Newsletter No. 196

EBV WorkshopGenerates Lively Discussion A wo r kshop was held on the 'Mo l ecu l ar B i o l ogy o f EBV R e l a t ed M a l i g n a n cy and I t s Application to Clinical Practice' by the Hong Kong Cancer Genetics Research Group on 8th December 2001 at the Postgraduate Education Centre of the Faculty of Medicine. The Hong Kong Cancer Genetics Research Group is a joint venture between CUHK and the Un i ve r s i ty o f Hong Kong and is supported by the Kadoorie Charitable Foundation. The workshop featured keynote addresses by internationally renowned speakers from Australia, Canada, England, Japan, and Singapore on cell proliferation, vims reactivation, and immunotherapeutic targeting. There was also an interactive workshop for some 30 local and overseas 'EBVenthusiasts'. The local experts gave a brief presentation of their findings, which was followed by lively discussion among the participants. New Cent re He l ps Adu l ts Solve Bedwe t t i ng Pr ob l em T he Faculty of Medicine has established the Hong Kong Enuresis Research and Information Centre (HKERIC) to promote public understanding of bedwetting and to help health professionals improve their assessment and treatment of the disease. The services of the HKERIC include a telephone hotline, fax and letter advice, homepage and e-mail for professional advice, and regular seminars for the public and health professionals. Researchers from the Division of Paediatric Surgery of the Faculty of Medicine surveyed over 8,500 adults aged between 16 and 40 over the telephone to explore the prevalence of bedwetting among Hong Kong adults. Nearly three per cent of the men and two per cent of the women admitted to having the problem, which amounts to over 60,000 adults in that age range. The study also found that people suffering from bladder problems were significantly more likely to suffer also from depression and low self-esteem. Up to 40 per cent of the bedwetters felt that the problem had affected their job performance and social and familial interactions. Significantly fewer of them completed tertiary education compared to the control group. They also experienced more problems with sleeping. Yet very few seemed to know how to manage the problem and only less than half of them had tried therapy or sought medical assistance. Now over 90 per cent of the patients can be cured completely by treatment based on a detailed assessment of each affected individual. Such an approach to helping bedwetters is relatively recent and many sufferers have had no access to it until now. The HKERIC w i ll promote such treatment to help them solve their bedwetting problem. Side-effects of Lung Cancer Treatmen t Wo r r y Patients (From left) Prof. Tony Mok, Prof. Philip Johnson, and Prof. Benny Zee from the Department of Clinical Oncology at a press conference L ung cancer is the commonest cancer in men and the second commonest in women. The incidence of the disease in Hong Kong is 72.5 per 100,000 for men, and 28.1 per 100,000 for women. The Department of Clinical Oncology conducted a survey on 1,003 subjects to examine how they viewed the treatment of lung cancer with Western and Chinese medicine. It is revealed that while most agree that surgery can cure the disease at its early stage, some 60 per cent would decline it i f they have lung cancer. Over 60 per cent choose no therapy i f the disease is already at an advanced stage, and they are less likely to follow doctor's advice on treatment than those with the early stage of the disease. Some are very resistant to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, even though some 50 per cent expect such therapies to be able to prolong survival. Toxicity and side-effects such as hair loss, weakness, and nausea are their major concerns. Most also appear to have mixed and shallow understanding of the role of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of lung cancer. The department has also been conducting clinical research on a better regimen that prolongs survival wi th fewer side-effects. A randomized study on a combined treatment with new drugs and existing drugs has shown improvement in the quality of life and emotional well-being of cancer patients in the advanced stage of the disease. The department publicized the details of the survey and the clinical trial at a press conference held on 18th December 2001 at the Prince of Wales Hospital. Teaching Economics via Experiments A bout 130 secondary school teachers participated in a workshop held by EconExperiments on 8th December 2001 to acquaint themselves wi th economic experiments in class. Funded by the University Grants Committee, EconExperiments is a project to enhance the teaching of economics in secondary school by way of experiments. In the workshop, the project leader, Prof. Wong Ka-fu of the Department of Economics, explained to the participants the benefits and costs of using economic experiments in teaching, stating that their use can arouse student interest and convey economic concepts more effectively. The teachers were divided into four groups to conduct four different economic experiments led respectively by Prof. Teresa Siu of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Dr. Linda Yung and Dr. Yan Wai-hin of the Department of Economics, and Ms. Lau Sau-yin, a secondary school economics teacher. For other activities of EconExperiements to be organized during the year, please visit http://iface.econ.cuhk.edu.hk. Scholarships Awarded at Chung Chi's Friday Assembly O ver 600 alumni, students, and guests attended the Friday Assembly of Chung Chi College on 23rd November 2001, which saw the presentation of the Chung Chi Alumni Scholarships for Excellence and the Chung Chi College Scholarships for Excellence to outstanding students of the college. The guest speaker for the occasion was Mr. Joseph Y.W. Pang, a college alumnus who is also executive director and deputy chief executive of the Bank of East Asia Ltd. He shared his views on liberal arts education with the audience. In 1995, Chung Chi College established the Alumni Scholarships for Excellence with the support of the college alumni association and donations from individual alumni. This year the alumni donated 30 scholarships. Each freshman recipient of the alumni scholarship w i ll have a chance of being awarded the Chung Chi Scholarship of Excellence, established by the College Board of Trustees, in the next two years upon attainment of satisfactory academic results and with active participation in extracurricular activities. Mr. Joseph Y.W. Pang