View report page

62
although, on reflection, the field is even wider. There is great scope
in this field for preventive measures and health education.
Other influences, namely, research into effects of the thymus
gland upon the 'immune processes' may well lead to effective
control of some forms of cancer. In a similar context, haemolytic
disease of the newborn has provoked some comment in a report
by a W.H.O. Scientific Group which has made observations on the
fact that in normal pregnancy, although the foetus is essentially
a heterologous transplant, it is rarely rejected by its mother. It
must therefore be subject during the gestation period to some
protective mechanism as yet unknown. It has been postulated
that isoantigens from the amniotic membrane and fluid are
implicated. Again, the solving of a problem of this nature has
even wider applications in the field of preventive medicine and
'spare-part' surgery.
Epidemiologically, heart disease is proving to be the greatest
menace of modern society. It ranges from congenital heart conditions
such as patent ductus arteriosus, co-arctation of the aorta,
septal defects, Fallot's tetralogy, etc., to those acquired disabilities
of the rheumatic heart involving the mitral, aortic and tricuspid
valves and of coronary artery disease.
However, early surgery is proving very effective in the field
of congenital heart disease where present mortality is some 60%
before the age of one year. Furthermore, a considerable measure
of success is to be seen in surgery concerned with the acquired
heart disabilities. Improved cardiopulmonary by-pass techniques
and the development of profound hypothermia in open heart
surgery are enabling more extensive repairs and prosthesis to be
entertained. Again, impaired coronary circulation is being compensated
by the implantation of the internal mammary and
splenic arteries or by the even more revolutionary method of cardiac
acupuncture. Whether those methods will stand the test of time
remains to be seen but the prospects are exciting and bright.
Mental diseases have, in more recent times, attracted attention
and have been investigated with varying degrees of success.
Schizophrenia, frequently triggered by environmental influences,
has been the subject of considerable research. It is now generally
believed that susceptibility is genetically determined but, as head
injuries and addiction to certain drugs can produce similar symptoms
in members of families with no 'schizophrenic' histories, it
might well be that the onset arises from a functional breakdown
involving biochemical pathways.
A significant advance which could be invaluable in the field of
mental disease is the use, in bloodless brain surgery, of the 'laser'