Deutsche medizinische Wochenschrift
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Dtsch. Med. Wochenschr. · Dec 2019
Historical Article[Maurice Raynaud (1834-1881) and the Mystery of "Raynaud's Phanomenon"].
Maurice Raynaud first described color changes and symptoms of the fingers due to cold-induced vasospasm and restricted blood flow in his medical school thesis in 1862. Raynaud's phenomenon is common and exists as an uncomplicated primary Raynaud phenomenon and a Raynaud phenomenon secondary to underlying diseases and medication. Mechanisms contributing to altered vasoconstrictor activity are endothelial and not-endothelial. Cold-induced vasospasm is probably a thermoregulatory problem and effects are mediated by sympathetic activity and selective stimulation of alpha2c-adrenoreceptors.
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Dtsch. Med. Wochenschr. · Dec 2019
[Toxicity of quinolone antibiotics - new untoward effects and reevaluation of known side effects].
Quinolones have recently been reevaluated based on new possible side effects and new risk assessments of known side effects. Several of the recently reported untoward effects are not new to the class, and they are very rare compared with the relatively common neuropsychiatric adverse events. ⋯ Consequences were safety alerts in the USA and in European countries with recommendations that the use of the marketed fluoroquinolone antibiotics should be restricted and other antibacterial medicines be preferred if possible. The prophylactic use should be abandoned (travellers' diarrhea and prevention of relapsing cystitis) or critically reevaluated and individualized (prevention of neutropenic fever and of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis).
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Dtsch. Med. Wochenschr. · Dec 2019
[Good Against Christmas Mood - Cultural Studies' Readings of a Festival].
Christmas is a celebration with a strong social radiance. It is a vehicle for political positions and debates and thus shows itself to be a controversial cosmos of significance. ⋯ But Christmas is not only unifying, it is also exclusive and creates cultural differences. The aim of the text is to look at the festival in its historical genesis and to critically illuminate Christmas as an ambivalent social phenomenon.
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IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is an entity first described less than 20 years ago, characterized by tumorous swelling of affected organs. Differentiation from malignant disease, systemic infections and other systemic autoimmune diseases can be challenging. Typical histopathologic findings facilitate a diagnosis in a compatible clinical context. ⋯ Medical treatment usually consists of glucocorticoids, which may be combined with other immunosuppressives. Surgical or interventional treatment may be necessary if complications arise. Since high-quality evidence is lacking for most aspects of the management of IgG4-RD, international collaborative studies are urgently needed.