Research medicine

In Section I of this annual report, a brief summary of work is presented by the Research Medicine Group. The major emphasis has been the study of the blood system in man with a special emphasis on the examination of platelet abnormalities in human disease. New programs of major importance include the study of aging or dementia of the Alzheimer's type. A differential diagnosis technique has been perfected using positron emission tomography. Studies on the biochemical basis of schizophrenia have proceeded using radioisotope studies which image physiological and biochemical processes. In the investigation of atherosclerosis, techniques have been developed to measure blood perfusion of the heart muscle by labelling platelets and lipoproteins. Progress is reported in a new program which uses NMR for both imaging and spectroscopic studies in humans. The group has determined through an epidemiological study that bubble chamber and cyclotron workers who have been exposed to high electromagnetic fields for two decades have no significant increases in the prevalence of 21 diseases as compared with controls