Ksenija Slavec

The development of nuclear medicine in Slovenia and Ljubljana; half a century of nuclear medicine in Slovenia

The development of nuclear medicine in Slovenia and Ljubljana; half a century of nuclear medicine in Slovenia Background. Nuclear medicine began to be developed in the USA after 1938 when radionuclides were introduced into medicine and in Europe after radionuclides began to be produced at the Harwell reactor (England, 1947). Slovenia began its first investigations in the 1950s. This article describes the development of nuclear medicine in Slovenia and Ljubljana. The first nuclear medicine interventions were performed in Slovenia at the Internal Clinic in Ljubljana in the period 1954-1959. In 1954, Dr Jože Satler started using radioactive iodine for thyroid investigations. In the same year, Dr Bojan Varl, who is considered the pioneer of nuclear medicine in Slovenia, began systematically introducing nuclear medicine. The first radioisotope laboratories were established in January 1960 at the Institute of Oncology and at the Internal Clinic. Under the direction of Dr. Varl, the laboratory at the Internal Clinic developed gradually and in 1973 became the Clinic for Nuclear Medicine with departments for in vivo and in vitro diagnostics and for the treatment of inpatients and outpatients at the thyroid department. The Clinic for Nuclear Medicine became a teaching unit of the Medical Faculty and developed its own post-graduate programme - the first student enrolled in 1972. In the 1960s, radioisotope laboratories opened in the general hospitals of Slovenj Gradec and Celje, and in the 1970s also in Maribor, Izola and Šempeter pri Novi Gorici. Conclusions. Nowadays, nuclear medicine units are modernly equipped and the staff is trained in morphological, functional and laboratory diagnostics in clinical medicine. They also work on the treatment of cancer, increased thyroid function and other diseases.

Tick-borne encephalitis in Slovenia (1953-2013): the 60th anniversary

Izvleček Uvod: Leta 2013 mineva 60 let od izolacije virusa klopnega meningoencefalitisa (KME) v Sloveniji. Od takrat se slovenski infektologi, epidemiologi, virologi in drugi strokovnjaki strokovno in znanstvenoraziskovalno ukvarjajo s proučevanjem KME. Metode: Ob jubileju so s historiografskimi metodami analizirali objave skozi ta čas in pripravili retrospektivno študijo pojavljanja te bolezni pri nas. Rezultati: V nekaterih delih Slovenije se je v letih po drugi svetovni vojni začela pojavljati bolezen osrednjega živčevja, ki je do tedaj niso poznali. Leta 1953 so Milko Bedjanič in Slava Rus, oba infektologa, ter virologinja Jelka Vesenjak Zmijanac z osamitvijo virusa iz krvi bolnice dokazali, da je ta bolezen KME. Virologi so v naslednjih letih proučevali povzročitelja KME; številni epidemiologi so raziskovali njegove epidemiološke značilnost, entomologi in ornitologi ekosisteme arbovirusnih okužb, infektologi klinične in laboratorijske značilnosti okužb in potek okužb ter morebitne posledice bolezni. Mikrobiologi so izpopolnjevali možnosti diagnostike te okužbe. Razvili so tudi uspešno cepivo in zakonsko so določene skupine, ki se morajo obvezno cepiti. Zaključki: Bolezen se je pri Slovencih ustalila kot endemski tip KME, ki jo kliniki sicer dobro obvladujejo, a je skupen trud epidemiologov in javnega zdravja usmerjen v zvišanje precepljenosti proti KME, saj je v Sloveniji ta odstotek zelo nizek in se bolezen še vedno prekomerno pojavlja. Abstract Introduction: In the year 2013, we are celebrating the 60th anniversary of the isolation of the tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBE) in Slovenia. Ever since its isolation, Slovenian infectologists, epidemiologists, virologists and other experts have been researching this disease. Methods: For this anniversary, we have historiographically analysed all qualified articles from this period and prepared a retrospective study of the appearance of the disease in Slovenia. Results: In certain parts of Slovenia, in the years following the Second World War, there was an increased presence of previously unknown diseases of the central nervous system. In 1953, Milko Bedjanič, Slava Rus and Jelka Vesenjak Zmijanac isolated a virus in the blood and thereby proved that the disease was indeed TBE. In the years that followed, virologists studied the cause of TBE, many epidemiologists researched its epidemic characteristics, entomologists and ornithologists studied the ecosystems of arboviral infections and infectologists studied the clinical and laboratory features of infections and the course of the disease as well as its possible consequences. Microbiologists perfected the technique of diagnosing this infection. They developed a vaccine and selected the groups that were legally obliged to be vaccinated. Conclusion: the disease has stabilised as an endemic type of TBE that clinicians can control, but the common effort of epidemiologists and the public health service directed towards vaccinating people against this disease has not been very successful and the disease is still too common.

The First Class of Students at the Full Medical Faculty in Ljubljana in 1945: The 65th Anniversary of Their Enrollment

In 1945, a class of 302 students enrolled at the newly established full Faculty of Medicine in Ljubljana with ten semesters of courses. Approximately 200 of them graduated five years later notwithstanding the faculty’s deficiencies in staffing and funding. By the end of 2009, the Ljubljana Faculty of Medicine had trained over 8,500 doctors and dentists. The first class of teachers and students faced many problems, but solved them over time. The spatial situation was solved by government decrees that temporarily assigned the Sempeter barracks, the clinics and health centers of the Ljubljana Hospital to the Faculty of Medicine. Staffing difficulties were solved by awarding professorships to experts in various areas. The problem of textbooks was overcome by students taking notes during lectures and copying them. Initial over-enrollment was solved by academic selection with strict criteria. The student youth organization directed cultivation of the body and mind with political overtones, and led compulsory “volunteer” labor campaigns throughout Yugoslavia. With great effort, despite all the postwar deficiencies, and at the same time enthusiasm for success and the zeal of all involved, the school was formed. It was further developed, year after year, producing ever better doctors with increasingly greater knowledge, comparable to global standards.

The development of Slovenian Heart Surgery: celebrating 50 years (1958-2008).

BACKGROUND The beginnings of Slovenian cardiac surgery reach back to 1958, when the first heart surgery using extracorporeal circulation (ECC) was performed. The 50th anniversary of this event was the impetus for reviewing its developmental path. METHODS History of medicine methodology, including analysis of archival materials, documents, and various publications of the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Ljubljana University Medical Center, Slovenia. RESULTS Presentation of the development of Slovenian cardiac surgery from 1958 to 2008. CONCLUSION Small countries may not be able to contribute great developmental steps to world cardiac surgery, but the work of individuals from these countries can represent a contribution to the development of the discipline.