The CUPCIG (CAM-Use in Primary Care in Germany) Study:Part I-Pain. Study Protocol of a Pilot-trial to Assess Feasibility, Acceptability and Perceived Effectiveness of CAM in Pain Disorders in Primary Care.

Background: There is limited valid data available on CAM procedures for chronic joint and neuropathic pain in primary care in Germany. Indiviual CAM qualifications of the general practitioners (GPs) and the potential of cost reduction through CAM treatment are almost unknown. The aim of this pilot trial preceding the main study is to examine the survey mode, to estimate the response rate by GPs with or without an additional qualification for CAM, and to identify the status quo in therapeutic approaches for chronic pain disorders in primary care.

Globalised world, globalised diseases: A case report on an amoebiasis-associated colon perforation.

In 2010 the World Health Organisation estimated the number of infections with Entamoeba histolytica at about 50 million cases including 100000 fatal courses. In most cases this infection is a subclinical event with few or none symptoms noticeable for the patient. Courses of this disease and incidence of this parasite in industrialised nations are not yet fully investigated.

A comparison of Kneipp hydrotherapy with conventional physiotherapy in the treatment of osteoarthritis: a pilot trial.

Background: An increasingly aging population implies an increasing prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA) of hip or knee. It has been ascertained that unspecific hydrotherapy of OA according to Sebastian Kneipp not only improves the range of mobility but also reduces pain significantly and increases the quality of life of the patients affected.

Objective: The main aim of this pilot study was to determine the effects of hydrotherapy in comparison to conventional physiotherapy, and to analyze the feasibility of the study design under clinical circumstances.

[Inpatient treatment for postradical neck pain syndrome by use of complementary medicine].

Introduction: The standard treatment of papillary thyroid cancer with a diameter >1 cm is thyroidectomy combined with a modified neck-dissection of the central (perithyroideal, prelaryngeal and tracheo-esophageal) lymph nodes and a consecutive radiation. Frequently, postoperative pain syndromes occur after this procedure. The so-called 'postradical neck pain syndrome' (PRNS) is a combination of cervical neuropathic pain, constricted and painful mobility of the shoulder region(s) including inhibited abduction capacity of the shoulder joint and a scapula alata.

Intravenous administration of vitamin C in the treatment of herpetic neuralgia: two case reports.

Background: Acute herpetic neuralgia (AHN) due to a reactivated varicella zoster virus infection is a common problem. Furthermore, about 18% of all patients with confirmed herpes zoster (HZ) develop postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). The leading factors of the prognosis and persistence of symptoms are patient age and the size of the lesions.

A comparison of Kneipp hydrotherapy with conventional physiotherapy in the treatment of osteoarthritis of the hip or knee: protocol of a prospective randomised controlled clinical trial.

Background: The increasing age of the population, especially in the western world, means that the prevalence of osteoarthritis is also increasing, with corresponding socioeconomic consequences. Although there is no curative intervention at present, in accordance with US and European guidelines, pharmacotherapeutic and non-pharmacological approaches aim at pain control and the reduction of functional restriction.It has been established that hydrotherapy for osteoarthritis of the hip or knee joint using serial cold and warm water stimulation not only improves the range of movement but also reduces pain significantly and increases quality of life over a period of up to three months.

[Inpatient treatment for CRPS I by use of complementary medicine].

Introduction: Complex regional pain syndromes (CRPS) are mainly characterized by a burning, intense spontaneous pain,mechanical allodynia of the affected limb, disorders of the skin,local hyperhidrosis, lymphedema as well as trophic disorders of the skin, bones and joints. The overall clinical appearance is dominated by a dysfunction of the sympathetic nervous system. One dominant etiological hypothesis is that major mechanisms for CRPS symptoms, which might be present during the course of CRPS, are trauma-related cytokine release, exaggerated neurogenic inflammation, sympathetically maintained pain, and cortical reorganization in response to chronic pain.

[Treatment of a radiculopathia by whole-body hyperthermia].

Introduction: Cancer metastases can be the reason of neuropathic pain. It can be caused by infiltration and compression of nerves. Cytokines released by tumor cells and the affected nerve structures induce an inflammatory reaction that enhances the neuropathic pain.

[Spironolactone: renaissance of anti-aldosterone therapy in heart failure?].

Mortality of patients with severe congestive heart failure (CHF) is still high despite combined treatment with angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, diuretics, and digitalis. Further therapeutic regimens are needed which include reversal of adverse myocardial remodeling and subsequent ventricular dysfunction. One third of all patients with CHF have diastolic left ventricular (LV) dysfunction with preserved systolic function.

Chromosome analysis of bone marrow in mammals after treatment with isoniazid.

Cytogenetic investigations in bone marrow from animals treated with isoniazid (INH) were performed in seven different laboratories according to a standard protocol. The experiments were carried out in the Chinese hamster, the mouse, and the rat. In short-term studies INH was administered twice at an interval of 24 h in doses of 5, 25, and 125 mg/kg, and the animals were sacrificed 6, 12, 24, and 48 h after the second dose.

In vivo cytogenetic investigations in bone marrow cells of rats, Chinese hamsters and mice treated with 6-mercaptopurine.

The chromosome-damaging effect of 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) was investigated in bone marrow cells of rats, Chinese hamsters, and mice after single intraperitoneal injections of doses from 3.125 to 250 mg/kg, and after multiple applications of 10, 25, 50, and 125 mg/kg. The optimal time of investigation after single administration in these studies was 48 hrs after treatment for all 3 species.