Brief history of medicine in Slovenia.

Slovenes have lived in the territory of today's Slovenia for more than 14 centuries, whilst the history of its medical culture goes back for 2000 years. The advent of Christianity in Slovenia in the eighth century AD marked an important turning point in the development of its medicine. The 500 years of the Habsburg monarchy was later to have a further impact on the development of new medical ideas. During the Renaissance, the names of the Slovene doctors Mattioli, Paracelsus, Scopoli and Hacquet, who worked among Slovenians, were to become known all over Europe. Others of Slovene origin were Perlach, Santorio, Gerbezius, Carbonarius, Plenciz, and Sagar, whose work influenced European medical culture, especially in German speaking countries. However their Slovene nationality was not acknowledged until the second half of the 19th century.

13-cis-retinoic acid and bone density.

BACKGROUND: 13-Cis-retinoic acid has an influence on bone in patients on long-term treatment as well as on short-term treatment. The presence of skeletal abnormalities after the treatment was established by roentgenologic and scintigraphic examinations. We wanted to know whether a 6-month course of low-dose 13-cis-retinoic acid has a clinically important influence on bone density in men with severe acne. METHODS: We examined 15 men with severe acne before and after treatment with 13-cis-retinoic acid by dual-photon absorptiometry of the lumbar spine. RESULTS: The mean increase in bone density was 3.0% (95% confidence interval 1.3-4.5), which is normal for the period from puberty to late twenties. Bone density increased in 13 of our 15 patients. CONCLUSIONS: As shown by this highly sensitive modern densitometric method, 13-cis-retinoic acid has no clinically important influence on bone density in male patients with severe acne.

[Clinical application of beta-blockers with particular reference to hypertension]. / Klinicka primena beta-blokatora sa posebnim osvrtom na lecenje hipertenzije.

Beta-blockers are effective in reducing the blood pressure of many patients with systemic hypertension. They differ in terms of the presence or absence of partial agonistic activity, membrane-stabilizing activity, beta-1 selectivity, alfa-blocking properties and relative potency and duration of action. All beta-blockers appear to have blood pressure lowering effects. The choice of beta-blocker in individual patient is determined by the pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic differences between the drugs in conjunction with the patient's other medical conditions. This review discusses the practical use of beta-blockers and provides rational suggestions for these drugs to be used in various clinical situations.

Antihypertensive effect of indapamide given in conjunction with captopril in severe hypertension.

The efficacy of captopril alone or in combination with indapamide was evaluated in 17 patients with severe hypertension (diastolic greater than 120 mmHg) previously treated with triple antihypertensive therapy, i.e. diuretic, beta-blocker and a vasodilator. After a wash-out period of 1 week, captopril was given initially as 75 mg/day for 2 weeks; at the end of this period, the dosage was doubled to 150 mg/day and continued at this level for a further 2 weeks. Indapamide (2.5 mg/day) was then added to the regimen and administered for 1 month. The results showed that captopril alone lowered, but did not normalize the blood pressure. The mean diastolic pressure was reduced to 117 and 103.8 mmHg after dosages of captopril of 75 mg and 150 mg, respectively. On the addition of indapamide, the blood pressure was normalized to 93.82 mmHg mean diastolic pressure. Systolic readings were similarly reduced. Two patients developed skin rashes while on captopril alone: no other treatment-related side-effects were reported once indapamide therapy had commenced.