[The intraarticular and local administration of glucocorticosteroid preparations].

Unlabelled: The author reports the use of short-acting and combined short + long-acting betamethasone injections for intraarticular and local treatments. In this paper the author describes his experiences with intraarticular and local treatments of 214 patients with 965 short-acting, and 416 patients with 2932 combined short + long-acting betamethasone preparations from 1978 to 2003.

Aim: To describe the optimal application of intraarticular and local steroid therapy based on the author's experience and according to the literature data.

[Differential diagnosis of chest pain: point of view of a cardiologist and a rheumatologist].

Unlabelled: The rapid development of therapy necessitates early diagnosis in all clinical spheres because the attainable result of the therapy depends on this. It is especially true in the case of cardial and cerebrovascular events.

Aim: Since events in the thoracic cavity--life threatening or not--cause pain, the authors, based on their own experience and on the literature, present a summary of the various differential diagnoses of chest pain.

[Eugenics in neurology and psychiatry in Hungary between the two World Wars].

Eugenics became an organized movement in Hungary in 1914 with the establishment of the Section of Eugenics within the Association of Social Sciences (Társádalomtudományi Egyesület). Its secretary, the prominent biologist István Apáthy jr., defined the aims and the place of eugenics within the sanitation as well as the necessary steps of organization which should be taken in Hungary.

99m Tc-HMPAO labelled leukocyte scintigraphy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a comparison with disease activity.

The aim of this study was to test the applicability of 99mTc-hexamethylpropylene amine oxime (99mTc-HMPAO) labelled leukocyte joint scintigraphy in the assessment of disease activity in 21 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, and to compare leukocyte scintigraphy with the Disease Activity Score (DAS), a validated activity index developed by the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR). Twenty-one patients with rheumatoid arthritis were investigated by using 99mTc-HMPAO labelled leukocyte joint scintigraphy. The clinical and laboratory data were recorded, and the DAS was calculated and compared with the scintigraphic results in each case.

Nabumetone induces less gastrointestinal mucosal changes than diclofenac retard.

The aim of the study was to compare the efficacy and the effects on the mucosa of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of nabumetone and diclofenac retard in patients with osteoarthritis (OA). An open, multicentre, randomised, comparative, endoscopy-blind parallel group study included 201 patients with nabumetone and 193 patients with diclofenac retard suffering from moderate to severe OA of the knee or hip joint. Twelve clinical efficacy variables were assessed and a portion of the population underwent gastroduodenoscopy.

[Local treatment of rheumatic diseases with propolis compounds].

The authors conducted a single blind, placebo controlled local therapy trial on a total of 190 patients involving the use of materials (i) topically and (ii) by iontophoresis for pain and/or inflammation of the organs of movement. The materials used comprised of the following: (i) purified propolis and propolis saturated with antiinflammatory trace metal elements and (ii) propolis saturated with trace metal elements and poplar bud ointment saturated with trace metal elements also. Both methods of application using all the three preparations significantly improved symptoms.

Use of 20-mg Hotemin capsule and suppository in rheumatological practice.

The 20 mg piroxicam (Hotemin) capsule and suppository were efficacious and tolerable according to data of literature and own clinical observations in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, knee and hip arthrosis, as well as ischialgia. The increase in the daily dose is not accompanied by the more frequent development or aggravation of the adverse effects. Both preparations may be used as the first choice in the mentioned diseases and, moreover according to data of references, in case of other rheumatological diseases as well.