Treatment Of Human Illnesses Research Articles

Strategy and Effectivity of Sufi Healing as a Therapeutic Process for Curing Diseases

Modern humans experience psychosocial stressors that affect physical and psychological health. This article discusses the strategy and effectiveness of Sufi healing on physical and psychological illnesses as practised at the Rehab Hati Foundation, Cirebon. This study used a phenomenological approach to understand the therapy process and strategy based on Sufi healing. Primary data were obtained from the leaders of the Rehab Hati Foundation, therapists, patients, and guidebooks used by therapists as references in treatment. This study revealed that the Sufi healing-based therapy uses the ruqyah method accompanied by thibbun nabawi (herbal medicine, honey, dates, etc.) and adapted to the disease experienced by the patient and also with spiritual advice. The ruqyah therapy techniques are two kinds, namely ruqyah therapy carried out directly by a therapist, and independent ruqyah therapy carried out by the patient himself or with the help of his family at home.Contribution: This study provides a perspective that the treatment of human illnesses, both physical and psychological, is not only done medically based on medical science. Sufistic therapy, with ruqyah and thibbun Nabawi, can be an alternative to healing human illnesses.

Fermented Vegetables as a Potential Treatment for Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Foods and supplements containing microorganisms with expected beneficial effects are increasingly investigated and utilized in the treatment of human illness, including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Research points to a prominent role of gut dysbiosis in the multiple aberrations in gastrointestinal function, immune balance, and mental health seen in IBS. The proposition of the current Perspective is that fermented vegetable foods, in combination with a healthy and stable diet, may be particularly useful for addressing these disturbances. This is based on the recognition that plants and their associated microorganisms have contributed to shaping human microbiota and adaptation over evolutionary time. In particular, lactic acid bacteria with immunomodulatory, antipathogenic, and digestive properties are prevalent in products such as sauerkraut and kimchi. Additionally, by adjusting the salt content and fermentation time, products with a microbial and therapeutic potential beyond that of regular ferments could potentially be produced. Although more clinical data are required to make firm assertions, the low-risk profile, combined with biological considerations and reasoning and considerable circumstantial and anecdotal evidence, indicate that fermented vegetables are worthy of consideration by health professionals and patients dealing with IBS-related issues. To maximize microbial diversity and limit the risk of adverse effects, small doses of multiple products, containing different combinations of traditionally fermented vegetables and/or fruits, is suggested for experimental research and care.

A Review on Nanoparticles Drug Delivery System

The method or process of delivering a pharmaceutical ingredient to create a therapeutic effect in people or animals is referred to as drug delivery. Nasal and pulmonary routes of medication administration are becoming increasingly important in the treatment of human illnesses. These methods, especially for peptide and protein therapies, provide potential alternatives to parenteral drug administration. Several medication delivery methods have been developed for this purpose and are being tested for nasal and pulmonary delivery. Chitosan, Alginate, vanilline oxalate, zinc oxalate, cellulose, polymeric micelles, Gliadin, and phospholipid are examples of these. Multidrug resistance, a key issue in chemotherapy, can be reversed with these nanoparticles. Surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiation are all well-established treatments used in cancer treatment. A nanoparticle has emerged as a potential method for the targeted delivery of medicines used to treat certain illnesses.
 Keywords: Nasal Drug Delivery, Pulmonary Drug Delivery, Nanoparticles

Antibacterial Activity And Genotoxicity Effect of Ethanolic Leaves Extract of Rosmarinus Officinalis

The recent increasing use of artificial antibiotics has prompted an expansion in resistant strains and high site reactions. Medicinal plants have for quite some time been utilized as traditional medicine to treat pathogenic bacteria. In such manner, consistently numerous scientists are sending a range of plant’s secondary compounds to the customer advertise for the treatment of human illnesses. Accordingly, the distinguishing proof of plant spices with antimicrobial impacts can assist with delivering new medications with a wide range of impacts. The aim of the present research was to examine the ability of ethanolic leaves extracts of Rosmarinus officinalis plant as antibacterial agent against the Gram-positive bacteria Staphylococcus aureus and Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli. The zone of inhibition increased with increase in concentration of the test solution. Higher activity of ethanolic extract was found against S. aureus (2.4 cm) than E. coli (1.8 cm). In addition, the repetitive element PCR (Rep-PCR) significantly showed that several genetic numbers of polymorphic bands were observed in S. aureus and E. coli treated bacteria with leaves extracts and not observed in the control. These results indicate that these extracts have a genotoxicity effect on the two bacterial genomes. The obtained results demonstrate that R. officinalis can be used as a potential source of antibacterial and genotoxicity factors.

Animal-Assisted Interventions in Audiology

Animal-Assisted Interventions in Audiology

Do Orthopaedic Surgeons Acknowledge Uncertainty?

Much of the decision-making in orthopaedics rests on uncertain evidence. Uncertainty is therefore part of our normal daily practice, and yet physician uncertainty regarding treatment could diminish patients' health. It is not known if physician uncertainty is a function of the evidence alone or if other factors are involved. With added experience, uncertainty could be expected to diminish, but perhaps more influential are things like physician confidence, belief in the veracity of what is published, and even one's religious beliefs. In addition, it is plausible that the kind of practice a physician works in can affect the experience of uncertainty. Practicing physicians may not be immediately aware of these effects on how uncertainty is experienced in their clinical decision-making. We asked: (1) Does uncertainty and overconfidence bias decrease with years of practice? (2) What sociodemographic factors are independently associated with less recognition of uncertainty, in particular belief in God or other deity or deities, and how is atheism associated with recognition of uncertainty? (3) Do confidence bias (confidence that one's skill is greater than it actually is), degree of trust in the orthopaedic evidence, and degree of statistical sophistication correlate independently with recognition of uncertainty? We created a survey to establish an overall recognition of uncertainty score (four questions), trust in the orthopaedic evidence base (four questions), confidence bias (three questions), and statistical understanding (six questions). Seven hundred six members of the Science of Variation Group, a collaboration that aims to study variation in the definition and treatment of human illness, were approached to complete our survey. This group represents mainly orthopaedic surgeons specializing in trauma or hand and wrist surgery, practicing in Europe and North America, of whom the majority is involved in teaching. Approximately half of the group has more than 10 years of experience. Two hundred forty-two (34%) members completed the survey. We found no differences between responders and nonresponders. Each survey item measured its own trait better than any of the other traits. Recognition of uncertainty (0.70) and confidence bias (0.75) had relatively high Cronbach alpha levels, meaning that the questions making up these traits are closely related and probably measure the same construct. This was lower for statistical understanding (0.48) and trust in the orthopaedic evidence base (0.37). Subsequently, combining each trait's individual questions, we calculated a 0 to 10 score for each trait. The mean recognition of uncertainty score was 3.2 ± 1.4. Recognition of uncertainty in daily practice did not vary by years in practice (0-5 years, 3.2 ± 1.3; 6-10 years, 2.9 ± 1.3; 11-20 years, 3.2 ± 1.4; 21-30 years, 3.3 ± 1.6 years; p = 0.51), but overconfidence bias did correlate with years in practice (0-5 years, 6.2 ± 1.4; 6-10 years, 7.1 ± 1.3; 11-20 years, 7.4 ± 1.4; 21-30 years, 7.1 ± 1.2 years; p < 0.001). Accounting for a potential interaction of variables using multivariable analysis, less recognition of uncertainty was independently but weakly associated with working in a multispecialty group compared with academic practice (β regression coefficient, -0.53; 95% confidence interval [CI], -1.0 to -0.055; partial R(2), 0.021; p = 0.029), belief in God or any other deity/deities (β, -0.57; 95% CI, -1.0 to -0.11; partial R(2), 0.026; p = 0.015), greater confidence bias (β, -0.26; 95% CI, -0.37 to -0.14; partial R(2), 0.084; p < 0.001), and greater trust in the orthopaedic evidence base (β, -0.16; 95% CI, -0.26 to -0.058; partial R(2), 0.040; p = 0.002). Better statistical understanding was independently, and more strongly, associated with greater recognition of uncertainty (β, 0.25; 95% CI, 0.17-0.34; partial R(2), 0.13; p < 0.001). Our full model accounted for 29% of the variability in recognition of uncertainty (adjusted R(2), 0.29). The relatively low levels of uncertainty among orthopaedic surgeons and confidence bias seem inconsistent with the paucity of definitive evidence. If patients want to be informed of the areas of uncertainty and surgeon-to-surgeon variation relevant to their care, it seems possible that a low recognition of uncertainty and surgeon confidence bias might hinder adequately informing patients, informed decisions, and consent. Moreover, limited recognition of uncertainty is associated with modifiable factors such as confidence bias, trust in orthopaedic evidence base, and statistical understanding. Perhaps improved statistical teaching in residency, journal clubs to improve the critique of evidence and awareness of bias, and acknowledgment of knowledge gaps at courses and conferences might create awareness about existing uncertainties. Level 1, prognostic study.

Public trust and institutional culture. Commentary.

AbstractBiomedical and behavioral research is a complex, multidisciplinary, and highly varied enterprise with but a single goal: to produce and disseminate knowledge about the causes, effects, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of human illnesses and impairments. Success requires public trust in the process. When that trust has been shaken (or worse), the response has been to establish offices to exercise oversight of the various actors and to require them to adhere to regulations that specify, with various levels of detail, what they may or may not do.The two regulatory frameworks examined in this report by Barbara Bierer and Mark Barnes began separately, provoked by different scandals and abuses of public trust.

Psychosomatic urology

Psychosomatics is a branch of medical science dealing with biopsychosocial interactions in the origin, course and treatment of human illnesses. In the biopsychosocial model the patient is considered in its entirety. In the practice of urologists the proportion of patients with psychosomatic clinical symptoms varies between 15 and 50%. The main focus is on somatoform autonomous dysfunctions. The main symptom involves the fact that often persisting complaints cannot be explained by suitable physical findings. The anatomical characteristics of the urogenital tract and the resultant three functional levels, production, reproduction and desire, explain the susceptibility to psychological participation. Besides the exclusion of inflammatory, obstructive or malignant illnesses, the diagnostics relies on an anamnesis interview in terms of the basic psychosomatic therapy. The treatment is individual and multimodal in cooperation with physiotherapists and psychotherapists.

Stable gene expression by self-complementary adeno-associated viruses in human MSCs

Genetically modified mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are potentially valuable tools for the novel treatment of human illnesses. Here, we investigated whether gene transfers by self-complementary adeno-associated viruses (scAAV) lead to promising genetic modification in human bone marrow and umbilical cord blood MSCs. Of the various scAAVs, scAAV2, and scAAV5 effectively and safely expressed transgenes in both hMSCs. Transduction efficiency with scAAV2 at 1000 multiplicity of infection was 66.3 ± 9.4% and 67.6 ± 6.7% in bone marrow and umbilical cord blood MSCs, respectively. A co-infection study showed that the distinct scAAV2 and scAAV5 can effectively express different transgenes in the same hMSC. hMSCs transduced by scAAVs showed long-term gene expression for three months in rat brains. Genetic modification by scAAVs did not affect osteogenic differentiation of hMSCs. Therefore, the present study strongly supports the promising potential of scAAVs as a technical platform for safe, long-term transgene expression in hMSCs.

Methods of Medical Treatment of Human Illnesses in New Zealand: Practitioners and Non-Practitioners

This paper addresses the patentability of methods of medical treatment of human illnesses in New Zealand. It does so by addressing recent case law on the subject matter and the manner by which they interpret the current Patents Act 1953 (NZ) and the Statute of Monopolies 1623, before looking at the relevant provisions in the Draft Patents Bill 2004 and the TRIPS Agreement. The paper further analyses both economic and moral reasons why methods of medical treatment should or should not be patentable in New Zealand, differentiating between practitioners and non-practitioners. It concludes by looking at possible loopholes that allow for the patenting of methods of medical treatments, cloaked under different guises.

Health Technology Assessment: a field still maturing!

With this issue’s focus on Health Technology Assessment (HTA), the Italian Journal of Public Health has tackled an area of growing importance in today’s increasingly complex health care delivery systems. As the articles in this issue demonstrate, HTA has grown from a relatively narrow technical focus to a form of policy research underway in dozens of countries. Since its inception just over three decades ago,HTA has evolved through three distinct phases: the machine, the disease and the delivery mode, with the third of these still underway. As the focus has shifted from machines to disease conditions to service delivery approaches, HTA has drawn on research and modes of discourse from a growing variety of disciplines. Thus, despite the evolution that continues, HTA remains, at its core, both multidisciplinary and pragmatic, for the strengths of HTA arise from its integration of the efforts of actors in multiple, diverse disciplines with a view to producing knowledge that will assist decision-makers. The machine phase was marked by a focus on the technical performance of health technologies, often embodying innovative approaches to diagnosis or treatment of human illness. Given the newness and costliness of many technologies selected for assessment, a significant emphasis was placed on assessing the safety of these devices. Imaging technologies were the subject of assessment in many settings, perhaps in part because devices such as the CT scanner produced remarkable visual results that were heralded as affording breakthroughs in diagnosis and treatment. One need only look through the programs of early HTA conferences to see the emphasis on high cost, infrastructure-intensive health technologies that was the hallmark of the machine period.

Reduced adherence of Candida to silane‐treated silicone rubber

Silicone rubber is widely used in the construction of medical devices that can provide an essential role in the treatment of human illness. However, subsequent microbial colonization of silicone rubber can result in clinical infection or device failure. The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a novel silane-treated silicone rubber in inhibiting microbial adherence and material penetration. Test material was prepared by a combination of argon plasma discharge treatment and fluorinated silane coupling. Chemicophysical changes were then confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, contact-angle measurement, and atomic force microscopy. Two separate adherence assays and a material penetration assay assessed the performance of the new material against four strains of Candida species. Results showed a significant reduction (p < 0.01) of Candida albicans GDH 2346 adherence to silane-treated silicone compared with untreated controls. This reduction was still evident after the incorporation of saliva into the assay. Adherence inhibition also occurred with Candida tropicalis MMU and Candida krusei NCYC, although this was assay dependent. Reduced penetration of silane-treated silicone by Candida was evident when compared to untreated controls, plaster-processed silicone, and acrylic-processed silicone. To summarize, a novel silicone rubber material is described that inhibits both candidal adherence and material penetration. The clinical benefit and performance of this material remains to be determined.

Anti-Genes: siRNA, Ribozymes and Antisense

Scientists have been working on strategies to selectively turn off specific genes in diseased tissues for the past thirty years. In the 1980's, oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) with unique chemistries were tested with model systems both in vitro and in vivo with varying degrees of success. In the 1990's, ribozymes with both antisense and catalytic properties were successfully introduced to the field. Ribozymes were shown to selectively knock down targeted genes in human tumors grown in mice but delivery issues for these therapeutic anti-genes limited their clinical utility. Short interfering RNA (siRNA) is currently the fastest growing sector of this anti-gene field for target validation and therapeutic applications. The siRNA field may have an opportunity to impact the clinic faster than antisense and ribozymes if the scientists can overcome the previous anti-gene limitations. Fortuitously, there have been a several developments involving the expansion of our genomic knowledge coupled with the rapid dissemination of disease genes by the digital revolution. This convergence of the knowledge of the human genome with the speed of digital communication will help facilitate swift changes in the detection and treatment of human illnesses. The anti-gene field is positioned to exploit this timely union of two distinct technologies. Anti-gene molecules have an opportunity to become a successful technology in understanding the human genome, as well as, enabling the development of efficacious gene therapy for human diseases in the near future. This review will characterize the advances in this field and address the challenges to the success of for the anti-gene technology.

Clinical medicine and the quest for certainty

Orthodox medicine works in a scientific framework which often discounts knowledge arising outside biomedical models and the statistical means by which these are tested. Alternative medicine cannot meet these standards because it is holistic and individual in its orientations toward the understanding and treatment of human illness. But in fact the dominant model also has problems with surgery and other areas such as family practice as sub-disciplines where individualised caring solutions are important. These prominently include areas in which wider social and economic concerns directly impinge on health care so that we need a more liberal attitude to medical knowledge and discovery. I suggest that this wider conception is more in keeping with the Hippocratic ethos as a whole and with the idea of a healing praxis. Because our aim as doctors and health care professionals is to help people, and our knowledge is directed towards furthering this end, medicine is a practical science not able to stand apart and build theories in detached contemplation from within the ivory tower of the academy. However the practicality of medicine and the assurance needed to poison people or inflict grievous bodily harm in an effort to help them often puts a premium on certainties in our thinking about clinical medicine before the scientific basis for such certainty has been established. Therefore, hand in hand with the professional calling that is health care, goes the need for a certain style of belief in what one is doing and its ultimate rightness. This leads to an almost unique profile for medicine among the sciences.

Electrochemical Power Sources and the Treatment of Human Illness

Battery-powered implantable devices have been in use for over forty-three years. The first successful cardiac pacemaker was implanted in 1960. Since that time, a variety of implantable battery-powered devices have been developed and introduced for the treatment of everything from neurological disorders to hearing loss. The development of lithium batteries in the late 1960s led to better, smaller devices that showed multiyear longevity and high reliability.

The breadth of action of the 5-HT3 receptor antagonists

The breadth of action of 5-HT3 receptor antagonists to modify animal behaviour may at first appear surprising but is revealing of a widespread role for 5-HT in moderating behaviour. It will prove of considerable interest to establish the role of the 5-HT3 receptor antagonists in the treatment of human illness. Such data would not merely be relevant to the design of new drug therapies but would also allow an important insight into the value of the animal models of human psychiatric disease.

Interocepttve Stimuli as Tools of Drug Development

AbstractTools of Drug DevelopmentDrug development is the foremost objective of most pharmacologists in the pharmaceutical companies and some pharmacologists in the other research institutions. To meet this objective, thousands of new chemical compounds must be evaluated in order to discover one which can be safely employed in the treatment of human illness. Such evaluation requires an enormous number of experimental subjects specially prepared for this purpose. Since use of human patients for initial screening of new chemicals is not feasible one must depend on laboratory animals that can be used repeatedly and extensively.