Art is long, life is short. Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828), the suffering artist.

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes is one of the major figures of European art. From royal portraits to bizarre, grotesque illustrations, his legacy demonstrates a tortured genius, generating some of the most compelling art ever produced. His story is also the story of Spain during one of the most tumultuous passages of its history. In the winter of 1792-93, Goya experienced a mysterious illness resulting in lifelong deafness. After that, his work became more negative, with thick, bold strokes of dark colour. Scholars have suggested various diagnoses on the basis of Master's symptoms, but the exact nature of the illness has never been identified.

Effects of quinine on gastric ulcer healing in Wistar rats.

Background Quinine (QT) is an important anti-malarial drug; however, there is little information about its effects on the gut. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects of a therapeutic dose of QT on the healing of gastric ulcer in rats. Methods Male Wistar rats weighing 150-200 g were divided into three groups: control rats without ulcer (group 1), ulcerated rats treated with 1 mL/kg (p.o.) normal saline (NS) (group 2), and ulcerated rats treated with 10 mg/kg (p.o.) QT (group 3). Ulcers were induced by serosal application of 80 % acetic acid to the stomach of rats anaesthetized with 50 mg/kg thiopentone sodium and treatment was given three times daily. Healing was assessed on days 3, 7 and 10 after ulcer induction by macroscopic measurement of: ulcer area, histology, lipid peroxidation, superoxide dismutase activity and gastric mucus secretion. Results At day 3, there was no significant difference (p>0.05) in ulcer areas between NS- and QT-treated rats. By day 10, however, the percentage area healed in NS treated (59.6±2.35 %) was significantly higher (p<0.05) than in QT rats (49.0±2.20 %) and clearing of inflammatory cells and re-epithelization was greater in NS-treated group. By days 7 and 10, lipid peroxidation was significantly higher in QT animals, when compared with NS-treated rats and controls (p<0.05). Superoxide dismutase activity and mucus secretion were significantly (p<0.05) higher in NS-treated than QT-treated rats. Conclusions QT delayed ulcer healing by prolonging the inflammatory phase of healing, increasing oxidative stress, reducing antioxidant activity and gastric mucus secretion.

Voto de un ministro togado de la Audiencia de Quito / Vote of a minister magistrate of the Hearing of Quito

Contiene la edición facsimilar de un documento escrito por Eugenio Espejo sobre si es conveniente o no el uso terapéutico de la quina. Presenta también el facsímil del proyecto para la estanco de la quina y una carta de José Celestino Mutis a Espejo acerca del tema...