FACTORS THAT PROMOTE AND PREVENT PREPARATION FOR FUTURE CARE NEEDS: PERCEPTIONS OF OLDER CANADIAN,GERMAN, AND U.S. WOMEN

The risk of needing help with household tasks or of requiring care in old age increases. Using semi-structured, qualitative interviews, beliefs about the usefulness versus uselessness of planning ahead for future care needs (FCN) were investigated in 23 East German, 10 U.S., and 10 Canadian elderly-community dwelling women ( S 65 years). Primary reasons in favor of planning for FCN were: gaining a feeling of security regarding the future, avoiding being a burden to potential helpers, and coping with one's present health conditions. Factors that prevent planning for FCN were: the difficulty foreseeing FCN, the lack of resources to plan, and low levels of perceived vulnerability. The women dealt with the contradictions between these factors that promote and prevent preparation by making general plans which could be adapted in the case of needing help by developing alternative plans or by avoidance of thinking about possible future health crises.     

THE ROLE OF GENDER AND SUICIDE PRECIPITANT IN ATTITUDES TOWARD NONFATAL SUICIDAL BEHAVIOR

This study examined factors affecting young adults' attitudes about nonfatal suicidal behavior. It evaluated how respondent sex, respondent gender identity, the precipitant of the suicidal act (i.e., a relationship loss, an achievement failure, or a physical illness), and gender of the suicidal person influence reactions to a suicidal decision. In this study of nonfatal suicidal behavior, like in studies of suicide, attitudes were least negative when the suicidal act was in response to a physical illness. Men were more likely to agree with and accept the suicidal decision than women. Androgynous persons, on the other hand, tended to view the decision to kill oneself as foolish, independent of precipitant. They also reported less agreement, acceptance, and sympathy for such decision. The implications of these findings for the prevention of suicidal behaviors are considered. Because gender seems to play a role in the acceptability of suicidal behavior, prevention programs ought to explicitly examine gender issues in attitudes toward suicidal behavior.     

Induction of neural-like differentiation in human mesenchymal stem cells derived from bone marrow, fat, spleen and thymus

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) from bone marrow (BM) and sub-cutaneous fat are known to differentiate into neural cells under appropriate stimuli. We describe here the neural-like differentiation of human MSCs obtained from spleen and thymus, induced either with chemical factors or with co-culture with human Schwann cells (Sc). Under the effect of neural differentiation medium, most MSCs from BM, fat, spleen and thymus acquired morphological changes suggestive of cells of astrocytic/neuronal and oligodendroglial lineages with general up-regulation of neural molecules not correlated with morphological changes. The process was transient and reversible, as MSCs recovered basal morphology and phenotype, as well as their multilineage differentiation potential. Thus, we hypothesized that chemical factors may prime MSCs for neural differentiation, by inducing initial and poorly specific changes. By contrast, co-cultures of MSCs of different origin with Sc induced long-lasting and Sc differentiation, i.e., the expression of Sc myelin proteins for up to 12 days. Our results show that a MSC reservoir is present in tissues other than BM and fat, and that MSCs of different origin have similar neural differentiation potential. This evidence provides new insights into BM-like tissue plasticity and may have important implications for future therapeutic interventions in chronic neuropathies.