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PubMed2003

Locating gene-environment interaction: at the intersections of genetics and public health.

Over the past two decades, the applications of genetic and genomic technologies have begun to transform research questions and practices within epidemiology and toxicology, the "core sciences" of public health (Annu. Rev. Public Health 21 (2000) 1). These technologies provide new models and techniques for studying genetic traits, environmental exposures, and gene-environment interaction in the production of human health and illness. This paper explores the consequences of emergent genetic and genomic approaches, their ongoing redefinitions of both genetic and environmental "risks", and their potential implications for public health practice. The central argument of the paper is that the increasing focus on gene-environment interaction directs scientific, biomedical, and public health attention both inward, to the gene/genome, and outward, to particular places. In so doing, studies of gene-environment interaction create a challenging and productive tension-at the same time that bodies are being geneticized (Am. J. Law Med. 17 (1992) 15), they also are emphatically emplaced, located where social and cultural practices come to matter. This tension, this simultaneous movement outward and inward, towards the gene and towards the environment, into the body and into place, opens up a vista into the processes through which culture and biology form a locally and historically situated dialectic (Encounters With Aging: Mythologies of Menopause in Japan and North America, University of California Press, Berkeley, CA, 1993) and raises important questions about the production of health and illness.

Disease Progression↗

PubMed1998

Diagnosing moral disorder: the discovery and evolution of fetal alcohol syndrome.

The diagnosis of fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) was invented in 1973. This paper investigates the process by which a cluster of birth defects associated with exposure to alcohol in utero came to be a distinct medical diagnosis, focusing on the first ten years of the medical literature on FAS. Fetal alcohol syndrome was "discovered" by a group of American dysmorphologists who published the first case reports and coined the term FAS. However, the nature of the diagnosis and its salient symptoms were determined collectively over time by the medical profession as a whole. The paper traces the natural history of the diagnosis in the U.S. through five stages: introduction, confirmation and corroboration, dissent, expansion, and diffusion. FAS serves as an example of the social construction of clinical diagnosis; moral entrepreneurship plays a key role and the medical literature on FAS is infused with moral rhetoric, including passages from classical mythology, philosophy, and the Bible. FAS is a moral as well as a medical diagnosis, reflecting the broader cultural concerns of the era in which it was discovered, including a greater awareness of environmental threats to health, the development of fetal medicine, an emphasis on "the perfect child," and a growing paradigm of maternal-fetal conflict.

Cross-Cultural Comparison↗

PubMed1998

[Oculocutaneous albinism: clinical, historical and anthropological aspects].

Albinism represents a group of inherited abnormalities of the melanin pigment system in which the synthesis of melanin is absent or reduced, generalized (oculocutaneous albinism) or localised (ocular albinism). Recent molecular studies provide insight into the pathophysiological processes of pigmentation regulation and help our understanding of the genetic heterogeneity of human albinism. It rarely affects Europeans, frequently Africans, only a minority of Amerindians, who nevertheless, when an ethnic group is concerned, presents one of the highest incidence in the world. Historically, the African albinos were used as an alibi by the European theologians to support Adam's descent of humanity and by naturalists to affirm the alleged superiority of the white men. Anthropological data are mainly issued from Amerindians with contradictories attitudes towards albinos: both acceptance and rejection. Only the Kuna of Panama have given albinos a major place in their mythology, although in reality they frequently reject them.

Albinism, Oculocutaneous↗

PubMed2003

Myths of whiplash.

When the concept of whiplash was first introduced by Harold Crowe in 1928 at a conference, and when it first appeared in a medical publication in 1945, it was not based on scientific evidence. That is, like many great stories, the whiplash theme sprang mainly from mythology, where many explanations had to be created to fill in the gaps in our understanding. Since those early days, and mainly in the last ten years, more research has been carried out to unravel these myths than had been performed to define chronic whiplash in the first place. This limited review considers a few of the aforementioned myths of whiplash, and how scientific efforts have enlightened us on these matters.

Chronic Disease↗

PubMed2001

Old iron, young copper: from Mars to Venus.

Iron and copper are metals which play an important role in the living world. From a brief consideration of their chemistry and biochemistry we conclude that the early chemistry of life used water soluble ferrous iron while copper was in the water-insoluble Cu(I) state as highly insoluble sulphides. The advent of oxygen was a catastrophic event for most living organisms, and can be considered to be the first general irreversible pollution of the earth. In contrast to the oxidation of iron and its loss of bioavailability as insoluble Fe(III), the oxidation of insoluble Cu(I) led to soluble Cu(II). A new iron biochemistry became possible after the advent of oxygen, with the development of chelators of Fe(III), which rendered iron once again accessible, and with the control of the potential toxicity of iron by its storage in a water soluble, non-toxic, bio-available storage protein (ferritin). Biology also discovered that whereas enzymes involved in anaerobic metabolism were designed to operate in the lower portion of the redox spectrum, the arrival of dioxygen created the need for a new redox active metal which could attain higher redox potentials. Copper, now bioavailable, was ideally suited to exploit the oxidizing power of dioxygen. The arrival of copper also coincided with the development of multicellular organisms which had extracellular cross-linked matrices capable of resisting attack by oxygen free radicals. After the initial 'iron age' subsequent evolution moved, not towards a 'copper age', but rather to an 'iron-copper' age. In the second part of the review, this symbiosis of iron and copper is examined in yeast. We then briefly consider iron and copper metabolism in mammals, before looking at iron-copper interactions in mammals, particularly man, and conclude with the reflection that, as in Greek and Roman mythology, a better understanding of the potentially positive interactions between Mars (iron) and Venus (copper) can only be to the advantage of our species.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

[Sacer ignis, quam pustulam vocant pastores: anthrax--cultural historical traces of a zoonosis].

The knowledge of anthrax as a disease and its importance as a zoonosis in the Greco-Roman world is revealed through a selection of classical texts and mythological sources, taking into account evidence of reworking and reuse of these texts up until the nineteenth century. The numerous names given to the disease throughout history and their linguistic origins will also be examined in this paper. The narrative of the epizoonoses in Noricum in Virgil's Georgics; taken by several to represent a description of an anthrax epidemic, and which had a great influence in written works on veterinary medicine up until the discovery of bacteria, will be given particular attention. The crucial term is "Sacer Ignis", synonymous for several different human and animal diseases through time. This term will be analysed in terms of linguistic origin and the changes in meaning it acquired throughout the centuries.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Addiction, stigma and movies.

OBJECTIVE: To identify common character stereotypes of alcohol and other drug users as portrayed in motion pictures. METHOD: A selective review of a number of movies prominently portraying alcohol and other drug use and misuse. RESULTS: The great majority of popular films portray alcohol and drug use whether as a routinized background, routinized foreground or exceptional foreground. Four main stereotypes of alcohol and other drug users appear to be prevalent - the tragic hero, the demonized user, the rebellious free spirit and the comedic user. A number of movies are selected which portray alcohol and other drug use as a prominent theme. CONCLUSION: Movies, as a medium for mass communication, have a powerful influence on the public and perpetuate popular mythologies regarding alcohol and other drug use.

Data Collection↗

PubMed2003

The molecular physiology of liver regeneration following partial hepatectomy.

The ability of the liver to regenerate after resection has been known for many years. Two reports from Germany in the late 1800s probably mark the introduction of the phenomenon into the scientific literature, but in the early 1900s the first reviews of this subject had appeared in the English literature. Predating these early scientific reports the legends from the Greek mythology described the fate of Prometheus. As punishment for defying Zeus and revealing the secret of fire to man, Prometheus was chained to a rock and each day had part of his liver ripped out by an eagle which, returning the following day, repeated the torture because his liver regenerated itself overnight. Although the speed of regeneration in the Greek legend is somewhat greater than that observed either clinically or in the laboratory, the myth does serve to emphasise the remarkable ability of the liver to repeatedly regenerate following repeated resections. This review aims to summarise the more recent literature concerning the early molecular events accompanying liver regeneration and to integrate this with the existing knowledge of this subject.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Clinical work with minorities in Japan: social and cultural context.

Psychotherapeutic work in Japan with minority populations requires an understanding of their specific social and cultural context. Clinical case studies of individuals of burakumin, Korean, and mixed ancestry illustrate the complex issues of prejudice, discrimination, legal contraints, state ideology, and popular mythology of homogeneity that each brings to counseling. Clinical approaches, guided by a multicultural counseling and therapy framework, are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Hormones and the aging process.

For more than a century, it has been suggested that failure of the secretions of the ductless glands leads to aging. Replacement of these hormones has been suggested as a method of slowing the aging process. Clearly, modern research has demonstrated that the concept of a "hormonal fountain of youth" is predominantly mythology. The best evidence for 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↗

PubMed2000

Hepatocyte growth factor in renal failure: promise and reality.

Can science discover some secrets of Greek mythology? In the case of Prometheus, we can now suppose that his amazing hepatic regeneration was caused by a peptide growth factor called hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). Increasing evidence indicates that HGF acts as a multifunctional cytokine on different cell types. This review addresses the molecular mechanisms that are responsible for the pleiotropic effects of HGF. HGF binds with high affinity to its specific tyrosine kinase receptor c-met, thereby stimulating not only cell proliferation and differentiation, but also cell migration and tumorigenesis. The three fundamental principles of medicine-prevention, diagnosis, and therapy-may be benefited by the rational use of HGF. In renal tubular cells, HGF induces mitogenic and morphogenetic responses. In animal models of toxic or ischemic acute renal failure, HGF acts in a renotropic and nephroprotective manner. HGF expression is rapidly up-regulated in the remnant kidney of nephrectomized rats, inducing compensatory growth. In a mouse model of chronic renal disease, HGF inhibits the progression of tubulointerstitial fibrosis and kidney dysfunction. Increased HGF mRNA transcripts were detected in mesenchymal and tubular epithelial cells of rejecting kidney. In transplanted patients, elevated HGF levels may indicate renal rejection. When HGF is considered as a therapeutic agent in human medicine, for example, to stimulate kidney regeneration after acute injury, strategies need to be developed to stimulate cell regeneration and differentiation without an induction of tumorigenesis.

Acute Kidney Injury↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Marijuana: still a "signal of misunderstanding".

This article reviews four decades of my professional experience with marijuana, including: 1) my treatment of marijuana-dependent patients, particularly adolescents; 2) my research on the general effects and medical uses of the government-grown marijuana and of oral tetrahydrocannabinol (Marinol); and 3) my social policy experiences, both nationally and internationally, as a member of the National Commission on Marijuana Drug Abuse. The article emphasizes the mythology, morality, and misunderstanding that clouds so much of the thinking about marijuana in general and its medical utility in particular.

Cannabis↗

PubMed1976

[The radiology of Egyptian mummies (author's transl)].

The technique used for the radiological examination of a well preserved mummy is described. Problems of identification and determination of age, size and sex are discussed. Post mortem changes consist of subluxation of the cervical spine and fractures of the ribs and fibulae. Of medical interest, it was possible to diagnose definitely Scheuermann's disease with a scoliosis and marked reactive spondylotic and spondylo-arthritic changes. The radiological findings provided further information regarding the technique of mummification and the method of burial. Some findings of mythological significance could be demonstrated radiologically, such as the fact that the heart and kidneys had been left in the body, the presence of a scarab, various gold plates and amulets and a fayence-decorated shroud.

Age Determination by Skeleton↗

PubMed2003

Sharing our body and blood: organ donation and feminist critiques of sacrifice.

Feminist analysis of cultural mythology surrounding organ donation offers a critical perspective on current U.S. transplant policy. My argument is three-pronged. First, I argue that organ donation is appropriately understood as a sacrifice. Structurally, donation accords both to general and to specifically Christian archetypes of sacrifice. The characterization of donation as sacrifice resonates in the cultural psyche even though it is absent in public rhetoric. Second, I characterize widespread feminist concerns about the over-glorification of sacrifice. These concerns provide a helpful framework for considering whether the sacrifice of organ donation is over-glorified in our culture. Third, I consider several specific aspects of organ recruitment and organ allocation. Each demonstrates an over-glorification of sacrifice that leads to a dangerous "routinization" of sacrifice. None of these excesses are addressable without due attention to the symbolic import of organ donation and transplantation. I close by suggesting lessons my analysis offers to Christian churches who support donation, to the discourse of bioethics, and to the general public.

Christianity↗

PubMed2003

Rethinking the concept of professionalism: the case of journalism.

Journalists in the UK have always been ambivalent about what form of occupational control to pursue. Although resistant to the structures of the conventional profession, they have embraced the idea of 'professionalism'. As the formations traditionally associated with Anglo-American professions become relevant to fewer and fewer employees and increasingly subject to external regulation it is more relevant, we suggest, to investigate how the discourse of 'professionalism' as a set of values and identities can be mobilized by employers as a form of self-discipline. Journalism, notable for its powerful occupational mythology, provides a vivid example of how this process has eased the imposition of radical changes to the organization of work. Now, ironically, recent changes in the occupation's social composition and training may mean that journalists, who have always cherished a self-image as socially marginal, will aspire to conventional professional respectability.

Humans↗

PubMed1975

The sexual significance of the axillae.

The present paper will review the existing material on the relationships between the axillae and sexuality, present examples of the relationship from clinical practice, everyday life, art, anthropology, mythology, and literature, and consider the relevant human and primate physiological knowledge.

Anthropology↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Recovery from alcoholism: a spiritual journey.

The purpose of this study was to discover the internal aspects of change in persons who are doing well living without alcohol. The heuristic research method, a qualitative phenomenological design, was used to investigate the experience of recovery. Eight recovering alcoholics were interviewed in depth. The process of recovery reflected a mythological journey comprising a departure from the shadowland of drinking, initiation into the world of sobriety, and knowledge gained along the way. New adaptive strategies were acquired, including strengthening the will, training the mind, and exercising spiritual qualities in one's daily life. The profile of doing well in recovery also reflected self-acceptance and an ongoing search for connecting with the transpersonal realm.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Bufo toads and bufotenine: fact and fiction surrounding an alleged psychedelic.

This paper investigates the supposedly psychedelic Bufo toad and the allegedly psychedelic drug bufotenine, which is contained in the skin and glands of this toad. The bufo toad has held a place in human mythologies and medicines worldwide since archaic times. Used by ancient peoples for a variety of purposes, its most spectacular effects, according to lore, involve magical and shamanic or occult uses for casting spells and for divination. In the Middle Ages, the Bufo toad was celebrated as a panacea and persecuted as a powerful poison. More recently, in the 1960s the Bufo toad was resurrected as a countercultural icon, with people purportedly licking or smoking the secretions to get high. Bufotenine has been at the center of a scientific debate since its discovery in 1893. This paper examines the extensive literature surrounding the Bufo toad and bufotenine, and untangles many of the myths and the misinformation that continue to vex both science and popular reporting. Finally, to promote further investigation, a comprehensive bibliography is provided that charts the history of the Bufo toad and bufotenine.

Animals↗