Sustainable Medicine

Christ Church College, Oxford, 7 - 11 September, 1998

However, epidemiologists see links with environmental factors and changes in eating habits. Palliative drugs may help these patients in the short term, but they often become the heart-sink or thick case note patients who distress their doctors by coming back with a succession of complaints wearing for the doctor, expensive for the health service and disillusioning for the patient.

There are other ways in which doctors can help many of these patients, and that is what Sustainable Medicine is all about. If the cause of the symptoms can be found and either corrected or avoided, not only are the current symptoms prevented, but so is the pattern of repeated visits with a stream of illnesses. Results can be dramatic, with the patient saying that they feel positively well, sometimes for the first time ever.

This conference offered a unique opportunity to find out about constructive approaches to chronic illness, in the company of international experts and in the lovely setting of an Oxford college, with its history, architecture and learning.

Professor Jonathan Brostoff, immunologist and allergist, holder of the first Chair in Allergy and Environmental Health in a UK medical school, gave the keynote address, the George Hearn Memorial Lecture, in memory of one of the country's leading environmental physicians.

Dr Sherry Rogers, a distinguished allergist from New York, who is an authority on the allergic and biochemical consequences of chemical exposures, talked about some of her new work on depression, and with cancer patients, and was available for discussions on pain control and environmental medicine.

Dr Lindsay Wing, an ENT surgeon from Australia had fascinating insights into nasal allergy, based on the study of biopsies.

Dr Len McEwen whose research at St Mary's Hospital, London, led to the development of enzyme potentiated desensitisation.

Professor Anthony Diplock, chairman of the Division of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Guy's and St Thomas's Hospitals, London, and President of the International Antioxidant Research Centre, spoke about recent work on antioxidants.

Dr H W Schiwara from Bremen in Germany and Dr John McLaren Howard from Biolab Medical Unit, London discussed some of the toxicological issues in environmental medicine.

Dr Hugh Dunstan from Australia has developed a urine test to diagnose chronic fatigue syndrome.

Professor C Vermeer of Maastricht University presented an interesting nutritional approach to preventing osteoporosis, and Dr Fraser Scott from Banting Research Centre in Canada talked about improved management of diabetes.

Dr Stephen Davies, Founder and Medical director of Biolab Medical Unit, considered the problems facing medicine as the next century approaches and the contributions which nutrition might make to their solution.

Dr Henry Jenny, a distinguished plastic surgeon from California, introduced a fascinating debate at the Oxford Union Society about silicone implants and their consequences.

We were delighted that Professor David Bellamy, the well known botanist and broadcaster about ecology and the environment, agreed to speak at the Conference Banquet.

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