Snake Oil and Indian Liniment.

Quackery in medicine is as old as medicine itself. In times of crisis, desperate patients often believe extraordinary claims. In the annals of pain-killer quack medicine, snake oil, elixirs, nostrums and Indian liniments hold a special position. NYU College of Dentistry (NYUCD) has a collection of 234 bottles of such medicines dating from the mid-1800s through 1940. This paper is the fifth in a series of articles featuring "Elixirs of the Past" in which we bring to light six more samples with claims to traditional Chinese or American Indian medicine using snake oil: Virex Compound, Rattlesnake Bill's Oil, Electric Indian Liniment, The King of All Indian Oils, Millerhaus Antiseptic Oil and Celebrated Indian Lotion. The six examples are just a few quack medications linked to fraud, overdose, addiction or death. In 1906, Congress enacted The Pure Food and Drug Act and reinforced it with the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1938, to stop unsubstantiated medicinal claims and control the use of addictive and dangerous substances. The modern-day use of social media to advertise quack medicine is in some ways even more brazen than selling patent medicine a century ago.

Magnetism.

Quackery in medicine is as old as medicine itself. In times of crisis desperate patients often believe extraordinary claims. In the annals of pain killer quack medicine, elixirs, nostrums and liniments hold a special position. The College of Dentistry at NYU received a collection of 234 bottles of nostrums and liniments dating from approximately 1850 through 1940. In this paper, the FOURTH in a series of articles featuring "Elixirs of the Past" we bring to light four more samples claiming to have magnetic properties: Dr. J.R. Miller's Magnetic Balm, Havens' Electromagnetic Liniment, Headman's Magnetic Liniments, and Magnetic Cream. It goes without saying that none of these had any magnetic properties. In 1906, Congress enacted The Pure Food and Drug Act to prohibit exaggerated or unsubstantiated claims in the marketing and labeling of household products and to control the use of potentially harmful ingredients. The modern-day use of internet advertisements to make unsupported claims is in some ways even more brazen than the advertisements from a century ago.

Electricity.

Quackery in medicine is as old as medicine. In times of crisis desperate patients believe in extraordinary claims. In the annals of pain killer quack medicine, elixirs, nostrums and liniments hold a special position. The College of Dentistry at NYU received a collection of 234 bottles of quack medicine dating from approximately 1850 through 1940.In this paper, the THIRD in a series of articles featuring "Elixirs of the Past", we focus on five particularly notable samples claiming to have "electric" properties: Electric Brand Oil Compound, Hunt's Lightening Oil, Electric Indian Liniment, Regent's Electric Liniment and Haven's Electro-magnetic Liniment. Needless to say, none of these contained electricity or even electrolytes for that matter. In 1906, Congress enacted The Pure Food and Drug Act to prohibit exaggerated or unsubstantiated claims in the marketing and labeling of household products and to control the use of potentially harmful ingredients. The modern-day use of internet advertisements to make unsupported claims is in some ways even more brazen than the advertisements from a century ago.

Opium.

Quackery in medicine is as old as medicine itself. In times of crisis, desperate patients often believe extraordinary claims. In the annals of pain-killer quack medicine, elixirs, nostrums and liniments hold a prominent position. NYU College of Dentistry (NYUCD) has a collection of 234 bottles of such medicines dating from the mid-1800s through 1940. This paper is the second in a series of articles featuring "Elixirs of the Past" in which we bring to light five more samples containing opium: Dr. B.J. Kendall's Instant Relief for Pain, Dr. Munn's Elixir of Opium, Dill's Balm of Life, Foley's Pain Relief, and Brown's Instant Relief for Pain. These are just five examples out of countless syrups, nostrums, balm or liniments that contained narcotics and were linked to overdose, addiction and sometimes death. In 1906, Congress enacted The Pure Food and Drug Act to stop unsubstantiated medicinal claims and control the use of addictive substances. The modern-day use of internet advertisements to make unsupported claims is in some ways even more brazen than the advertisements from a century ago. Indeed, the recent widespread use of prescription painkillers, along with the resulting epidemic in opiate addiction that has caused upwards of 50,000 deaths is a case in point.

The College of Dentistry at New York University Brings this Section to Life with "Elixers of the Past".

Quackery in medicine is as old as medicine. In times of crisis desperate patients believe in extraordinary claims. In the annals of pain killer quack medicine, elixirs, nostrums and liniments hold a preeminent position. The College of Dentistry at NYU received a collection of 237 bottles of nostrums and liniments dating from approximately 1850 through 1940. In this paper we inaugurate a series of articles featuring "Elixirs of the Past". We start this series with four samples, Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup, Dr. Grove's Anodyne for Infants, Jadway's Elixir for Infants and Kopp's, four of many teething syrups that contained narcotics and were linked to infant death at the end of the 19th century. In 1906 Congress introduced The Pure Food and Drug Act to stop unsubstantiated claims. Companies were fined in court cases and finally compelled to remove narcotics and stop making unsubstantiated claims. Unmasking past claims hopefully stops quacks of today. Nevertheless, far more unfounded and extraordinary claims are being made today, using social media, perhaps more brazenly than one hundred years ago.

Evaluation of an early twentieth century Afghan herbalist's preparations.

Mahomet Allum was a flamboyant philanthropist and herbalist who worked in South Australia in the early part of last century, whose herbal therapies generated some controversy at the time. Two of his preparations have survived to the present day, a general tonic and a treatment for liver and kidney dysfunction. Given the frequent use of pharmaceutical drugs in "tonics" at the time, toxicological analysis was undertaken at Forensic Science SA, Adelaide with liquid chromatography/quadrupole-time-of-flight mass-spectrometer (LC-QTOF MS), liquid-chromatography/ diode array detector (LC/UV) and gas chromatography/ nitrogen phosphorous- detector/mass-spectrometer (GC-NPD/MS), to look for common drugs. In addition DNA analysis was also undertaken at Trace and Environmental DNA (TrEnD) Laboratory (Curtin University) to evaluate the types of plant products used to make these remedies. The general tonic contained genera from the Triticeae (wheat) family as well as the Medicago family (includes alfalfa), possibly as fillers. Other genera found included Utrica (nettle) and Passiflora (passion flower). The preparation for liver and kidney disease also contained genera from the Medicago family as well as genera Arctostaphylos (bear berry) which has traditionally been used for the treatment of dysuria and bladder stones. No common drugs were found. Thus it appears that the two treatments prepared by Mahomet Allum contained only herbal substances and not adulterant pharmaceutical agents. The herbals identified provide an insight into herbalist practices in the early twentieth century.

Seventeenth-century 'treasure' found in Royal Society archives: the Ludus helmontii and the stone disease.

Our archival researches at the Royal Society reveal that a small envelope attached to a 1675 letter from an Antwerp apothecary, A. Boutens, contained a sample of the 'Ludus' prepared as a remedy for the 'stone disease' then sweeping through Europe, which was first announced in J. B. van Helmont's De lithiasi (1644). After examining the fascination with the medical use of the Ludus (which required the 'alkahest' for its preparation) and the tenacious efforts to procure it, we trace the fortunae of two other ludi in England, brought to and offered by Francis Mercurius van Helmont during his English sojourn. Both eventually found their way to the geologist John Woodward, one of them through Sir Isaac Newton. Finally we show how the allure of the Ludus helmontii vanished, with transformations in mineral analysis and reclassifications from Woodward to John Hill.

Dendrobium officinalis Six Nostrum Promotes Intestinal Urate Underexcretion via Regulations of Urate Transporter Proteins in Hyperuricemic Rats.

BACKGROUND: Dendrobium officinalis Six nostrum (DOS) can be prepared by adding Dendrobium officinalis into Simiao Wan in accordance with the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) theory and other previous findings. Our previous study has shown that DOS treatment can lead to a marked decrease in Serum UA (SUA) levels. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of DOS on intestinal UA excretion in hyperuricemia and its underlying mechanisms. METHODS: DOS was administered intragastrically to hyperuricemic rats induced by oral administration of HX and PO for 7 weeks. The SUA level, fecal UA and XOD activity were detected. The expressions of UA transporters (ABCG2, GLUT9, and PDZK1), CNT2, and tight junction proteins (ZO- 1 and claudin-1) in the intestine were assayed by IHC staining. The serum LPS and DAO levels were detected by ELISA kits. The intestinal histological changes were assessed using H&E staining. RESULTS: DOS treatment decreased the SUA level while markedly increasing the fecal UA level by 28.85%~35.72%. Moreover, DOS effectively up-regulated the expression of ABCG2 and PDZK1 and down-regulated the expression of GLUT9 in the intestine. DOS markedly decreased the serum LPS level by 21.4%~32.1% and DAO activity by 12.3%~19.7%, which in turn ameliorated the intestinal pathology. As a result, it could protect intestinal barrier function, as indicated by the increase of villus height (V), the reduction of the crypt depth (C), and the elevation of the V/C ratio. It also increased the expression of ZO-1 and claudin-1. In addition, DOS significantly down-regulated the expression of CNT2, which reduced purine nucleoside transportation from the intestine into the blood, and inhibited XOD activity, leading to a decrease in UA production. CONCLUSION: DOS exerted anti-hyperuricemic effects via regulation of intestinal urate transporters and could protect intestinal barrier function by restoring the expressions of ZO-1 and claudin-1.

[Stevens-Johnson's syndrome following ingestion of gunpowder]. / Syndrome de Stevens-Johnson après ingestion de poudre à canon.

BACKGROUND: A cutaneous adverse drug reaction is a skin eruption secondary to the intake of a drug, be it prescribed by a medical practitioner or taken as auto-medication for a given ailment. In this document we present an original case of Stevens-Johnson's syndrome secondary to the ingestion of gunpowder. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A 22-year-old female student was hospitalised for diffuse and painful skin eruptions for the previous three days. She had complained six days earlier of an allergic reaction to pineapples, an allergy she had presented for quite a long time. In an attempt to remedy the situation, her mother made her drink a solution made of gunpowder bought at a market mixed with some water. On the third day of this "treatment", the patient noticed eruptions on her skin. These were initially maculopapular, later becoming erosive, and she had a mild fever. Later, a variety of eruptions appeared on the skin, from hyper-pigmented macular papules to blisters and erosive lesions with no Nicolsky sign. These lesions spared the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet. The mucosa of the conjunctivae, nose, buccal cavity, vulva, vagina and anus were severely affected. This clinical presentation was typical of Steven Johnson syndrome. The patient had stopped taking the "treatment" when she noticed the first lesions. On therapy, the outcome was favourable, except for severe complications such as synechiae with diffuse dyschromia. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge this is the first time gunpowder has been incriminated in Stevens-Johnson's syndrome.

[The properties of simple medicines according to Avicenna (980-1037): analysis of some sections of the Canon]. / Les propriétés des remèdes simples selon Avicenne (980-1037): analyse de quelques passages du Canon.

Avicenna spoke on pharmacology in several works, and this article considers his discussions in the Canon, a vast synthesis of the greco-arabian medicine of his time. More precisely, it focuses on book II, which treats simple medicines. This text makes evident that the Persian physician's central preoccupation was the efficacy of the treatment, since it concentrates on the properties of medicines. In this context, the article examines their different classifications and related topics, such as the notion of temperament, central to Avicenna's thought, and the concrete effects medicines have on the body. Yet, these theoretical notions only have sense in practical application. For Avicenna, medicine is both a theoretical and a practical science. For this reason, the second book of the Canon ends with an imposing pharmacopoeia, where the properties described theoretically at the beginning of the book appear in the list of simple medicines, so that the physician can select them according to the intended treatment's goals. The article analyzes a plant from this pharmacopoeia as an example of this practical application, making evident the logic Avicenna uses in detailing the different properties of each simple medicine.

[Panaceas disseminated over the Internet and vulnerable patients: how to check a market of illusions?]. / Panacéias disseminadas pela Internet e pacientes vulneráveis: como conter um mercado de ilusões?

This article discusses the proliferation of medical quackery and fraud appearing and disappearing daily on the Internet. The customers of these scams, made vulnerable by disease or the prospect of death, use the Internet to buy products that would probably be ignored in other contexts. This vulnerability is linked to strenuous physical demands that compromise the ability to make decisions. The attempt to control the phenomenon of fraud as strictly rational, without taking into account the vulnerability of consumers who have little to lose and not considering their demands for comprehensive care, can lead to disappointing results, since these nostrums seem to be filling the gaps left by health care structures that have been insensitive to the immaterial nature of human fears.

Between learned and popular culture: A world of syncretism and acculturation.

The world of charlatans is a world of constantly shifting borders and redefinitions, a world of crossed lines and pushed boundaries. Can one even speak of "the world" of charlatans in the singular, when the examples we are given to read in this volume reveal such great diversity that they seem to defeat any attempt to define common traits, as Roy Porter (1989) tried to do in his time? Certainly, commercial interests and the lure of a quick and easy profit seem to have motivated some charlatans. Certainly, the universal effects of the nostrum or (psycho)therapeutic procedures were often put forward as a commercial argument. Certainly, many had an itinerant career; but this was not always the case. In fact, these traits are not shared, and the main reason is probably that, aside from a very particular context in early modern Italy, the qualification of charlatan was not claimed by the actors themselves, but was attributed to them by others, be they contemporaries or later historians. These features are therefore only common if we understand them as stigmata1 attributed to charlatans by those who wish to distinguish themselves from them or to draw a line between orthodoxy and heterodoxy.

The rise and demise of pain exterminator Thomas S. McNeil: Every rose has its thorns.

United Brethren minister Thomas S. McNeil formulated an analgesic nostrum in 1848, most likely from opium, alcohol, ether, and other proprietary ingredients. Massaged on externally as a pain liniment, his so-called pain exterminator could also be mixed in sweetened water and imbibed as an analgesic, antitussive, and antidiarrheal. A familiar antebellum remedy for both Union and Confederate forces in the Civil War, McNeil's Pain Exterminator would be manufactured by McNeil's pastor and then successors, for more than a half-century after McNeil's accidental drowning in 1874.

Complementary and alternative medicine use among long-term lymphoma survivors: a pilot study.

No published survey has specifically addressed the beliefs, knowledge, and usage of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) in long-term (5-20 years) lymphoma survivors alone. In this pilot project, 95 subjects were randomly selected from a population of 2,475 long-term lymphoma survivors and mailed a questionnaire. The median time from lymphoma diagnosis to completion of the questionnaire was 11 years (range 6-20). Overall, 68% (95% CI: 54-80%) of the long-term lymphoma survivors reported that they have used CAM, a rate higher than the estimated usage rate reported for the general population The most commonly used modalities were chiropractic (39%, 95% CI: 27-53%) and massage therapy (21%, 95% CI: 12-34%). Less than 10% used meditation (5%, 95% CI: 1-15%) and relaxation (7%, 95% CI: 2-17%). In terms of common herbal usage, 5% (95% CI: 1-15%) had used St. John's Wort and 7% (95% CI: 2-17%) had used shark cartilage. Although none of the patients reported that CAM usage was directed specifically towards treating their lymphoma, 4% (95% CI: 0-12%) of patients reported that CAM could cure cancer, and 14% (95% CI: 6-26%) reported that CAM could increase their feeling of control over their health. This pilot study suggests that long-term lymphoma survivors appear to use CAM at a rate higher than the general population. The use of potential agents of risk by the survivors and the lack of access to potentially beneficial modalities highlights the need for further study of CAM in this population.