Bioethics in the News

Thanks for the Center for Bioethics and Human Dignity for featuring these articles, which appeared in the news this week: 

U.S. Mined Personal Health Data toFind Vulnerable in Emergency 
(New York Times)– When an ice stormthreatened New Orleans in January, some residents heard from a city officialwho had gained access to their medical information. Dialysis patients were instructedto seek early treatment because clinics would close, and those who rely on at-homebreathing machines were told how to find help if they lost power.

Stem Cell Therapy Shows Promise forMultiple Sclerosis in Mouse Models 
(Medical Xpress)– Mice crippled by anautoimmune disease similar to multiple sclerosis (MS) regained the ability towalk and run after a team of researchers implanted human stem cells into theirinjured spinal cords. These mice recovered even after their bodies rejected thehuman stem cells.

End of Life Care Sub-standard
 (The Guardian)– A report reveals that fewerthan half of NHS patients in their last hours are told they are dying byhospital staff, while families are left feeling they have no emotional support.Also, the continued lack of specialist palliative care at weekends continueseven 10 years after recommendations that it should be offered seven days aweek.

Stem Cells Made from Skin Grow NewBone in Monkeys 
(Healthline)– Researchers have shown itis possible to grow new bone from stem cells made from an animal’s own skincells. This finding offers another potential source of stem cells fortransplantation: the individual’s own adult cells.

Daily HIV Prevention PillRecommended for Those at Risk 
(CNN) – For years the message was simple:Use condoms to prevent HIV. Now health experts want to add a strategy for thoseat risk: take a prevention pill daily. 

Measles Virus Used to Put Woman’sCancer into Remission 
(CNN) – A woman with an incurable canceris now in remission, thanks, doctors say, to a highly concentrated dose of themeasles virus.

 ‘Misreading’ of Data Led toErrors in Statin Papers 
(Nature)– The BMJ ismodifying, and is considering whether to retract, articles that questionedwhether many patients should be given cholesterol-lowering statin drugs. Thearticles made a critical statement about the rate of side effects that werebased on a “misreading” of another study.

U.S. Experts Urge Focus on Ethicsin Brain Research (Update)
(Medical Xpress)– Ethics must be consideredearly and often as the field of modern neuroscience forges ahead, to avoidrepeating a dark period in history when lobotomies were common. 

Enzyme Helps Stem Cells ImproveRecovery from Limb Injuries 
(Medical Xpress)– Collaborators on a study showone way stem cell therapy appears to intervene is with the help of an enzymealso used by a fetus to escape rejection by the mother’s immune system.