In the eyes of the public there is a traditional link between general anaesthesia and dental practice. After 150 years' experience the link may be broken by Government's acceptance of the Poswillo Report and its major recommendations.

Anesthesia, Dental↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Dynamics of environmental supplementation of iodine: four years' experience of iodination of irrigation water in Hotien, Xinjiang, China.

Hotien prefecture, Xinjiang Province, China, in the Taklamakan Desert, is an area of severe iodine deficiency. Because usual methods of iodine supplementation failed here, we began supplementation in 1992 with potassium iodate, which was added to irrigation water (Lancet 1994; 334:107-110). We report 4 y experience with this method in 3 townships that contained a total treated population of 37,000. Potassium iodate was dripped into irrigation water (to a concentration 10-80 microg/l) during a 2- to 4-wk period. During the 3 y that followed, no further supplementation was made, and iodine concentrations increased several fold in crops and plants, sheep and chicken thyroid glands, and meat and in urine of children 2-6 y of age and of women who were of childbearing age. Infant mortality decreased 50%, and sheep production increased 43%. Iodine repletion of soil through irrigation water is an effective and cost-efficient way of providing iodine in appropriate situations.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The influence of cigarette smoking on blood gold distribution during chrysotherapy.

Plasma and erythrocyte gold concentrations were measured in 35 patients taking gold sodium thiomalate (GSTM) for rheumatoid arthritis. In 6 patients with adverse effects attributable to gold therapy at the time of sampling, gold concentrations in plasma and erythrocyte fractions were no different from those without adverse effects. A significant difference was seen in the distribution of gold in the blood of cigarette smokers compared to non-smokers, with smokers having higher erythrocyte and lower plasma gold concentrations. A prospective study on 15 patients commencing treatment with GSTM showed that the higher concentrations of erythrocyte gold seen in smokers were achieved within the first 2 weeks of treatment.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗