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This article presents the history of turpentined vapour baths used to treat rheumatismes. In the same time appeared patent medicines made with coniferous oil, sold by chemist near those baths establishments.

With some papers from "Société anonyme des eaux minérales du Breuil et du Broc's archives, the authors explain the difficults beginnings of Hydroxydase, by Louis Tixier, a pharmacist.

This article presents many products used against asthma since half of 19th century, until they've been took off from the market, in 1992. Thoses products were used in fumigation or inhalation, without any complex machine. They were powders, impragnated papers, cigares an cigarets. They contained more often nitrates and Solanacées. An exemple of struggle between two specialities is studied: Cléry's powder against Exibard's powder.

After the presentation of the history of the growing of artificial mineral waters in France, the authors explain the pharmacists' functions in the production of Soda-waters. To illustrate their purpose, they use documents deposited in the Yvelines departemental archives.

Unlabelled: A 3-year, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluated the effect of oral alendronate on the BMD of 64 adult patients with osteogenesis imperfecta. The mean increases in the lumbar spine BMD were 10.1 +/- 9.8% (p < 0.001) and 0.7 +/- 5.7% in the alendronate and placebo groups, respectively. Oral alendronate increases BMD in adult patients with osteogenesis imperfecta., Introduction: This study evaluated the effect of oral alendronate on the BMD of adult patients with osteogenesis imperfecta., Materials and Methods: We carried out a 3-year, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of oral alendronate in 64 adult patients with osteogenesis imperfecta. The primary endpoint was the difference between the groups in the mean percent change in lumbar spine BMD at 3 years. Secondary outcomes included changes in BMD of total hip, vertebral and peripheral fracture incidence, pain, hearing loss, and bone turnover biochemical markers. Patients were treated daily with either placebo or 10 mg alendronate. All received 1 g of calcium and 800 IU of vitamin D daily., Results: The mean +/- SD increases in the lumbar spine BMD were 10.1 +/- 9.8% (p < 0.001) and 0.7 +/- 5.7% in the alendronate and placebo groups, respectively. Hip BMD increased in the alendronate group by 3.3 +/- 0.5% (p = 0.001) and decreased in the placebo group by 0.3 +/- 0.6%. The sample size was not sufficient to determine an effect of alendronate on fracture rate. A significant increase of the pain score was noted in the alendronate group (p = 0.04) in the intent-to-treat analysis but not in the per protocol analysis. There was no change in hearing in either group. Bone resorption and formation biochemical markers were significantly decreased in the alendronate group (p < 0.001). There were no differences in severe adverse effects between the groups, but there was an increase in nonsevere upper gastrointestinal effects in the alendronate group (p = 0.003)., Conclusions: Oral alendronate increases BMD and increase nonsevere gastrointestinal adverse effects but does not modify the hearing loss in adult patients with osteogenesis imperfecta. More studies are needed to evaluate an effect on the fracture rate.

This text is the second part of a forward article about the history of minerals water's sold by chemists. It studies specially the evolution of containers and labels: they are the reflect of the application of law and technology.

Life and temporary death of a geat french mineral water: Bussang (1615-1983).

In May, 1605, King Henri IV established the first national regulation of water in France. Mineral waters were considered as therapeutic, so pharmacists were expected to sell them. In 1823, pharmacists obtained a relative independence to sell mineral waters. Some of them became spring operators. In 1964, the bottling's licence obliged them to modernize their installations. Some of them abandoned. Gradually, mineral waters arrived in supermarkets and disappeared from pharmacies. Since 1980, mineral waters are not considered any more as therapeutic. They are now only good for the health.

In this article, the author redraws the professional life of the pharmacists and doctors of the Genevoix family by leaning on the autobiographical recollections of the famous writer Maurice Genevoix.

The authors study of the history of "Tho-Radia", a cream with base of thorium and radium, launched in 1933 by Dr Alfred Curie and a pharmacist, Alexis Moussali. Tho-Radia disappears near 1960.

Destinated, first, to cure gynecologic diseases, the irrigator Eguisier is the result of the work of two men: Maurice Eguisier (gynecologist) and François Libault (truss manufacturer). The patents and the trademark allowed the author to recall the commercial history of this machine which existed during the last fifteen years of the XIXe century.

Alexandre Dumas' work is rich in medical and pharmaceutical occurrences. The author studies them in this article.

In this article, the authors present some french patent medicines marketed since nineteenth century.

Among 1454 persons whose stool samples (n=5692) were submitted to a reference laboratory for microsporidia assessment from 1993 to 1996, microsporidia were identified in 338 persons: 261 persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), 16 transplant patients, and 61 others. Intestinal microsporidiosis appears to be an endemic disease in HIV-positive persons (prevalence, 0.1%) and a sporadic disease in HIV-negative persons (prevalence, <1/1 million). A waterborne outbreak in 200 persons (attack rate, 1% in HIV-positive patients/month) occurred in the 1995 summer, without evidence of fecal contamination of water. No explanation was found before the outbreak ended, several months before the antiprotease era. Factors associated with microsporidiosis diagnosis were HIV infection, male homosexuality, low CD4 cell counts, and diarrhea. The major factor associated with a diagnosis of microsporidiosis during the outbreak was living in an area corresponding to one of the three water distribution subsystems of the town. Lake contamination was suspected.

Background: Primary Sjögren's syndrome is associated in 6 to 25% of cases with kidney involvement Most often it is a chronic interstitial nephritis, generally asymptomatic but sometimes responsible for distal tubular acidosis which can be complicated by severe hypokalemia., Case Report: A 48-year-old woman had hypokalemic quadriplegia, distal renal tubular acidosis and chronic interstitial nephritis at kidney biopsy. Primary Sjögren's syndrome was diagnosed., Discussion: We discuss briefly the clinical, biological and immunological features of 18 similar cases reported in the literature.

Studying promotional booklets, the authors try to analyze the Laboratoire d'homeopathic complexe's external communication, during the 30's.

Sonograms performed in 228 women admitted for acute pelvic infection has enabled to find a normal image in 39.9% of the cases. In order of frequency, the abnormalities include: endometrial alterations (31.1%), one (or several) pelvic masses (25.9%) and a collection in the Douglas cul-de-sac (22.8%). The main advantage of the examination in the acute phase is the diagnosis and the study of the mass structure: most of the time, it concerns a "mixed" or heterogeneous aspect, for all of the images of a mass, as well as for images corresponding to a tubo-adnexal collection. The major critic of this examination is the lack of specificity of the images which are very diversified. The risk of confusion with another pathology (gynecological or, exceptionally gastro-intestinal) must be decreased with an examination of good quality and comparison with the clinical context. The presumption of a tubo-adnexal collection cannot, in most cases, be established with certainty. However, the Echography guides the diagnosis by showing an anechogenous image or a particular aspect (Douglas abscess, huge septated images of sequelae) and remains more reliable than clinic to detect the mass (44% of false negative, clinically) and follow the evolution of the disease. The therapeutic advantage is also mentioned, but the tap of an abscess under sonogram guidance is seldom performed.

Thirty-one patients undergoing neuro-radiological investigations were anesthetized by methohexital-fentanyl association. Induction of anesthesia was performed by I. V. bolus of these two agents. Anesthesia was maintained by a constant rate perfusion of methohexital and fentanyl, prepared according to body weight. Posology can be reduced hourly by modifying the perfusion rate. First hour: methohexital 2 mg/kg/hour fentanyl 5 microgram/kg/hour; second hour: methohexital 0.4 mg/kg/hour, fentanyl 2 microgram/kg/hour; third hour: methohexital 0,4 mg/kg/hour, fentanyl 1 microgram/kg/hour. If necessary this dosage was modified according to isolate reactions and thus total real consumption was 25 to 30 p. cent higher to estimated theoretical requirements. This protocol of anesthesia with controlled ventilation was well cardiocirculatory tolerated and adapted to these radiological investigations.