Impedance spectroscopy for the non-destructive evaluation of in vitro epidermal models.

Purpose: Reconstructed human epidermis (RHE) is standardly used for the risk assessment of chemical compounds. However, analysis is dependent on invasive methods such as histological processing or 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) staining.

Methods: As an alternative, we have developed a non-destructive technology to analyze the integrity of epidermal equivalents based on impedance spectroscopy.

[Primal therapy--a clinically confirmed procedure?].

In two legal findings, the courts had to decide whether medical insurance would pay for so-called primal therapy. The courts requested an evaluation as to whether primal therapy is recognized as a scientific therapeutic process. The authors examined the available literature and then came to the conclusion that primal therapy is not a valid therapeutic technique.

[Behavior therapy].

In the discussion concerning which psychotherapeutic methods should come under the auspices of the medical health system in West Germany, the question is raised regarding the behavioral therapy. Can it be considered a distinct psychotherapeutic method? A review of the scientific literature in this area shows that "behavioral therapy" includes a conglomerate of therapeutic procedures which have no common basis neither in theory nor in practical application. These therapeutic procedures are usually pragmatic and symptom-orientated, many of them never having been sufficiently tested in experiments or in clinical application.

[Client centered psychotherapy].

In the discussion concerning which psychotherapeutic methods should come under the auspices of the medical health system in West Germany, the question is raised regarding the client-centered therapy of Carl Rogers. Can it be considered a distinct psychotherapeutic method? A review of the scientific literature dealing with this method shows that it provides neither a theory of mental illness nor a theory of clinical application based on individual cases or specific neurotic disturbances, Therefore it should be categorized as a useful method of communication in the field of psychology and not as a therapeutic method for treating mental illness.