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Childhood Diseases, Infectious Diseases, and Fever as Potential Risk Factors for Cancer? Objective: We investigated the assertion that past childhood diseases, a

SummaryIn den USA herrscht derzeit Aufbruchsstimmung in bezug auf Forschung auf dem Gebiet Komplementarmedizin. Das Office of Alternative Medicine (OAM) der Nationalen Gesundheitsinstitut

SummaryGrossen Staub wirbelte in Italien der Streit um das «Wunderheilmittel» eines pensionierten Physiologen gegen alle moglichen Formen von Krebs auf, selbst grosse internationale Zeits

Summary We proposed to use physical therapy in addition to the well-known physiological effects influencing the emotional state. 24 patients allocated to our department, suffering from chronic cardiac, rheumatic, and metabolic diseases, as well as functional disorders, received a cold-wet sheet pack on the trunk. The control group received a dry sheet pack, undergoing exactly the same procedure, but without the stimulus of hydrotherapy. We focused on the change of acute mental state in both groups. We used two questionnaires which had been evaluated by the Psychiatric Information System of D. v. Zerssen in Munich. Our results showed significant differences in the outcome of both applications: the mental well-being was affected positively in 18 patients during the real treatment, compared with 9 in the control group. (Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed-ranks text 2 p

Lernen als operatives Geschehen. Frau Dr. Felice Affolter arbeitete zunachst als Lehrerin fur gehorlose und sprachgestorte Kinder, bevor sie ein Psychologiestudium mit dem Schwerpunkt Entwicklungspsychologie und spater ein Studium zur Kinderaudiologin abschloss. Die Zusammenarbeit mit Piaget in Genf beeinflusste masgeblich ihr Konzept. Seiner Theorie zufolge ist Lernen kein rein additiver Prozess (durch Gewohnheit), sondern ein operatives Geschehen, d. h. eine kognitive Entwicklung. Aufbauend auf den Entwicklungsstufen bei Kindern nach Piaget beobachtete Affolter systematisch Entwicklungsleistungen gehorloser und blinder Kinder und verglich diese mit Gesunden (Affolter 1992). Die Befunde zeigten, dass sich die Entwicklungsleistungen gehorloser und blinder Kinder bei erhaltenem taktil-kinasthetischem Sinn von sinnesgesunden Kindern nicht unterschieden. Verhaltensauffallige und sprachgestorte Kinder zeigten keine Beeintrachtigung der visuellen bzw. auditiven Leistung, wohl aber bei der taktil-kinasthetischen Informationsaufnahme und -Verarbeitung. Daraus wurden folgende Schlussfolgerungen gezogen: Kinder lernen durch die Auseinandersetzung mit dem Alltag (Interaktion) und sind dabei auf eine funktionierende taktil-kinasthetische Informationsaufnahme angewiesen. Schwer sprachgestorte Kinder versagen durch eine mangelhafte Aufnahmefahigkeit von »Spurinformationen« in ihrer alltaglichen Interaktion und werden in ihrer Entwicklung auffallig.

Seit der Ubersichtsarbeit von M. Herold uber »Radonhaltige Wasser« sind mehrere kontrollierte klinische zu diesem Thema veroffentlicht worden. Sie liefern wichtige Beitrage zu den weiteren Erfahrugen und zu der Wirksamkeit dieser Behandlung, am besten abgesichert sind die Indikationen aus dem rheumatischen Formenkreis. Fur die nachste Auslieferung bereiten wir eine kritische Stellungnahme zur Therapie mit einem radioaktiven Heilmittel vor: die weitere Diskussion wird sich dann mit dem Nutzen/Risiko-Verhaltnis — auch unter Berucksichtigung von Nebenwirkungen pharmakologischer Therapien — beschaftigen.

Die Blutegeltherapie ist eines der altesten Naturheilverfahren. Sie wurde in den letzten 2000 Jahren milliardenfach angewandt und konnte sich zu allen Zeiten weitgehend unabhangig von den wechselnden medizinischen Theorien in der Praxis behaupten. Viele Arzte betrachteten sie aufgrund der ausgezeichneten Wirkungen als Universalheilmittel. ubermasiger Gebrauch im 19. Jahrhundert endete mit der fast vollstandigen Ausrottung der Blutegel in Europa. Die gentechnologische Produktion des Blutegelwirkstoffs Hirudin im Jahre 1984 und seine Entwicklung zum Medikament fuhrten in letzter Zeit wieder zu einem rasanten Aufschwung der Blutegeltherapie, gefordert durch das lebhafte Interesse der Medien. Blutegel stehen heute wieder aus kontrollierter Zucht in ausreichender Menge zur Verfugung. Die Wirkmechanismen sind noch weitgehend ungeklart; es bestehen erhebliche Forschungsdefizite.

Vitamin metabolism and its regulation is controlled by a complex feedback loop. The biologically active metabolite calcitriol [1,25(OH)2D3] is a hormone that promotes its actions via a specific receptor (VDR) which belongs to the superfamily of the steroid-retinoid-vitamin D transcription regulatory factors.

The use of sunlight to treat infections is one of the oldest healing methods. Today most of the attention is paid to the immunosuppressive and cancerogenic effects of UV-light. The positive aspects of ultraviolet radiation have become of little importance to research and clinical practice.

Vitamin D deficiency is a major complication in chronic renal failure, leading to secondary hyperparathyroidism and renal osteodystrophy. The usual treatment is the substitution of calcitrol or alphacalcidol orally or intravenously.

In the state of vitamin D deficiency parathyroid hormone (PTH) increases in healthy people during winter time as well as in patients with chronic renal failure, that lead to the state of secondary hyperparathyroidism (1).

Renal osteodystrophy (ROD) is a severe problem in end-stage renal disease (3). ROD usually consists of a combination of osteomalacia, caused by a decrease of circulating 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3, and osteofibrosis, caused by the secondary hyperparathyroidism. The common failure is the deficiency of calcitriol [1,25(OH)2- D3] in the course of chronic renal failure. It has been reported in previous studies that treatment with calcitriol and/or alpha-calcidol increase bone mineral density [BMD] (5,6).

Renal anemia is mainly caused by an insufficient synthesis of erythropoietin (EPO) and/or a lack of its effectiveness (3). The effect of EPO may be dependent from the serum levels of parathyroid hormone (PTH) and calcitriol as reported in patients with end-stage renal disease and/or hyperparathyroidism (4,8). Biopositive effects on hematopoesis after exposure to natural and/or artificial sunlight are well known (7). Therefore the aim of this study was to look for differences in the need for EPO in patients on maintenance hemodialysis (HD) during serial irradiation with UV-B light.

The cutaneous production of vitamin D depends in part on the amount of ultraviolet B (UV-B) radiation the skin is exposed to. It is recognized that the most efficient wavelengths for producing previtamin D3 in human skin is at 295-296 nm. The aim of the study was to determine the effectiveness of various commercial UV-B emitting lamps in photosynthesizing vitamin D3.

Naturopathy being orientated towards natural science and conventional medicine does not lead to basically different judgements about unconventional treatments nor about special therapies such as homeopathy, phytotherapy or anthroposophic medicine. It may, however, be more open-minded towards new ideas and theoretical even philosophical concepts and it is more likely used to question the 'state of the art' of actual medical knowledge. It is only for a relatively small part of unconventional treatments, that naturopathy recognizes a certain plausibility, which causes scientific investigation of the method to be meaningful. Naturopathy sometimes proposes traditional anthropologies and nosologies to be used for the election of suitable indications. A variety of psychologic effects of different methods of naturopathy may not be excluded by protocols used for clinical studies. As far as the majority of unconventional and paramedical treatments is concerned, naturopathy raises ethical beside scientific objections. Beyond a probable success of the treatment, it insists on a certain rationale and intellectual honesty. A differentiation between the more pragmatic interests of a health insurance and the scientific obligations of university medicine is given. An important and decisive criterium for the health insurances results from the demand for economics.

A group of 24 healthy young men were evaluated before and after serial suberythematous ultraviolet (UV) radiation: group I, control (no irradiation); groups II and III, 12 radiations in 4 weeks with two different spectra (both containing UV-B). Before the first and 2 days after the last exposure all the volunteers were given an intravenous injection of thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH, protirelin 0.2 mg) and luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LH-RH, gonadorelin 0.1 mg). The serum concentrations of TSH, follicle stimulating hormone, LH and prolactin were measured at 0, 20, 30, 45 and 60 min by radioimmunoassay. Neither basal nor stimulated levels of the pituitary hormones showed significant changes after UV radiation. The results showed that exposure to suberythematous doses of UV did not influence the regulation of pituitary hormones in these healthy individuals.

Connective tissue massage deals with the skin and the subcutaneous tissue. It focuses on definite regions of the body, assigned in segmental order to inner organ systems and structures of the locomotor system (spinal cord, joints, muscles). In case of acute disease, oedematous swelling of a generally soft tissue consistency can be observed in circumscribed areas. Persisting symptoms may result in induration of such tissues, associated with reduced rheology and epicritic pain if manipulated mechanically. Eventually, chronic conditions may progress to atrophy. The name "connective tissue massage" is based on the concept that corresponding physiological events take place in connective tissue structures and the segmentally associated organ. With regard to the pathophysiology of such zones, mechanisms which are comparable to sympathetic reflex dystrophy are discussed at present. Analysis of such changes has contributed to general diagnosis. Connective tissue massage is considered to be an important element of physiotherapy. The clinical data on the efficacy of connective tissue massage are reviewed.