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Biomedical subjects

H Isler

Publications and source records attributed to H Isler.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

[Romantic origins of electrophysiology].

Research on static electricity and its effects on the human body date back to the invention of the electrizing or Wimshurst machine and the Leyden jar of 1743 and 1746. Such experiments often served as social pastimes, but they yielded many publications on medical aspects of static electricity. Attempts to explain the 'life force' of the vitalists and the old concept of the active principle of the nervous system, the 'spiritus animales', as electrical phenomena were unsuccessful because of the skeptic comments of leading experimental scientists such as Albrecht von Haller. When Mesmer reinvented 'animal magnetism' in 1776 as a fashionable term for treatment by suggestion, he appropriated theoretical, technical and social methods from the established ways of the experiments on static electricity. Therefore, the scientific character of Luigi Galvani's investigations was already compromised by his term 'animal electricity' when he published his famous 'Commentarius' in 1781. Volta in Pavia turned against Galvani, proving that galvanic currents are produced by metals alone, and rejecting 'animal electricity'. Volta's doctrine prevailed over Galvani's school after Volta's breakthrough with his pile, or battery, until Galvani's ideas were rehabilitated by Nobili, who in 1828 measured the 'frog current' with his galvanometer. This led to a flurry of bizarre experiments on rows of half-dismembered animals and severed parts of human cadavers. Johannes Müller in Berlin, who, with his students, established new principles of biology and neurology, asked Du Bois-Reymond to study these experiments. Du Bois-Reymond found that measurements of muscle currents in intact animals were more useful, and he compared them with his own observations on electric fishes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Electricity↗
PubMed1991

Topical treatment of standardized burns with a protein-free haemodialysate.

The utility of the protein-free haemodialysate Solcoseryl (HD) in the treatment of chronic skin ulcers and minor burns is well documented (Haigis et al., 1985). In this study the effects of HD ointment and HD gel on the healing of standardized deep partial thickness burns were investigated in rats. Treatment with HD-containing topical agents significantly reduced healing time (P less than or equal to 0.01) in comparison with non-treated controls; HD ointment and HD gel reduced relative healing rates by 20 per cent and 15 per cent respectively. Macroscopic and histological findings indicate that the effects of HD start in the early phase of the healing process (inflammatory/exudative), and that the entire healing process is improved.

Actihaemyl↗
PubMed1991

Morphometric assessment of wound healing in rats treated with a protein-free haemodialysate.

Morphological changes during soft-tissue repair are prime indicators of the processes involved in wound healing. A method has been developed to quantify such changes and applied for assessing the healing of partial thickness dermatome wounds treated either with Solcoseryl jelly or the matching vehicle. After 4 days of treatment, the active-treated wounds had already reached the reparative phase, whereas the vehicle-treated wounds were still in the proliferative phase. Furthermore, wound re-epithelialization was significantly improved under active treatment (P less than 0.005).

Actihaemyl↗
PubMed1991

Flunarizine in migraine attack.

The usual drugs for migraine attacks carry risks of increased frequency, resistance to other treatment, drug dependency, and abuse. Ergotamines may also be vascular risk factors. Alternative drugs without these risks would be useful. Flunarizine could be an alternative. Migraine cannot be reduced to molecular pathophysiology; it is a disorder of higher brain functions. Flunarizine exhibits the profile of a psychotropic drug that fits in with this situation. In double-blind placebo-controlled studies, it was shown that 20 mg flunarizine i.v. was superior to placebo in suppressing migraine attacks and was well tolerated. These results should be further investigated, especially concerning reduction of rebound attacks.

Flunarizine↗
PubMed1990

Migraine and psychopathology. Results of the Zurich cohort study of young adults.

We present data regarding the association of psychiatric syndromes and migraine headache from a prospective epidemiologic cohort study of 27- and 28-year-olds in Zurich, Switzerland. The prevalence of migraine of 13.3% approximates estimates from previous epidemiologic studies in other regions of the world. Consistent with previous reports, there was a strong association between migraine and depression. However, this is the first study to demonstrate this association in an unselected epidemiologic sample with standardized assessment of psychiatric diagnoses by direct interview. The association between migraine and the anxiety disorders was even stronger than that for the affective disorders. The combination of anxiety disorder and major depression, but not pure anxiety disorders, nor pure depression, were significantly associated with migraine. Our data suggest that migraine with anxiety and depression may constitute a distinct syndrome comprising anxiety, often manifested in early childhood, followed by the occurrence of migraine headaches, and then by discrete episodes of depressive disorder in adulthood. Because of the prospective longitudinal design of this study, future assessments of this cohort will provide further information on the stability of these findings and the course of this cohort as subjects proceed through adulthood.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

On the presence of chromaffin cells in the adrenal cortex: their possible role in adrenocortical function.

Using light and electron microscopy, we have observed the presence of rays containing medullary tissue extending across the cortex of rat adrenal glands. Within these rays chromaffin cells, as well as collagen and nerve fibers, were present. It is suggested that these endocrine cells may have a paracrine function within the cortex, possibly via their secretory product.

Adrenal Cortex↗
PubMed1986

[Cartesian misunderstanding as a cause of therapeutic failure].

Headache patients disassociate themselves from their own automatic responses, relying on the traditional separation of body and mind. On the other hand, patients who obtain voluntary control of automatic functions by biofeedback training modify not only vegetative but also voluntary behaviour patterns, losing "neurotic" traits. The basic misconception of the separation of body and mind, Cartesian dualism, is now ingrained in our culture. In the 17th century Descartes asserted that concepts applied to the soul must be entirely different from those used for the body in order to improve comprehension of the immortality of the soul. This dualism also led to "enlightenment" and to many later social and philosophical developments. But his basic neurophysiology was obsolete when he wrote it down. Other models from mainstream natural philosophy were better compatible with observation and experiments. Gassendi assumed a "body soul" consisting of energy as the functional principle of the nervous system, and Willis accommodated a series of anticipations of 19th century discoveries within this model. No comparable progress resulted from Descartes' own medieval model. Cartesian dualism has become untenable in view of recent neuropsychology but it still obstructs our management of functional patients. Instead of reinforcing the delusion of separation of psyche and soma, we ought to encourage patients to understand that their malfunctioning organs are on-line with their emotions, and with their mind.

Arousal↗
PubMed1984

[The treatment of headache].

In symptomatic headache treatment is directed against the underlying disease. If this is impossible, its pathogenesis may still respond to treatment such as dexamethasone in inoperable brain tumor, simple psychotherapy in reactive emotional disorder due to intractability of the underlying disease, or migraine management where symptomatic headache is succeeded by migraine, as in posttraumatic headache. Primary headache-migraine, cluster headache, and cephalaea vasomotoria ("tension headache") require positive identification of the syndrome but this does not lead directly to proper treatment; assessment of severity and, where feasible, of the psychological situation is needed. The means are available to influence some of the mechanisms apparent in primary headache both by non-drug and by drug treatment, but the choice must allow for the fact that these methods are not specific but only a little more effective than placebo. Drug abuse is the principal danger in headache problems. It can be treated by tracking down the offending drug under cover of interval medication or, failing this, by abrupt withdrawal in a neurology ward followed by a period of several weeks' exile from the usual daily demands. A short description of drugs used in primary headache is given.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

[Basilar migraine].

Basilar migraine is a well defined condition which is easily identified by a characteristic clinical picture such as headache associated with visual, cerebellar and brainstem symptoms. Occasionally, severe disturbances of consciousness may occur which blur this otherwise unequivocal clinical condition. Hence, diagnosis may be difficult. CT-scan, electroencephalography and lumbar puncture are then necessary in order to rule out more severe disorders. Treatment of this condition corresponds to the therapy of more common types of migraine. There is, however, no rationale for the administration of drugs conventionally used for migraine prophylaxis in patients with severe disturbances of consciousness, though treatment of brain edema with steroids may be helpful or occasionally even necessary.

Adolescent↗