This paper aims to show Empedocles' influence on Hippocratic medicine through the analysis of two Hippocratic writings, i.e. On Ancient Medicine(AM) and On the Nature of Man(NM). I think that the author of AM criticizes philosophical physicians or natural philosophers, especially Empedocles, that at least Empedoclean philosophy is not necessary to medicine. On the contrary, the author of NM positively receives Empedoclean position in several aspects. It is necessary to examine these two writings in order to consider Empedocles' positive and negative influences on Hippocratic Medicine. The author of AM attacks the philosophical physicians who lay down as a hypothesis for their account hot or cold or wet or dry, in other words the same one or two things as the primary cause of all diseases. But it does not seem clear what the point of his criticism is. I think that his criticism lies on the following three points: (1) Hot or cold or wet or dry is neither the important cause of disease nor the important element for therapy;(2) The cause of diseases is not the same one or two things, but myriad things; (3) hypothesis as assumption is not necessary to medicine. These three points implies the criticism against cosmology and methodology of some early Greek philosophers, in particular Empedocles. Accordingly we should notice that the author attacks physicians influenced by Empedocles especially. Then whom does attack the author of AM? Lloyd points out Philolaus as the author's opponent, since he argues that man consists of the hot(Lloyd, 1963: 124-25). But I think that Lloyd narrowed down the opponent's range excessively. For example, if a physician holds that we consist of hot, cold, dry and wet, and that these are causes of diseases, does he belong to those whom the author attacked, or not? At a glance he doesn't seem to do. Because he lays down not one or two things as the cause of diseases, but four. But strictly we should tell that he does only two. Because hot and cold are contrary, and so both can not be causes of an disease at the same time. The same account applies to dry and wet too. Therefore even if someone lays down hot, cold, dry and wet as causes of diseases, it is right to regard him as the author's opponent. Moreover if a physician explains diseases by hot or cold or dry or wet, whether these are substances or qualities, in my opinion he is the author's opponent. Thus the opponents' range can be enlarged. While the author of AM attempts to exclude Empedoclean thought from medicine, the author of NM adopts it so positively. This author rejects the monistic view about man in chapters 1 and 2, and in chapter 3 tells that man is composed of hot, cold, dry and wet. And in the subsequent chapters he argues that man's body is composed of the four humours, and associates each humour with hot, cold, dry and wet respectively. It is noticeable that the author takes the pluralistic view and thinks that elements are four in number, that he make much of hot, cold, dry and wet, and that he explains man' generation and health by the balanced mixture. This shows Empedocles' influence on the author. In addition, the author holds that man and cosmos have hot, cold, dry and wet equally, and their change in cosmos according to seasons brings the increase or decrease of humours to man's body. Here is Empedocles' theory of macrocosm-microcosm found.
Human Characteristics* ; Humans* ; Philosophy ; Seasons

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Biochemical markers are useful for the prediction of cardiac events in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The N-terminal fragment of the BNP prohormone (NT-proBNP), which is synthesized by cardiac ventricles in response to increased wall stress, may be a prognostic marker in ACS. The relation between the NT-pro BNP levels on admission and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) were assessed in a cohort of patients with ACS. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Between October 2002 and April 2004, blood samples for the determination of NT-proBNP level were obtained on admission from 78 patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), 32 with non-ST elevation MI(NSTEMI) and 66 with unstable angina (UA). Patients were followed concerning MACEs (death, MI, heart failure, stroke and revascularization) for a median of 7 months in median. RESULTS: 22 patients (13%) had events. The mean NT-proBNP level was significantly lower in the event-free survivors than in those with events (1342+/-1598 versus 6129+/-6522 pg/mL, p<0.0001). The optimal cut-off value of the NT-proBNP level using a receiver-operating-characteristic curve was 1445 pg/mL. The unadjusted risk ratio of patients with an NT-proBNP level greater than the threshold was 7.0 (95% confidence interval, 2.6 to 19.0). In a multivariate Cox regression model, including clinical background factors and other biochemical markers, the NT-proBNP level was the most powerful indicator of MACEs (risk ratio, 8.0 [95% confidence interval, 1.7 to 37.1]). The coronary angiographic Gensini score was also a predictor of prognosis in ACS (risk ratio, 3.8 [95% confidence interval, 1.0 to 14.0]). CONCLUSION: A single measurement of the NT-proBNP level on admission appears to be useful as a prognostic factor in the prediction of MACEs in patients after ACS.
Acute Coronary Syndrome* ; Angina, Unstable ; Biomarkers ; Cohort Studies ; Heart Failure ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Myocardial Infarction ; Odds Ratio ; Prognosis ; Stroke ; Survivors

The Committee of Clinical Practice Guidelines of the Korean Diabetes Association (KDA) updated the previous clinical practice guidelines for Korean adults with diabetes and prediabetes and published the seventh edition in May 2021. We performed a comprehensive systematic review of recent clinical trials and evidence that could be applicable in real-world practice and suitable for the Korean population. The guideline is provided for all healthcare providers including physicians, diabetes experts, and certified diabetes educators across the country who manage patients with diabetes or the individuals at the risk of developing diabetes mellitus. The recommendations for screening diabetes and glucose-lowering agents have been revised and updated. New sections for continuous glucose monitoring, insulin pump use, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in patients with diabetes mellitus have been added. The KDA recommends active vaccination for coronavirus disease 2019 in patients with diabetes during the pandemic. An abridgement that contains practical information for patient education and systematic management in the clinic was published separately.

The Committee of Clinical Practice Guidelines of the Korean Diabetes Association (KDA) updated the previous clinical practice guidelines for Korean adults with diabetes and prediabetes and published the seventh edition in May 2021. We performed a comprehensive systematic review of recent clinical trials and evidence that could be applicable in real-world practice and suitable for the Korean population. The guideline is provided for all healthcare providers including physicians, diabetes experts, and certified diabetes educators across the country who manage patients with diabetes or the individuals at the risk of developing diabetes mellitus. The recommendations for screening diabetes and glucose-lowering agents have been revised and updated. New sections for continuous glucose monitoring, insulin pump use, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in patients with diabetes mellitus have been added. The KDA recommends active vaccination for coronavirus disease 2019 in patients with diabetes during the pandemic. An abridgement that contains practical information for patient education and systematic management in the clinic was published separately.