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Background: There is increasing evidence for the extensive use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) by patients with psoriasis. Clinical research in the arena of CAM and psoriasis treatment is evolving and includes some randomized controlled trials., Objective: To study CAM use among patients with psoriasis attending a dermatology clinic in a major university hospital in northern Israel. Prevalence, reasons for CAM use and its relevance to doctor-patient communication were emphasized., Methods: Semistructured interviews were conducted with psoriasis patients in a dermatology clinic. Consent was obtained for 78 patients. Post-visit questionnaires were given to 5 physicians., Results: Seventy-eight patients with psoriasis were interviewed and 77 were studied. Sixty-two percent used CAM. Fifty-eight percent of users had seen a CAM practitioner. The study found a trend of CAM use among patients with psoriasis from Arab compared to Jewish descent (p=0.087). CAM users reported on average 2 different CAM modalities. Herbal medicine and nutritional treatments ranked first, followed by homeopathy, traditional Chinese medicine and nutritional supplements. The main reason for CAM use was stated to be to do everything to heal the disease, followed by a quest for improved quality of life. Others mentioned an interest in a less toxic treatment, disappointment with conventional treatment and stress reduction. Well over half of the study participants and their dermatologists did not initiate a discussion about CAM use. The dermatologists' ability to predict CAM use in their patients was relatively low., Conclusion: There is growing evidence of extensive CAM use among patients with psoriasis. Most patients use CAM as a complementary treatment, rather than an alternative to conventional treatment. Teaching CAM should be integrated into the dermatology residency curriculum. Dermatologists need to increase their awareness of CAM use by their patients in order to improve therapeutic communication., (Copyright 2003 S. Karger AG, Basel)

A direct method for the measurement of potassium, magnesium and calcium in lymphocytes and erythrocytes is presented, using relatively small quantities of human blood. With this method repeated measurements can be carried out in the same individual; this enables one to follow changes in disease states or as a result of drugs.

The first case of a double-outlet anterior left ventricle with normal relationships of the great vessels is reported (S.L.D.). This case is associated with a chromosomal trisomy--the exact nature of which is not yet clear. The clinical, electrocardiographic, echocardiographic and angiographic features are described.

The temporal and spatial pattern of left ventricular (LV) contraction and relaxation in 34 patients with isolated lesions of the left anterior descending artery (LAD) were studied from the LV cineangiogram in the right anterior oblique position using a computer interactive technique. The LV outline was divided into 100 equiangular radii from the center of the enddiastolic silhouette and the trajectory of contraction and relaxation of each radius measured and displayed. Patients were divided into different subsets. Classical anterior wall infarction caused impaired contraction of the distal two thirds of the anterior wall, the apex and the distal quarter of the inferior wall, with marked delay in contraction and relaxation of the border zones and hyperkinesis of the inferior wall. Spatial and temporal disturbances (akinesis and asynchrony) were marked in the other subsets. Left bundle branch block caused profound temporal delay particularly during relaxation.