Agentes físicos / Physical agents

En la época actual, la medicina física viene experimentando un auge paralelo a los progresos de la medicina en general. Los recientes avances tecnológicos, junto con cierta tendencia a reducir tratamientos farmacológicos que resultan en ocasiones invasivos muy costosos, han abierto nuevas perspectivas para la medicina física, no solo en el ámbito terapeútico, sino también en el higiénico o preventivo.

Benefícios da talassoterapia e balneoterapia na fibromialgia / Benefits of thalassotherapy and balneotherapy for fibromyalgia

Talassoterapia e balneoterapia são modalidades terapêuticas utilizadas há vários anos em outras regiões do mundo na prevenção e no tratamento de diversas enfermidades, incluindo doenças reumáticas. No entanto, só recentemente têm sido descritas na literatura em fibromialgia (FM), contribuindo para a redução da dor e de outros sintomas da doença e melhorando a qualidade de vida dos pacientes. Nesta revisão são relatados os principais estudos que avaliam a talassoterapia e/ou a balneoterapia como abordagem terapêutica na FM, abordando aspectos a serem investigados no intuito de estabelecer o valor dessa forma de tratamento. Os autores ainda destacam a necessidade da realização de estudos no Brasil, utilizando principalmente a talassoterapia, uma vez que o baixo custo, aliado ao fácil acesso de boa parte das pessoas ao litoral, podem beneficiar pacientes com FM.

Thalassotherapy and balneotherapy are therapeutic strategies commonly used in other countries for the prevention and treatment of several diseases, including rheumatic diseases. However, only in the recent years its use in the treatment of fibromyalgia (FM) has been reported. The potential beneficial effects include the reduction of pain and other related symptoms of FM, thus improving the quality of life. The authors revise studies focusing on thalassotherapy and/or balneotherapy in the treatment of FM, discussing their benefits and methodological biases that still preclude a more precise evaluation on the efficacy of these methods. Finally, the authors emphasize the need for such studies in Brazil, mainly thalassotherapy, since the low cost and good accessibility to sea, might well provide benefit to our patients.

Manual de geoterapia / Geotherapy manual

Modalidades de uso en la geoterapia; Indicaciones terapéuticas de la arcilla en el aparato digestivo, en dermatología, en el aparato locomotor, respiratorio, cardiovascular, hematopoyético, genito urinario, en pediatría, en la otitis, en oftalmología, en el sistema psico-neuro-inmuno-endocrinológico, en cáncer, en cirugía; Indicaciones de la arcilla en emergencias e inclusión en el botiquín natural; Peloideterapia; Talasoterapia y baños de arena; Algunas direcciones de productos medicinales y nutricionales en Perú

Interleukin-2 psoriasis evaluation of red vs. mediterranean sea bathing and uvb irradiation

Sixty psoriatic patients were studied to determine the effect of climatotherapy on their serum interleukin-2 and psoriatic lesions. They were divided into two groups bathed in Red and Mediterranean Sea water, followed by irradiation with incremental doses of UVB lamp three times weekly for four weeks. The study also included twenty healthy persons for detection of their serum IL-2 as a control group. The results showed a significant decrease of both serum IL-2 and PASI [psoriatic area and severity index] after treatment compared with those before treatment in both groups. The improvement may be due to a decreased number of Langerhans cells which decreased the immune reaction as a result of exposure to UVB. Also, sea water bathing may express osmotic pressure causing IL-2 to pass out of skin giving rise to improvement together with decrease of the mitotic rate of epidermis due to high salt concentration. There was no significant statistical difference in treatment with Red vs. Mediterranean Sea water bathing