British medical journal
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A close examination of the hands of people depicted in paintings of the Flemish school showed that in five paintings there were figures with hand lesions resembling those of rhematoid arthritis. Although none of the deformities or swellings are indisputable examples of rheumatoid arthritis, they do at least suggest that the painters must have been confronted with rheumatoid-like lesions in their models. ⋯ No arthritic lesions were found in the works of painters of the Italian Renaissance, probably because they are less detailed. The finding of rheumatoid deformities in the Flemish paintings does, however, question the general belief that rheumatoid arthritis is a condition that has arisen relatively recently.
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British medical journal · Mar 1977
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialCholestyramine in uraemic pruritus.
In a patient with longstanding severe uraemic pruritus who was undergoing chronic haemodialysis cholestyramine caused the pruritus to disappear completely within a few days. A four-week randomised controlled double-blind study was therefore performed in 10 other patients with uraemic pruritus who were on chronic haemodialysis. The pruritus improved considerably in four of the five treated patients, whereas only one of those treated with placebo experienced relief. ⋯ One of the five patients receiving cholestyramine experienced mild and easily reversible constipation, and another suffered nausea. Neither of these complications prevented the patients from continuing treatment. Cholestyramine seems to be useful in treating uraemic pruritus, although it is not known how it acts.