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Biomedical subjects

L Benaroyo

Publications and source records attributed to L Benaroyo.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1994

[Well-cared-for illness?--from the early times of the social insurance system].

This paper examines the reaction of physicians to the inauguration of a system of social insurance at the beginning of the twentieth century in Germany. The writings of Erwin Liek--a spokesman of German physicians in this respect--show how social insurance, which was inextricably connected with a social and an economic crisis, had a negative influence on medicine: individual therapeutical relationship has been replaced by a bureaucratic dialogue which favours upholding a state of disease instead of promoting health. This study suggests that Liek's criticism bears some analogy with today's german criticism of the social insurance system.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed1994

[How do we define inflammation?].

Nowadays inflammation is commonly defined as a defensive reaction involving the immune system. This paper clarifies the historical roots of this definition. The Russian embryologist Metchnikoff made--100 years ago--the initial observations on phagocytosis that provided a definition of inflammation based on a cellular theory of immunity. Following the many attacks by those who favored the view that immunity was based upon humoral mechanisms, Bordet argued that Metchnikoff's cellular theory of inflammation could be reconciled with the theory of humoral immunity. This study helps the modern reader to grasp the theoretical assumptions supporting our concept of inflammation.

Europe↗
PubMed1992

[The research of Theodor Kocher on the etiology of osteomyelitis and acute struma].

In 1879, Kocher demonstrated experimentally that osteomyelitis is an infectious disease which is caused by a non-specific microorganism (the "micrococcus"). He showed that the infection of the bone marrow is the consequence of a hematogenous dissemination of a local infection, either cutaneous or mucous. The clinical and pathological form of the disease depends not only on the virulence of the microorganism, but also on the state of the tissue in which it develops. In the same year, Kocher suggested that acute strumitis (inflammation of the goitre) has the same aetiology; he did not, however, produce any experimental evidence for this. Thus, Kocher defined in an original way infection as the result of an interaction between a microorganism and his host.

Bacterial Infections↗
PubMed1991

[Contribution of Friedrich Wilhelm Zahn (1845-1904) to the study of inflammation].

Prior to being named to the first chair of Pathology at Geneva University, Friedrich Wilhelm Zahn had published, in 1871, his doctoral thesis entitled Zur Lehre von der Entzündung und Eiterung. This work, written under the direction of Edwin Klebs, at Berne, demonstrated experimentally that the so-called Microsporon septicum (an infectious fungus identified by Klebs) provoked a local inflammation as well as remote secondary focal suppurations. This study apparently confirmed Kleb's hypothesis that Microsporon septicum, usually present in wounds, is the cause of an infectious disease. Zahn's research as well as the work of Klebs fell under attack: the method of identifying the microorganism as well as the demonstration of his causal relationship to inflammation were not conclusive. At the end of the discussion, it was admitted that the status of a cause of infection could be attributed to a microorganism only under the two following conditions: the latter must be identified with Koch's method, and his causal relationship to the infectious disease must be specific. This is precisely what Zahn's thesis was unable to prove. The analysis of his work as well as of the critical arguments enables us to follow and understand the controversy on the cause of inflammation and suppuration at the dawn of the bacteriological age.

History, 19th Century↗
PubMed1989

[Tissot and the concept of scientific medicine of the 18th century].

The notion of enlightened medicine was conceived by an elite group of eighteenth century medical scholars to which Tissot belonged. This elite group sought to create an identity separate from its counterpart, that is to say popular medicine as defined by this group. The distinctive characteristic of this enlightened medicine was its critical rationalism based on observation and experiment as well as their numerical evaluation. This article describes how Tissot, influenced by Fr. Boissier de Sauvages, Albrecht von Haller and J.G. Zimmermann, understood observation and experiment in medicine. This study shows that learned medicine, as portrayed by our author, seems to have originated today's modern scientific medical approach.

Ethics, Medical↗
PubMed1988

Comparison of midazolam and oxazepam as hypnotics in elderly hospitalized patients. A double-blind clinical trial.

The efficacy and safety of 15 mg midazolam versus 15 mg oxazepam were compared in a double-blind clinical trial in 61 aged hospitalized patients (mean age 82.5, range 69 to 96), suffering from moderate to severe insomnia. The study covered 8 nights, i.e., 1 placebo night followed by 5 treatment nights and 2 further placebo nights. Both drugs were equally effective with respect to total sleep time, number of nocturnal awakenings, quality of sleep, condition on awakening, patients' assessment and dreams. However, sleep latency was significantly shorter in the midazolam group, which was also rated significantly more favorably by the medical staff. Side effects were mild and similar in both groups. No rebound or carry-over effects were noted. Midazolam can be considered an effective and safe sleep inducer in aged patients.

Aged↗