Annals of Surgical Oncology - Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNETs) are rare heterogeneous tumors that have been steadily increasing in both incidence and prevalence during the past few decades.... 相似文献
In Switzerland, research with identifiable human tissue samples, and/or its accompanying data, must be approved by a research ethics committee (REC) before it can be allowed to take place. However, as the demand for such tissue has rapidly increased in recent years, and biobanks have been created to meet these needs, committees have had to deal with a growing number of such demands. Detailed instructions for evaluating every kind of tissue request are scarce. Committees charged with evaluating research protocols therefore sometimes face uncertainty in their decision-making.
Methods
We examine how a pool of Swiss REC members deal with a number of cases involving human tissue, in order to determine the standards they adhere to, and their understanding and implementation of existing laws and guidelines.
Results
There is considerable divergence in the approaches and decisions of Swiss REC members regarding human tissue sample requests, particularly concerning the issue of informed consent. Despite recent trends towards less strict consent requirements for biosample research, many of our respondents continue to employ demanding standards for researchers. The question of informed consent, and the circumstances in which it is required, continues to result in differences of opinion.
Conclusions
While room for local and cultural interpretation is essential to the workings of an REC, misunderstanding of existing guidelines, or an absence of regulation in sensitive areas, will only lead to suboptimal functioning of the REC itself. Our data suggests that there is uncertainty and disagreement on the question of consent for human tissue sample, which existing laws and guidelines may not fully clarify. Methods to address these uncertainties should be implemented in order to ensure efficient and harmonious review of research protocols.
Dengue is an infectious viral disease transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the control of which is complex. In addition, the clinical diagnosis is difficult to perform since it resembles other febrile infections; thus, the development of more effective methods to detect dengue virus (DV) has drawn increasing attention. The present study aimed to develop an impedimetric immunosensor for dengue diagnosis using a screen-printed electrode (SPE) functionalized with polymer films derived from 4-aminophenylacetic acid (4-APA). Data obtained from scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed the deposition of a uniformly distributed material over the electrode surface. The immunosensor was based on the specific interaction between dengue antigen, NS1 protein, and anti-NS1 antibodies, IgG and IgM. In a characterization study using cyclic voltammetry (CV), the polymer film showed two oxidation peaks at +0.17 and?+?0.35 V in 0.50 M sulfuric acid solution, indicating its adsorption and electroactivity at the SPE surface. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements showed a higher charge transfer resistance (Rct) to the polymer film-modified SPE as compared with the bare SPE, corroborating a previous study. The best rNS1 concentration for immobilization was 1.00 ng/mL, and the immunoreaction time between the antigen (Ag) and the antibody (Ab) was 20 min. Dilutions of positive and negative clinical serum samples were evaluated by EIE, from which it was possible to elucidate, for the positive serum, that the more diluted the serum the greater the Rct. Negative serum also showed an analytical signal, probably due to the presence of non-specific antibodies; however, the generated signal presented values closer to the rNS1 signal, indicating good selectivity of the proposed platform. The experiments were repeated using bare SPE to verify the importance of the polymer film in biosensor construction. No significant difference was observed between these results.
The aims of this study were to establish shear wave elastography of the pancreas by comparing measurements in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and healthy volunteers and to consider whether this method could contribute to the screening or prevention of T1D.
Methods
This pilot study included 15 patients with T1D (10 men, 5 women) and 15 healthy volunteers (10 men, 5 women) as controls. Measurements were performed with a Siemens Acuson S3000 (Siemens Healthcare, Erlangen, Germany) using a 6C1 convex transducer and the Virtual Touch? tissue quantification (VTQ) method.
Results
The mean shear wave velocity of the head of the pancreas was 1.0?±?0.2?m/s (median: 1.1?m/s) for the study group and likewise 1.0?±?0.2?m/s (median: 0.9?m/s) for the control group. Velocities of 1.2?±?0.2?m/s (median: 1.2?m/s) were measured in the body of the pancreas in both groups. There was a significant difference between the values obtained in the tail of the pancreas: patients 1.1?±?0.1?m/s (median: 1.0?m/s) versus controls 0.9?±?0.1?m/s (median: 0.8?m/s) (p?=?0.0474). The mean value in the whole pancreas of the study group was not significantly above that of the control group: 1.1?±?0.1?m/s (median: 1.0?m/s) versus 1.0?±?0.1?m/s (median: 1.0?m/s) (p?=?0.2453).
Conclusions
Sonoelastography of the pancreas revealed no overall difference between patients with T1D and healthy volunteers. Patients with T1D showed higher values only in the tail segment. Future studies need to determine whether specific regional differences can be found in a larger study population.
Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) is a frequent and severe chronic disease drastically impairing life quality. The underlying pathomechanism is incompletely understood yet but there is convincing evidence that in at least a subset of patients ME/CFS has an autoimmune etiology. In this review, we will discuss current autoimmune aspects for ME/CFS. Immune dysregulation in ME/CFS has been frequently described including changes in cytokine profiles and immunoglobulin levels, T- and B-cell phenotype and a decrease of natural killer cell cytotoxicity. Moreover, autoantibodies against various antigens including neurotransmitter receptors have been recently identified in ME/CFS individuals by several groups. Consistently, clinical trials from Norway have shown that B-cell depletion with rituximab results in clinical benefits in about half of ME/CFS patients. Furthermore, recent studies have provided evidence for severe metabolic disturbances presumably mediated by serum autoantibodies in ME/CFS. Therefore, further efforts are required to delineate the role of autoantibodies in the onset and pathomechanisms of ME/CFS in order to better understand and properly treat this disease. 相似文献
