Association between Acute and Chronic Inflammatory States: A Case-Control Study.

BACKGROUND: Fever is the hallmark of efficient acute inflammatory response, which may be disrupted in chronic inflammatory conditions. The "continuum theory" proposes that the return of acute inflammatory states with high fever predicts improvement in chronic diseases during treatment. Our objective was to investigate the observation made, during classical homeopathic treatment, that such an association exists between chronic inflammation and efficient acute inflammation. METHODS: In a case-control study, the reports of patients diagnosed with chronic inflammatory conditions with at least 6 months of follow-up under homeopathic treatment were retrospectively sampled from homeopathic medical practices from Greece, India, Romania and Russia. Twenty patients who improved under homeopathic treatment and 20 age-matched controls of those who did not improve were selected. The occurrence of common acute infectious diseases with fever during the follow-up period was investigated. RESULTS: The average age of the cases and controls was 28.4 (SD: 16.64) and 27.9 (SD: 17.19) years respectively. 18/20 cases and 4/20 controls developed common infectious diseases with fever. Cramer's V co-efficient value was found to be 0.551 (p < 0.01), indicating that improvement was more in patients with fever than without. Odds ratio of improving with respect to development of acute infectious diseases was 36.0 (95% CI: 5.8 to 223.5). The binary logistic regression model indicated significant contribution of occurrence of acute infections with fever as a predictor for improvement in chronic inflammatory disease. CONCLUSIONS: Classical homeopathic clinical observations indicate an association between chronic inflammatory status in the body and the ability to mount efficient acute inflammation. In this case-control study, the occurrence of common infections with fever during treatment heralded improvement in chronic inflammatory disease. Further powered studies are necessary to substantiate this finding.

Individualised Homeopathic Therapy in ANCA Negative Rapidly Progressive Necrotising Crescentic Glomerulonephritis with Severe Renal Insufficiency - A Case Report.

Anti-Neutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody (ANCA)-negative Rapidly Progressive Glomerulonephritis (RPGN) is a severe form of autoimmune renal injury with a bleak prognosis. A 60-year-old Indian woman was treated with classical homeopathy for ANCA-negative RPGN, and after one year of treatment, serum creatinine and other parameters indicating renal injury dropped steadily despite the withdrawal of immunosuppressive drugs; renal dialysis, which was conducted twice a week initially, was made rarer and stopped after one year. Classical homeopathy may be considered a potential therapeutic modality in severe pathologies. Controlled studies are required to establish further the extent to which classical homeopathy may relieve patients from procedures such as dialysis that cause considerable physical and economic discomfort.

Heterotopic ossification in a 7-year-old female patient treated with individualized homeopathy: A case report.

Classical homeopathy can be included among the treatment options for congenital heterotopic ossification.

Homeopathic Treatment of Vitiligo: A Report of Fourteen Cases.

BACKGROUND Vitiligo, also known as leukoderma, is an autoimmune skin condition that results in the loss of melanin pigment. Vitiligo is not a rare condition but is difficult to treat and is associated with psychological distress. CASE REPORT A series of 14 cases of vitiligo are presented that were treated with individualized homeopathic remedies that were based on plant, animal, or mineral compounds. There were 13 women and one man in the case series, with a mean age 29.8 years, and a mean follow-up from treatment of 58 months. The mean time between the onset of the appearance of vitiligo and the first consultation at our clinic was 96 months. Homeopathic treatment for patients is holistic and was performed on an individualized basis as described in this case series. Photographic images of the skin are presented before and after treatment. CONCLUSIONS In 14 patients with vitiligo treated with individualized homeopathy, the best results were achieved in the patients who were treated in the early stages of the disease. We believe that homeopathy may be effective in the early stages of vitiligo, but large controlled clinical studies are needed in this area.

[The effect of ankle position on intracompartmental pressures of the leg]. / Ayak bilegi pozisyonunun bacakta kompartman içi basinca etkisi.

OBJECTIVES: We investigated differences in the intracompartmental pressures (ICP) of the leg in relation to various positions of the ankle joint in patients with chronic exertional compartment syndrome (CECS). METHODS: The study included 16 patients (10 males, 6 females; mean age 30+/-9 years, range 16 to 48 years) actively involved in various sports. Intracompartmental pressures were monitored with the use of slit catheters connected to a pressure transducer in 28 anterior and 14 deep posterior compartments before and after exercise during the following positions of the ankle joint: relaxed-resting, passive plantar flexion, neutral, and passive dorsiflexion. Alterations in ICP were assessed with reference to that measured in the relaxed-resting position of the ankle. RESULTS: Significant increases in ICP were observed in both anterior and deep posterior compartments during dorsiflexion of the ankle, being 9.1+/-10.6 mmHg (p=0.0001) and 8+/-10.3 mmHg (p=0.001) in the anterior compartment, and 6.4+/-4.4 mmHg (p=0.0001) and 7.2+/-4.3 mmHg (p=0.001) in the deep posterior compartment before and after exercise, respectively. No significant increases were found in other positions of the ankle (p>0.05). While the lowest values of ICP were noted in the relaxed-resting position, plantar flexion of the ankle was associated with decreased ICP pressures. CONCLUSION: Dorsiflexion of the ankle increases ICP significantly in both anterior and deep posterior compartments. The results of this study may have clinical implications for the conservative management of both CECS and tibial fractures.

Intrapelvic migration of a guide pin during fixation of a hip fracture: who and what is to blame?

The authors report the case of a 61-year-old patient who underwent internal fixation with a dynamic hip screw for a stable intertrochanteric fracture of the right hip. The immediate postoperative radiograph showed complete intrapelvic migration of the threaded guide pin, which has gone unnoticed during operation. The pin was removed by laparotomy, and was found to have damaged no pelvic viscera; the patient made an uneventful recovery. The authors analyse the mechanism of such iatrogenic complications and the possible means to avoid them.