Moulages: Art and History of Medicine.

The aim of this article is to introduce the museum we have at the Pathology Department, School of Medicine of the National University of Rosario, Argentina. The origin dates from to 1922 when Dermatology Professor Dr. Enrique P. Fidanza bought moulages at L'Hôpital Saint-Louis in Paris for the purpose of teaching. The collection included around 100 moulages and was worth approximately 1000 dollars. These pieces were exhibited at the Dermatology Department for many years and later moved to the Pathology Department where some pieces started being repaired, whereas others have deteriorated. The collection is composed of 100 moulages done by a French craftsman by the name of Niclet and 258 made by Argentine craftsmen including Alba Ramirez and G. Rouzaut, among others. The pieces are classified according to different dermatological diseases such as: the different stages of syphilis, lupus, benign and malignant neoplasm, infectious diseases, etc.

La docimasia pulmonar en el tratado de medicina legal de Emilio Federico Pablo Bonnet / Hydrostatic pulmonary docimasy in Federico Pablo Emilio Bonnets textbook of legal medicine

La docimasia pulmonar es una prueba muy útil en la actividad médica forense para investigar y diagnosticar la existencia de vida extrauterina del recién nacido, para establecer si el feto nació muerto o sufrió el delito de homicidio. Una cita repetida en algunos textos de Medicina Legal, de la cual no se menciona en ningún caso la fuente, mostró varias curiosidades al intentar verificarla. Las obras sobre Historia de la Medicina consultadas no lograron despejar las dudas sobre la veracidad del dato y tampoco agotan los temas tratados. Este sería el caso de Galeno, cuya obra y personalidad tanta influencia tuvieron durante mil quinientos años de nuestra era y aún continúan generando controversias. No se halló ningún dato concreto sobre el conocimiento atribuido a Galeno de la docimasia pulmonar hidrostática, aunque tampoco se encontraron datos que rechacen categóricamente el aserto. Paradójicamente, las referencias históricas relacionadas con la mencionada docimasia en los textos de Medicina Legal no mencionan al holandés Jan Swammerdam, quien habría sido el que la describió y fundamentó (AU)

Hydrostatic pulmonary docimasy is a very useful test in forensic medical activity to investigate and diagnose the existence of extra-uterine life of the newborn, to determine whether the fetus was stillborn or was murdered. A repeated reference in some texts of Forensic Medicine, without mention of the source, showed several paradoxes when we tried to verify it. Books on the History of Medicine consulted failed to dispel doubts about the veracity of the data and did not go to the bottom of the issue. This is the case of Galen, whose work and personality had much influence during 1,500 years of our era and continues to generate controversy. No firm information was found about the knowledge Galen might have had on hydrostatic pulmonary docimasy; but no source categorically rejected the possibility. Paradoxically, the historical references on docimasy mentioned in the texts of Forensic Medicine fail to mention name of the Dutch Jan Swammerdam, who described and explained the method (AU).

La docimasia pulmonar en el tratado de medicina legal de Emilio Federico Pablo Bonnet / Hydrostatic pulmonary docimasy in Federico Pablo Emilio Bonnet's textbook of legal medicine

La docimasia pulmonar es una prueba muy útil en la actividad médica forense para investigar y diagnosticar la existencia de vida extrauterina del recién nacido, para establecer si el feto nació muerto o sufrió el delito de homicidio. Una cita repetida en algunos textos de Medicina Legal, de la cual no se menciona en ningún caso la fuente, mostró varias curiosidades al intentar verificarla. Las obras sobre Historia de la Medicina consultadas no lograron despejar las dudas sobre la veracidad del dato y tampoco agotan los temas tratados. Éste sería el caso de Galeno, cuya obra y personalidad tanta influencia tuvieron durante mil quinientos años de nuestra era y aún continúan generando controversias. No se halló ningún dato concreto sobre el conocimiento atribuido a Galeno de la docimasia pulmonar hidrostática, aunque tampoco se encontraron datos que rechacen categóricamente el aserto. Paradójicamente, las referencias históricas relacionadas con la mencionada docimasia en los textos de Medicina Legal no mencionan al holandés Jan Swammerdam, quien habría sido el que la describió y fundamentó

Hydrostatic pulmonary docimasy is a very useful test in forensic medical activity to investigate and diagnose the existence of extra-uterine life of the newborn, to determine whether the fetus was stillborn or was murdered. A repeated reference in some texts of Forensic Medicine, without mention of the source, showed several paradoxes when we tried to verify it. Books on the History of Medicine consulted failed to dispel doubts about the veracity of the data and did not go to the bottom of the issue. This is the case of Galen, whose work and personality had much influence during 1,500 years of our era and continues to generate controversy. No firm information was found about the knowledge Galen might have had on hydrostatic pulmonary docimasy; but no source categorically rejected the possibility. Paradoxically, the historical references on docimasy mentioned in the texts of Forensic Medicine fail to mention name of the Dutch Jan Swammerdam, who described and explained the method .

The environmental pollutant endosulfan disrupts cerebral cortical function at low doses.

Endosulfan can induce convulsions that could lead to brain damage. The variability and lack of specificity of neurological signs and symptoms in the pre-convulsive stages makes early diagnosis difficult. We sought to determine if electrophysiological exploration of the cerebral cortex could yield objective signs of endosulfan intoxication at levels that do not elicit convulsions. Endosulfan was administered intravenously to Sprague-Dawley adult rats under urethane anesthesia at doses from 0.5 to 4mg/kg. EEG power and the evoked potentials (EP) to forepaw electrical stimulation were studied over the contralateral (S1CL) and homolateral (S1HL) cortical somatosensory areas and the contralateral visual area (V1CL). At each area, five EP waves were measured. Arterial blood pressure, heart rate and body temperature were also recorded. Endosulfan induced a dose-related increase in EPs at all sites. At S1CL, EP peak amplitude was greater than baseline at 1, 2 and 4mg/kg for the first negative, second positive and third negative waves, and at 2 and 4mg/kg for the first and third positive waves. Similar but less marked trends were observed at S1HL and V1CL. A shift of EEG power to higher frequencies (alpha and beta EEG bands) was only present at 4mg/kg. In conclusion, endosulfan induced a large increase of cortical evoked potentials amplitudes at doses that did not elicit convulsions. These responses could be used as a non-invasive diagnostic tool to detect low-level endosulfan intoxication in humans and to help establish the NOAEL and LOAEL levels of this pollutant.

Beneficial effects of hematopoietic growth factor therapy in chronic ischemic stroke in rats.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Stroke is the leading cause of adult disability worldwide. Currently, there is no effective treatment for stroke survivors. Stem cell factor (SCF) and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) are the growth factors regulating hematopoiesis. We have previously observed that SCF and G-CSF have neuroprotective and functional effects on acute brain ischemia. In the present study, the beneficial effects of SCF and G-CSF on chronic brain ischemia were determined. METHODS: SCF, G-CSF, or SCF+G-CSF was administered subcutaneously to rats 3.5 months after induction of ischemic stroke by middle cerebral artery occlusion. Neurological deficits were evaluated by limb placement test and foot fault test over time. Field-evoked potential was performed 19 weeks after treatment. Infarct volume was histologically determined using serial coronal sections. RESULTS: Significant functional improvement was seen in SCF+G-CSF-treated rats 1, 5, and 17 weeks after injections. SCF alone also improved functional outcome, but it did not show as stable improvement as SCF+G-CSF. No functional benefit was seen in G-CSF-treated rats. Field-evoked potential studies further confirmed the behavioral data that the normal pattern of neuronal activity was reestablished in the lesioned brain of the rats with good functional outcome. Interestingly, infarction volume was also significantly reduced in SCF+G-CSF-treated rats. CONCLUSIONS: These data provide first evidence that functional restoration in chronic brain ischemia can be attained using hematopoietic growth factors.

D-cycloserine reduces neuropathic pain behavior through limbic NMDA-mediated circuitry.

Human brain imaging studies suggest that chronic neuropathic pain has a strong emotional component that is mediated by medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) activity; in rodents, the mPFC is involved in emotional and cognitive aspects of behavior, including the extinction of Pavlovian fear conditioning. Together, these findings suggest that the cortex may modulate the memory trace of pain. As D-cycloserine (DCS), a partial agonist of the NMDA receptor, can enhance learning and potentiate the extinction of acquired fear, in the present study we tested its efficacy in neuropathic pain behavior. In rats with spared nerve injury (SNI), repeated daily oral administration of DCS reduced mechanical sensitivity of the injured limb in a dose-dependent manner; this effect continued for weeks after the cessation of DCS treatment. In addition, re-exposure to DCS further enhanced antinociceptive behavior. Repeated oral DCS administration also reduced cancer chemotherapy drug-induced neuropathic pain behavior. Infusions of DCS directly into the mPFC (especially within prelimbic cortex) or the amygdala (but not into thalamus, insula, or occipital cortex) acutely induced antinociception in SNI rats. The antinociceptive effect of intra-mPFC DCS infusions was mimicked by NMDA and glycine, and blocked by HA 966. In the mPFC of SNI rats, NR2B expression was down-regulated; however, this effect was reversed with repeated oral DCS. Lastly, infusions of DCS into mPFC reversed place avoidance behavior induced by mechanical stimulation of the injured paw in SNI rats. These findings indicate that limbic NMDA-mediated circuitry is involved in long-term reduction in neuropathic pain behavior.

Expression of IL-1beta in supraspinal brain regions in rats with neuropathic pain.

We examined mRNA expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-1beta in the brainstem, thalamus, and prefrontal cortex in two rat models of neuropathic pain. Rats received a neuropathic injury: spared nerve injury (SNI) or chronic constriction injury (CCI), sham injury, or were minimally handled (control). Neuropathic pain-like behavior was monitored by tracking tactile thresholds. SNI-injured animals showed a robust decrease in tactile thresholds of the injured foot, while CCI-injured animals did not show tactile threshold changes. Ten or 24 days after nerve injury, IL-1beta gene expression in the brain was determined by RT-PCR. IL-1beta expression changes were observed mainly at 10 days after injury in the SNI animals, contralateral to the injury side, with increased expression in the brainstem and prefrontal cortex. The results indicate that neuro-immune activation in neuropathic pain conditions includes supraspinal brain regions, suggesting cytokine modulation of supraspinal circuitry of pain in neuropathic conditions.