[Gentle hands bring relief. Thure Brandt's massage as a contemporary document and starting aid for urology]. / Zarte Hände bringen Erleichterung. Thure-Brandt-Massage als Zeitdokument und Gründungshilfe für die Urologie.

Naturopathy and urology have little overlap in the present day, but in the Victorian era it was genital massage that made it clear to the medical profession that training specialized in diseases of the abdomen was necessary for physicians, otherwise patients would seek out lay healers and not clinics. This massage was developed in the 1850s by the Swedish officer Thure Brandt. It remained part of German medical practice until after World War II.

[Tokyo Bones Find and human experiments by the army medical school in Tokyo].

More than 100 human bones, known as the Tokyo Human Bones, were found at the previous site of the Army Medical School in Tokyo, Japan, on July 22, 1989. They were located on the northern side of the previous location of the epidemic prevention research unit of the Army Medical School, with the discovery drawing a great deal of international attention. It was suggested that these bones might be from the victims of human experiments during World War II. It was found, in 1991, by Professor Sakura Shuo in Sapporo University, that the time and location of the burial of these bones was consistent with the existence of the Army Military Medical School. Most of these bones were Chinese, Korean and Mongolian races, and they were indeed closely related to the war. At the time they had not been found to be directly related to the human experiments of the Army Medical School, but the evidence left behind on the bones did not indicate gunshot or other war wounds, but evidence of medical experiments. This incident was known as the "Tokyo Bone Incident". Based on the research data on the Tokyo Human Bones internationally in the past 30 years, in particular, the testimony from the staff of the previous Army Medical School in Tokyo and members of the previous Army Medical School in Harbin (Unit 731), it can be concluded that some relationship exists between the Tokyo Human Bones and human experiments. This suggested that the nature of research related to these human bones conducted by the Army Medical School in Tokyo was consistent with those conducted at the Army Medical School in Harbin (Unit 731).

[Kurt Huldschinsky: A pioneer in the struggle against rickets]. / Kurt Huldschinsky: Ein Vorreiter im Kampf gegen Rachitis.

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. Here he was the first to prove that exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from mercury vapor lamps ("artificial sunlight") could cure rickets in young children, which is mostly caused by vitamin D deficiency. He published his discovery in this journal - the Deutsche Medizinische Wochenschrift [German Medical Weekly] - in 1919. For this groundbreaking scientific achievement and his further research into the prevention and treatment of rickets, Huldschinsky was awarded the Otto Heubner Prize of the German Association of Pediatrics in 1926. He was even nominated for the Nobel Prize in Medicine. 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.

[The history and influence of Losheng Sanatorium in Taiwan area].

Losheng Sanatorium, as a prophylactic-therapeutic institution for isolation, treatment, rehabilitation and social control of leprosy patients, was established by the Japanese colonial government in Taiwan in 1930. Losheng Sanatorium effectively carried out the compulsory isolation of leprosy patients, under the assistance of the public medical system with the help of police and the Bao-Jia management in the Japanese colonial period in Taiwan. Losheng sanatorium imported DDS, a therapeutic drug for leprosy, popularised an outpatient treatment model of leprosy, and developed mobile medical services after the Second World War. Losheng detected and treated leprosy patients successfully through the support of special skin clinics in public hospitals and missionary hospitals after Multi-drug Therapy was introduced in Taiwan in 1984. The Department of Health, Executive Yuan of the Taiwan area in commenced administration of Losheng Sanatorium in 1999 transformed it into a community-based general hospital. Losheng sanatorium adopted different control strategies in different historical periods based on the requirements of health, epidemic prevention systems and leprology developments to achieve its goals of leprosy control. The Sanatorium provides an example to understand and further study epidemical control and public health practice in the Taiwan area.

The Power of Documentary Theatre to Promote Cross-National Understanding: Personal Impact of Performing With Their Voices Raised by Japanese and American Youth Actors.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this article is to share descriptions of the personal impact for cross-national youth actors (Japanese, American) who performed With Their Voices Raised (Voices), a documentary theater script that shares the stories of Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima survivors who lived through the bombings of December 7, 1941, and August 6, 1945, respectively. DESIGN/METHODS: This was a descriptive exploratory focus group study conducted immediately after student-actors from Funairi High School in Hiroshima (n = 15) and Farrington High School in Oahu, Hawaii (n = 8), performed Voices. Data were content analyzed by a cross-national research team to address the question "What was the personal impact of performing Voices for Japanese and American youth actors?" FINDINGS: There were three themes that crossed national boundaries: sense of power of the message from real-life people, new cross-national awareness, and moving beyond familiar history to engage and learn. The fourth theme distinguished the youth groups: for Japanese youth, performing Voices inspired an awareness of their local focus; for American youth, it enlivened youth-to-youth engagement as a learning approach. CONCLUSIONS: Documentary theater script is a creative, holistic approach with the potential to bridge divisiveness and promote cross-national understanding.

Functional neurology after the Second World War: The beginnings of neurology on screen (III).

Treatment of functional symptoms has a long history, and interventions were often used in soldiers returning from battle. On the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, I review the portrayal of neurology in documentary film. Two documentaries were released in 1946 and 1948 (Let There Be Light and Shades of Gray, respectively), which showed a number of soldiers with functional neurology including paralysis, stuttering, muteness, and amnesia. The films showed successful treatments with hypnosis and sodium amytal by psychoanalytic psychiatrists. These documentaries link neurology with psychiatry and are remarkable examples of functional neurology and its treatment on screen.

MDA, MDMA, and other "mescaline-like" substances in the US military's search for a truth drug (1940s to 1960s).

This article describes the context in which 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and other mescaline-like compounds were explored as hallucinogens for military and intelligence purposes from the 1940s to the 1960s. Germans first tested mescaline as a "truth drug" in a military context. In the 1940s, the United States military started testing hallucinogenic substances as truth drugs for interrogation and behavior manipulation. After tests carried out using mescaline and other drugs in 1950, some derivatives of mescaline were synthesized by the Army for the exploration of possible "speech-inducing" effects. After insufficient animal testing, the substances were given to patients at the New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI). 3,4-Methylenedioxy-N-ethylamphetamine (MDE), a compound almost identical to MDMA, was among the compounds delivered for testing at the NYSPI. During tests with other derivatives (3,4-dimethoxyphenethylamine (DMA), 3,4-methylenedioxyphenethylamine (MDPEA), MDA) in 1952-53, an unwitting patient died in these tests, which was kept secret from the public. Research was interrupted and toxicological animal testing procedures were initiated. The secret animal studies run in 1953/1954 revealed that some of the "mescaline derivatives" tested (e.g. MDA, MDE, DMA, 3,4,5-trimethoxyamphetamine (TMA), MDMA) were considered for further testing in humans. In 1955, the military changed focus to lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), but some interest in mescaline-like compounds remained for their ability to change mood and habit without interfering with cognition and sensory perception. Based on the known documents, it remains unclear (but probable) whether any of the mescaline derivatives tested were being used operationally.

Famine food of vegetal origin consumed in the Netherlands during World War II.

BACKGROUND: Periods of extreme food shortages during war force people to eat food that they normally do not consider edible. The last time that countries in Western Europe experienced severe scarcities was during World War II. The so-called Dutch famine or Hunger Winter (1944-1945) made at least 25,000 victims. The Dutch government took action by opening soup kitchens and providing information on wild plants and other famine food sources in "wartime cookbooks." The Dutch wartime diet has never been examined from an ethnobotanical perspective. METHODS: We interviewed 78 elderly Dutch citizens to verify what they remembered of the consumption of vegetal and fungal famine food during World War II by them and their close surroundings. We asked whether they experienced any adverse effects from consuming famine food plants and how they knew they were edible. We identified plant species mentioned during interviews by their local Dutch names and illustrated field guides and floras. We hypothesized that people living in rural areas consumed more wild species than urban people. A Welch t test was performed to verify whether the number of wild and cultivated species differed between urban and rural citizens. RESULTS: A total number of 38 emergency food species (14 cultivated and 21 wild plants, three wild fungi) were mentioned during interviews. Sugar beets, tulip bulbs, and potato peels were most frequently consumed. Regularly eaten wild species were common nettle, blackberry, and beechnuts. Almost one third of our interviewees explicitly described to have experienced extreme hunger during the war. People from rural areas listed significantly more wild species than urban people. The number of cultivated species consumed by both groups was similar. Negative effects were limited to sore throats and stomachache from the consumption of sugar beets and tulip bulbs. Knowledge on the edibility of famine food was obtained largely by oral transmission; few people remembered the written recipes in wartime cookbooks. CONCLUSION: This research shows that 71 years after the Second World War, knowledge on famine food species, once crucial for people's survival, is still present in the Dutch society. The information on famine food sources supplied by several institutions was not distributed widely. For the necessary revival of famine food knowledge during the 1940s, people needed to consult a small group of elders. Presumed toxicity was a major reason given by our participants to explain why they did not collect wild plants or mushrooms during the war.

Tailoring nutrition therapy to illness and recovery.

Without doubt, in medicine as in life, one size does not fit all. We do not administer the same drug or dose to every patient at all times, so why then would we live under the illusion that we should give the same nutrition at all times in the continuum of critical illness? We have long lived under the assumption that critical illness and trauma lead to a consistent early increase in metabolic/caloric need, the so-called "hypermetabolism" of critical illness. What if this is incorrect? Recent data indicate that early underfeeding of calories (trophic feeding) may have benefits and may require consideration in well-nourished patients. However, we must confront the reality that currently ICU nutrition delivery worldwide is actually leading to "starvation" of our patients and is likely a major contributor to poor long-term quality of life outcomes. To begin to ascertain the actual calorie and protein delivery required for optimal ICU recovery, an understanding of "starvation" and recovery from starvation and lean body mass (LBM) loss is needed. To begin to answer this question, we must look to the landmark Minnesota Starvation Study from 1945. This trial defines much of the world's knowledge about starvation, and most importantly what is required for recovery from starvation and massive LBM loss as occurs in the ICU. Recent and historic data indicate that critical illness is characterized by early massive catabolism, LBM loss, and escalating hypermetabolism that can persist for months or years. Early enteral nutrition during the acute phase should attempt to correct micronutrient/vitamin deficiencies, deliver adequate protein, and moderate nonprotein calories in well-nourished patients, as in the acute phase they are capable of generating significant endogenous energy. Post resuscitation, increasing protein (1.5-2.0 g/kg/day) and calories are needed to attenuate LBM loss and promote recovery. Malnutrition screening is essential and parenteral nutrition can be safely added following resuscitation when enteral nutrition is failing based on pre-illness malnutrition and LBM status. Following the ICU stay, significant protein/calorie delivery for months or years is required to facilitate functional and LBM recovery, with high-protein oral supplements being essential to achieve adequate nutrition.

Frenkel: ¿un precursor de la neurorrehabilitación? / Frenkel: one of the forerunners of neurorehabilitation?

El término ‘neurorrehabilitación’ es entendido como el proceso destinado a reducir la deficiencia, la limitación de la actividad y la restricción de la participación que padecen las personas como consecuencia de una enfermedad neurológica, y en el que los profesionales involucrados en dicho ámbito tendrán como objetivo la reducción del grado de afectación funcional del paciente. Debido al desconocimiento que existió en relación con la capacidad plástica que presenta el sistema nervioso humano, los orígenes científicos de la rehabilitación neurológica son relativamente recientes, y se sitúan alrededor de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Sin embargo, existen indicios de que el neurólogo Heinrich Sebastian Frenkel (1860-1931) pudo establecer las bases de la neurorrehabilitación antes de esa época. En relación con los trabajos realizados y publicados por Frenkel, existen referentes históricos que apoyarían la hipótesis de que, considerando sus metodologías de tratamiento empleadas y documentadas, lo que denominó Übungstherapie (gimnasia neurológica) podría considerarse la base de la neurorrehabilitación moderna. Estos conocimientos pudieron haberse tenido en cuenta por multitud de autores que introdujeron dichas experiencias y aprendizajes en los diversos métodos terapéuticos que surgieron con posterioridad, incluso los más novedosos y tecnológicos, si bien las raíces de la neurorrehabilitación aplicada podrían encontrarse a finales del siglo XIX (AU)

Neurorehabilitation is understood as the process intended to reduce the deficiency, limitation of activity and restriction of participation experienced by people as a result of a neurological diseases, and where the professionals involved in this field will aim to reduce the functional involvement degree of the patient. Due to the ignorance existed about the plastic capacity in the nervous system in humans, the scientific origins of neurological rehabilitation is relatively recent, which are located around the Second World War. However, there are signs that the neurologist Heinrich Sebastian Frenkel (1860-1931) was able to establish the basis of neurorehabilitation before that time. There are historical concerning regarding the work conducted and published by Frenkel that would support the hypothesis, based on the characteristics of their treatment employed and documented methodologies, that what he called ‘Übungstherapie’ (neurological gymnastic), it could be considered as the basis of what we consider today as modern neurorehabilitation. This knowledge could have been used by many authors who introduced those experiences and lessons learned to the multiple therapeutic methods that emerged after, even the most innovative and technological, while the roots of neurorehabilitation could be found at the end of the 19th century (AU)

[Disaster and reconstruction of Chinese Railways Health Career during 1937-1949].

China railways medical career expereniced serious disaster because of Japanese aggressors destorying in Anti-Japanse time. Longhai, zhegan and Xianggui Railways Bureaus carried out the ongoing struggle in the front and rear of War.After the war, state railways health career had began to recover and rebuild, General Hospital as the core of the health administration system and the main railway hospitals had been rebuilt in each railways ministry in 1949, and these were a certain degree of development, but still a gap compared with pre-war.

The influence of sense of coherence and mindfulness on PTSD symptoms and posttraumatic cognitions in a sample of elderly Austrian survivors of World War II.

BACKGROUND: Sense of Coherence (SOC) and mindfulness are known protective factors against psychopathology, also in older age. We set out to investigate the influence of SOC and mindfulness on posttraumatic symptoms and cognitions in the context of lifetime trauma in elderly persons with a history of childhood war-experiences. METHODS: Elderly Austrians (N = 97) filled in questionnaires on traumatic lifetime experiences and posttraumatic symptoms (ETI), posttraumatic cognitions (PTCI), SOC (SOC-13) and mindfulness (FFMQ). We expected the influence of SOC scores on posttraumatic symptoms and cognitions to be on one hand influenced by mindfulness. On the other hand, we expected that both aspects would uniquely explain fewer posttraumatic symptoms and cognitions. RESULTS: Participants reported various lifetime traumas (M = 2.42), including experiences during World War II (WWII) as children and adolescents. Mindfulness partially mediated the association of SOC scores with posttraumatic cognitions, but not with posttraumatic symptoms. However, in a two-stage mediation model, mindfulness significantly predicted posttraumatic symptoms via its effects on posttraumatic cognitions. CONCLUSION: Although SOC was the strongest predictor of posttraumatic symptoms, mindfulness influenced the severity of posttraumatic symptoms via its effects on posttraumatic cognitions. We discuss implications for mindfulness-based interventions on trauma-related cognitions in the elderly.

Use of Rorschach tests at the Nuremberg war crimes trial: A forgotten chapter in history of medicine.

Seventy years ago, psychiatrists and psychologists had unusual access to the Nazi leaders awaiting trial by the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg. Early leaders in the field of psychosomatic medicine were instrumental in facilitating these interviews as well as arranging for the administration of psychological testing with the Rorschach inkblot test. These observations were kept under wraps for decades and there remains controversy even now about what these Rorschachs revealed-demonic psychopaths or just morally corrupt individuals.

[Psychiatric care between World War II and "Psychiatrie-Enquête": early approaches of reformation in Württemberg]. / Psychiatrische Versorgung zwischen Zweitem Weltkrieg und Psychiatrieenquete: Frühe Reformansätze in Württemberg.

OBJECTIVE: The article describes care in a psychiatric clinic between 1946 and 1975. This happens against the background of the current psychiatry-historical literature in which this phase of psychiatric care is described often summarily with the destructive words of the report of the 'Psychiatrie-Enquête' of 1975. Improvements achieved in this time were hardly examined up to now though they contributed substantially to the later effects of the 'Psychiatrie-Enquête'. METHODS: The medical annual reports of the psychiatric clinic of Zwiefalten, today ZfP Südwürttemberg, refering to the mentioned period were sighted and evaluated concerning their contents. RESULTS: In the called period evident organizational and structural defects are deplored in the annual reports. Nevertheless, from the late 1940 s on, modern care elements appear, as for example the broadening of the range of the therapeutic offers, multiprofessional treatment, diagnosis-specific concepts for the wards, opening of stations and extensive outpatient care. CONCLUSION: It is shown that already before the appearance of the final report of the Enquête commission clear progress concerning psychiatric care was achieved.

Integrative testimonial therapy: an Internet-based, therapist-assisted therapy for German elderly survivors of the World War II with posttraumatic stress symptoms.

Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral treatments are known to be effective for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adults. However, evidence for effective treatments for older persons with PTSD, particularly elderly war trauma survivors, is scarce. In an open trial, 30 survivors of World War II aged 65 to 85 years (mean, 71.73 years; SD, 4.8; n = 17 women) with PTSD symptoms were treated with a Web-based, therapist-assisted cognitive-behavioral/narrative therapy for 6 weeks. Intent-to-treat analyses revealed a significant decrease in PTSD severity scores (Cohen's d = 0.43) and significant improvements on secondary clinical outcomes of quality of life, self-efficacy, and posttraumatic growth from pretreatment to posttreatment. All improvements were maintained at a 3-month follow-up. The attrition rate was low (13.3%), with participants who completed the trial reporting high working alliance and treatment satisfaction. Results of this study suggest that integrative testimonial therapy is a well accepted and potentially effective treatment for older war trauma survivors experiencing PTSD symptoms.