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STANFORD UNIvrRsITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
Department of Genetics

Dr. Irene Uchida, OCT 27 1969

Dept. Medical Genetics
Chirldren's Hospital
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Dear Irene--

It was thrust on me to talk to the Am, Soc. Anethesiologists the
other day, and under that compulsion I reviewed the literature and

my own memory about c-mitotic effects of aneg&Sthetics: which are
rife, (See Andersen, Acta Anesth. Scand., Suppl. 22 1966)

L

Then I recalled your paper in Lancet (11/16/68) and I wondered
if the effects you have described, of chromosome aberrations subse-
WNMESRL quent to abdominal radiation, could not be ascribed gust as
well to general anesthesia.

I toyed with the idea of writing a brief letter to Lancet to
encourage the collection of the appropriate data; but I wonder if
you could not try to sort out your own series on this point. I do
assume there is a high correlation between radiology and anesthesia,
but if, for example, one did a parallel control with, say, radiation
of the anxexrxux superior half of the body, one should be able to
factor out aKNamxka abdominel/pelvic dosage from the other entanglements.

YalHIA

Certainly I do not mean to belittle the idea of radiation-induced
chromosome itaxs non-disjunction. that was the roentgen-efficiency for
chromosome loss in Russell's studies in mice?

Sincerely,

hig Arm
fithrmr
Woshua Lederberg

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LT. J. P. KENNEDY, JR. LABORATORIES FOR MOLECULAR MEDICINE, DEDICATED TO RESEARCH IN MENTAL RETARDATION
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY HEREDITY NEUROBIOLOGY DEVELOPMENTAL MEDICINE