Eaux thermales et thermalisme en dermatologie au xixe siècle: Thermal water and hydrotherapy in xixth century dermatology.

Jean-Louis Alibert (1768-1837), Pierre-Alphée Cazenave (1802-1877) and Ferdinand von Hebra (1846-1880) are among the most famous names of the XIXth century dermatology. All were interested in hydrotherapy and mineral waters. Alibert was especially fond of sulfurous waters from the Pyrenees, for treating almost every inflammatory disease, like psoriasis, chronic eczema and even hair diseases or cheloids. He mentioned very often the use of mineral waters in his two masterpieces, Description des Maladies de la peau (1806) and Clinique de l'Hôpital Saint-Louis (1833). In case patients were not able to travel and spend times at thermal stations, he recommended artificial waters made by pharmacists in specialized places in Paris, consisting in water plus minerals, in order to obtain a composition close to natural spring waters. Around 1850, Cazenave also used mineral waters and hydrotherapy, mainly sulfurous waters. In Vienna, von Hebra was more reluctant to the use of mineral water, as he believed that the time spent in baths was more important than the composition of the water itself. Adrien Doyon (1827-1907), who translated Hebra's book in French, strongly disagreed with him, as he had a dermatology private practice in Uriage, in the French Alps. Modern hydrotherapy in dermatology is clearly in relation with this XIXth century tradition. © 2020 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Histoire du thermalísme à Avène-les-Bains et genèse de l'eau thermale d'Avène: History of thermalism at Avène-les-Bains and genesis of the Avène thermal spring water.

Avene thermal spring water is recognized for more than two centuries for its benefits on skin diseases. Since 1975, the Pierre Fabre Group has modernized the facilities, and developed the brand « Eau Thermal Avène ¼, allowing more than 2,500 patients/year to be treated by this therapeutic water. The regulation requires high standards on origin, bacteriological purity and physico-chemical stability. Many works have allowed us to understand its origin, its underground path and identify its specific physico-chemical profile. Finally, thanks to its therapeutic properties verified in various clinical studies, the « Eau Thermal Avène ¼ is the first active ingredient of a variety of products for sensitive skin.

History of UV Lamps, Types, and Their Applications.

The use of ultraviolet (UV) light, for the treatment of skin conditions, dates back to the early 1900s. It is well known that sunlight can be of therapeutic value, but it can also lead to deleterious effects such as burning and carcinogenesis. Extensive research has expanded our understanding of UV radiation and its effects in human systems and has led to the development of man-made UV sources that are more precise, safer, and more effective for the treatment of wide variety of dermatologic conditions.

A short history of phototherapy, vitamin D and skin disease.

The earliest record between sun exposure and skin disease goes back five millennia to the ancient Egyptians. The modern scientific era of medical light therapy and skin diseases started in 1877 when Downs and Blunt reported that exposure to light inhibited fungal growth in test tubes. Continuing research generated a growing medical interest in the potential the effects of light to treat and cure skin diseases considered as parasitic. This culminated in the awarding of the 1903 Nobel Prize in Medicine to Niels Finsen for his pioneering work showing that light could successfully treat cutaneous mycobacterium tuberculosis (lupus vulgaris), a disfiguring disorder common at the time. Cod liver oil was used as a folk remedy to treat rickets prior to 1789 in Manchester, UK and sunlight was published as the cure for this disease in 1921. The work by Hess and Weinstock in 1925 showed that food irradiated with ultraviolet (UV) light prevented rickets in rats, which paved the way for the discovery of vitamin D. The range of skin diseases treated by light therapy increased in the following years, to the point where a 1932 review by the American Medical Association on the use of UV therapy in dermatology listed 34 skin conditions for which UV radiation may be useful. This period coincided with the development of sanatoria in Europe and North America which used heliotherapy for the treatment of tuberculosis. UV therapy and vitamin D continued to be used successfully for the treatment of tuberculosis up to the 1950s when it was superseded by more effective antibiotics. Modern phototherapy developed in the 1980s with the discovery of the action spectrum for psoriasis leading to the development of narrow band UVB. Subsequently a biological mechanism by which UV light and vitamin D treated tuberculosis was identified in 2006. This involves activation of human macrophages via toll-like receptors to upregulate the vitamin D receptor gene resulting in induction of the antimicrobial peptide cathelicidin. The role of UV light and vitamin D in the treatment of skin diseases is currently an active area of research.

Análisis de la enfermedad dermatológica en 8 Cantigas de Santa María del Rey Alfonso X el Sabio. Parte II: mutilación genital, escrofulodermia, sarna, erisipela y los males del Rey Alfonso / Dermatologic Diseases in 8 of the Cantigas of Holy Mary of Alfonso X the Learned. Part 2: Genital Mutilation, Scrofuloderma, Scabies, Erysipelas, and the Ailments of the King

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Samanu as a Human Disease.

The ancient Near Eastern demon Samanu is described as a human disease in Mesopotamian documents. There exist numerous magical and medicinal textual sources, which are very descriptive of his nature. Described as a skin disease, Samanu is always associated in the cuneiform tablets with specific parts of the human body. The tablets identify symptoms and prognosis. This article offers a deeper insight into the medical-magical sources describing the demon as a human disease, and suggests possible identifications of this disease in modern medicine.

Neem (Azadirachta indica): prehistory to contemporary medicinal uses to humankind.

The divine tree neem (Azadirachta indica) is mainly cultivated in the Indian subcontinent. Neem has been used extensively by humankind to treat various ailments before the availability of written records which recorded the beginning of history. The world health organization estimates that 80% of the population living in the developing countries relies exclusively on traditional medicine for their primary health care. More than half of the world's population still relies entirely on plants for medicines, and plants supply the active ingredients of most traditional medical products. The review shows the neem has been used by humankind to treat various ailments from prehistory to contemporary.

From patient to discoverer--Niels Ryberg Finsen (1860­1904) --the founder of phototherapy in dermatology.

Niels Ryberg Finsen (1860­1904) developed a lamp based on electric carbon arcs (later known as the Finsen light) that was used for skin therapy a century ago. He became director of the Medical Light Institute in Copenhagen, later the Finsen Institute, where he developed this method of treatment. Within a few years, 40 Finsen Institutes were established in Europe and in the United States of America. In 1903, Finsen received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in recognition of his work on the treatment of diseases and, in particular, the treatment of lupus vulgaris by means of concentrated light rays. Finsen's scientific interests were greatly influenced by his health condition. Beginning in 1883, he began to experience symptoms of an illness that would be later diagnosed as Niemann-Pick disease. He spent the last years of his life confined to a wheelchair. Dermatology reaps the benefits of light treatment to this day.

Acupuncture in dermatology: an historical perspective.

Classical acupuncture focuses primarily on treating the person, and secondarily treating the illness. The "symptoms" are regarded as "branch" expressions of a "root" (constitutional) imbalance. Different root imbalances can produce the same symptoms. Five patients with eczema, for example, may reveal five distinct root imbalances and would all be treated very differently. Because acupuncture treats the whole person, it has something to offer almost every condition. In many cases, acupuncture aims to bring about a complete cure; in others, it aims to manage the problem. Acupuncture remains a substantial part of the traditional Chinese medicine, which is used to treat many conditions including acne, alopecia, dermatitis, pruritus, psoriasis, rosacea, systemic lupus erythematosus, urticaria, herpes zoster, chicken pox, impetigo, leprosy, vitiligo, and tinea. This review introduces the historical context of acupuncture within Chinese medicine and how it relates to skin disease. Specifically, a key question is, what can we learn from the ancients with regard to their use of acupuncture as part of a holistic system of medicine, and how does this relate to the practice of modern dermatology?

The contribution of medical physics to the development of psoralen photochemotherapy (PUVA) in the UK: a personal reminiscence.

Psoralen photochemotherapy (PUVA) is the combined treatment of skin disorders with a photosensitizing drug (Psoralen) and UltraViolet A radiation. The introduction of PUVA therapy has arguably been the most important development in dermatology over the past 30 years and from the first days of the treatment being introduced in the UK, British medical physicists were an integral part of the effort to establish it. Medical physicists have contributed to this development in a number of ways, from designing irradiation units in the early days of the technique, through to collaborating with dermatologists in prosecuting clinical and experimental studies aimed at improving patient outcomes. That the dose of UVA radiation is administered quantitatively, and not qualitatively, has probably been the single most important contribution made by several medical physicists over this period. However, despite concerns that were expressed almost 30 years ago about the accuracy with which UVA doses are administered to patients, the medical physics community still has some way to go before we can be satisfied that statements about UVA irradiance and dose can be made with confidence.