* The breaking up of kidney stones with shock wave treatment (extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy) can cause damage to the kidney in 63 per cent to 85 per cent of cases. Doctors at University Hospital in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, point to two trials carried out in 1985 and 1987 which first reported the high level of damage caused by the treatment, which, in their case, resulted in the death of a patient. The Lancet, 10 September 1994.

* Keratitis solaris inflammation of the eye's cornea after exposure to the sun can be caused by improper use of sunbeds and halogen lamps. Users who do not wear protective goggles or open their eyes just occasionally to look at their watch, for instance, can develop the condition, doctors from the University Clinic for Opthalmology in Innsbruck, Austria have discovered. The Lancet, 24 September 1994.

* Tight bandaging after ritual circumcision in babies or young boys usually for religious reasons can result in urinary obstruction or even kidney failure, doctors at Guy's Hospital, London have discovered. BMJ, 10 September 1994.

* Risk of bladder and kidney cancers increases in communities using chlorinated surface water. This latest finding, from Finland, adds to the growing campaign for tighter controls over the use of chloride. BMJ, 17 September 1994.