Cognitive disabilities and bioethical implications in down syndrome

Down syndrome is a genetic syndrome related to trisomy 21, and characterized by intellectual and adaptive deficiencies, facial deformities, cardiopathiacenitis and hypotonia that determine a specific cognitive behavioral phenotype. The behavioral and psychiatric cognitive phenotype and its evolutionary profile impose bioethical considerations in the down to promote better and personalized clinical and relief, diagnostic and therapeutic strategies to favor an adequate insertion of the down in the scholastic and work environment

Leopoldo maggi: Physican, anthropologist and archaeologist

This article is dedicated to Leopoldo Maggi, a leading scholar of the second half of the nineteenth and his important contributions in the field of archaeological research. The truth about human evolution can be achieved by the scientific analysis of bones. This could be Leopoldo Maggi’s scientific motto, if he had ever written one. Maggi wrote no mottos but left to modern scientists a very important anthropological and paleontological heritag

Neurosyphilis in Italian psychiatry of the late 19th century

Based on Italian and international literature, the authors have studied nineteenth-century research into neurosyphilis in its main syndromic manifestations: tabes dorsalis and progressive paralysis. By examining some psychiatry handbooks of the time, it was possible to recover ample information about the symptomatology and the description of the clinical course of the illness. Moreover, the relationship between syphilis and mental illness became a conceptual paradigm which psychiatrists applied to other mental disorders as well. Our paper has brought to light the medical debates of the late 19th century

Jewish medicine and surgery in Catania, Italy before 1492

The Jewish community was present on the island of Sicily for more than 15 centuries, and featured an important medical legacy, such as Virdimura, a Jewish woman doctor in Catania, who in 1376 was the subject of an appreciative decree by the king of Sicily. Catania owes a debt to the Jews for a long medical tradition, which helped make the island prosperous and famous in the Mediterranean until 1492, when the Spanish King Ferdinand II ordered the expulsion of the Jews from Sicily

On two Italian publications by the Cuban anthropologist Fernando Ortiz (1881-1969)

Fernando Ortiz was a Cuban anthropologist as well as one of the most prominent figures in 20th-century Latin-American culture. His interests spanned from law to criminology, from anthropology to sociology, from psychology to ethnomedicine, and from folklore to musicology. In this paper, we will focus on two essays that he wrote in Italian, "Criminality of the Black in Cuba" and "Criminal superstitions in Cuba". Noteworthy is the relationship between Ortiz and the Italian school of criminology. He spent several years in Genoa where he met Cesare Lombroso, one of the leading figures of the "positive school". Ortiz drew inspiration from Cesare Lombroso and contextualised these ideas in Cuban society

Parasites Between the Ancient China and Western Culture

Ancient Chinese documents of the 2nd century BC were written with regard to the first parasites that can afflict the health of human beings. During the Chinese Sui dynasty, a book entitled Ch’ao-Scih-Ping-Yuan written by Ch’ao-Yuan-Fang, disseminated a medical theory describing, for the first time, nine worms responsible for various diseases. However, this theory was not supported by any microscopic studies. In addition to human parasites, the Far East also struggled with fleas, bugs, ticks, and lice. The Chinese used cinnabar smoke to combat these pests and peach tree extract to repel fleas. In the history of medicine, and in particular in the field of contagious diseases, ancient China was ahead of Western knowledge by centuries. The ancient Chinese understood that some diseases were contagious and had observed, for example, that those who had contracted smallpox, were no longer infected once they healed. Thus, they adopted the practice of infecting healthy children with the disease in order to build immunit

History of use and abuse of x-ray: The early 20th century Italian pediatrics school

In our paper we report a brief history of the X-rays discovery and discuss the implications of their use and abuse in the Italian pedriatic schools of the early 20th century. Indeed, history of the X-ray treatment in the Italian Pediatric School has not yet been well studied. Even if the scientific experience of many physicians is well known in literature, a summary was missing. In Italy, in 1900, exposure to R\uf6ntgenand ultraviolet radiation or to large amounts of solar rays was a widespread medical practice, especially in several pediatric schools. During those years, diagnosis and treatment of childhood pathologies underwent considerable changes, especially after the twenties, when scientists developed an unquestionable trust in the therapeutic properties of radiation, considered harmless at that time. We report the main steps of the scientific research of the early 20th century in Italy. (www.actabiomedica.it)

Between "Science" and magic: Pre-Hippocratic Greek origins of Medicine and Surgery

Before Hippocrates Greek medicine and surgery, which certainly has its origins in myth, was influenced by Mesopotamia, the Hittites and the Egyptians. Moreover, the early civilization of Crete and Mycenaean culture influenced all ancient civilizations, demonstrating that trade and circulation of knowledge made the Mediterranean a meeting place between peoples and cultures, including the medical arts, which developed through an initial path of priestly magic, rituals, and knowledge from the east that influenced early Greek civilization

Has the ice bucket challenge really increased people's awareness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis? Insights and ethical implications from Google Trends and wikipedia: A 2 years-follow up

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is the most common form of motor neuron diseases (MNDs), causing the death of neurons controlling voluntary muscles. In order to increase public awareness and to promote fundraising, a charity activity known as the "Ice Bucket Challenge" (IBC), initially started only as a joke, was launched in July and August 2014, by Pete Frates, ex Boston College baseball player and himself suffering from ALS. Immediately, it became "viral" among social media and social network users, worldwide. We used Google Trends (GT) and accessed to Wikipedia page to document interest towards ALS 2 years after the IBC. In coincidence with the IBC initiative, a peak in web queries could be noticed, as well as a burst in daily accesses to Wikipedia page. However, this increase in web activities (+450% for GT) was characterized by a brief memory and a short half-life: before and after IBC initiative, GT-based RSVs were 18.2\uc2\ub11.7% and 17.8\uc2\ub11.9%, respectively. Despite alleged claims of the effectiveness of social networks-based campaigns, apart from money donation and a temporarily burst of web queries and accesses to specialized web-sites, before and after the IBC the level of web-related activities has remained practically constant. The direct involvement of scientists and stakeholders, besides that of celebrities and famous people, would be of crucial importance. Only in this way, initiatives such as the IBC could turn from mere entertaining events even though money-attracting into real educational moments. Otherwise, they would be other missed opportunities