Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Sudarshan Ramachandran

  • A look back at insulin

    Shrestha SarafSutton Coldfield, United KingdomSanjay SarafSudarshan RamachandranBirmingham, United Kingdom As we approach the centenary of the isolation, purification, and clinical use of insulin, it is an appropriate moment to reflect on the impact of this hormone on the management of diabetes. Diabetes can be defined as a heterogeneous group of conditions resulting in high blood…

  • Homeopathy: medicine or placebo?

    Shrestha SarafSutton Coldfield, UKSudarshan RamachandranBirmingham, UK Homeopathy, based on a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine, was developed by German physician Samuel Hahnemann around 1790. The primary principle of homeopathy is “like cures like,” i.e., a substance that causes symptoms can also be used to remove those symptoms. The trigger for the development of this system…

  • The Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune, a testament to the health benefits of religious charity and vineyards

    Kate Elizabeth ShipmanSudarshan RamachandranBirmingham, United Kingdom Introduction Charitable hospitals are fairly ubiquitous worldwide and are often associated with religion. Indeed the earliest known institutes devoted to healing were Egyptian temples, followed by ancient Greek temples devoted to Asclepius. The modern idea of hospitals providing in-patient care stems from Christian charitable institutions founded following an ecumenical…