Planeta Bioética

Virus-free technique enables scientists to easily make stem cells pluripotent

2010-02-08T17:19:25+00:00

Tiny circles of DNA are the key to a new and easier way to transform stem cells from human fat into induced pluripotent stem cells for use in regenerative medicine, say scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Unlike other commonly used techniques, the method, which is based on standard molecular biology practices, does not use viruses to introduce genes into the cells or permanently alter a cell’s genome. (PhysOrg)

Assisted-Suicide Pioneer Stirs a Legal Backlash in Switzerland

2010-02-08T16:37:52+00:00

Daniel Gall, a French actor, was skeptical when his sister and her husband told him two years ago that they wanted to commit suicide. Genevieve Gall-Peninou was 81 and said she could no longer bear the Alzheimer’s Disease she had suffered for several years. Yves Peninou, 86, didn’t want to live without her. (Wall Street Journal)

Op-Ed: What Is a Life Really Worth?

2010-02-08T16:36:58+00:00

This is the kind of news that unleashes hysteria about “death panels” and “health-care rationing,” but here goes: an analysis of genetic screening for an incurable, untreatable disease called spinal muscular atrophy shows that it would cost $4.7 million to catch and avert one case, compared with $260,000 to provide lifetime care for a child born with it. So here’s the question: do we say, “Damn the cost; it is worth any price to spare a single child the misery of being unable to crawl, walk, swallow, or move his head and neck”—or do we, as a society, put on the green eyeshades and say, “No, sorry, we can’t afford routine screening”? (Newsweek)

SCID recommended for newborn screening in the US

2010-02-08T16:35:28+00:00

The US Secretary’s Advisory Committee for Heritable Disorders in Newborns and Children (ACHDNC) has recommended that an additional condition be added to the panel of conditions for which all newborns receive screening. (PHG Foundation)

Most Adults Not Getting Necessary Vaccinations

2010-02-08T16:34:26+00:00

Public health experts say they’re concerned about the low number of U.S. adults who receive recommended vaccinations — and in particular about seniors who aren’t immunized against pneumonia. (ABC News)

Op-Ed: The incredible story of the most important woman in the history of modern medicine

2010-02-08T16:33:46+00:00

Out of America: Millions of tons of immortal cells – all grown from a single tissue sample taken from Henrietta Lacks before her death from cancer in 1951 – are used by researchers around the world, amid a debate about ethics, race and the rights of donors and their families. (The Independent)

The Riddle of Consciousness

2010-02-08T16:32:53+00:00

The assorted mystics, philosophers, theologians and, most recently, neuroscientists who have burned a candle searching for the essence of consciousness all started with a simple presumption: Consciousness must begin where unconsciousness ends. (New York Times)

EGYPT: Controversial organ transplant bill welcomed by WHO

2010-02-08T16:32:14+00:00

A controversial organ transplant bill expected to become law in the next few weeks could regularize organ transplants and curb Egypt’s booming illicit trade in human organs, experts say. (Reuters AlertNet)

Test-tube boys may inherit fertility problems

2010-02-08T16:31:21+00:00

DOCTORS have uncovered the first evidence that fathers of test-tube babies may be passing on their infertility to their sons. A new study has found that boys conceived through IVF treatment involving a single sperm being directly injected into a female egg often inherit shorter fingers, a trait known to be associated with infertility. (Times Online)

Algunos pacientes en “estado vegetativo” pueden pensar y comunicarse

2010-02-08T16:00:29+00:00

Un equipo de investigadores ha logrado probar que algunos pacientes considerados en “estado vegetativo” pueden escuchar, entender y comunicarse mediante cambios conscientes en su actividad cerebral.

The Full Cost of Medical Fraud

2010-02-08T11:23:06+00:00

Medical fraud kills people. Because it does this slowly and indirectly, we tend not to notice it, and our response is more often the clucking of tongues than the moral outrage that usually accompanies mass murder.

In Haiti, Practicing Medicine From Afar

2010-02-08T10:44:38+00:00

In the desperate days soon after the earthquake in Haiti last month, foreign medical volunteers relied on improvised, low-tech devices for consultations and coordination. But American doctors are switching to more sophisticated technology to help improve public health in Haiti, one of the world’s poorest nations.

Putting a Caregiver in the Equation

2010-02-08T10:40:22+00:00

What should a primary-care physician do when a patient turns up with a friend or family member in tow: someone who's clearly taking some kind of responsibility for that patient's care?

Couple Decide to Let Disabled Child Die in Hospice

2010-02-08T10:38:33+00:00

A Tianjin couple's decision to stop medical treatment for their newborn baby, who suffers life-threatening birth defects, has triggered a huge controversy.

Let's Get Rational About Health Care 'Rationing'

2010-02-08T10:37:28+00:00

Current medical practice is enormously expensive, often without clear long-term benefits. A few examples: *End-of-life care at New York University averaged $105,000 per patient in the last two years of life, without evident improvement in mortality rates. Costs at other centers were nearly as high, also without evident benefits.

New Issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association is Now Available

2010-02-07T22:20:11+00:00

JAMA (Vol. 303; No. 4; January 27, 2010) is now available by subscription only.

Articles include:

“Assessing the Legal Standard of Care in Public Health Emergencies” by James G. Hodge Jr and Brooke Courtney, 361-362.
“Improving Health by Taking It Personally” by Ralph Snyderman and Michaela A. Dian, 363-364.
“Ethnic Shifts Raise Issues in Elder Care” by Rebecca Voelker, 321.
“Stem Cell Lines Cleared” by Bridget M. Kuehn, 322.

New Issue of Archives of Internal Medicine is Now Available

2010-02-07T22:10:23+00:00

Archives of Internal Medicine (Vol. 170; No. 2; Jan. 25, 2010) is now available by subscription only.

Articles include:

“Tackling Obesity: Is Primary Care Up to the Challenge?” by Robert F. Kushner, 121-123.

Event: Webinar Event

2010-02-07T22:09:31+00:00

2010 Webinar Event
for Fertility Clinics, Adoption Agencies and Attorneys

Following on the success of our 2009 webinars the Embryo Adoption Awareness Center brings you three professional perspectives of embryo donation and adoption.

Daniel L. Stewart, M.D., Reproductive Endocrinology

Shawnee Mission Medical Center Physician Group

Sanford Krigel, Attorney at Law

Krigel and Krigel, PC

Kris Probasco, LCSW, LSCSW

Adoption and Fertility Resources

Professional insights regarding the medical, legal and social aspects of embryo donation and adoption.
Why do some clinics support embryo donation and adoption?
Is counseling an important component of the embryo donation and adoption process?
What are the rewards/risks for a clinic to partner with an adoption agency?
Why should donors/adopters seek legal counsel?

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

11:30 am EASTERN TIME
10:30 am CENTRAL TIME
9:30 am MOUNTAIN TIME
8:30 am PACIFIC TIME

$25.00 per person or $50 maximum per business.

http://www.embryoadoption.org/seminars/

Aborto. Población. Dinero.

2010-02-07T15:24:30+00:00

El aborto puede ser rechazado por razones morales principalmente, pero también científicas y, por su puesto, económicas. Isabel Estapé publica el siguiente artículo en ABC: “No rotundo al ocaso de una civilización“ En el hace referencia a una serie motivos jurídicos, microeconómicos y macroeconómicos. En nuestros países occidentales hace años que vemos pirámides poblacionales similares a esta: La base que

Bill would expand inheritance for in vitro babies

2010-02-05T20:15:26+00:00

A legislative subcommittee approved a measure Thursday giving inheritance rights to Iowa children born up to two years after their father’s death. The measure would mean children conceived through in vitro fertilization would be entitled to benefits such as Social Security survivor payments even if they were gestated after a parent’s death. (Chicago Tribune)

BBC accused of ‘promoting euthanasia by ignoring rights of disabled’

2010-02-05T20:10:36+00:00

The BBC has been accused of promoting euthanasia by a cross-party group of MPs who called on ministers to threaten to cut off the supply of public money to the broadcaster. (Telegraph)

Athletes Beware, Scientists Hot on Gene Doping Trail

2010-02-05T20:09:25+00:00

After warning for years that athletes would try to dope their genes, scientists are finding ways to catch them. The tests are still being refined in animals, but will likely be run years from now on samples taken at the upcoming Winter Olympics and stored. (Wired)

Illinois Court Nullifies Medical Malpractice Caps

2010-02-05T20:07:32+00:00

The decision, though specific to Illinois, could deal a blow to efforts to change malpractice laws elsewhere. Recall, that last fall the administration promised to fund state experiments in dealing with medical malpractice to the tune of $25 million. Lately, the notion that changes in how malpractice is handled could save a lot of money even got a thumbs-up from the Congressional Budget Office. (NPR)

Medical groups assail patenting of human genes

2010-02-05T20:05:58+00:00

In a case that could have far-reaching implications for medical research and health care based on genetics, groups representing thousands of doctors, scientists and patients went to court Tuesday to argue that no one should be able to patent human genes, a question that has long been controversial in scientific circles. (USA TODAY)

Learning ‘Curves’: Bioethics Memory Aid Can Help Assess Patient Decision-Making Capacity in Medical Emergencies

2010-02-05T20:04:52+00:00

Physicians in training and bioethicists at Johns Hopkins have created an easy-to-remember checklist to help medical students and clinicians quickly assess a patient’s decision-making capacity in an emergency. (Newswise)

Study Finds Activity in Brain That Seems to Be Shut Down

2010-02-05T20:03:11+00:00

He emerged from the car accident alive but alone, there and not there: a young man whose eyes opened yet whose brain seemed shut down. For five years he lay mute and immobile beneath a diagnosis — “vegetative state” — that all but ruled out the possibility of thought, much less recovery. (New York Times)

Lessons from H1N1

2010-02-05T20:00:38+00:00

After public health authorities in the United States spent months encouraging, cajoling, and frightening the public into getting vaccinated against the H1N1 influenza virus, they had no vaccine to give. The second wave of the H1N1 pandemic hit North America in early fall 2009. Millions were infected and thousands died before people were immunized. Of the 250 million doses of vaccine ordered by the U.S. government, only five million had been delivered at the height of the outbreak because of problems with vaccine production. (Bioethics Forum)

Blacklisted hospital in trouble agin over kidney scam

2010-02-05T19:59:46+00:00

The state health department has promised action against two hospitals in Coimbatore if they are proved guilty of trading in kidneys but most non-government organizations in the organ transplant sector are “unsure” if any action will be taken. (The Times of India)

The Limits of Bioethics

2010-02-05T19:57:56+00:00

On Valentine’s day two years ago, Paul Wagner, a 40-year-old Philadelphia purchasing manager, gave Gail Tomas, a total stranger, his left kidney. Wagner met Tomas, a 65-year-old former opera singer, on the internet, at MatchingDonors.com. Her daughter had posted an ad asking some magnificent stranger to save her mother. “It was there that I read about a lady in my city, Philadelphia, who was desperate for help,” Wagner said. “It has been one of the best decisions I have ever made.” This story had a happy ending. Yet it unfolded amid controversy over whether ethical norms were violated. (AEI)

Will Retracted Study Affect Autism Activism?

2010-02-05T19:56:15+00:00

Finally: after almost a dozen years, scores of studies undercutting its conclusions, and a years-long disavowal by most of the authors, the infamous paper that first claimed a link between childhood vaccinations and autism has been formally retracted by The Lancet, the medical journal that published it in 1998. (Newsweek)