Xenogeneic transplantation of porcine hepatocytes into the CCl4 cirrhotic rat model

Liver support using extracorporeal devices and hepatocyte transplantation has received renewed interest for the management of acute and chronic liver failure. The aim of this study was to determine whether xenogeneic porcine hepatocytes could integrate into the liver parenchyma of cirrhotic Lewis rats when administered by an intrasplenic route. Cirrhosis was induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) inhalation and confirmed histologically. Freshly isolated porcine hepatocytes were infused directly into the splenic pulp at laparotomy over a 5-15-min interval. Using (111)In-labeled hepatocytes, the degree of localization of porcine hepatocytes to the spleen and liver was found to be greater than 60% in both control and cirrhotic rats. Integration of porcine hepatocytes into the rat liver parenchyma was determined by immunohistochemical staining for porcine albumin in rat liver sections. Further confirmation was provided by in situ hybridization using a porcine-specific probe that binds to a distinct repetitive element (PRE) in porcine DNA. Evidence of integrated porcine hepatocytes was seen for over 50 days in animals under cyclosporine immunosuppression. These data demonstrate the integration of xenogeneic porcine hepatocytes into the liver of the cirrhotic rat and their ability to produce porcine albumin for up to 50 days.     

Sociological studies of the role of the chiropractor: an exercise in ideological hegemony?

This article presents a critique of the concept of marginal role as applied to chiropractors by examining the area of structural role theory from which the concept has been drawn. It suggests that the concept role was itself a reified concept and that its "metaphorical extension" to cover chiropractors constitutes a double jeopardy for health scientists. However, since all concepts are initially metaphorical ones, a methodology is required for distinguishing illegitimate from legitimate usage of metaphors, and reified from nonreified metaphors. Such a methodology establishes that: the metaphorical basis of the concepts has been lost; Researchers are using the concept role in realist terms; the metaphor has a related set of assumptions that are undefended and unexplained by role theorists and that have therefore gone "underground"; and the metaphor leaves out (suppresses) readily available evidence about the individual and society (i.e., is ideological in motive). Further, the article relates this process of theoretical reification to the broader social process of reification. It suggests that a sociology that proceeds in this way contributes significantly to the process of ideological hegemony, and in this instance, to medical dominance.     

High pregnancy rates and reproductive health indicators among female injection-drug users in Vancouver, Canada.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the incidence of pregnancy among active injection-drug users and to identify factors associated with becoming pregnant. METHODS: The Vancouver Injection Drug User Study (VIDUS) is a prospective cohort study that began in 1996. Women who had completed a baseline and at least one follow-up questionnaire between June 1996 and January 2002 were included in the study. Parametric and non-parametric methods were used to compare characteristics of women who reported pregnancy over the study period with those who did not over the same time period. RESULTS: A total of 104 women reported a primary pregnancy over the study period. The incidence of pregnancy over the follow-up period was 6.46 (95% confidence interval (CI) 5.24-7.87) per 100 person-years. The average age of women who reported pregnancy was younger than that of women who did not report pregnancy (27 vs. 32 years, p < 0.001). Women of Aboriginal ethnicity were more likely to report pregnancy (odds ratio 1.6, 95% CI 1.0-2.5). Comparison of drug use showed no significant differences in pregnancy rate with respect to the use of heroin, cocaine or crack (p > 0.05). In examining sexual behavior, women who reported having had a regular partner in the previous 6 months were three times more likely to have reported pregnancy. Despite the fact that 67% of women in this study reported using some form of contraception, the use of reliable birth control was low. Only 5% of women in our study reported the use of hormonal contraceptives. CONCLUSION: There were a high number of pregnancies among high-risk women in this cohort. This corresponded with very low uptake of reliable contraception. Innovative strategies to provide reproductive health services to at-risk women who are injecting drugs is a public health priority.     

Clinical and Local Effects of Antacids and Physical Therapy as Shown Gastroscopically

All physicians should be alert to indications of suicidal intent on the part of depressed or mentally ill patients. Hospital personnel generally should also know the importance of immediately reporting unusual behavior on the part of patients. Patients who seem likely to attempt suicide should be hospitalized and carefully supervised. Treatment should not be undertaken at home. Some of the newer antidepressant drugs are effective in treating potentially suicidal patients.