Srp Ark Celok Lek
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Historical Article
[Epilepsy, eponyms and patron saints (history of Western civilization)].
From a historic point of view, epilepsy and its eponyms were in an ontogenetic symbiosis throughout their history. Epilepsy is a disease with a history of eponyms presenting the frame of mind of both streetwise as well as skilled "authors" about its origin and nature. From ancient times the names for epilepsy, archetypal Hippocratic disease, just as rich in number as varied in their implication, reflected the local folkways of thinking. ⋯ It is worthy noting that already in the XIV century Serbs had their medical literature translated to their own language, and were the only one of all Slavic peoples that did so. Nevertheless, both apocryphal and canonical, as well as consecrated medicine were based on magic, astrology and occultism. The magic formulas used in Middle Age Serbia for the cure of epileptics as well as sick in general, were basically irrational; still, as a trace of its descension they contained unintelligible words of the eastern origin (Greek, Persian or Jewish). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED)
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Intensity and severity of radiation-induced nausea and emesis depend on a number of factors including irradiation site, irradiation dose, treatment field (width and length), and age of the patients. Although less intensive than that induced by chemotherapy, during protracted courses of fractionated radiotherapy discomfort can be substantial. As early as 1953, Court-Brown [2] described characteristic symptoms after a single-fraction radiotherapy as "acute irradiation syndrome": irradiation was followed by asymptomatic period of 40-90 minutes, after that the patient experienced an acute episode of emesis, usually without preceding nausea. After a period of relative stabilization, additional episodes of emesis occurred for six hours after irradiation, decreasing its intensity with time. Danjoux et al. [5] noted a higher incidence of radiation-induced emesis after the upper half-body irradiation (UHBI) than after the lower half-body irradiation (LHBI), lack of efficacy of antiemetics administered, and similar response to emesis after the lower or the upper half-body irradiation. These results suggested that critical area was the upper abdomen. Although the exact mechanism of occurrence of radiation-induced emesis is still unknown, recent studies revealed that serotonin released from the gastrointestinal tract also produced emesis through mechanisms of involvement of 5-hydroxytriptamines (5-HT3) receptors, visceral afferent fibers and chemoreceptor trigger zone. We have, therefore, used a new 5-HT3 antagonist, ondansetron, in prevention of radiation-induced emesis in patients treated with single-fraction radiotherapy. ⋯ The results of this pilot study showed the excellent effect of the new 5-HT3 antagonist, ondansteron, in prevention of radiation-induced nausea and emesis. They confirmed results of the other authors [9, 10, 11] that used this antiemetic in the control of radiation-induced emesis. These studies included a variety of radiotherapeutic time-dose fractionation schedules, and some of them [11] included results of the total body irradiation. (ABSTRACT TRUN