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Biomedical subjects

A A Diamandopoulos

Publications and source records attributed to A A Diamandopoulos.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Substitution of renal function through skin catharsis: evidence from the classical period to the Middle Ages.

The skin's cleansing capacity has been known for centuries and has been used therapeutically and extensively for a great number of diseases. We studied the historical evolution of the methods used for catharsis through the skin, particularly for those in renal failure, by reviewing most of the existing ancient Greek and Byzantine codices dealing with the skin's cleansing capacity. From the fragments cited in this article, it is evident that the ancient medical writers were well aware of the mechanism of perspiration, and through this process the excretion of several body toxins, they knew about renal failure as well as the influence of environmental temperature on blood purification via the skin. To validate their views, we reviewed the seasonal variation of the average values for blood urea, creatinine, and electrolytes for 161 regular dialysis treatment (RDT) patients in four dialysis units in southern Greece. The estimations were carried out during the winter/summer 1997, 1998, and 1999 terms and included three winter months and three summer months. We traced an unexpectedly large number of references in the ancient and medieval Greek medical literature concerning detoxification through the skin, mainly regarding patients in renal failure. This seasonal variation hypothesis is supported by the results of our retrospective study: there was a difference of 16 mg/dL in the average blood urea (mean winter urea 182 mg/dL, mean summer urea 166 mg/dL). We suggest that the ancients had a vivid idea about the substitution of renal function by the skin's cleansing ability in renal failure. The previously mentioned phenomenon may be due to the elimination of blood urea through excessive perspiration. Our clinical results seem to verify their notions, and hence, the skin (like the peritoneum) may be considered a natural membrane for dialysis. We were unable to trace a similar report in the literature on the seasonal fluctuation of blood urea in dialysis patients.

History, Ancient↗
PubMed2001

The human skin: a meeting ground for the ideas about macrocosm and microcosm in ancient and Medieval and Greek literature.

We have been interested in the cleansing capacity of skin during the recent years. In a paper of ours (1) we presented a few references to Hippocrates' and Galen's ideas on the subject, while the main body of the article was based on the 17th-20th centuries' relative practices. In a second paper (2), we were mainly testing the ancient and Medieval Greek ideas on skin catharsis against some clinical work of ours. In this paper we now present the ideas of the pagan and Byzantine Greek authors (5th cent. BC - 10th cent. AD) on the relationship of the human body to the natural and man-made world. Special emphasis is given to the relationship between purification through the skin and world purification. Based on the similarity of the Empedokles' concept of the four elements and Hippocrates' thesis concerning the four humours, the Earth itself was personified and became a living organism that felt cold, perspired and became dry. Man started to seek a natural explanation for his diseases and alterations of his body functions. Hence, perspiration, fever, urination, headache, stroke, were explained in cosmological terms. Extracts from many medical and non-medical writers, like Empedocles, Hippocrates, Aristotle, Galen, the Fathers of the Church, Meletius latrosophista, Theophilus Protospatharius, Michael Psellus and other sources are presented, in order to show the close relationship between an abundance of diseases and an array of natural phenomena.

Greece↗
PubMed1997

A neolithic case of Down syndrome.

The aim of the study is to draw attention to the existence of a Neolithic figurine from Greece with characteristics compatible with Down syndrome. We have reviewed the relevant medical and archaeological literature, and we have compared photographs of the figurine with photographs of a patient with typical Down syndrome (DS). From the above data we conclude that the 7000 years old artefact may well be the most ancient representation of the disease in Western civilisation.

Archaeology↗
PubMed1997

Uroscopy in Byzantium.

Macroscopic examination of the urine has been used since time immemorial for the diagnosis and prognosis of nearly every disease. Although the great fathers of antiquity, such as Hippocrates and Galen, were involved in the practice, it reached its heights during the Middle Ages. This article divides the Middle Ages into three periods--early, middle and late--and studies the use of the method and the contributions of its particular practitioners in the eastern part of the former east Roman Empire (Byzantium). Uroscopy achieved there a more scientific status than in Western Europe, at least during the first two periods of the Middle Ages, and it also influenced heavily Arabic and Jewish medicine. However, Byzantine urosocopy was mainly based on ancient Greek knowledge and was open to progressive influences by medical progress in all its neighboring countries.

Byzantium↗
PubMed1997

A history of natural membranes in dialysis.

Nature uses various natural membranes to eliminate toxic substances from the blood, mainly in renal failure. The membranes used for this purpose are predominantly those of the gastrointestinal system and the skin. Humans tried to imitate nature, and employed the same membranes for blood purification in patients with renal failure. The beginning of the practice can be dated to at least 4,000 years ago. However, the initiative for such clearing maneuvers was given by the human mind's conception for purifying the cosmos, the polis and the soul. This article traces similarities between such metaphysical tactics and procedures of the applied sciences. It also describes the historical evolution of the use of natural membranes for medical reasons in nephrological patients.

History, 17th Century↗
PubMed1995

Four different ways of philanthropic aid to the blind in medieval eastern Christendom.

The care of the blind, either as medical treatment or as divine therapy, has probably been the most ancient form of help for ill people. However, it was during the Byzantine Empire (325-1453 AD) that the state organized a 'blindness relief' plan as part of a widespread public health system. Our sources for the subject include medical writings, state decrees, Saint's 'vitae' and representations of relevant works of art. Based on the above data we classify the health care for the blind in Byzantium as: (a) support of ophthalmological education as evidenced by an abundance of medical writings on the subject; (b) establishment of charitable institutions exclusively or partially for the blind, where there was not only medical care but also provision for a wide range of social aid - the most advanced being specially trained escorts for each blind person; and (c) support by the state of an extended chain of religious institutions where miraculous help for the blind was promised. We conclude that the public health policy in Byzantium made adequate and very early provision for the blind.

Blindness↗
PubMed1993

Supernumerary eyes and man's search for hyper-vision: a historical review of relevant representational arts.

In this paper we present examples of man's identification of superiority with visual hyper-efficiency. From Babylonian, Egyptian, Minoan and Biblical times, the eye was the symbol of the master or the inspector. Similarly, a being or deity that was endowed with multiple eyes--with or without multiple heads--was considered to be extra powerful. An example is the crest of the British College of Optometrists, which is surmounted by a bird with three heads and hence supernumerary eyes, linking it to the College's motto 'aequis oculis videre' denoting equal vision. We present here photographic and textual data from several historical periods extending from the fourth millennium BC to the sixteenth century AD; and from different religious sources, both Christian and non-Christian, to support this thesis. However, these are only a few examples, selected from a larger on-going study of the subject.

Art↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Endogenous cell-mediated immunity, blood transfusion, and outcome of renal transplantation.

The cell-mediated immunity (CMI) of a group of patients on regular dialysis was measured by a quantitative dinitrochlorobenzene (DNCB) skin test, the reaction being graded 0--15. The score in these patients varied widely, although the mean was much lower than that occurring in a group of 15 healthy subjects. 55 cadaveric renal allografts were subsequently done in 51 of these patients, and graft survival was assessed at 6 months. The 39 patients with weak DNCB skin reactions had a much higher graft survival (71%) than did the 12 with strong reaction (15%) (p less than 0.01). The weak DNCB reactors also had more pre-transplant blood transfusions. The findings suggest that the CMI of the recipient as measured by the DNCB test has an important influence on subsequent graft survival. This influence may partly be related to pre-transplant blood transfusion.

Adolescent↗