olarly work must be based on its precepts,
which frequently leads to sterile research or preconceived results.

Two developments by Romanians in the field of medicine have caused
considerable controversy among specialists in other parts of the world.
One is a regeneration therapy for the aged based on the administration
of procaine, which was developed by Anna Aslan of the Institute of
Gerontology. The therapy, strongly backed by the government, is intended
to free the elderly from the various chronic discomforts of advanced age
and thereby make them more active. Many prominent gerontologists have
questioned the efficacy of the treatments and the results claimed by
the Institute of Gerontology, but others have reported it to be fully
effective. A Romanian-developed drug used in the treatment is
extensively sold in Europe. The other medical development acclaimed by
Romania but questioned by many specialists in the field is the use of an
extract obtained from cattle eyes for the treatment of many human eye
diseases. The extract was developed by Professor Petre Vancea.

SECTION II. POLITICAL

CHAPTER 8

GOVERNMENTAL SYSTEM

As of early 1972 the structure of the government remained essentially
the same as that established by the 1965 Constitution. Power is declared
to belong to the working people united under the leadership of the
Romanian Communist Party (Partidul Comunist Roman--PCR). That power is
said to be expressed through their representatives to the Grand National
Assembly, the nation's sole legislative body, and through the people's
councils, the organs of government on county and local levels.
Constitutionally, the Grand National Assembly, as the highest voice of
the people, is asserted to be the supreme organ of state power, and all
other government bodies are theoretically subordinate to it.

Actual political power, however, is monopolized by the PCR and
particularly by the highest organs of the party under the leadership of
Nicolae Ceausescu, who is simultaneously head of state. Although the
system of government is, in theory, designed to emphasize participatory
democracy, the government functions largely as the administrative
structure through which the party exerts its will in all aspects of
Romanian society (see ch. 9).

There is no separation of powers between the branches of the government,
and it is difficult to draw distinctions between the executive and the
legislative functions. The Cou