https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/34875 2026-04-13T00:47:16Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/13994 Title: The Synapse : the medical professionals' network : volume 13 : issue 5 Editors: Galea, Wilfred; Ellul, Ian C. Abstract: Apart from the normal articles regarding medicine, this issue contains also the following: My experience in the MMSA - Cheryl Kaye Cachia; Doctor in the making (Jordan Camilleri) - Marika Azzopardi 2014-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/13977 Title: Age-related macular degeneration Authors: Grech Hardie, John Abstract: Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is a degenerative condition affecting the macular area of the retina. Those affected are usually over the age of 50 years and AMD is the leading cause of blindness over this age in the Western world. It results in distortion or loss of central sharp vision making it difficult to view the object of interest and to carry out close work, to read and write, to recognise faces and to drive although enough peripheral vision remains to allow other activities of daily life. 2014-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/13974 Title: The slippery slope of modern medical reporting : part 1 Authors: Cilia Vincenti, Albert Abstract: Doctors, let alone lay people, are bewildered by all the contradictory theories presented in current health books as result of the many studies being presented, usually for commercial purposes. “Theory” in the medical field often means just a guess – frequently incorrect. In physics and engineering, say, “theory” means an accurate prediction of real-life results which will not be found to be incorrect a few years later. In contrast, the plethora of contradictory results of studies in medicine and nutrition often lead nowhere and are later reversed. Most medical science isn’t science at all. A true experiment is meaningful only when it can result in valid recommendations. These are rare in the medical field, because it is next to impossible to control a person’s environment well enough to come to an accurate conclusion rendering many, if not most, studies of little worth. Description: Part 2 and part 3 of this article can be found through these links: https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar//handle/123456789/13990 https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar//handle/123456789/13998 2014-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/13972 Title: Racism and cardiology : a paradox Authors: Ellul, Ian C. Abstract: Editorial regarding historical anecdotes. Reference is made to when the first human heart transplant was carried out. This was carried out by a South African cardiac surgeon, Christiaan Barnard, utilizing the techniques developed and perfected by Norman Shumway and Richard Lower. He performed the transplant at the Cape Town’s Groote Schuur Hospital. All the medical team was caucasian, with the exception of Hamilton Naki who was Barnard’s black assistant. 2014-01-01T00:00:00Z