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PubMed2006

Hot hearts in the Sonoran Desert: the 11th Weinstein Cardiovascular Development Conference in Tucson.

The 11th Annual Weinstein Cardiovascular Development Conference was held May 19-22, 2005 at the Westward Look Resort and Conference Center in Tucson, Arizona. The Westward Look was the site of the 6th Weinstein Meeting in 1999, and this year, 330 basic research scientists and research clinicians returned to Tucson for 3 days of meetings, Mariachis, and margaritas. The meeting was hosted by the cardiovascular research group at the University of Arizona and offered flavors of the desert southwest that included record temperatures, the Skopopelli conference logo modified from the Kokopelli of Native American mythology (Fig. 1), and liberal use of a cattle prod to encourage speaker timeliness.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Club-foot through the centuries.

This is a study of the history of club-foot from ancient times up to the present. It embraces not only the clinical aspects of the deformity but also its social implications, particularly of its early history when the attitude of society towards the lame and crippled in general and to foot deformities in particular is discussed. Relevant references from Greek mythology and also from the Old Testament are quoted. A close study is made of the old Chinese custom of foot-binding which produced club-foot like deformities which became a symbol of social standing. Inevitably, like most other medical conditions, club-foot has been well described by Hippocrates and it is a sobering thought that his concepts of causation and his principles of treatment are as valid today as they were 2300 years ago. This paper also briefly describes club-foot in history and art. Encouraged by society's compassionate approach towards the cripple, famous painters of the 17th century produced sympathetic portraits of the deformed and the club-footed. Well-known personalities who suffered from club-foot, such as Lord Byron and Sir Walter Scott, are mentioned and it is shown how the deformity affected them. The saga of the physician and surgeon W.J. Little, himself afflicted by club-foot, is unfolded. His life was dedicated to the study and relief of his own deformity and later he devoted his efforts towards the cure of his fellow sufferers. W.J. Little has done so much for the advancement of orthopaedic surgery that Sir Robert Jones called him the father of orthopaedic surgery; yet at heart W.J. Little was a physician! Another physician, Nicholas André, deserves the title of father of orthopaedic surgery. He coined the word 'orthopaedia' and laid down the principles of preventing and correcting deformities and he detailed the conservative management of club-foot. The treatment of the deformity came into the hands of bone setters and instrument makers and it was almost beneath the dignity of a surgeon to treat it. Yet, with the advent of tenotomy, popularised by Little, surgical treatment of the condition increased, aided by the development of antiseptic and aseptic technique and anaesthesia.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Latah: the symbolism of a putative mental disorder.

This paper examines the symbolic properties and cultural relevance of latah, a behavioral state noted in Malay and Indonesia since the 19th Century. Most interpretations of latah have been psychological, latah being perceived as a 'mental disorder.' In the following, it is concluded that latah is intimately related to other aspects of Malayo-Indonesian culture and that it is a well-known cultural pattern and not a mental disorder as such, though it may occur among persons, largely women, in a socially and psychologically marginal situation. Latah is a symbolic representation of marginality, and it is as appropriate to certain mythological and religious figures to the socially marginal.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1992

Diplophthalmia versus cyclopia and synophthalmia. Mechanisms of doubling of the eye.

In historical and many scientific papers of the 20th century double formation of eyes has been described as cyclopia, which develops as a variably marked fusion of both eye anlagen into a single eye in median position. In contrast with mythology, no cases were viable, as cyclopia is always accompanied by other severe deformities, such as cerebral defects and proboscis. For the first time a double eye on one side - a unilateral diplophthalmia - in a viable child born in Austria is presented after a reviewal of fundamentals of general and experimental embryology, cyclopia and unilateral synophthalmia. Unlike cases of cyclopia with two fused eyes from two anlagen in one single orbit, we found a total of three eyes from two anlagen in two orbits; a normally developed eye in the right orbit and a double eye in the left with no proboscis. In addition porencephaly, a double canine tooth, and a lateral branchial cyst were also present on the left side. An examination of this unique case partially corroberated the findings of experimental embryology as to the normal formation of the lens and brought to light new findings concerning the formation of the vitreous body and the retina, because in the 'extra' left eye a hyaloid artery did not develop. There was only one optic nerve with a normal optic disc as a guiding structure for this artery in the 'normal' left eye.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMed1989

The past: a gallery of arthritics.

Rheumatism in its many forms has affected mankind since ancient times. Numerous examples exist of the powerful and the famous who suffered these afflictions. In some cases the disease process in thought to have, through the sufferers, altered the course of history itself. Throughout history, the arts have served as a means by which man expressed life's broad range of emotions: love, beauty, despair, loneliness. But the works of several prominent artists also reflect the pain and frustration of arthritis. Examples of common diseases include low back pain and sciatica, which disabled Aneas of Greek mythology, Jacob of Biblical times, Sister Catherine and Jefferson. Lincoln and Paganini are both thought to have suffered from Marfan's syndrome. Ankylosing spondylitis affected Cosimo de Medici and the poet Scarron, while the disability of Columbus is thought to be more compatible with Reiter's Syndrome. Without even considering the numerous examples of famous personnages who had gout, one can find multiple historical and artistic figures who suffered from chronic polyarthritis. A brief list would include the Emperor Constantine, Rubens, Mary Queen of Scots, Madison, Renoir, Verlaine, and Dufy. Since these disorders can also be found in historical references, one wonders if, having affected the lives and temperaments of the eminent, the powerful, or an entire population, they may have in some circumstances exerted some influence on the course of world history, or, through artistic talents, contributed to the intellectual enrichment of society.

Art↗
PubMed2006

Ethical, political, and social aspects of high-technology medicine: Eos and care.

OBJECTIVE: We discuss biosocial aspects of high-technology medicine (HTM) to provide a global view of the current model of medicine in the developed world and its consequences. METHODS: We analyze changes in the concept of death and in the use and cost of HTM. The consequences of HTM on the delivery of basic medical care within and among countries are discussed. Concepts derived from Greek mythology are used to illustrate the problems associated with HTM. RESULTS: HTM can be extremely effective in individual cases, but it poses important bioethical and biosocial problems. A major problem is related to the possibility of manipulating the process of dying and the consequent alteration in the social concept of death, which, if not carefully regulated, risks transforming medicine into an expensive way of pursuing pointless dreams of immortality (myth of Eos). Another problem is related to the extraordinary amount of resources necessary for HTM. This model of medicine (which is practiced daily) has limited sustainability, can work only in highly developed countries, may contribute to unequal access to health care, and has negligible positive impact on global health and survival. CONCLUSIONS: HTM poses very important biosocial questions that need to be addressed in a wider and transparent debate, in the best interest of society and HTM as well.

Biotechnology↗
PubMed1984

Child abuse and neglect in infancy: sources of hostility within the parent-infant dyad and disorders of attachment in infancy.

The human infant is prepared during fetal life and arrives on the scene ready to participate actively as a partner with the parent in structuring his own development. Parents are normally prepared for this participant activity by achieving a high degree of sensitivity to the signals of distress of and by the infant's affective engagement with them. The meaning of ordinary distress signals is in instances of child abuse and neglect determined by an unconscious mythology which the parent has about the infant, and also by what the parent finds unacceptable in oneself and projects onto the infant. The recent research on mother-infant attachment is reviewed. Landmarks for normal attachment behaviors from birth to age 3 are defined within seven different age groupings, and the psychiatric syndrome, "Reactive Attachment Disorder of Infancy," is described and is found almost universally in failure to thrive without organic cause babies. The diagnosis of Reactive Attachment Disorder is preferable because it leads to appropriate preventive and interventive action.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

A history of the parathyroid glands.

Diseases of the parathyroid glands have always existed, affecting occasional individuals in every period and culture of the past. The significant changes in body build associated with their dysfunction must have attracted in the popular mind bewildering connotations that can be gleaned from their mythology. Although their associated clinical features were described in the medical literature, the presence of the parathyroid glands and their function went long unrecognized. In the relatively slow evolution of endocrinology, compared with that of other medical disciplines, the parathyroid glands and their diseases were one of the last to be defined. It was only in the latter part of the nineteenth century that the glands were identified in humans by Ivar Sandström (1852-1889). Their subsequent experimental extirpation by Eugene Gley (1857-1930), as well as others, led to the differentiation of the neuromuscular symptoms that theretofore had been attributed to removal of the thyroid glands. That these symptoms were the result of the hypocalcemia that ensues parathyroidectomy was suggested in 1908 by W. G. MacCallum (1874-1944) and Carl Voegtlin (1879-1960). The possibility that parathyroid pathology may be associated with skeletal abnormalities was made in 1914 by Jacob Erdheim (18874-1937), and in the following year documented by Z. Schlagenhaufer from the observation that in patients with osteitis fibrosa cystica, only one parathyroid gland is enlarged. This was to set the stage for parathyroidectomy beginning in 1925, for the alleviation of bone disease of hyperparathyroidism.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1995

The menstrual cycle, science and femininity: assumptions underlying menstrual cycle research.

This paper examines the relationship between popular knowledge of menstruation and scientific research. It suggests that despite evidence to indicate that pre-menstrual cognitive, behavioural and emotional 'impairment' is relatively rare, the population notion that PMS routinely affects many women adversely is difficult to displace. It concludes that mainstream menstrual cycle research is subject to the influence of misogynist mythology upheld as staunchly by women influenced by patriarchy as by men. Reasons are suggested which lie in the differential power of claims to knowledge.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Bufo alvarius: a potent hallucinogen of animal origin.

Anthropologists have long speculated that ancient peoples of Mesoameria used a toad, Bufo marinus, as a ritual intoxicant. This hypothesis rests on many iconographic and mythological representations of toads and on a number of speculative ethnographic reports. The authors reject B. marinus as a candidate for such use because of the toxicity of its venom. A more likely candidate is the Sonoran desert toad, Bufo alvarius, which secretes large amounts of the potent known hallucinogen, 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT). The authors demonstrate that the venom of B. alvarius, although known to be toxic when consumed orally, may be safely smoked and is powerfully psychoactive by that route of administration. These experiments are the first documentation of an hallucinogenic agent from the animal kingdom, and they provide clear evidence of a psychoactive toad that could have been employed by Precolumbian peoples of the New World.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Hormonal fountains of youth.

Any hope of a fountain of youth to stop people from getting older is a long way off, with science just beginning to understand the complex genetic, physical, and hormonal causes of aging. Clearly, modem research has demonstrated that the concept of a hormonal fountain of youth is predominantly mythology. The best evidence supporting use of hormonal replacement is vitamin D and estrogen replacement to prevent hip fractures. Other than that, treatment should be limited to hormone replacement in persons who have endocrine disease.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Reality and fantasies: the psychology of skin transplants.

Skin transplants present similarities with and differences from other organ transplants (heart, kidney, liver) in the psychological sphere and in regard to symbolic and mythological references. A brief story supplies some explanations and introduces the reader to information in the psychosomatic and psycholinguistic spheres in scientific literature. We also present a list of commonly used terms that include the word skin, and cite important literary references that have some relationship with the subject of skin transplants, all to emphasize and explain why/how this topic is so emotionally involving.

History, 19th Century↗
PubMed2004

Curicatures.

Marie Curie challenged many conventions when she left Poland, became a world-famous French scientist and took X-ray machinery to the front line in World War I. Although she was the first person to win two Nobel prizes, many critics found it hard to believe that she could simultaneously be a caring mother and a brilliant researcher. As mythological accounts of Curie's success grew, photographs and caricatures of her reinforced traditional stereotypes of male and female roles in science.

Caricatures as Topic↗
PubMed2006

An exploration of the patient's experience of electro-convulsive therapy in mid-twentieth century creative literature: a historical study with implications for practice today.

BACKGROUND: Understanding a patient's subjective experience of electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) is important. Creative literature may both express such experiences and influence how ECT is perceived since scenarios and characters in literature become incorporated into cultural stereotypes and mythologies. Clinical discussions with patients and their families suggest that One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest still has an impact on their perceptions of ECT, and therefore still has clinical relevance today. This study aims to explore experiences of ECT through creative literature focussing on novels from the 1960s. METHOD: Study of three novels depicting ECT in their historical context. RESULTS: Various factors identified in the books studied may be associated with reluctance to accept ECT as a treatment, in particular images related to electricity. LIMITATIONS: Since this is a historical survey rather than a clinical research project, and is based on creative literature, it may not reflect 21st century reality. CONCLUSIONS: Fear of electricity and other factors in the practice of ECT in the past may still be important in the acceptance of ECT as a clinical treatment. This warrants further qualitative exploration.

Creativity↗
PubMed2006

Parsing the ageing Asian woman: symptom results from the China study of midlife women.

OBJECTIVES: It has become popular to assert that Asian women in general have low midlife rates of reporting a wide variety of symptoms and that these rates are much lower than those found among women in western countries. Comparable data from mainland China remains sparse, however. This study aimed to uncover the symptom reporting frequency for a general population sample of women in mainland China and to compare these results with rates from similar studies conducted in Japan and North America. METHODS: The author conducted a community-based survey of over 400 Chinese women aged 40-65 years living in a rural village and an urban neighborhood in northern China. The cross-cultural analysis was conducted on the 156 Chinese women within that sample who were between the ages of 45 and 55 years. Their rates of reporting 16 core symptoms in the previous 2 weeks were compared with those of women in the same age range in studies conducted in Japan [Lock M. Encounters with aging: mythologies of menopause in Japan and North America. Berkeley: University of California Press; 1993], Canada [Kaufert P, Lock M, McKinlay S, et al. Menopause research: the Korpilampi workshop. Soc Sci Med 1986;22(11):1285-9], and the U.S. [McKinlay SM, McKinlay JB. Research note: aging in a 'healthy' population. Soc Sci Med 1986;23(5):531-5]. RESULTS: The Chinese women had a low to moderate rate (below 50%) of reporting each of the 16 core symptoms. On most symptoms, the Chinese rates were higher than the Japanese and more similar to the North American. The only exceptions were hot flashes and headaches. CONCLUSIONS: Data from the China Study of Midlife Women showed that women's rates of midlife core symptom reporting in mainland China differ from the extremely low levels found in Japan. It is important to avoid generalizations about East Asian women relative to North American women in this regard.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Growth of plant culture.

A series of articles by Nick Battey published throughout 2003 has been challenging plant scientists to embrace plant culture. Fine art, literature, mythology, plant lore, religion, philosophy and plant science all contribute to plant culture and Battey believes that it is up to us, the scientists, to stimulate greater appreciation of our work by striving for a richer culture.

Art↗
PubMed2006

Medea in full self-control.

Medea, a loving but betrayed character from Greek mythology who murdered her own children, inspired the naming of an Arabidopsis regulatory protein involved in the control of endosperm development in the maturing seed. In contrast to the Medea of antiquity who, according to Euripides, cannot be called a model of self-control, three recent publications demonstrate that MEDEA in plants is in command of its own action by autoregulation.

Alleles↗
PubMed2005

The out-of body experience: precipitating factors and neural correlates.

Out-of-body experiences (OBEs) are defined as experiences in which a person seems to be awake and sees his body and the world from a location outside his physical body. More precisely, they can be defined by the presence of the following three phenomenological characteristics: (i) disembodiment (location of the self outside one's body); (ii) the impression of seeing the world from an elevated and distanced visuo-spatial perspective (extracorporeal, but egocentric visuo-spatial perspective); and (iii) the impression of seeing one's own body (autoscopy) from this perspective. OBEs have fascinated mankind from time immemorial and are abundant in folklore, mythology, and spiritual experiences of most ancient and modern societies. Here, we review some of the classical precipitating factors of OBEs such as sleep, drug abuse, and general anesthesia as well as their neurobiology and compare them with recent findings on neurological and neurocognitive mechanisms of OBEs. The reviewed data suggest that OBEs are due to functional disintegration of lower-level multisensory processing and abnormal higher-level self-processing at the temporo-parietal junction. We argue that the experimental investigation of the interactions between these multisensory and cognitive mechanisms in OBEs and related illusions in combination with neuroimaging and behavioral techniques might further our understanding of the central mechanisms of corporal awareness and self-consciousness much as previous research about the neural bases of complex body part illusions such as phantom limbs has done.

Body Image↗