Abstracts fra Bibliotek for Læger 4/2002

En verden til forskel? Undersøgelser af lægerne og sundhedsvæsenet i Dansk Vestindien mellem 1755 og 1830.

Niklas Thode Jensen

 

Boganmeldelse. Wackerhausen S. Humanisme, professionsidentitet og uddannelse – i sundhedsområdet.

Ole J. Hartling

 

Første verdenskrigs faldne sønderjyske krigsdeltagere. Militærhistoriske og lægelige aspekter.

Anton Marckmann:

First world war’s losses of military personnel from South Jutland (Sønderjylland/Nordslesvig) in the German forces.

Bibl Læger 2002; 194: 305–45.

During the first world war around 30,000 men from South Jutland, at that time a German province, had to perform military service. About 5,200 were lost, among which more than 4,000 were considered Danish-minded. From the archives of the Danish invalidity board (Invalidenævnet) in Sønderborg, comprising all applications for pensions to surviving relatives, the documents of 1,123 dead or lost men were submitted to analysis. This includes the domiciles and professions of the dead and the average age at death, which was 30.4 years (from 17 to 50 yrs). At the frontlines 60% with an average age of 30 years fell in the West, especially in the second half of 1914 during the advance through Belgium and in the fights in northern France (first battle of Marne), and in the so-called Somme-battle in the second half of 1916. At the Russian front about 14%, and in the Balkans 2% were lost with an average death-age of 31.9 and 33.4 yrs. resp. In 45% the death was caused by exploding shells, in 2% by handgrenades, in 33% by infantry or machinegun bullets and in 3% by shrapnels. Mine explosions contributed with 3% and fly-bombs with ~ 5% to the death rate. 7% were buried under earthmasses or ruins. Only one person died after lesions from a bayonet. Skullshots were responsible for the death in 46%, breastshots in 28%, shot lesions of the limbs in ~ 14%, and in 9,5% the deadly missile did hit the trunk and the abdomen. 144 front soldiers or 11,6% died from warrelated diseases, gas, accidents or suicide. Among the contagious diseases, pneumonia (“the Spanish flu”) was dominant with ~ 47%, tuberculosis included 28% and infectious intestinal diseases of various kinds ~ 20%. Six soldiers died from gas poisoning at the west front. 2% of the investigated material died in the German navy, including sailors serving on board damaged or sunken warships in the battle of Falkland, the fight at the Doggerbank, in the battle of Jutland (Skagerak) and in the Baltic. Other died in sunken submarines, in crashed Zeppelines and in actions on land in the naval infantry. The tidings of the death were generally communicated to the family shortly after the soldier’s or sailor’s death, either by telegram or by post. In cases of deaths in prisoner of wars camps the message was passed on through international war information bureaus. It is concluded that the pattern of circumstances concerning the deaths of military persons from South Jutland serving in the German forces during the first world war did not differ essentially from the results given by comprehensive German analyses of similar kind, yet seems the mortality rate a little higher (17%) than for the German forces as a whole (15,5%). As a paradox is mentioned, that the many Danish-minded soldiers, who died during the war, were ignorant of the fact, that South Jutland (Sønderjylland/Nordslesvig) after the war could become Danish territory.

 

Forsorgen for de efterladte efter faldne sønderjyske krigsdeltagere i første verdenskrig.

Anton Marckmann:

The care of surviving relatives to first world war’s fallen soldiers from South Jutland, serving in German military forces.

Bibl Læger 2002; 194: 346–72.

During world war I around 5000 men from South Jutland, at that time a German province, died, serving in the German military forces. In 1920 on june 15, the province, after a referendum, became Danish territory, and from that time the Danish state took over the obligations to take care of the fallen men’s families, who had now become Danish citizens.

The paper outlines laws and regulations aimed to the support of the widows and dependent children until their 18th birthday, and to parents and grandparents on certain conditions. The survey gives a description of the German system up to 1920, followed by an intermediate period, when Denmark had taken over, and finally the situation from 1924, when the Danish laws found their own level. Examples are given of the differences between the German and the Danish regulations and of the amounts of pension to the involved. The valutary instability in Germany around 1920 became indirectly

advantageous to the Danish clients and resulted in higher pensions. The number of clients and the total amounts of the economic support, given by the Danish state, are listed over a period of 82 years. In order to illustrate the Danish welfare and care system to practice an analysis is presented, based on archival materials of relatives to 1123 fallen men from South Jutland, including 782 widows, 1839 children and 239 parents/grandparents. 30% of the war-widows remarried and received a compensation once for all, however, a reduced war-pension was readmitted, if the woman became widow again or was divorced without own guilt. It is concluded that the Danish state rendered an adequate care to the surviving relatives and in this way fulfilled the obligations towards these citizens, as had been written down in the Danish-German treaty of 1922.

 

Crohns sygdom som vi opfatter den i dag. Med tilbageblik på dens 70-årige historie.

Jørgen Agnholt & Jens F. Dahlerup:

Crohn’s disease: our contemporary concept – and a historical review of 70 years evolution of understanding.

Bibl Læger 2002; 194: 373–87.

This review describes the evolution of research, with focus on the T cell, in Crohn’s disease during 70 years from the first descriptions of the pathological changes through development of new immune-modifying treatments.

In 1932 Burrill B. Crohn, Leon Ginzburg and Gordon Oppenheimer published two papers describing the clinical and pathological characteristics of a new disease, mimicking the changes observed in intestinal tuberculosis, but without the presence of the tubercle bacillus. It was initially named regional ileitis, but later commonly Crohn’s disease. Until the early fifties the only treatment was surgical, but in the period from 1950 until the mid-eighties immune-suppressive agents as steroids, azathioprine and 6-mercaptopurine were introduced. The success with these treatments brought focus on the T cells and  cytokines, and during the next twenty years many new immune-modifying treatments have been introduced targeting details in the mucosal immunological compartment. The basic research following new immune-modifying treatments has increased our understanding of the immunological puzzle in Crohn’s disease, and paved the way for development of new treatments modulating the inflammatory response. Cell therapy, trying to establish homeostasis between inflammatory and regulatory T cells by T cell vaccination or treatment with antigen primed specific regulatory T cells, may be the next step into the future.

 

Forsidebillede: Fra luftkrigens begyndelse: En britisk pilot kaster en bombe.