Deutsche medizinische Wochenschrift
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Dtsch. Med. Wochenschr. · Dec 2021
Historical Article[Kurt Huldschinsky: A pioneer in the struggle against rickets].
Kurt Huldschinsky (1883-1940) was a German pediatrician who was one of the international leaders in the field of rickets research between the two world wars. After his medical studies, he served at the Kaiserin-Auguste-Victoria-Haus in Berlin and at the University Children's Hospital in Vienna, among other places. After World War I, he worked with the famous orthopedist Konrad Biesalski at the Oskar-Helene-Heim for the healing and education of frail children in Berlin. ⋯ As a Jew, however, he had to flee Germany from the National Socialists in 1933/34. Together with his wife and daughter, he emigrated to Egypt, where he died in Alexandria on October 31, 1940. As Huldschinsky was for many decades almost forgotten, this article recalls the life and work of a meritorious physician and scientist.
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The importance of height for mortality and life expectancy is a matter of controversy. The data on this in different countries vary depending on ethnicity, socio-economic and other factors such as age at the time of the study. ⋯ A recent Dutch study shows a negative correlation between height and life expectancy in older women. Gender-specific differences in hemodynamics depending on body size or aortic length play a decisive role alongside age at the time of the examination.
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The climate crisis and its consequences represent the greatest challenge facing human health and health care system in the 21st century. It threatens to undermine the last decades of health gains. Rising temperatures, fires, floods and droughts can directly and indirectly cause human pathologies, that are physical and mental. ⋯ Health sector has the central responsibility as the fifth-largest greenhouse gas emitter to transform in a climate-neutral and sustainable way, e. g. by efficient use of resources. Further education and training in this area should be intensified and included in curricula for medical staff. Furthermore, medical professionals must educate patients about the burden of climate change, climate resilience, and the benefits of CO2 reduction - for human but also for planetary health.
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Dtsch. Med. Wochenschr. · Dec 2021
Historical Article[Unfairly Forgotten: Carl Ludwig: The Founder of Modern Physiology].
Cardiovascular physiology was the dominant area of research for Ludwig. He developed instruments to record hemodynamic and other physiologic events accurately, allowing him to identify previously unrecognized physiologic relationships. His classical textbook of physiology challenged traditional scientific theories and suggested new concepts. ⋯ He put scientific research and results ahead of personal recognition. He mentored his colleagues and pupils without ever putting himself or his own interests ahead of everybody else. He decided to forgo academic recognition and did not play political games.
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Because physical and psychological processes cannot be separated, there is a nexus between medicine and theology. In the early church, theologians were widely medically educated; the author of the third gospel was considered as a physician. ⋯ Pastoral care can learn from medicine to take the embodiment of the human being seriously - and medicine can let theology open up perspectives of hope for itself. Medicine and theology unite the interest in life-promoting transfigurations in the body.