Rational Therapy
A rational therapy or rational therapy (as part of since the Hippocratics in Greek antiquity existing rational medicine ) is a fully built on logical and causal mechanisms of treatment . The opposite term is empirical therapy .
In an essay on medical science and empiricism, the anatomist and physiologist Jakob Henle referred to a future medicine of the future that he had outlined in its basic features and for which pure empiricism was not sufficient, as "Rational Medicine".
features
The development of a rational therapy requires a precise knowledge of the physiological and pathological processes and substances involved. With the development of cellular pathology and the abundance of new knowledge associated with it in the second half of the 19th century, many biochemical and pharmacological mechanisms of action could be clarified. After that there was great hope in biology and medicine that a rational therapy would soon be available for all diseases. A similar euphoria arose with the development of modern genetics and molecular medicine in the 20th century.
"If biology were ready, we would know exactly the laws of life and the conditions of their manifestation, if we certainly knew the consequences of every change in these conditions, we would have a rational therapy and the unity of medical science would be established."
A rational therapy can significantly improve a treatment, but it usually requires very precise knowledge of the pharmacodynamics , the plasma and tissue concentration of the substances and many other findings. In the best case scenario, the success of a therapy can be predicted. In medical practice, however, it turned out that assumed rational effects and logical conclusions are not necessarily also in the patient's well-being. Today, rational therapies are only available for a small number of diagnoses. With evidence-based medicine , at the end of the 20th century, the realization gained acceptance that the effectiveness of a therapeutic intervention can only be demonstrated through extensive clinical studies.
Other uses
- The Ayurvedic medicine distinguishes between rational, psychological and spiritual therapies, wherein the rational therapy includes all naturopathic treatment approaches that act directly on the body.
- The psychotherapeutic Persuasionstherapie of Paul Dubois became known in the early 20th century as "rational therapy".
- The term “rational therapy” is also generally used for a particularly economical or for the most economical of all therapies available - given a certain diagnosis.
- In anthroposophic medicine , “rational therapy” is treatment in accordance with holistic, anthroposophic teachings.
Individual evidence
- ↑ See also Hans-Dieter Mennel: Rational and irrational medicine using the example of the neurosciences, Medicenale XX. Iserlohn 1990, pp. 739-758.
- ↑ Axel W. Bauer : Medicine, natural science (1850-1900). In: Werner E. Gerabek , Bernhard D. Haage, Gundolf Keil , Wolfgang Wegner (eds.): Enzyklopädie Medizingeschichte. De Gruyter, Berlin / New York 2005, ISBN 3-11-015714-4 , pp. 938-942, here: p. 938.
- ↑ quoted from Urban Wiesing : “Who heals is right? About pragmatics and plurality in medicine. ” Schattauer, 2004, p. 16.
- ↑ Urban Wiesing, “Who Heals Is Right ?: About Pragmatics and Plurality in Medicine”, Schattauer, 2004, p. 17