Jailhouse self-induced lesions by misuse of salbutamol inhaler

Non peer reviewe

Computer Aided facial reconstruction of Mary-Magdalene relics following hair and skull analyses

International audienceThe supposed relics of "Mary-Magdalene" are preserved in Provence (France) in an ancient tradition. They consist of a dry skull and a lock of hair. For the first time, they were officially subjected to an extensive medico-surgical examination by photogrammetry, high-magnification binocular lenses, scanning electron microscope, and energy-dispersive X-ray elemental analysis, to propose a full computer-aided facial reconstruction. The preliminary results are presented here

Saint Roch and Social Distancing During Pandemics: Lessons to be Remembered

International audienceSurprisingly, Catholic hagiography can teach us a lot about medicine. As an example, we present here the history of Saint Roch who is considered, along with Saint Sebastian, one of the two main Saints who act as protectors against plagues and have often been invoked by Catholic people during the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Whereas Saint Sebastian is associated with plagues only symbolically, Catholic tradition considers Saint Roch to have had real contact with the bubonic plague. Indeed, during his pilgrimage to Rome, Saint Roch helped people suffering from the plague and was, subsequently, himself infected. He was then forced to retire in solitary confinement to avoid the plague’s spread and followed scrupulously the necessary restrictive measures. Saint Roch’s story provides useful lessons about the importance of social responsibility by respecting the restrictive rules during difficult times such as the COVID-19 epidemic

Cancer in two Renaissance families

We read with great interest the letter published by Raffaele Gaeta and colleagues1 describing a supposed concentration of cancer cases in the Renaissance court of Naples. However, this short report lacks important physiopathological and bibliographical data. First, more than five cases of malignant tumours have been published in the paleopathological literature.2 The authors focused exclusively on soft-tissue tumours in mummified human remains1, 3 without mentioning bone cancer cases,2 therefore giving a biased view of cancer frequencies in past populations

Hemiplegic migraine and stroke in Mary Shelley

Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin Shelley (1797–1851) was the author of Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus. In 1839, she had recurrent, severe headaches whose severity, location, and duration were variable.1 These headaches were associated with dizziness; pain in the legs, right hand, and right eye; and episodes of transient partial paralysis of the right leg and hand, with tremors, convulsive seizures, and severe pain on the top of the head.2 She was diagnosed with psychosomatic illness in 1842, “functional derangement in the nerves or brain” in 1845, and back pain and “neuralgia of the heart” in 1846

The first description of cholesteatoma by Hippocrate

International audienc