Scabies, Boring Skin and Psyche

Recently, we faced an outbreak of scabies in 2 institutions [3] : a university hospital with 750 beds and a rehabilitation facility with 92 beds. Overall 2 patients, 8 hospital co-workers (HCW) and 9 acquaintances were infested by the scabies mite ( fig. 2 ). Tracing all the contacts (hospital, family, other occupations) of the 19 infested persons, a total of 1,661 individuals were involved, of whom 1,640 underwent preventive treatment. Scabies, the parasitic infestation of the skin surface caused by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei var. hominis ( fig. 1 ) has been referred to for thousands of years (Aristotele, the Old Testament), and it continues to bother human beings. The last human scabies mite will likely to die together with the last human being. At the first glance, scabies is a harmless and common disease transmitted by close skin contact in children, and is considered as a sexually transmitted disease among the adult population. However, scabies very frequently triggers bacterial skin infections in the developing world. The infectious agent is ubiquitous; it is endemic in some poor tropical and subtropical areas as well as in selected communities, and it is sporadic in industrialized countries. Risk factors are war, poverty, overcrowding, poor nutritional status, dementia and poor hygiene. Nevertheless, scabies is not to be considered as a ‘disease of the poor’, as it is present in all ethnic groups, at all socioeconomic levels and at all ages [1] . The most important symptom is a generalized itch resulting from a delayed type-IV hypersensitivity reaction to the mite and its eggs, saliva and feces. Topical permethrin 5% is considered to be the drug of choice [2] , being less toxic than topical lindane or systemic ivermectin. This is an important point when considering treatment of small children and pregnant women or individuals with chronic skin disease. Published online: March 6, 2009

Thirty Neurological Eponyms Associated with the Nazi Era

In the 1920s, the neurosciences in Germany were world-class. Then came Hitler's regime, and with it 2 distinct changes happened to the research milieus in Berlin and elsewhere. First, the persecution of Jews and others deprived Germany of many of its most outstanding scientists. Second, numerous German and Austrian physicians became active in National Socialist (NS)-euthanasia programs. In recent years, the medical community has become more aware of the ethical burden associated with eponyms derived from scientists of the Third Reich. Yet a list of these eponyms with emphasis on clinical neurology is still missing. This paper therefore reviews 30 neurological eponyms derived from 29 physicians who lived in the Nazi era. Among them are victims who were forced out of the country or murdered in concentration camps, protestors who risked their academic careers and often their lives, beneficiaries who published on brains from 'euthanized' children, and collaborators who were directly involved in the planning and execution of NS-euthanasia programs.

Human Factors in Surgery: From Three Mile Island to the Operating Room

Human factors is a definition that includes the science of understanding the properties of human capability, the application of this understanding to the design and development of systems and services, the art of ensuring their successful applications to a program. The field of human factors traces its origins to the Second World War, but Three Mile Island has been the best example of how groups of people react and make decisions under stress: this nuclear accident was exacerbated by wrong decisions made because the operators were overwhelmed with irrelevant, misleading or incorrect information. Errors and their nature are the same in all human activities. The predisposition for error is so intrinsic to human nature that scientifically it is best considered as inherently biologic. The causes of error in medical care may not be easily generalized. Surgery differs in important ways: most errors occur in the operating room and are technical in nature. Commonly, surgical error has been thought of as the consequence of lack of skill or ability, and is the result of thoughtless actions. Moreover the 'operating theatre' has a unique set of team dynamics: professionals from multiple disciplines are required to work in a closely coordinated fashion. This complex environment provides multiple opportunities for unclear communication, clashing motivations, errors arising not from technical incompetence but from poor interpersonal skills. Surgeons have to work closely with human factors specialists in future studies. By improving processes already in place in many operating rooms, safety will be enhanced and quality increased.

Professor Tadeusz Orlowski – In Memory of a Pioneer in European Nephrology and Transplantation

Tadeusz Orlowski, 90, died of congestive heart failure on July 30th, 2008, in Warsaw. In him, Europe has lost a great authority in modern medicine and a committed researcher with a deep dedication to patient care. Orlowski was born on September 13th, 1917, in Kazan (Russia), as son of Prof. Witold Orlowski, the later founder of the Polish School of Internal Medicine. The young Tadeusz studied medicine during the Second World War in Warsaw and completed his physician diploma at the Medical Faculty of the Josef Pilsudski Polish Underground University in 1943. Under the Nazi Occupation he was active in the counter-espionage for the Polish Government in exile in London, adopting the nom de guerre of ‘Spaga’. During the Warsaw Uprising he fought as a soldier of the Home Army (Polish Resistance Organisation), where he tended the wounded. For both of these life-threatening activities the patriot Orlowski received numerous decorations. Afterwards he worked as assistant at the Clinic of Internal Medicine of the University of Warsaw, chaired by his father. In 1963, at the age of 46, he advanced to professor ordinarius and in the same year took up the post of Head of the Clinic of Internal Medicine. From 1975 to 1987, Orlowski chaired the Institute of Transplantation, which he founded with the support of the Polish Academy of Sciences [1] . This leading transplantation institute – with all aspects of kidney, pancreas and liver transplantation – flourishes to this day under Published online: October 1, 2009

Herz-Kreislauf-Erkrankungen: Omega-3-Fettsäuren und Coenzym Q10

Zur Behandlung von Patienten mit bestehender Herzerkrankung oder bereits erlittenem Herzinfarkt, also zur Primärund Sekundärprävention, empfiehlt die American Heart Association Omega-3-Fettsäuren in einer Dosierung von 0,5–0,8 g EPA + DHA pro Tag (EPA: Eicosapentaensäure, DHA: Docosahexaensäure) (Abb. 1). Dies war ein revolutionärer Schritt für die Anerkennung von Naturstoffen, weil die American Heart Association hier erstmals ausdrücklich eine therapeutische Empfehlung für eine Substanzgruppe gab, die in vielen Ländern keinen Arzneimittelstatus besitzt [1].

Ehrung und Würdigung bei der SANTH

Anlässlich der Hauptversammlung der Schweizerischen Ärztegesellschaft für Neuraltherapie nach Hunecke SANTH vom 4. Juni 2009 war es für Dr. med. Hans C. Peyer, Präsident der Schweizerischen Ärztegesellschaft für Erfahrungsmedizin SAGEM, ein besonderes Anliegen, Herrn Dr. med. Andreas Beck einen grossen Dank auszusprechen für seine besonderen und prägenden Verdienste um die Entwicklung der komplementären Medizin in der Schweiz und ihn für seinen unermüdlichen Einsatz zu ehren. «Geboren am 26.12.1936 in Bern, besuchte Dr. Andreas Beck in der Stadt an der Aare das Gymnasium und schloss hier sein Medizinstudium 1966 mit dem Staatsexamen ab. Er hat seine medizinische Karriere als Chirurg begonnen, wobei er sich mit seinen präzisen anatomischen Kenntnissen und manuellen Fertigkeiten das Rüstzeug für seine in den letzten 29 Jahren stets akribisch praktizierte Neuraltherapie geholt hat. Bereits 1972 wurde er zum Chefarzt-Stellvertreter an der chirurgischen Abteilung des Bezirksspitales Grosshöchstetten nominiert. 1978 promovierte er zum Dr. med. mit einer Dissertation in orthopädischer Chirurgie: „Die intertrochantere Osteotomie“ und eröffnete eine chirurgische Praxis in Bern. Parallel zu seiner chirurgischen Praxis arbeitete Dr. Andreas Beck als Militärarzt. Im Dienstgrad eines Obersten betreute er über 4 Jahre das Amt eines Territorialzonen-Arztes.

Transpondo muros: Escritas da violência na República Democrática Alemã

O objetivo do presente artigo é esboçar, a partir da interpretação das obras “Zeit-Zeugen”. Inhaftiert in Berlin-Hohenschönhausen (1996), organizada por Gabriele Camphausen, Folterzelle 36 Berlin-Pankow. Erlebnisbericht einer Stasihaft (1993), de Timo Zilli, Ein guter Kampf. Fakten, Daten, Erinnerungen 1945-1954 (1998) do político Ewald Ernst, Die Stasi war mein Eckermann: oder mein Leben mit der Wanze (1991), do escritor Erich Loest, e Geboren am 13. August. Der Sozialismus und ich (2004), do jornalista Jens Bisky, um breve estudo sobre as diversas formas e fases da violência enquanto instrumento de poder, praticada pelo Estado do SED na República Democrática Alemã nos 40 anos de sua existência, e discutir especialmente alguns aspectos teóricos sobre o conceito de “literatura de testemunho”. Os cinco relatos analisados, de caráter memorialista e autobiográfico, se pautam por um tom decididamente crítico frente aos desmandos num Estado totalitário. “Transpor muros” nos 20 anos após a Queda do Muro de Berlim, desse ponto de vista, implica um olhar memorialista de denúncia contra o esquecimento frente a um passado traumático.

Restos de guerra: trajetórias e modos de vida dos jovens no município de Cacuaco, Luanda - Angola - 2009

O ciclo de Elêusis: imagem e transformação social em Atenas no século IV a.C.

This work deals with the relations between the changes in the Eleusinian figuration of the Athenian red-figure vases in the fourth-century B.C. and the social changes related to the fifth-century Peloponnesian War. Our departure point lay in the proposition made by Henri Metzger that the changes identified in the images of the Eleusinian Mysteries are strictly connected with the social, religious, political e economic changes of the fourth-century Athens. This text is divided into theoretical-methodological questions about the analysis and interpretation of the images on vases; the comprehension of the Mysteries itself; the social, economical, political and religious contextualization of fourth-century Athens and finally the interpretation and analysis of the Eleusinian images. Key-Words: Mysteries, Iconography, Ceramic, transformation, Classical Athens,

Relações transnacionais e o funcionamento do regime trabalhista internacional

JAKOBSEN, K.A. Relações Transnacionais e o funciona mento do regime trabalhista internacional, 2009, 154 f. Dissertação (Mestrado). Faculdade de Filosofia, Let ras e Ciências Humanas, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, 2009. The productive paradigm adopted after the Second Wo rld War started to change in the 1970’ies and provoked strong impacts on the world e conomy, its politics as well as the labor market. More countries and workers engaged wi th multinational corporations’ global production chains but the labor conditions declined in comparison with the former paradigm and even core labor standards got constant ly violated in several countries. These norms arise from the International Labor Organizati on and are part of the labor regime. Once ratified by its member countries it’s up to th em to enforce their accomplishment through their legislations and coercive power. Howe ver some state reforms reduced this power and led the trade unions to seek for supranat ional mechanisms to defend the labor standards and this research aims to analyze the eff ects of the unions’ transnational relations on the international labor regime with emphasis on its public and private arrangements.