The New Biology and its Impact in Biomedical Strategies Against HIV/AIDS

Abstract. The sequencing of the human genome and the initiation of the structural genomics projects have ushered in a new age of biology that involves multi‐lab, high‐cost projects with broad task‐oriented goals rather than the more conventional hypothesis‐driven approach of the past. The new biology has led to the development of new sets of tools for the scientist to use in the quest to solve mysteries of human disease, biomolecular structure‐function relationships, and other burning biological questions. Nevertheless, the impact of the new biology on the field of AIDS investigation has been minimal, predominantly because many of the tools in the HIV field of study were developed before the full advance of the new biology was felt in the biomedical community. Many of the high‐cost megaprojects that involve large technological advances and are marketed as projects of promise to the biomedical community are not likely to significantly impact the field of HIV/AIDS research and cannot serve as a substitute for direct funding to the HIV/AIDS scientists working for vaccine development, an understanding of mechanisms of disease causation, and new tools for therapeutic intervention.     

Counseling to End an Epidemic: Revisiting the Ethics of HIV/AIDS

In the decades since HIV/AIDS was first identified, medical discoveries have advanced prevention and treatment, and shifting demographics have changed the face of the illness. Despite these changes, the counseling literature on HIV/AIDS and its ethical implications for counselors have remained limited and stagnant. Whereas past discussions have focused primarily on issues of confidentiality, this article addresses multiple ethical implications of HIV/AIDS to reflect current knowledge about the illness and its effects on clients.     

美国与知情同意有关的一些问题

知情同意是医疗保健和医学研究的一个基本的伦理学要求。这两种情况中,当医学研究的知情同意标准比医疗保健要求更加严格时,知情同意包含了3种要素：（1）告知病人或受试者该研究的性质。包括益处,危险和其他有关内容;（2）确保病人受试者理解所提供的信息;（3）得到病人或受试者自愿的同意,没有能力参与知情同意的病人包括患痴呆和危重病等无决断 能力的病人,这些病人属弱势病人。如要获许对他们的疾病进行研究,我们必须制定保护弱势受试者有效的伦理政策,提出了关于对痴呆病人、危重病人,脑死亡病人研究的伦理学政策。     

Ethical issues in research on preventing HIV infection among injecting drug users

The ethical issues in conducting research on preventing HIV infection are among the most complex of any area of human subjects research. This article is an update of a 1987 article that addressed potential conflicts between research design and ethics with respect to AIDS prevention among injecting drug users. The present article reviews current ethical issues that arise in the design and conduct of HIV/AIDS prevention research focused on injecting drug users. Disclaimer: The content of this publication is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the views of the Beth Israel Medical Center or Johns Hopkins University.     

HIV and the obligation to treat

The paper is an attempt to review the basis for the claim that physicians have a professional obligation to treat AIDS patients. Considered are the historical record, two professional codes of ethics, and several recent articles. The paper concludes that the arguments considered, which attempt to support the claim that physicians have an obligation to treat, fail. It is suggested, rather, that common humanity, which physicians share with those who suffer from AIDS, ought to be the basis for engaging in the care of AIDS patients.     

构建病人自主择医的现代医学伦理观

“病人选择医生”这一重大改革举措可以得到病人自主择医权和改革实践的有力辩护与支持,同时,为使其形成有序合理格局,并进入可持续发展的正常轨道,也亟需以解决现实重大问题为基础,着力的构建病人自主择医权的现代医学伦理观。这个医学伦理观应由现代的伦理理念框架1管理伦理框架、程序伦理框架构筑成主体框架。     

Ethics in health care and medical technologies

In this paper a case is used to demonstrate how ethical analysis enables health care professionals, patients and family members to make treatment decisions which ensure that medical technologies are used in the overall best interests of the patient. The claim is made and defended that ethical analysis can secure four beneficial outcomes when medical technologies are employed: (1) not allowing any medical technologies to be employed until the appropriate decision makers are identified and consulted; (2) insisting that medical technologies be employed not merely to promote the medical interests of the patient but rather on the basis of their ability to contribute to the overall well-being of the patient; (3) challenging caregivers to reflect on the dynamic interplay between their conscious and unconscious values and consequent determinations of what is in the patient's best interests; and (4) providing a justification for selected interventions which makes possible rational dialogue between caregivers espousing different viewpoints about treatment options.     

围手术期麻醉医师的伦理责任

随着医学模式的转变,麻醉医师应了解本专业特殊的伦理要求。本文通过对围手术期不同时间段的伦理要求进行分析,探讨了麻醉医师应遵守的医学伦理学职责,包括：术前查看病人,以最优化原则制定麻醉方案,坚持知情同意原则,杜绝术中知晓,执行保护性医疗制度,保证病人舒适自然的苏醒以及必要的心理抚慰与指导等。     

Jewish biomedical ethics and care of the AIDS patient

Jewish biomedical ethics form part of the broader Judeo-Christian ethical system that prescribes appropriate social conduct for most Americans. They are based on law(halachah) that is derived from the Hebrew Bible and its interpretations. The principle on which they center is that every person is sanctified by God and therefore of infinite value. Therefore, every effort must be made to preserve and protect human life. The management of the patient with AIDS engenders many problems of an ethical nature. An appreciation of the Judaic solutions to these problems may assist physicians caring for patients with AIDS in making their management decisions.     

关于高龄恶性肿瘤与人类自然死亡

“天寿癌”指的是高寿者经历漫长和满足的生命历程后平和地几乎没有痛苦地死于恶性肿瘤。癌症在高龄人群中十分常见,故高龄者死于癌症亦可被认为是一种形式的生命自然终结过程。因此,“天寿癌”的提出可能有助于老年人较实际地面对致死性肿瘤性疾病。对“天寿癌”的概念、诊断、治疗及其医学伦理学的问题进行简要的讨论。     

AIDS: Globalization and Its Discontents

Abstract. HIV/AIDS has changed from a disease of white gay men in the United States to a pandemic that largely involves women and dependent children in developing countries. Many theologies of disease are necessary to cope with the variety of expressions of this pandemic. Christian theoethical reflection on HIV/AIDS has been largely focused on sexual ethics, with uneven and mainly unhelpful results. Among the ethical issues that shape future useful conversations are globalized economics and resource sharing, the morality and economics of the pharmaceutical industry, and the need for sex education and access to reproductive choice. Considering such issues in international, interreligious, multiscientific contexts is a concrete next step for the religion‐and‐science dialogue. It will put the powerful tools of both fields to the service of the common good.     

检验医学的医学伦理学思考

检验医学发展迅速,然而对其医学伦理学的思考却常被人忽视。本文对日常检验工作中存在的伦理学问题进行了初步探讨,从检验机构设置、检验项目管理、日常检验工作及检验与,临床的沟通等方面思考了当今检验医学领域医学伦理学的现况。加强检验医学的医学伦理学建设,真正体现出对患者的人文关怀。     

Left ventricular assist devices: An ethical analysis

United States statistics continue to indicate that the human donor heart pool does not and will not meet the great demand for hearts. For those patients unresponsive to maximal medical therapy (approximately 60,000 patients per year), cardiac transplantation is currently their best hope for increased survival. To address the need for additional end-stage congestive heart failure (CHF) therapy options, three medical device manufacturers have developed implantable left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) which act as a pump for hemodynamic support of the patient’s diseased heart. Although LVADs have been shown to improve patient disease state prior to organ transplantation. LVADs do nothing to increase the pool of human donor hearts, and they negatively impact the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) waiting list by increasing the size of the waiting pool. This paper identifies and explores the ethical challenges presented by the use of LVADs as a bridging technology for heart transplant candidates. Although LVADs raise some ethical concerns, these concerns are outweighed by the proven medical efficacy of these devices. Thus, this technology should continue to be used and further developed. This paper was written by the author while in the Masters degree progrm at Loma Linda University (Dept. of Biomedical and Clinical Ethics), 11234 Anderson Street, Coleman Pavillion, Loma Linda, CA 92354, USA. The author is currently an Ethies Fellow (pre-doctoral) in UCLA’s program in Biomedical and Research Ethics.     

艾滋病防治中几个问题

HIV感染/艾滋病是一类新发的传染病,呈现全球大流行趋势,我国艾滋病流行经历了3个阶段,目前正处于HIV感染高速发展期,在地域范围、人群特点、传播途径等方面有了新变化,亟需从全社会各个层面上积极协作,有效地遏制疫情的蔓延。     

Ethical issues in genetic counseling: A comparison of M.S. counselor and medical geneticist perspectives

New technologies available in the field of medical genetics have increased the importance of responsible ethical decision-making among genetic counselors. A 1985 national survey of M.D. and Ph.D. genetic counselors assessed ethical attitudes using case scenarios designed to simulate dilemmas faced in genetic counseling (Wertz and Fletcher, 1988b). The current study focuses on attitudes of M.S. genetic counselors using similar scenarios, allowing for effective comparisons. M.S. counselors were more willing than M.D. and Ph.D. counselors to maintain patient confidentiality when screening for Huntington's Disease and occupational diseases, and a greater number would agree to counsel patients pursuing prenatal testing for sex selection. A majority of M.S. counselors would disclose an XY karyotype to a phenotypically female patient. M.S. counselors reasoned that respect for patient autonomy and patient confidentiality justified their decisions in many cases. The importance of these principles is discussed and questioned.     

Changes in health status after one year for persons at-risk for and with HIV infection

Abstract

Health status is an important component of the evaluation of patient outcome in HIV infection where disease is chronic, progressive, and debilitating. This paper compares patient self-report for 9 dimensions of health status for patients followed in ATHOS (AIDS Time-Oriented Health Outcome Study). We compared changes in functioning after 12 months for 1, 524 patients with varying HIV disease severity: 238 asymptomatic, 447 symptomatic, 441 AIDS, and 398 HIV-negative individuals who are at-risk for infection.

Declines in health status were observed for all HIV-infected persons, including also asymptomatic patients. Individuals with symptomatic disease or AIDS had significant declines (p < 0.001) in physical functioning, energy, global health, pain, and increased disease symptoms, but no significant declines in health distress, cognition, or mental health. Persons with AIDS had greater declines than those with symptomatic disease. All HIV-infected individuals reported significantly fewer hours at work and more disability days than HIV-negative patients from similar risk pools. The adverse impact that HIV infection has on the health status of HIV-positive asymptomatic individuals is striking; HIV-negative individuals are more similar to HIV-positive individuals than to the general population.     

An ethical framework for the responsible management of pregnant patients in a medical disaster

The ethics of managing obstetric patients in medical disasters poses ethical challenges that are unique in comparison to other disaster patients, because the medical needs of two patients--the pregnant patient and the fetal patient--must be considered. We provide an ethical framework for doing so. We base the framework on the justice-based prevention of exploitation of populations of patients, both obstetric and non-obstetric, in medical disasters. We use the concept of exploitation to identify a spectrum from ethically acceptable, to ethically challenging, to ethically unacceptable, management of obstetric patients in medical disasters. We also address the ethics of the care of obstetric and neonatal patients when the resources of a hospital are completely overwhelmed in a large-scale medical disaster.     

完善艾滋病人医疗保险政策的对策探讨

我国基本医疗保险并不拒绝艾滋病人,但由于艾滋病的特殊性,参保艾滋病人在享受基本医疗保险待遇的同时遇到了一些问题,对艾滋病参保人群和医疗保险制度本身都产生了一些影响。在对这些问题进行分析的基础上,有针对性地提出了一些对策,希望能对艾滋病人更好地享受基本医疗保险待遇有所帮助。     

关于麻醉后监测治疗室的伦理思考

麻醉后监测治疗室(post-anesthesia care unit,PACU)中医学高新技术设备对确保手术后患者的安全发挥极其重大的作用,然而PACU中也产生许多危机与伦理冲突。为了PACU的良性发展,我们认为如下伦理准则必须遵循:科学认定准则、最佳选择准则、精益求精准则、无伤准则、患者自主准则。