ABSTRACT
The programme "Discussions on Hypertension" is a programme for group treatment of obese essential hypertensives in medical practices on the basis of behavioural therapy. A co-operation model was developed between the Department for General Medicine of the "Medizinische Hochschule Hannover", the Institute for Medical Psychology of the "Philipps-Universität Marburg" and the company Galenus Mannheim and was offered to doctors in general practice. The effects of the programme on the modifying of the risk profile for coronary heart disease was investigated in a controlled study in 137 patients by nine general practitioners. 81 patients were enrolled in the experimental group and 56 patients were assigned to a control group that was not using the programme. The experimental and control groups were comparable with respect to sociodemographic, psychological and medical parameters. Three months after completing the programme, the results of the study was shown in specific effect both on the psychological criteria of success (well-being, health knowledge, healthy behaviour, salt use and compliance) and in a reduction of the diastolic blood pressure in spite of a reduction of the antihypertensive drug treatment. The blood lipid levels (cholesterol and triglycerides) and the blood glucose level were also favourably affected. Patients in the experimental group had reduced their weight by an average of 5.6 kg. The patients in the control group only by 0.8 kg. Overall, there was a marked reduction in the proportion of patients with several risk factors in the experimental group, so that the programme can be attributed a preventive effect.
Subject(s)
Behavior Therapy/methods , Hypertension/therapy , Obesity/therapy , Patient Education as Topic/methods , Antihypertensive Agents/administration & dosage , Combined Modality Therapy , Female , Germany, West , Humans , Hypertension/psychology , Male , Middle Aged , Obesity/psychology , Risk FactorsABSTRACT
Treatment with 13-cis-retinoic acid during 12 weeks of a patient with multiple trichoepitheliomas and acne cystica et comedonica did not affect the number of trichoepitheliomas. The cystic lesions, most of them trichoepitheliomas with only a few non-inflammatory cystic acne lesions, were not affected by this treatment.
Subject(s)
Acne Vulgaris/drug therapy , Skin Neoplasms/drug therapy , Tretinoin/therapeutic use , Acne Vulgaris/complications , Adult , Face , Humans , Isotretinoin , Male , Neck , Skin Neoplasms/complicationsABSTRACT
Eleven patients with severe, chloroquine-resistant chronic cutaneous lupus erythematosus were treated with oral thalidomide. Seven patients responded with a complete remission, and two patients' conditions improved significantly. One patient did not respond well to therapy and another patient had to be withdrawn from the treatment trial because of side effects. Six patients, who relapsed after discontinuing thalidomide treatment, were re-treated with maintenance drug dosages and achieved good results with no further relapses or exacerbations. In all subjects the side effects from the thalidomide were minor and reversible.
