Dying is the Most Grown-Up Thing We Ever Do: But Do Health Care Professionals Prevent Us from Taking It Seriously?

This paper takes a somewhat slant perspective on flourishing and care in the context of suffering, death and dying, arguing that care in this context consists principally of ‘acts of work and courage that enable flourishing’. Starting with the perception that individuals, society and health care professionals have become dulled to death and the process of dying in Western advanced health systems, it suggests that for flourishing to occur, both of these aspects of life need to be faced more directly. The last days of life need to be ‘undulled’. Reflections upon the experiences of the author as carer and daughter in the face of her mother’s experience of death are used as basis for making suggestions about how care systems and professionals might better assist people in dealing with ‘the most grown up thing’ humans ever do, which is to die.     

Nanomedicines: From Bench to Bedside and Beyond

Advancing nanomedicines from concept to clinic requires integration of new science with traditional pharmaceutical development. The medical and commercial success of nanomedicines is greatly facilitated when those charged with developing nanomedicines are cognizant of the unique opportunities and technical challenges that these products present. These individuals must also be knowledgeable about the processes of clinical and product development, including regulatory considerations, to maximize the odds for successful product registration. This article outlines these topics with a goal to accelerate the combination of academic innovation with collaborative industrial scientists who understand pharmaceutical development and regulatory approval requirements—only together can they realize the full potential of nanomedicines for patients.     

Reciprocal Peer Support for Post-partum Patients with Diabetes: A Needs Assessment for the Diabetes Buddy Program

While peer support has been investigated in multiple clinical contexts, its application to the postpartum setting is unknown. The aim was to assess acceptability of a postpartum peer support program for women with diabetes. Observational survey-based needs assessment of forty low-income women with diabetes, receiving care at a major medical institution. Mean age and gravidity were 30.7 years and 3.15 ± 1.67 respectively. 45 % expressed interest in a “buddy.” There was no significant difference between groups desiring and not desiring this program. A majority of respondents desired telephone, text messaging, and in-person contacts (79.2, 72.1, 83.8 %), with 72.5 % of patients desiring diabetes-related activities during clinic waiting time. Many women desire a postpartum diabetes reciprocal peer program for support outside of clinician visits. Patients are receptive to educational services during their wait and outside of clinic time, a potentially valuable opportunity to share important health information.     

Clinicopathologic significance of LAIR-1 expression in hepatocellular carcinoma

Aim

Leukocyte-associated immunoglobulin-like receptor-1 (LAIR-1) is an immune inhibitory receptor which is expressed within most types of hematopoietic cells and negatively regulates immune responses. Recently, we found LAIR-1 expression to be present within tumors of nonhematopoietic lineages. However, the roles of LAIR-1 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) have yet to be examined. The purpose of this study was to investigate the expression of LAIR-1 in HCC tissue and assess its clinical significance at this site.

同型半胱氨酸对高血压患者脑卒中复发风险的影响

目的探讨高血压合并脑卒中患者的血浆同型半胱氨酸（Hcy）水平与其他危险因素对于脑卒中复发的影响。 方法分析徐州市中心医院心内科和徐州医科大学附属医院神经外科自2012年5月至2013年12月收治的1623例高血压脑卒中患者的基线资料，中位随访4.9年，根据随访事件中是否发生脑卒中分为复发组（312例）与未复发组（1311例）。Kaplan-Meier生存分析比较不同危险因素脑卒中复发率的差异，单因素与多因素Cox回归模型分析影响脑卒中复发的独立危险因素，以及危险因素之间的交互作用。 结果复发组年龄、空腹血糖、Lg Hcy的水平，以及糖尿病、房颤的患病率均高于未复发组（P<0.05）。Kaplan-Meier生存分析显示，糖尿病、房颤、年龄≥60岁、空腹血糖≥7.0 mmol/L、Hcy≥15 μmol/L的脑卒中复发率明显升高（Log-rank检验，P<0.05）。多因素Cox回归模型分析显示，高龄、Lg Hcy水平升高，以及房颤、糖尿病是脑卒中复发的独立危险因素。Lg Hcy分别与糖尿病、空腹血糖、年龄存在交互作用。 结论血浆Hcy水平升高既是高血压合并脑卒中患者卒中复发的独立危险因素，又通过与糖尿病、高龄、空腹血糖水平升高的交互作用显著增加脑卒中复发风险。     

Deferoxamine promotes recovery of traumatic spinal cord injury by inhibiting ferroptosis

Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent novel cell death pathway. Deferoxamine, a ferroptosis inhibitor, has been reported to promote spinal cord injury repair. It has yet to be clarified whether ferroptosis inhibition represents the mechanism of action of Deferoxamine on spinal cord injury recovery. A rat model of Deferoxamine at thoracic 10 segment was established using a modified Allen's method. Ninety 8-week-old female Wistar rats were used. Rats in the Deferoxamine group were intraperitoneally injected with 100 mg/kg Deferoxamine 30 minutes before injury. Simultaneously, the Sham and Deferoxamine groups served as controls. Drug administration was conducted for 7 consecutive days. The results were as follows:(1) Electron microscopy revealed shrunken mitochondria in the spinal cord injury group.(2) The Basso, Beattie and Bresnahan locomotor rating score showed that recovery of the hindlimb was remarkably better in the Deferoxamine group than in the spinal cord injury group.(3) The iron concentration was lower in the Deferoxamine group than in the spinal cord injury group after injury.(4) Western blot assay revealed that, compared with the spinal cord injury group, GPX4, xCT, and glutathione expression was markedly increased in the Deferoxamine group.(5) Real-time polymerase chain reaction revealed that, compared with the Deferoxamine group, mRNA levels of ferroptosis-related genes Acyl-CoA synthetase family member 2(ACSF2) and iron-responsive element-binding protein 2(IREB2) were up-regulated in the Deferoxamine group.(6) Deferoxamine increased survival of neurons and inhibited gliosis. These findings confirm that Deferoxamine can repair spinal cord injury by inhibiting ferroptosis. Targeting ferroptosis is therefore a promising therapeutic approach for spinal cord injury.