Reviving through human hippocampal newborn neurons

Recent contradictory data has renewed discussion regarding the existence of adult hippocampal neurogenesis (AHN) in humans, i.e., the continued production of new neurons in the brain after birth. The present review revisits the debate of AHN in humans from a historical point of view in the face of contradictory evidence, analyzing the methods employed to investigate this phenomenon. Thus, to date, of the 57 studies performed in humans that we reviewed, 84% (48) concluded in favor of the presence of newborn neurons in the human adult hippocampus. Besides quality of the tissue (such as postmortem intervals below 26 hours as well as tissue conservation and fixation), considerations for assessing and quantify AHN in the human brain require the use of stereology and toxicological analyses of clinical data of the patient.     

Public opponents of vaccination: a case study

Opposition to mass childhood vaccination is a world-wide phenomenon, particularly in industrialised countries. Unfounded claims about vaccination are perpetuated by parental lobby groups and individual spokespeople, some of whom have a medical or scientific background. This article focuses on one such spokesperson who has achieved particular notoriety. Dr. Viera Scheibner is a retired micropalaeontologist, without any formal training in health-related sciences, who tours the world claiming that vaccines are ineffective and dangerous and lead to a host of ills such as cancer and asthma. Professionals in public health or the clinical arena are from time to time called upon to publicly respond to her, or similar, claims disseminated during tours of Europe, North America or Australasia and in books and articles. Health professionals have expressed at how such spokespersons misrepresent the evidence on vaccine safety, resulting in the potential to undermine public confidence in immunisation. Media coverage, or proposed coverage, particularly of her more extreme claims, often makes health professionals engaged in immunisation feel obliged to respond. This paper describes Viera Scheibner’s approach, which follows a repetitious path and is representative of that taken by other public opponents of immunisation. We conclude by suggesting how health professionals might respond in the public arena.     

首次病程记录书写的探讨

首次病程记录是指患者入院后由经治医师或值班医师书写的第一次病程记录,内容包括病例特点、初步诊断、诊断依据、鉴别诊断和诊疗计划,不是入院录的简单重复。首次病程记录书写有3个基本要求,如书写者、书写时间和记录时间的限定。首次病程记录标题、书写者限定、书写者签名位置和记录时间的书写是书写过程中存在争议的地方;诊断与诊断依据、鉴别诊断与鉴别依据和诊疗计划是书写时问题存在最多的部分。对争议和问题进行了深入探讨,并提出了合理的对策,为规范书写首次病程记录提供参考。     

生物光子相干性理论的形成、发展与争议

生物系统的超微弱光子辐射(UPE)是自然界一个普遍的生命现象,是生物体固有的一种功能属性。关于UPE的产生机制却存在两种理论假说即相干性理论和代谢发光之破缺理论。然而,随着研究的不断深入,生物光子相干性理论被越来越多的研究者所认可。我们综述了自1923年以来UPE的研究进展,详细介绍了生物光子相干性理论的形成背景及其提出过程,总结了生物光子相干性理论的主要实验以及存在的争议,概括说明UPE作为生命系统普遍存在的一种现象,其研究不仅对生命科学领域具有重大的科学意义,在医学、中医学、农业、食品和环境科学等领域也具有广泛的应用价值。     

Tilt, E.J. and the change of life (1857) - the only work on the subject in the english language

Tilt was the author of the only Enlgish book on the female climacteric published in the 19th century. This short historic sketch is primarily concerned with the evaluation of his work. It only hints at the differences between conditions on the opposite sides of the English Channel which encouraged the expression of climacteric disturbances to the south of it but not to the north. Though Tilt acted as an agent of diffusion for the medical concepts developed in France he had hardly any listeners. During the last quarter of the century, however, conditions changed greatly increasing stress among women. The work of Tilt then supplied a ready mould into which the many nebulous complaints presented by women could be fitted. Ménopause became anglicized to menopause: but though Tilt was “vindicated” he was also forgotten. His style was dated and his treatment out of date. His strong advocacy of sedation is still followed but his pioneering of statistical investigation of the climacteric is largely forgotten. Endocrinal research has made us neglect all that happened before it; examination of the past, its achievements and mistakes, may yet, however, teach us a great deal.     

Osteoporosis Update: Proceedings of the 2013 Santa Fe Bone Symposium

The 2013 Santa Fe Bone Symposium included plenary sessions on new developments in the fields of osteoporosis and metabolic bone disease, oral presentations of abstracts, and faculty panel discussions of common clinical conundrums: scenarios of perplexing circumstances where treatment decisions are not clearly defined by current medical evidence and clinical practice guidelines. Controversial issues in the care of osteoporosis were reviewed and discussed by faculty and participants. This is a review of the proceedings of the Santa Fe Bone Symposium, constituting in its entirety an update of advances in the understanding of selected bone disease topics of interest and the implications for managing patients in clinical practice. Topics included the associations of diabetes and obesity with skeletal fragility, the complexities and pitfalls in assessing the benefits and potential adverse effects of nutrients for treatment of osteoporosis, uses of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry beyond measurement of bone mineral density, challenges in the care of osteoporosis in the very elderly, new findings on the role of osteocytes in regulating bone remodeling, and current concepts on the use of bone turnover markers in managing patients with chronic kidney disease who are at high risk for fracture.