From Praising the Remedy to Eulogising the Patient: Cristóbal de Castillejo's Satire of Guaiac in Early Modern Spain.

The article examines the contemporary satiric treatment of a new transatlantic drug, guaiac, in a sixteenth-century poem by the Castilian writer Cristóbal de Castillejo, entitled En alabança del palo de las Indias, estando en la cura dél (In Praise of the Wood of the Indies, being under its treatment). The article contributes to the body of scholarship on the history of medicine in general and the history of herbal medicine in particular. The investigation of the poem embraces historical contextualisation, early modern rhetoric and classical reception. The article demonstrates the two-way relationship between early modern satire and medicine, arguing that the special significance of satiric productions that engage with medical themes lies in the inventive combination of the literary reality and empirical reality.

A Comprehensive Review of Monoclonal Antibodies in Modern Medicine: Tracing the Evolution of a Revolutionary Therapeutic Approach.

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have emerged as potent therapeutic agents, revolutionizing the landscape of modern medicine. This comprehensive review traces the evolution of mAbs from their inception to their current prominence, highlighting key milestones in their development and exploring their diverse therapeutic applications. Beginning with an overview of their molecular structure and mechanisms of action, we delve into the production and engineering of mAbs, including hybridoma technology and recombinant DNA techniques. Therapeutic applications across various medical disciplines, including cancer treatment, autoimmune diseases, and infectious diseases, are examined in detail, showcasing the significant clinical successes of mAbs. Furthermore, this review discusses the challenges and opportunities in manufacturing scalability, cost-effectiveness, and access to therapies. Looking ahead, the implications of mAbs in future research and clinical practice are explored, emphasizing the potential for next-generation mAbs, personalized medicine, and integration with emerging modalities such as immunotherapy and gene therapy. In conclusion, the evolution of monoclonal antibodies underscores their transformative impact on healthcare and their continued promise to advance the frontiers of medicine.

[The attitude of foreign students to healthy life-style and confidence to modern medicine as exemplified by students of Kursk].

The article investigates attitude of foreign students to health and a healthy lifestyle. The main practices of maintenance of health and healthy lifestyle are analyzed. The opinions of foreign students related to their health and their modes of dealing with stress in new social cultural conditions are considered. The results of sociological survey carried out in January 2024 covering students of the Kursk State Medical University - foreign students who arrived to receive higher education were chosen as the analysis base. The study established that foreign students more often associate healthy lifestyle with maintenance of mental health, healthy diet and domestic hygiene. At that, considering medicine and physician visits, percentage of respondents attributing these aspects to healthy lifestyle and themselves applying to medical workers is far lower than those giving up bad habits and maintain hygiene. The conclusion is made that it is necessary to increase awareness of foreign students about their rights to receive qualified medical care that will serve as factor increasing confidence in medical institutions and physicians.

Possible opportunities and challenges for traditional Chinese medicine research in 2035.

The drug development process is poised for significant transformation due to the rapid advancement of modern biological and information technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI). As these new technologies and concepts infiltrate every stage of drug development, the efficiency and success rate of research and development are expected to improve substantially. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), a time-honored therapeutic system encompassing herbal medicine, acupuncture, and qigong, will also be profoundly impacted by these advancements. Over the next decade, Traditional Chinese medicine research will encounter both opportunities and challenges as it integrates with modern technologies and concepts. By 2035, TCM is anticipated to merge with modern medicine through a more contemporary and open research and development model, providing substantial support for treating a broader spectrum of diseases.

Application of Artificial Intelligence in Shoulder Pathology.

Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the science and engineering of creating intelligent machines for imitating and expanding human intelligence. Given the ongoing evolution of the multidisciplinary integration trend in modern medicine, numerous studies have investigated the power of AI to address orthopedic-specific problems. One particular area of investigation focuses on shoulder pathology, which is a range of disorders or abnormalities of the shoulder joint, causing pain, inflammation, stiffness, weakness, and reduced range of motion. There has not yet been a comprehensive review of the recent advancements in this field. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to evaluate current AI applications in shoulder pathology. This review mainly summarizes several crucial stages of the clinical practice, including predictive models and prognosis, diagnosis, treatment, and physical therapy. In addition, the challenges and future development of AI technology are also discussed.

Differences and common ground in the frameworks of health-related quality of life in traditional Chinese medicine and modern medicine: a systematic review.

PURPOSE: This systematic review aims to explore the conceptualization of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in China. With HRQoL influenced by both modern medicine (MM) and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the study seeks to identify differences and common ground between the frameworks of MM and TCM as defined in the literature. METHOD: A systematic literature search was conducted across three Chinese databases and four English databases. The data was extracted including title, author(s), publication year, region, aim, method, category, and result. When sorting data, we broke down the HRQoL frameworks into concepts, domains and facets, with a focus on overlapped facets between the frameworks of MM and TCM. RESULTS: A total of 31 studies were included. In the perspective of TCM, HRQoL is centered around three key 'concepts': (1) 'xingshentongyi' (unity of body and spirit), (2) 'tianrenheyi' (harmony between man and nature), and (3) 'qiqing' (seven emotional forms). In contrast, the MM framework comprises 'physical,' 'mental,' 'social,' and 'environment' domains. Out of the 59 unique facets identified, 28 are common to both TCM and MM, 9 specific to TCM, and 22 specific to MM. 'Appetite,' 'sleep,' and 'energy' are the most frequently mentioned facets in both frameworks. CONCLUSION: The concept of HRQoL in China encompasses frameworks rooted in both TCM and MM. While TCM and MM have distinct healthcare approaches, they share overlapping domains when measuring HRQoL through questionnaires. Furthermore, TCM and MM demonstrate considerable convergence in terms of HRQoL facets, showing the potential for utilizing HRQoL instruments across different cultural settings.

Research progress in the treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome through interventions targeting the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis.

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) causes great harm to individuals and society. Elucidating the pathogenesis of CFS and developing safe and effective treatments are urgently needed. This paper reviews the functional changes in the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in patients with CFS and the associated neuroendocrine mechanisms. Despite some controversy, the current mainstream research evidence indicates that CFS patients have mild hypocortisolism, weakened daily variation in cortisol, a weakened response to the HPA axis, and an increase in negative feedback of the HPA axis. The relationship between dysfunction of the HPA axis and the typical symptoms of CFS are discussed, and the current treatment methods are reviewed.

The definition of life and death from the view of Avicenna and modern medicine.

By a comparison between the definition of life and death in Modern Medicine and Avicenna's view, it is perceived that each of them has looked at the above concepts from their special perspective. The topic of Avicenna's view is the being of life and the topic of Modern Medicine is the origin, appearance, and impressions of life. In his philosophical and medical works, Avicenna described the separation of the soul from the body as the ultimate reason for ceasing life. On the other, with the accepted medical standards, death is attributed to the organs in the human body and relies on the function or lack of function in the body's organs. Despite the differences between these two fields of knowledge, there can be collaboration between science and philosophy to achieve significant results in this regard to make useful contributions to the clarification of the concept of life and death. The findings of the study demonstrate that although the question of life and death is investigated in Avicenna's philosophy as a transcendental issue and in modern medicine as a material one, a general-specific relationship can be made between science and philosophy in defining the concept of life and death in the natural world domain.

Artificial Intelligence in Scoliosis: Current Applications and Future Directions.

Scoliosis is a three-dimensional deformity of lateral bending and rotation of the spine. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a set of theories and techniques for studying artificial intelligence, which realizes machine intelligence by simulating and expanding human intelligence. With the continuous development of the multidisciplinary integration trend of modern medicine, artificial intelligence is used more and more in the diagnosis and treatment of scoliosis. Artificial intelligence has been widely used in the study of scoliosis and has penetrated into all fields of clinical practice of scoliosis. At present, artificial intelligence has shown good application prospects in early screening, diagnosis, treatment decision making, intraoperative operation, and prognosis prediction of scoliosis. This paper mainly summarizes the application of artificial intelligence in the clinical practice of scoliosis, and briefly introduces the AI model and its specific applications. In addition, this paper also discusses the limitations and future development of artificial intelligence. In the future, artificial intelligence will bring greater convenience to the diagnosis and treatment of scoliosis and provide better therapeutic effects for patients.

Towards a transactional medicine approach to combating global emerging pathogens: the case of COVID-19.

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck and China reported the first case to the World Health Organization in December 2019, there was no evidence-based treatment to combat it. With the catastrophic situation that followed, materialised by a considerable number of deaths, researchers, doctors, traditional healers, and governments of all nations committed themselves to find therapeutic solutions, including preventive and curative. There are effective treatments offered both by modern medicine and traditional medicine for COVID-19 today. However, other therapeutic proposals have not been approved due to the lack of effectiveness and scientific rigour during their development process. Proponents of modern medicine prefer biomedical therapies while in some countries, traditional treatments are used regularly because of their availability, affordability and satisfaction they bring to the population. In this paper, we propose a transactional medicine approach where the interaction between traditional and modern medicine produces a change. With this approach, the promoters of traditional medicine and those of modern medicine will be able to acquire knowledge through the experience produced by their encounters. Transactional medicine aims to be a model for decolonising medicine and recognising the value of both traditional and modern medicine in the fight against COVID-19 and other global emerging pathogens.

Reimagining Healthcare: Unleashing the Power of Artificial Intelligence in Medicine.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has opened new medical avenues and revolutionized diagnostic and therapeutic practices, allowing healthcare providers to overcome significant challenges associated with cost, disease management, accessibility, and treatment optimization. Prominent AI technologies such as machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) have immensely influenced diagnostics, patient monitoring, novel pharmaceutical discoveries, drug development, and telemedicine. Significant innovations and improvements in disease identification and early intervention have been made using AI-generated algorithms for clinical decision support systems and disease prediction models. AI has remarkably impacted clinical drug trials by amplifying research into drug efficacy, adverse events, and candidate molecular design. AI's precision and analysis regarding patients' genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors have led to individualized treatment strategies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, AI-assisted telemedicine set a precedent for remote healthcare delivery and patient follow-up. Moreover, AI-generated applications and wearable devices have allowed ambulatory monitoring of vital signs. However, apart from being immensely transformative, AI's contribution to healthcare is subject to ethical and regulatory concerns. AI-backed data protection and algorithm transparency should be strictly adherent to ethical principles. Vigorous governance frameworks should be in place before incorporating AI in mental health interventions through AI-operated chatbots, medical education enhancements, and virtual reality-based training. The role of AI in medical decision-making has certain limitations, necessitating the importance of hands-on experience. Therefore, reaching an optimal balance between AI's capabilities and ethical considerations to ensure impartial and neutral performance in healthcare applications is crucial. This narrative review focuses on AI's impact on healthcare and the importance of ethical and balanced incorporation to make use of its full potential.

The Importance of Safely Prescribing Hormones in the Transgender Community.

The transgender community is rapidly growing, necessitating further education and understanding of their unique healthcare needs. Gender affirmation is a multistep process, which generally begins with transgender individuals socially transitioning by adopting a new name, pronouns, and appearance changes, such as hair and clothing, to express themselves. Additional gender affirmation treatment can be achieved through medical therapy with hormones and surgical intervention. Here, we report the case of an 18-year-old transgender man who presented to his primary care provider for a referral to initiate a medical transition with testosterone therapy. The patient practiced penetrative vaginal sex without contraception. The patient presented to the clinic eight months later with amenorrhea, thick coarse facial and body hair, oily skin, irritable moods, and a 20-lb weight gain. A pregnancy test revealed a positive result. A healthy baby girl was delivered at 40 weeks' gestation. This case demonstrates the importance of addressing contraception during the masculinization process in individuals who continue to practice vaginal intercourse. Healthcare providers should seek to establish a clinical environment free of discrimination and stigma to allow patients to feel comfortable describing potential triggers of gender dysphoria. We encourage medical practitioners to discuss all methods of birth control with transgender male patients and choose the contraceptive that best allows for a seamless medical transition.

From the West to the East: an evidence-based educational reform for modern medical students in traditional Chinese medicine learning.

Introduction: Generally, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) courses are now given to modern medicine students without proper course scheduling, resulting in poor teaching results. Methods: To analyze the main factors affecting TCM learning, we surveyed the medical students and TCM teachers from Xiangya School of Medicine of Central South University via online questionnaires. The questionnaire comprised two parts, the students' part included the basic information, the subjective cognition in TCM, the attitude toward TCM course arrangements, and the attitude toward curriculum content and the design of TCM. The teachers' part included the basic information, the attitudes and opinions on TCM course arrangements, and suggestions and views on TCM teaching reform. The related data were collected from 187 medical students divided into two groups, namely, clinical medical students and non-clinical medical students. Results: We found a more positive attitude toward TCM [including "Scientific nature of TCM" (P = 0.03) and "Necessity for modern medicine students to learn TCM" (P = 0.037)] in clinical medical students compared with non-clinical medical students, clinical and non-clinical medical students tended to find TCM courses difficult, and the students prefer clinical training to be better than theoretical teaching, while the teachers believe that lecture-based education should have a more significant proportion. Discussion: Hence, to optimize the current TCM teaching, we conducted education reform, including differentiated teaching, hybrid teaching, and selective teaching.

Drugs for treating myocardial fibrosis.

Myocardial fibrosis, which is a common pathological manifestation of many cardiovascular diseases, is characterized by excessive proliferation, collagen deposition and abnormal distribution of extracellular matrix fibroblasts. In clinical practice, modern medicines, such as diuretic and ß receptor blockers, and traditional Chinese medicines, such as salvia miltiorrhiza and safflower extract, have certain therapeutic effects on myocardial fibrosis. We reviewed some representative modern medicines and traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) and their related molecular mechanisms for the treatment of myocardial fibrosis. These drugs alleviate myocardial fibrosis by affecting related signaling pathways and inhibiting myocardial fibrosis-related protein synthesis. This review will provide more references and help for the research and treatment of myocardial fibrosis.

Research progress on the treatment of epilepsy with traditional Chinese medicine.

BACKGROUND: Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) system is a medical system that has been expanding for thousands of years that was formed by the extensive clinical practice experience of many physicians and the accumulation of personal medication habits in China. In TCM, there is a history of long-term medication for epilepsy, the main treatment for epilepsy is TCM drugs and its prescription, supplemented by TCM modalities such as acupuncture therapy, moxibustion therapy, tuina, emotion adjustment therapy, etc. PURPOSE: With the modernization of TCM, the active ingredients and molecular mechanisms of TCM for epilepsy treatment have been gradually revealed. This review aimed to comprehensively summarize the TCM treatment of epilepsy, focusing on the current TCM drugs and some TCM formulae for the treatment of epilepsy, and to discuss the research progress of TCM for the treatment of epilepsy, and to provide a reference to develop future related studies in this field. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The mechanism of action of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) was interpreted from different perspectives by searching online databases and querying various materials identify drugs used in both modern medicine and TCM systems for the treatment of epilepsy. We collected all relevant TCM for epilepsy literature published in the last 30 years up to December 2022 from electronic databases such as PubMed, CNKI and Web of Science, and statistically analyzed the literature for the following keyword information. The search terms comprise the keywords "TCM", "phytochemistry", "pharmacological activity", "epilepsy" and "traditional application" as a combination. Scientific plant names were provided by "The Plant List" (www.theplantlist.org). RESULTS: Epilepsy is a complex and serious disease of the brain and nervous system. At present, the treatment of epilepsy in modern medicine is mainly surgery and chemotherapy, but there are many serious side effects. By summarizing the treatment of epilepsy in TCM, it is found that there are various methods to treat epilepsy in TCM, mainly TCM drugs and its formulae. Many TCM drugs have antiepileptic effects. Now found that the main effective TCM drugs for the treatment of epilepsy are Curcumae Longae Rhizoma, Scorpio, Acori Tatarinowii Rhizoma, Uncariae Ramulus Cum Uncis and Ganoderma, etc. And the main compounds that play a role in the treatment of epilepsy are curcumin, gastrodin, ligustrazine, baicalin and rhynchophylline, etc. These TCM drugs have played an important role in the treatment of epilepsy in TCM clinic. However, the chemically active components of these TCM drugs are diverse and their mechanisms of action are complex, which are not fully understood and need to be further explored. CONCLUSIONS: TCM treats epilepsy in a variety of ways, and with the discovery of a variety of potential bioactive substances for treatment of epilepsy. With the new progress in the research of other TCM treatment methods for epilepsy, TCM will have greater potential in the clinical application of epilepsy.

Locked Within.

Description In this work, Locked Within, I examine my relationship with Western and alternative medicines, exploring how both areas can provide holistic treatment when used together. Seen here through the medium of photography, my illness relates to common experiences in Western medical care. Through images that consider themes of time, choice, faith, the effects of illness, the medical gaze, and health as a commodity, this series provides commentary on medical experiences and the influence of the American healthcare system. With a nod toward scientific documentation, this photographic study documents my journey toward health. The element of typology in my work forms a narrative account of a journey through different medicines to find the ideal state of healthiness. By considering each medicine, I gain a new understanding of myself.

Factors affecting the intention of Iranian rural women to use medicinal herbs.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to identify factors affecting the behavioral intention of Iranian rural women to use medicinal herbs. The research model was developed by integrating "dissatisfaction with modern medicine" into the "theory of planned behavior". METHODS: Data were collected through questionnaire from a sample of 260 Iranian rural women, which were randomly selected. The validity and reliability of the scale were confirmed using expert opinions and Cronbach's alpha method, respectively. RESULTS: Based on the results of structural equation modeling, attitude (ß = 0.44; p < 0.01), subjective norms (ß = 0.27; p < 0.01) and dissatisfaction with modern medicine (ß = 0.11; p < 0.05) had significant positive effects on rural women's intention to use medicinal herbs. In addition, subjective norms indirectly affected rural women's intention to use medicinal herbs through attitude (ß = 0.23; p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Subjective norms was a key factor in determining the intention of Iranian rural women to use medicinal herbs, followed by attitude and dissatisfaction with modern medicine. Therefore, this study could contribute to our understanding on how the intention of Iranian rural women to use medicinal herbs was influenced by different factors.

John Buchan's race through life, chased by his only foe-illness.

This article examines John Buchan's experience of gastric illness, dyspepsia and duodenal ulcers within the medical context of his life during the first half of the twentieth century. In tracing some of the different and changing approaches to gastric illness over the intervening decades, it compares the medical knowledge and practices of that period with medical knowledge and treatment today. The article's low key empirical intersectional examination, too, touches on both ethics and justice. Its importance lies not only in its discussion on past and present medicine, but also in its scrutiny of Buchan's extraordinarily dutiful approach to his active and varied careers, often marred for him by sudden onsets of illness. Buchan's coping mechanisms, including mental and physical endurance, are spotlighted in his life and in some of his works, frequently written when he was in pain, or recuperating from illness. Both his fiction and non-fiction had multiple purposes: to support his extended family; to help his country; to help his fellow countrymen escape into adventure during war; and to help himself escape from pain.

A review on the phytochemical composition and health applications of honey.

Background: Though honey has long been used as medicine, there is a scarcity of knowledge on how it interacts with the body. Scope and approach: While different types of honey have different chemical and medicinal properties according to their origin, this narrative review seeks to analyse the current knowledge on the chemical composition and therapeutic use of honey. With numerous chemical components, honey has a range of health benefits in multiple disciplines of medicine, and provides an interesting prospect in chemical analysis with regards to identification of its origin. Key findings and conclusions: There is a great potential for the use of honey in medicine, primarily due to its antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. Recent studies on the phenolic and enzymatic components of honey have made honey's therapeutic method of action in relation to the above properties clearer, still more research needs to be conducted and more innovations need to be tested, for the full potential of honey to be understood.