Editorial

Today’s technology penetrated mass culture. With the pandemic and the prolonged and imposed confinement, all the sevicios became home and the individual got used to the dangerous sedentarism. They have permeated our minds with new consumer habits, leading to serious physical and emotional disorders as proven (WHO). Norbert Elias, a German sociologist, considers that when the equilibrium imposed by civilization is broken “de-civilization” (neologism) arises, that is, impulses are unleashed and perverse effects appear, contradicting the demands of the civilizing process.

The fact is that the issue is beginning to be debated everywhere, even in different contexts and realities, and I am impressed as the emerging and meddlesome subject of today’s world. In fact, today we are witnessing processes of adulteration of culture; in the media and social networks barbarities are said without taking any responsibility; respect for oneself and for the other is lost; correcting errors or setting limits is retrograde and, there is a naturalization of violence in any social sphere. The principles, values, norms, codes, rules that seek to ensure coexistence and the common good are no longer respected, because they are considered to be manifestations of authoritarianism, not a defense of the freedom of the individual. Meanwhile a discourse of false egalitarianism, absence of legitimate hierarchies, class resentment, political and religious fanaticism is propagated, and even merit, knowledge, and ignorance is encouraged… In short, they are rudimentary manifestations that take us back to primitive times dominated by barbarism, and that civilization, despite its multiple and undeniable flaws, believed to have overcome.

The text is part of the opinion article: “Cultural disruption, social reconfiguration and de-civilization”, from the Blog: “Conflicts, Interests & Harmonies” by Roberto M. Cataldi Amatriain (12/06/2023).

The International Liver Congress (22-26, june, 2022, London)

The London Hepatology Congress (2022) presented the Lancet Commission Report, published in December 2021, which recognises that in Europe liver disease is the second most important cause of years of active life lost, behind ischemic heart disease. It was also mentioned that many liver diseases are preventable or can be cured with early treatment, but this requires the introduction of prevention and early detection measures, which would reduce morbidity and mortality, and it is estimated that the lives of some 300,000 people a year could be saved across the continent.

Europe has the highest rate of alcohol consumption in the world and more than 50% of terminal liver diseases are related to alcohol consumption according to the joint report of the EASL (European Liver Study Association)  and The Lancet. Every year 287,000 people die in the continent from liver diseases, mostly preventable with healthy habits, and the trend is increasing: it is an increase of 25% compared to 1990. This report states that most patients with undiagnosed cirrhosis have normal blood tests. The highest incidence of liver disease is observed in young and middle-aged patients, faced with the impossibility of suppressing or banning alcohol consumption, and with the aim of protecting the population, some suggest adopting a similar behaviour to that assumed with tobacco, that is, prohibiting promotion (a measure adopted in almost all Western countries) and that the packaging should include a warning about the dangers of its consumption for health. It is also suggested to increase the price and reduce the promotion.

It is important for doctors to inform their patients and the general public about the consumption of these drinks as well as about healthy habits. Experts advise moderate consumption of alcoholic beverages in addition to not drinking these drinks three consecutive days a week.

There has never been so much technical and scientific progress as in our days, and there has never been so much “discomfort” of the patients with the Medical Care they receive.

There are ethical recommendations on Big Data but there are no effective compliance regulations that protect the rights of citizens, including the rights of vulnerable and already violated populations.

Professor Roberto M. Cataldi Amatriain

(Text in Spanish)

Since antiquity the clinical method is fundamentally hypothetical-deductive.The doctor dialogues with the patient, interrogates him about his ailments, examines him and, according to the findings plus theoretical knowledge and based on his experience, elaborates hypotheses about the pathologies that the patient may have, while performing a deductive process, to arrive at the diagnosis.

The evolution of science and technology continuously presents us with new diagnostic and treatment tools and, it is correct to go to them from a clinical perspective, that is to say from the patient in question, requesting those studies and examinations that are necessary.

The doctor who requests an inexhaustible battery of studies often reveals not knowing what the patient is suffering and in his disorientation looks for some study to come up with the diagnosis that he failed to suspect.

By professor Roberto M. Cataldi Amatriain

Original text in Spanish

Charity in medical care is based primarily on assistance to patients who do not have the financial resources to cover the costs of their care. Two worrying phenomena: 1) vulnerable and already vulnerable populations in need of medical care and left to their own devices; 2) the market for technology applied to diagnosis and treatment, scientific research, and medicines produced by the pharmaceutical industry. The “health-care business” used to exist at all epoque, but today it is alarming. It describes different acts of the health market that go through charitable acts and are in fact covert businesses.

(Original text in Spanish)

Professor Roberto M. Cataldi Amatriain

Editor-Director