Treatment of Patients with Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma using Stem Cell Differentiation Stage Factors

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents the third leading cause of cancer-related death. Because HCC is multicentric with time, excluding the few transplanted patients, sooner or later it becomes untreatable with loco-regional therapies and, until some years ago, it was not responsive to systemic therapies. In 2005 a randomized trial indicated the efficacy of a product containing stem cell differentiation stage factors (SCDSF) taken from zebrafish embryos during the stage in which the totipotent stem cells are differentiating into the pluripotent adult stem cells. In such a trial the patients, with “intermediate” and “advanced” HCC according to Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer/American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (BCLC/AASLD) guidelines, presented benefit in terms of performance status and objective tumoral response, with some cases (2.4%) of complete response, that is, sustained disappearance of the neoplastic areas or blood supply therein, accompanied by normalization of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels (complete response [CR]). A second study reporting the experience of a tertiary referral center on patients with “advanced” stage confirmed the possibility to obtain CR. Out of 38 patients, 5 presented a sustained CR (13.1%). Improvement on PS was obtained in 17 patients (34.6%). No side effects occurred.     

Problematic donation procedures vs. futuristic research and treatment applications: A dichotomous social representation of stem cells in Italy

IntroductionCurrently, stem cells (SC) are one of the most studied issues of medical research as well as a widespread, complex, socially and ethically relevant issue.ObjectiveThe general aim of the present study is to explore how social representations (SR) of SC is different for people more or less willing to donate SC, also comparing bone marrow SC (BMSC) donation and umbilical cord blood SC (UCBSC) donation.MethodA paper-and-pencil survey was administrated to 78 Italian respondents. A structural analysis of SC-SRs (prototypical and co-occurrence analysis) was conducted comparing people with a high/low intention to donate UCBSC/BMSC.ResultsSimilarly to other bioethically relevant issues, SR of SC seems to be ambivalent and dichotomously organized, with the donation procedure been a barrier.ConclusionThese results are in line with studies finding two sets of dichotomies: on the one hand, a gift-of-life/replacement-of-body-parts dichotomy coexisting within people's SR of organ donation; on the other hand, a help/pain and needle dichotomy within blood donation's SR. Directions for future research are suggested.     

THE ABSTRACT SUBLIME: Life as information waiting to be rewritten

We report here on a series of interaction-intensive, interdisciplinary workshops to foster collaboration among those who teach, study, and engage with the public about scientific developments and social change—the New England Workshop on Science and Social Change. We include one line of thinking that fed into the workshops and present an analysis of how they contribute to participants developing their interest and skills in collaboration. Workshop evaluations suggest that people are moved to develop themselves as collaborators when they view an experience or training as transformative. Four R's—respect, risk, revelation, and re-engagement—point to the important conditions for interactions among researchers to be experienced as transformative. Three considerations lie behind the focus on the process side of the workshops, not the specific workshop topics: (1) how best to fill in for readers what they missed out on by not being there; (2) workshops and meetings are a ubiquitous part of the culture of science and technology studies (STS) so it is valuable to examine this aspect of our own culture with a view to promoting positive changes; and (3) in some scientific fields organized multi-person collaborative processes form a highly valorized aspect of the culture of science, so reflection on experiences of participation and collaboration in STS might inform our analyses of fields that emphasize collaboration and group processes. Indeed, the authors' own involvement in the workshops extends our own STS work on actor networks and ‘heterogeneous engineering’, that is, the mobilization of a variety of resources by diverse agents spanning different realms of social action.     

重组人粒细胞集落刺激因子预防肿瘤化疗后Ⅲ度以上骨髓抑制的疗效分析

探讨重组人粒细胞集落刺激因子(rhG-CSF)对初诊晚期肿瘤患者化疗后骨髓抑制的合理预防用药时机.采用前瞻性随机方法,筛选首次化疗后出现Ⅲ度～Ⅳ度骨髓抑制的肿瘤患者,以化疗前24h内给予rhG-CSF的为预防治疗组;以化疗前未预防性给药为对照组,采用组间对照法,比较两组化疗后骨髓抑制的发生情况.结果发现两组的骨髓抑制发生率,预防组明显低于对照组,且Ⅲ度以上骨髓抑制发生率也明显降低.首次化疗后出现Ⅲ度～Ⅳ度骨髓抑制的肿瘤患者,下次化疗前24h内预防性给予rhG-CSF,能有效控制肿瘤化疗后骨髓抑制的发生,降低感染的风险,值得推广.     

诱导多能干细胞技术的生命伦理分析

诱导多能干细胞(induced pluripotent stem cells,iPSCs)是通过向分化的体细胞转入特定的外源转录因子进行重编程,从而获得具有自我更新能力和多能性的细胞.iPSCs具有形成体内所有细胞类型的潜能,尤其是能以患者自身体细胞制备iPSCs,可用于特定疾病的治疗,规避了异体移植引发的免疫排斥风险以及伦理和法律冲突等问题,在基础研究和临床应用都有广阔的应用前景.目前,在重编程体细胞为iPSCs的过程中,由于细胞来源不同,所采用的基因组合以及转基因方式各不相同,获得的iPSCs具有潜在的致癌性等安全隐患,导致iPSCs的临床应用面临新的生命伦理挑战.     

Salutary effect of daily coping self-efficacy: impact on day-by-day coping to mood effects within dyads following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

ABSTRACT

Background and Objectives: Little is known how coping self-efficacy (CSE) interacts with coping in dyad everyday life. The present study examined the moderating role of daily CSE in the relationship between coping and the next-day positive (PA) or negative (NA) affect in patient-caregiver dyads, following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Design: This intensive longitudinal study was conducted during the first 28 days after post-transplant discharge.

Methods: Patients and their caregivers (N?=?200) maintained daily diaries on CSE, coping strategies, and affect.

Results: Daily CSE moderated daily coping–affect relationship: Positive emotion-focused coping increased PA in patients with higher than usual emotion-related CSE, whereas a buffering effect was found at lower than usual emotion-related CSE. A positive association between negative emotion-focused coping and NA in both patients and caregivers was stronger among those with lower than usual levels of emotion-related CSE. Higher than usual instrumental coping reduced NA in patients whose caregivers had higher than usual problem-related CSE, but increased NA for those whose caregivers had lower than usual instrumental CSE.

Conclusion: The findings show that daily CSE contributes to the effectiveness of daily coping within dyad, confirming its significance in effective adaptation and the role in the dyadic coping process.     

干细胞技术与肝硬化:共性与个性的新实践

干细胞横向分化(transdifferentiation)的能力,在肝脏再生过程中发挥作用,随着对干细胞的深入研究,干细胞技术为终末期肝病的治疗提供了新思路。本文对干细胞加以分类并综述了各种干细胞研究进展,对干细胞在肝脏疾病细胞治疗上的应用及前景作了总结和展望。     

Fabricated Humans? Human Genetics,Ethics and the Christian Wisdom Tradition1

Abstract: This article highlights the key social issues associated with genetic screening and testing. It identifies an uneasy combination of a cultural drive towards perfection alongside heightened perception of a risk society. Awareness of risk is particularly in evidence in clinical genetics, but is surprisingly silent in public discourse about stem cell research, which has tended to flounder through its unilateral focus on the status of the early embryo. This article concentrates on current practice, such as the use of preimplantation genetic diagnosis, and offers a critical analysis of current debates about ethical issues. It argues that Christian ethics can contribute positively to the debate by drawing on the tradition of prudence or practical wisdom, which goes beyond the secular alternatives of both the consequential analysis of risk and benefit and the precautionary principle.     

应用系统的科学方法研究失重骨丧失的机制

航天飞行的失重环境引起的骨质丧失的机理极其复杂,是多系统,多水平综合作用的结果。应用系统的科学方法来指导失重致骨丧失的具体研究,可以更全面客观地分析问题,促进研究的进展。