717metabolism was studied in vitro. Rapid ingestion of food was accompanied by an increase in the incorporation of isotope-labelled pyruvate into glyceride-glycerol and fatty acids, as well as by increased activity of glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. These results suggest enhanced lipogenesis during a gorging regimen. Though the evidence is by no means conclusive, this study provides a further indication that taking infrequent meals may be associated with a tendency to obesity and hyperlipidaemia. The modern Western tendency is to eat a large proportion of the day's calories at one evening meal. Though infrequent feeding is probably not pathogenic in itself, it may become so when combined with a high-calorie intake and a low-energy expenditure. Whether or not the high incidence of atherosclerosis which afflicts man, and which has been correlated with serum lipid levels, can be influenced by alteration of the pattern of food intake is at present unknown, but this question deserves further study.I Cohn, C., Federation Proceedings, 1964, 23, 76. 2 Cohn, C., and Joseph, D., Metabolism, 1960, 9, 492. 3 Recently W. J. Bank and colleagues6 studied five patients with thallium intoxication, two of whom were children who had eaten poisoned bait. All of them developed neurological symptoms, and alopecia was present in four of the five. They stress the importance of including thallium in the differential diagnosis when early bizarre neurological signs present themselves. Furthermore they advocate the use of a simple screening test of urine for thallium salts.The treatment of thallium poisoning poses some difficulties. The principle is to increase urinary and faecal excretion, though the rate of each is slow. Chelating agents have been proposed, but results with these have been inconstant.7 In addition potassium chloride is useful, but Bank and colleagues6 point out that such a regimen is limited by the amount of thallium that can be released into the blood without worsening the symptoms. However, it is probably the better method of treatment of the two.While thallium salts continue to be used as rodenticides the danger of accidental poisoning, especially to children, will continue to exist. So long as the hazard remains, its possibility should be borne in mind in all cases of unexplained neurological symptoms and peripheral joint pains. The early use of a screening test on the urine would appear to be far better than waiting to see if the hair falls out.'Grandeau, L., Journal Anatomie Phvsiologie Normales Pathologiques Homme et Animaux, 1864, 1, 378. 2 British Medical Journal, 1972, 3, 70. 3 Browning, E., Toxicity of Industrial Metals, 2nd edn. London, Butterworth, 1969. 4Munch, J. C.,Journal of the American Medical Association, 1934Association, , 102, 1929 Munch, J. C., Ginsburgh, H. M., and Nixon, C. E.,Journal of the American Medical Association, 1933, 100, 1315. Bank, W. J., Pleasure, D. E., Suzuki, K., Nigro, M., and Katz, R., Archives of Neurology, 1972, 26, 456. Sunderman, F. W., Paynter, 0. E...