Bulletin Spring‧Summer 2001

held at the Hong Kong Jockey Club. Guests attending included Mr . Chau Cham-son, deputy chairman of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, Prof. Steve Cummi ngs , representative of the Board of Trustees of the US National Osteoporosis Foundation, Prof. Ambrose King, pro-vice-chancellor of the University, Prof. Sydney Chung, dean of medicine, Prof. Leung Ping-chung of the D e p a r t m e n t o f O r t h o p a e d i c s a nd Traumatology, and Prof. Edith Lau of the Department o f Commu n i ty and F am i l y Medicine. World's First Chinese Brain Bank Dementia is a majo r medical and social problem threatening modern societies. It is estimated that five per cent o f the elderly population aged 65 or above suffer f r om moderate or severe intellectual deterioration. There is still no cure fo r dementia and studies on the condition among Chinese are scant. The Faculty of Medicine, which has a history of extensive research on the clinical as well as brain and genetic aspects of the disease, is now setting up a Chinese Brain Bank that will collect and study brain tissue in an attempt to understand dementia. When completed, the brain bank w i ll be the only one of its kind in the world. The Faculty o f Medicine also operates a Brain Disease Laboratory, the only laboratory in Hong Kong that undertakes studies about the Apolipoprotein E gene, the gene that is believed to make one susceptible to dementia. Centre for Promoting Women's Health The Centre of Research and Promotion of Women's Health was officially set up by the Faculty of Medicine on 16th January 2001 as part of the School of Public Health. The centre aims at researching health problems that are unique and significant to, and prevalent among women at different stages of their lives, and providing evidence for strategies and effective means o f health p r omo t i on and disease prevention for women. Speakers at the inauguration ceremony of the centre included (from left) Prof. Elizabeth Ba r r e t t - Connor f r om the Un i v e r s i t y o f California at San Diego, Prof. Suzanne Ho and P r o f. Jean Woo f r om the Un i v e r s i t y ' s Department o f Commu n i ty and F am i ly Medicine ， and Prof. Tony Chung Kwok-hung f r om the Department o f Obstetrics and Gynaecology. New Treatments and New Equipment New Therapy to Reverse Congenital Foetal Abnormalities In every 100 cases of pregnancy ， there w i l l be an average o f two foetuses wit h congenital foetal abnormalities. Usually the mother w i ll request t e r m i n a t i on o f pregnancy. Th e alternative is a distressful pregnancy which may end up in an unhealthy child. Medical advances has made possibl e in- utero therapy for foetuses w i t h congenital abnormalities. I n the past four years, the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology has performed many interventions of this kind and improved the outcome and survival rate of these babies. The Depa r tment o f Obstetrics and Gynaecology introduced in-utero therapy to the public on 23rd November 2000. A mother whose baby was found to have primary pleural e f f u s i o n, w h i c h h i n d e r s the n o r m a l development of the lungs, was present to share her experience with this therapy. Her baby is now one year old and healthy. News in Brief 61