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  • Catharanthus roseus (L.)G.Don Apocynaceae. Madagascar Periwinkle Distribution: Madagascar. It is the source of vincristine and vinblastine, which impair cell multiplication by interfering with microtubule assembly, causing metaphase arrest and are effective medications for leukaemias, lymphomas and some solid tumours. The mortality from childhood leukaemia fell from 100% to 30% once it was introduced - not a drug that could ethically be tested by double-blind trials. These chemicals were initially discovered by investigators in 1958 who were looking for cures for diabetes so tested this plant which was being used in the West Indies to reduce blood sugar levels. There are 70 different alkaloids present in this plant, and some - catharanthine, leurosine sulphate, lochnerine, tetrahydroalstonine, vindoline and vindolinine - lower blood sugar levels. However, the toxicity of this plant is such that this is not a plant to try at home for diabetic management. The vincristine content of the plant is 0.0003%, so two kilograms of leaf are required to produce sufficient vincristine for a single course of treatment for a child (6gm). Fortunately it is a vigorous weed and easy to grow in the tropics. Artificial synthesis has now been achieved. Photographed in the Medicinal Garden of the Royal College of Physicians, London.
  • Royal West India Mail Steamer 'Tyne'. Dr. Acland - a passenger wrote a long letter to the 'Oxford Herald' about this disaster.
  • Henry Addington as a medical practitioner bleeding the exhausted John Bull, assisted by other politicians; representing Britain's strength being sapped by nepotism in politics and by war with Napoleon. Coloured etching by J. Gillray, 1803.
  • A two-headed multi-legged creature above a a shattered pot with emanating rays with Hindi lettering relating to the shattering effects of AIDS; an advertisement by the Indian Committee of Youth Organizations. Colour lithograph, ca. 1995.
  • A pot, a two-headed multi-legged creature and smaller symbols relating to ways in which AIDS is not transmitted including mosquitoes, hands shaking and a hospital bed; an advertisement issued by the Indian Committee of Youth Organizations. Colour lithograph, ca. 1995.
  • A man carrying a blue sack tied around his shoulder and a grey pouch with a hut beyond in a rural setting; represention of a man leaving for another country to earn money not AIDS ; an advertisement by NGO-AIDS Cell, Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS. Colour lithograph by Unesco/Aidthi Workshop, March 1995.
  • An Indian woman wearing an elaborate headscarf and pierced ear ornament hands a condom to a man in front of a door within a decorative leaf border; an advertisement for Nirodh condoms as a safe-sex and AIDS prevention advertisement by NGO-AIDS Cell, Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS. Colour lithograph for Unesco/Aidthi Workshop, March 1995.
  • A man sitting with his arms around 2 women, the same man taking medication, then escorting his pregnant wife away from a rural health clinic [?] and then embracing their baby; a warning about the dangers of multiple partners and the importance of protection against AIDS by NGO-AIDS Cell, Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS. Colour lithograph by Unesco/Aidthi Workshop, March 1995.
  • A fisherman who has AIDS hauling in a net of fish from his boat as his female partner stands holding a fish in one hand while balancing a large bowl of fish on her head within a red and turquoise dotted decorative border; with the message who will catch the fish (when he has died?); an AIDS prevention advertisement by NGO-AIDS Cell, Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS. Colour lithograph for Unesco/Aidthi Workshop, March 1995.
  • An Indian woman between two other women wearing headscarves in front of 3 arches within a decorative border; with a message about how AIDS is not spread as an AIDS prevention advertisement by NGO-AIDS Cell, Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS. Colour lithograph by Unesco/Aidthi Workshop, March 1995.
  • Two women tending to a man sick with AIDS surrounded by 4 men in a rural setting within a brown and mustard lined decorative border; an AIDS prevention advertisement by NGO-AIDS Cell, Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS. Colour lithograph by S. Ghosh for Unesco/Aidthi Workshop, March 1995.
  • A woman welcoming a female patient at a health clinic in India; with further smaller illustrations relating to the ways in which AIDS can be transmitted including a couple having unprotected sex, blood transfusions, pregnancy and injecting drugs; an AIDS prevention advertisement by NGO-AIDS Cell, Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS. Colour lithograph by Unesco/Aidthi Workshop, March 1995.
  • Three Indian women dressed in saris sit together with the message that men deserve to go abroad to make money but to avoid foreign women to prevent the spread of AIDS in his own home; an AIDS prevention advertisement by NGO-AIDS Cell, Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS. Colour lithograph by S. Ghosh for Unesco/Aidthi Workshop, March 1995.
  • A gloved hand holding up a bird cage inscribed 'Blood bank' containing the HIV virus cell with the warning 'No escape for AIDS'; an advertisement issued by Ortho Diagnostic Systems, a division of Johnson & Johnson Limited. Colour lithograph, ca. 1998.
  • A bewildered looking man raises a finger to his mouth as he looks at a row of men and women representing the difficulties of recognising someone who has AIDS; an AIDS prevention advertisement by NGO-AIDS Cell, Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS. Colour lithograph by Unesco/Aidthi Workshop, March 1995.
  • A dripping blood transfusion bag with the warning 'ensure it is AIDS free' and a pink ticket bearing the lettering 'Certified HIV free'; an advertisement issued by Ortho Diagnostic Systems. Colour lithograph, ca. 1998.
  • An Indian man reaches out to touch his young bride who wears a red sari that covers her face; a woman raising her arms in terror as flames envelop her and all her belongings, a man setting off to earn his fortune abroad with a blue sack over his shoulder and a woman (his wife?) staying at home stirring a pot; an AIDS prevention advertisement within a decorative border by NGO-AIDS Cell, Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS. Colour lithograph by Unesco/Aidthi Workshop, March 1995.
  • Two hands shaking with a warning about sharing needles; an AIDS prevention advertisement by SASO, Lifeline, Lighthouse, Kripa and VHAM. Colour lithograph, ca. 1997.
  • A doctor inserting a needle into a patient's arm with a warning about the importance of using sterilized needles; an AIDS prevention advertisement by SASO, Lifeline, Lighthouse, Kripa and VHAM. Colour lithograph, ca. 1997.
  • A man puts his arm around his colleague representing a couple affected by AIDS; an AIDS prevention advertisement by SASO, Lifeline, Lighthouse, Kripa and VHAM. Colour lithograph, ca. 1997.
  • A woman carrying her HIV positive child on her back within her elaborate sari wrap; with an AIDS prevention message about caring for those who need you by SASO, Lifeline, Lighthouse, Kripa and VHAM. Colour lithograph, ca. 1997.
  • A man dressed in white with a blue turban holding a white sack greets a woman in a blue sari and her child on a rural road next to her hut; his horse and cart with further white sacks wait idle nearby; with a message about the dangers of having unprotected sex with foreign women; an AIDS prevention advertisement by NGO-AIDS Cell, Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS. Colour lithograph by Unesco/Aidthi Workshop, March 1995.