to-day issuesthat local ethics committees have to face. The B.P.A. startsfrom four premises: that research on children is important andshould be encouraged, that investigations should not be doneon children when adults will do, that non-therapeutic researchis neither necessarily unethical nor illegal, and that it is legiti-mate to consider risk/benefit ratios. The document concen-trates on non-therapeutic research. Though age is not the onlyfactor to be taken into account when consent is sought, aminor is defined as someone under 18 years of age (not 16, asfor consent to a therapeutic or diagnostic procedure). Abalance between risk and benefit is a value judgment, howeverobjectively the two components are defined by those providingmedical advice, and the four-man B.P.A. committee may findit useful to co-opt a lay member to broaden the outlook. Anincidental renal biopsy during an abdominal operation cer-tainly carries "more than minimal" risk, and that is properlya medical judgment. But, if, as the guidelines suggest, this riskcould be justified if the objective of the research were, say, theelimination of allograft rejection problems, can the balance bestruck on purely medical grounds? The standing committee,when asked, will advise local ethics committees and journaleditors. Its opinions will not be binding, but the hope is thatif consultation takes place on a sufficiently large scale "uni-formity of policy for research on children throughout thecountry" will ensue.

The B.P.A.’s Standing Ethics Advisory Committee consists ofProf. Forrester Cockburn (convenor), the chairman of the B.P.A.’sAcademic Board (Prof. David Hull), a representative of the British As-sociation of Pasdiatric Surgeons (Mr J. E. S. Scott), and a membershortly to be elected by the B.P.A. Council.

CHARCOAL CLOTH

CHARCOAL cloth, a new filtration material which combinesthe characteristics of granular charcoal with the advantages ofa flexible cloth material, has been developed by Dr F. A. P.Maggs at the Chemical Defence Establishment, Porton Down,Wiltshire. It is composed of 100% activated charcoal fibres inthe form of a woven cloth material, and has an adsorptivecapacity several times greater than that of existing foam ornon-woven materials to which fine charcoal granules havebeen fixed. Charcoal cloth has several advantages over granu-lar charcoal. It is strong and flexible, does not require a con-tainer, and resists shock and vibration. The minimum amountneeded for protection is 5-10 times less than that for nut-shellcharcoal, and the rate of adsorption is 5-20 times greater. Therelatively high initial cost of charcoal can, in many cases, beoffset by regenerating the cloth and using it again. It has awide range of potential applications. In the medical area, band-ages incorporating charcoal cloth could remove offensiveodours and possibly reduce the risk of infection, thus improv-ing healing. Filters for colostomy bags could prevent odours,and in the operating theatre charcoal-cloth masks could reduceinhalation of ambient anaesthetics. Charcoal cloth could alsobe used in treatment designed to eliminate drugs and toxinsfrom the blood. It has many other possible applications in

1. British Pædiatric Association. Guidelines to aid ethical committees consider-mg research involving children. Arch Dis Child 1980; 55: 75-77 and BrMed J 1980; 280: 229-31.

defence and industry. The National Research DevelopmentCorporation has invested over L100 000 in a joint project withCharcoal Cloth Ltd for the development and manufacture ofcharcoal cloth.

Further information can be obtained from Dr Ralph Barraclough,Industrial Chemistry Group, National Research Development Corpor-ation, Kingsgate House, 66-74 Victoria Street, London SW1E 6SL.

THE JENNER TRUST

ANXIETY is being expressed about the future of the Chantryat Berkeley in Gloucestershire, the home of Edward Jenner,the discoverer of vaccination. The Chantry belongs to theChurch of England, and the present vicar of Berkeley lives inthe house. The Church is unable to afford the upkeep of thehouse, which is large and lacks modern conveniences, so it isto be sold as soon as the present vicar can be found a homeelsewhere. While the vicar lived in the Chantry the JennerTrust had access to the house and to the Temple of Vaccinia(which the Trust maintains) in the garden. The loss of theChantry could deprive the medical profession and many othersof an opportunity to see where Jenner lived and died; and itmight threaten the Temple and perhaps even the Trust’s com-plex of Jennerian exhibits at Berkeley. The Trust has suffi-cient funds to buy the Temple, but, to purchase the Chantryand develop part of it as a museum and meeting place for Jen-ner’s admirers, a sum of £75 000 would be required. TheTrust hopes that the medical and allied professions might joinwith the drug industry to raise this sum. The honorary secre-tary of the Trust is Prof. Alan E. Read, Department of Medi-cine, University of Bristol.

University of OxfordProf. M. K. Sykes, of the Royal Postgraduate Medical

School, London, has been appointed to the Nuffield professor-ship of anaesthetics from June 1.

Professor Sykes was educated at Cambridge and University CollegeHospital, London. Between 1952 and 1967 he worked at U.C.H. Hethen became reader in anaesthetics at the Royal Postgraduate MedicalSchool and later professor. He was assistant editor of Ancesthesia from1966 to 1970.

M.R.C. Brain Metabolism Unit

NEXT month Dr George Fink will become director of theM.R.C. Brain Metabolism Unit in Edinburgh. The unit wasset up in 1965 to carry out work on cerebral metabolism with

special reference to neurological and psychiatric disorders suchas schizophrenia, manic depression, and dementias. The two pre-vious directors were Sir Walter Perry and Dr G. W. Ashcroft.Dr Fink, who is at present University lecturer in human anatomy

and official fellow and tutor in physiology at Brasenose College,Oxford, is 42. After qualifying in medicine at Melbourne University,he spent three years in the department of human anatomy at Oxford,where he carried out research on hypothalamic and pituitary hor-mones. In 1968-71 he was senior lecturer in anatomy at Monash Uni-

versity. In 1971 he took up his present post in Oxford. He is now onsabbatical leave during a Royal Society exchange fellowship at thedepartment of hormone research of the Weizmann Institute, Israel.His research interests centre on the mode of synthesis, transport,release, and action of neurotransmitters and the modulation of trans-mitter systems by peripheral hormones.

A bibliography entitled Dietary Fibre in Human Nutrition, com-piled by Dr Hugh C. Trowell, has been published under the sponsor-ship of the Kellogg Company of Great Britain. It lists over 1000

papers and publications and classifies them under seven headings:gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, metabolic, fibre and food, miscel-

laneous, hypotheses, and book reviews and symposia. It is availablefrom John Libby & Co. Ltd, 80/84 The Broadway, London SW8,price 6.

272

Hazards in Hospital will be the subject of a combined meeting ofthe Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and the Royal Collegeof Surgeons of Edinburgh at 10 A.M. on Thursday, Feb. 7, at theRoyal College of Physicians, 9 Queen Street, Edinburgh.

The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh will hold a colloquiumfor consultants and registrars on Investigation and Management ofLacrimal Problems in the College on Tuesday, Feb. 12, at 6 P.M.

A symposium on Doping in Sport has been arranged by the chro-matography and electrophoresis group of the analytical division of theChemical Society on April 8 at 11 A.M. at Chelsea College, ManresaRoad, London SW3 6LX.

Corrections

Pectin Efficacy in Insulin-treated Diabetics Assessed by the Artifi-cial Pancreas.-The upper part of the illustration accompanying thisletter (Jan. 19, p. 158) came from a previously published contributionto our correspondence columns. We apologise to Dr T. Poynard andcolleagues for the confusion caused.

Combination Chemotherapy in Stages I or II Hodgkin’s Disease.-The non-proprietary name for ’Oncovin’ (Nov. 17, p. 1072) is vin-cristine not vinblastine.

Diary of the Week

FEB. 3 TO 9

Sunday,3rdINSTITUTE OF LARYNGOLOGY AND OTOLOGY, Royal National Throat, Nose & Ear

Hospital, 330/332 Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1X 8EE10.15 A.M. Mr H. R. Grant: The Differential Diagnosis of Hoarseness.

Monday, 4thROYAL COLLEGE OF PSYCHIATRISTS, 17 Belgrave Square, London SW1X 8PG

6 P.M. Dr Valerie Cowie: Injury and Insult: Considerations of the Neuropath-ological Aetiology of Mental Subnormality.

Tuesday, 5thBIRMINGHAM MEDICAL INSTITUTUTE, 36 Harborne Road, Edgbaston, Birming-

ham BH 3AF1 P.M. Dr M. Fitzgerald: Hypothyroidism.8 P.M. (Section of Psychiatry) Dr L. Hersov: Abnormal Illness Behavour in

Children with Hysterical Symptoms.

Wednesday, 6thROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS, 11 St. Andrew’s Place, Regent’s Park, London

NW1 4LE5.40 P.M. Dr Ian Sutherland: The Epidemiology of Tuberculosis: Is Preven-

tion Better than Cure? (Marc Daniels Lecture).INSTITUTE OF DERMATOLOGY, St. John’s Hospital for Diseases of the Skin, Lisle

Street, Leicester Square, London WC2H 7BJ4.30 P.M. Dr M. Thompson: Biochemical Studies in Human Skin.

INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGY, National Hospital, Queen Square, LondonWC1N 3BG

6 P.M. Dr R. E. Kelly: Post-traumatic Syndromes.7 P.M. Dr C. D. Evans: Rehabilitation of Brain Damaged Patients.

INSTITUTE OF ORTHOPEDICS, Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital. 234 GreatPortland Street, London Wl

6 P.M. Mr N. J. Barton: Phalangeal Fractures.7 P.M. Mr E. L. Tnckey: Fractures of the Carpus.

CLINICAL RESEARCH CENTRE, Northwick Park Hospital, Watford Road, Harrow,Middlesex HA1 3UJ

1 P.M. Dr C. Stacey: Nature and Nurture: Pasdiatnc Case Presentations.ASSURANCE MEDICAL SOCIETY, 11 Chandos Street, London Wl 1

4 P.M. Dr 0. Scott: Life Assurance and the Skin.JOHN RADCLIFFE HOSPITAL, Headington, Oxford OX3 9DU

5 P.M. Dr R. A. Weiss: Retroviruses and Cancer.MANCHESTER MEDICAL SOCIETY,

S P.M. (Stopford Building, Medical School) Dr D. Davies: Anovulatory Infer-tility.

ROYAL MEDICAL SOCIETY, Students’ Centre, Bristo Street, Edinburgh EH8 9AL8 P.M. Dr Hugh Jolly: Why is Paediatrics Exciting?

Friday, 8thINSTITUTE OF LARYNGOLOGY AND OTOLOGY,

5.30 P.M. Dr L. Sinclair: Inborn Errors of Metabolism in Otorhinolaryngology.

Saturday, 9thNUFFIELD ORTHOPEDIC CENTRE, Oxford

8.30 P.M. Mr P. Burge: Pathology of Bone Infection.9.30 A.M. Mr D. J. Fuller: Advances in the Management of Bone and Joint In-

fection.

International Diary

VII International Symposium on Drugs Affecting Lipid Metabol-ism: Milan, May 28-31 (Fondazione Giovanni Lorenzini, Via MonteNapoleone, 23, Milano, 20121).

XI International Congress of the International Society of Psy-choneuroendocrinology: Florence, June 16-20 (Fondazione Gio-vanni Lorenzini, Via Monte Napoleone, 23, Milano, 20121).

International Symposium on Exercise Bioenergetics and GasExchange: Milan, July 7-10 (Fondazione Giovanni Lorenzini, ViaMonte Napoleone, 23, Milano, 20121).

22nd British Congress of Obstetrics and Gyneecology: Edin-

burgh, July 8-11 (Congress Office, Royal College of Obstetricians andGynaecologists, 27 Sussex Place, Regent’s Park, London NW1 4RG).

International Conference on Systems Science in Health Care:Montreal, July 14-17 (SS - 80, EROS - Equipe de Recherche Opera-tionnelle en Sante, Universite de Montreal, Pavillon Elendale, C.P.6128, Succ. A., Canada H3C 3J7).

International Symposium on Macromolecules: Florence, Sept.7-12 (Fondazione Giovanni Lorenzini, Via Monte Napoleone, 23,Milano, 20121).

2nd International Conference on Ultrasonically Guided Punc-ture: Herlev Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Sept. 10-12 (DISCongress Service, Linde alle 48, DK - 2720 Vanlose, Copenhagen).

27th International Congress on General Practice: Klagenfun,Austria, Sept. 15-20 (General Secretary of the S.I.M.G., A-9020 Kla-genfurt, Bahnhofstrasse 22).

International Symposium on Medical Statistics: Rome, Sept.22-24 (Fondazione Giovanni Lorenzini, Via Napoleone, 23, Milano,20121).

VI International Meeting on Bile Acids and Lipids : Freiburg/BrW.-Germany, Oct. 9-11 (Dr G. Paumgartner, Department of InternalMedicine II, University of Munich, Marchioninistrasse 15, D-8000Munich 70, West Germany).

International Symposium on New Trends in Antibiotics;Research and Therapy: Milan, Oct. 29-31 (Fondazione GiovanniLorenzini, Via Monte Napoleone, 23, Milano, 20121).

European Organisation for Research on Treatment of Cancer

(E.O.R.T.C.) symposium on Treatment of Neoplastic Lesions ofthe Nervous System: Brussels, April 10-11 (Miss D. Eeckoudt,E.O.R.T.C. Data Centre, Institut Jules Bordet, 1 rue Heger-Bordet,100, Brussels, Belgium).

25th annual meeting of the Commonwealth Caribbean MedicalResearch Council : Guyana, April 17-19 (Scientific Secretary, Tropi-cal Metabolism Research Unit, University of the West Indies, Mona,Kingston 7, Jamaica, W.I.).

3rd annual sympsoium on Recent Advances in Obstetrics andGynaecology: San Diego, May 12-14 (Edith Bookstein, Office ofContinuing Education, M-017, UCSD School of Medicine, La Jolla,California 92093).

E.O.R.T.C. symposium on Progress and Perspectives in theTreatment of Gastrointestinal Tumours : Brussels, May 22-23(Miss D. Eeckhoudt, E.O.R.T.C. Data Centre, Institut Jules Bordet,1 rue Heger-Bordet, 100 Brussels, Belgium).

Annual Conference on Assessment of Competence in Undergra-duate Medical Education: Nijmegen, Netherlands, Sept. 2-5 (MrsAnn Combe, Association for Medical Education in Europe, Depart-ment of Psychiatry, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, Edinburgh, EH105HF).

Workshop on Experimental Colonic Cancer: Rouen and Pans.Sept. 17-19 (Centre Henri Becquerel, Department of ExperimentalCancerology and Pathnology, Rue D’Amiens, 76038 Rouen).