Since 1969, when it was founded, the Centre - headed until 1990 by its founder Prof. Roberto Gualtierotti - has been carrying out intense theoretic and practical research, also focusing on the environmental sector, and since 1970 it has been promoting several national studies, on behalf of public and private Entities, on relations between climate and health.

This activity is highlighted by several publications (over 500) and monographs (25), as well as by hundreds of organized symposia and conventions.

The recent essay Meteorologia e Climatologia Medica by U. Solimene and A. Brugnoli (Ed. Mediamed, 2000), summarizes the research carried out in the last 20 years.

Department of Human Morphology
Director: Professor Virgilio F. Ferrario

Centre of Researches in Medical Bioclimatology, Biotechnologies and Natural Medicine
Director: Professor Umberto Solimene

BIOMETEOLAB
Head: Dr. Vincenzo Condemi

The laboratory of Biometeorology (BIOMETEOLAB) was created thanks to the pluriennal experience of the Centre for Researches in Medical Bioclimathology, Biotechnologies and natural Medicines; this was founded by the State University of Milan in 1969, moved by Professor Roberto Gualtierotti.
At the present the Centre is one of collaborating centres of the World Health Organization. The BIOMETEOLAB is based on a wide interdisciplinary basis, and technical/scientific and biomedical reserches converge in it; these allow to check the close relations between the meteorological changes and the different human pathologies.

Furthermore we refer to those fields like neuropsychoimmunoendochrinology, the arthrorheumatic diseases and respiratory diseases. A lack in the capacity of fitting by the organism, due to different external causes coming from the surrounding, can bring to real meteopathological syndroms.

There are a lot of schools in pharmachology, particularly the Israeli and the Swiss ones, that investigate the action mechanism of the relation between climate and human being, which seem to involve complex neuroormonal reactions.

The BIOMETEOLAB form a unique and original reality in the Italian Universities and we wish that this web site, and its always updated contents, will act not only as a useful instrument for the building up of specialists, but will also be a help for doctor and patient.

Head of the BIOMETEOLAB is Dr. Vincenzo Condemi, who acts also with the external consulence of Professor Angelico Brugnoli and Professor Sergio Borghi.

Thermal Medicine in its clinical and experimental implications is an important subject for study.
The Centre avails itself of the facilities and co-operation of the medical staff of several well-known thermal establishments in Italy for its clinical and experimental research and for performance of teaching and training activities, in co-operation with the Chair of Medical Therapy and Thermal Medicine.

The Director, Prof. Umberto Solimene, is the Secretary General of F.E.M.T.E.C. (World Federation of Hydrotherapy and Climatotherapy), an Association founded in 1947 and gathering National Thermal Organizations in 47 Countries.

Professor Umberto Solimene is also President of the AEMeB – European Association of Wellness Medicine.

The European Association of Wellness Medicine was created in Milan by a group of researchers and experts working in the medical, sports, and scientific information fields.
The reasons for which the association was created follow a series of remarks and considerations about the meanings of health and disease in the modern society.
There is a big difference between feeling good and not feeling sick. In fact: while not feeling sick means not having an organic or psychological pathology, feeling good is the status of optimal, psychophisical health that allows the individual to express all the phisical and psichological capacities in the best way.
In the technologically advanced societies, health – in its meaning of absence of illness – is considered as an unquestionable right of the citizen, granted and reached through a strategy of social and health measures; on the contrary, the estate of good health – in its meaning of feeling good – is considered as a conquest, result of the discretion and the capacity of the single citizen.
The medicine of wellness has as main subject the healthy individual, after that the medicine of prevention with its traditional of precocious diagnostic means and in case through pathological charts (haemathic, radiological tests, check of the crdiovscolar and neoplastic risks, …) has completed its task. In other words, the medicine of the wellness aims at the individual who can be called “sane” (among this we can also set the disabled stabilized in his handicap), and its aim is not only at maintaining the health status, but also trying to ameliorate it, in this way getting back the contents of those medical concepts that recall the Hippocratical tradition.
So, the medicine of the wellness completes the preventive medicine, intended as precocious diagnostic, and reduces its need at least to a potential point of view.
This integration constitutes the most authentical and complete way of preventing the disease. Above all, health is the result of a lifestyle that holds different elements, among which psychological (mind), phisical (movement), nutritional (food and beverage) elements, and the body care (hidrothalassotherapy) are considered as essential.
These are those fields in which the work of research, the checking of the data and the information of the Association are more articulated. In addition to the scientifical heritage of the west medicine, relevant aknolegements of the medicine of wellness are constituted by the traditional medicine knowledge and by the etnobothanical knowing.
Consequently, the medicine of wellness is absolutely in favour of the diagnostical, therapeutical practices and methodologies which were handed down through centuries to the different cultures, but on condition that their efficaciousness is scientifically proved on the basis of the research models of the western science. Those correct information, supported by objective, and scientifically proved facts, are the necessary condition for reaching an optimal health status.
The Association intends to be as institutional and qualified seat for study and research, furthermore it acts as centre of widespreading, also in coopertion with the mass media, giving complete information on how to get a good health. Wellness is not a luxus reserved to few, but, it becomes a widespread need, if we consider the rythms and the urgent requests of elevated quality services, that the world of work in a technologically advanced society everyday presents. The fact of having a wellness status consequently assumes a meaning of necessity which cannot be given up by the woman and the man of nowadays. The first initiative by the European Association of Wellness Medicine is represented by the constitution of a congress titled “La Medicina del Benessere. Percorsi: Scienza, Sviluppi e Cultura” (Health medicine through Science, Developments and Culture) held in Parma – Fair quartier; room “Sala dei Trecento” on 1st April 2001, in occasion of the International Spa and Thalassotherapy Meeting, and which had as outcome the qualified participation of spokesmen coming from different Italian and foreign Universities.

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH
The European Association of Wellness Medicine, together with Institutes and Departments of Italian and foreign Universities, supports a serie of researches in those fields related to the health theme. At the present, following studies are being developed:

• Sedentary young people and athlethes in the areas of city, lake and hills. Study of the participation to sport activities and the assumption of alimentary integrators and ergogenical medicines.
  Prof. A. Veicsteinaas – School for specialization in medicine of the sport. University of Brescia – Department of Medicine.
  The results of this study allow to see the evolution of a social phenomenon among young people, of great relevance; the research is done on the area of Brescia and Mantova. Furthermore, people will be able to check the effective widespread of use and abuse of alimentary integrators and of ergogenical medicines for sport tasks, also at an mateur level. There will be also an analysis of what seems to be the most worrying poblem in these last years: sedentarity in young people and the assumption of doping dubstances in very young people.
• Evaluation of the oxhidation – cellular stress in some professional categories: aeroplane pilots, astronauts, high speed trains drivers.
  Prof. U. Solimene – head of Medical Therapy and Spa Medicine – Centre of reserches in Medical Bioclimathology, Biotechnologies, Natural Medicines – University of Milan – Department of Medicine IDI Pharmaceutical (Pomezia) –University of Moscow – Training centre for astronauts “Y. Gagarin” in Moscow.
  It is well known that the oxiding stress is up to those ageing mechanisms and cellular degeneration; consequently it represents a very important factor in the genesis of different pathologies. There are some occupations, for example those subjected to this research, that represent an excellent model for this study, since the oxhidating processes are much more marked than normally, during the carrying out of these jobs. For this purpose the research examinates aeroplane pilots, astronauts and high speed train drivers.
• Anti- and prooxidating activities in laboratory and ex-vivo of vegetables wide used in alimentry diets, and effects of those technological treatements on above mentioned characteristics.
  Prof. G. Caccialanza – Head of Pharmaceutical Chemistry – University of Pavia – Department of Pharmacy
  The importance of a correct alimentation for what concerns the risks of oxidation is very well known nowadays. This study aims at investigating this subject through the evaluation of the anti- and prooxidating effect of some vegetables and considering the variability of these effects after technological treatments to which some foods are subdued. The research could then interest greatly our everyday alimentation.
• Evaluation of the stress influence on the relapse of the cancer in the breast.
  Prof. M. Clerici, Prof. G. P. Buzzi – Head of Immunology – University of Milan – Department of Medicine.
  A group of women, operated on for cancer in their brest, similar in age, surgical therapy and chemiotherapy, is studied for a three years period in order to evaluate the influence of the stress, cause of relapse into the desease. The subject “stress” is analysed under following points of view: the psychological one, the endocrinal, immunitary ones and on the basis of the autonomy nervous system.
  
  

PURPOSES
the association is a no-profit association and aims only at being socially useful through the promotion of activities in favour of:

• the knowledge and the widespreading of the purposes and those fields related to good health medicine beyond the concept of health developed by the World Health Organization
• scientifical researches and studies in all the fields regarding the good health medicine
• programmes for medicine of prevention
• promotion of information campaigns about all medical and scientific themes that aim at improving the public health
• achievement of scholarships
• orgnization of training courses about good health medicine
• checking and validation of those medical/scientifical structures acting in the good health field

MEMBERS – FEE
Individuals, societies, institutions and public institutions can be members of the association.

The entrance application of the members has to be written and presented to the secretariate office, and then given to the members of the council.
The members are ammitted only under deliberation of the council, on a majority of votes.
Once the member has paid the 26,00 EURO fee, he has among other following rights:

• receiving information about the activities of the society
• taking part to meetings, training courses and updating courses by the association, at advantageous conditions
• taking part to updating journeys in Italy and to foreign countries, at advantageous conditions

The board of directors is represented by:

• President: Prof. Umberto Solimene
  Director of the European Centre of the World Health Organziation for the conventional Medicine – head of medical therapy and spa medicine – University of Milan
• Vice-President: Prof. Gabriele Caccialanza
  Principal of the department of Pharmacy and president of the centre for the studies and researches of etnobiophrmachology – University of Pavia
• Vice-President: Arsenio Veicsteinas
  Director of the School for the Specialization in medicine of the sport – Head of the course of Human Fisiology – University of Brescia
• Secretary Gian Paolo Buzzi
  Lecturer of techniques for the control of the stress – University of Milan. Expert at the European Centre of the World Health Organization / Medicine
  

The following major fields are investigated: