Not enough there, too many here: understanding geographical imbalances in the distribution of the health workforce

Access to good-quality health services is crucial for the improvement of many health outcomes, such as those targeted by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) adopted by the international community in 2000. The health-related MDGs cannot be achieved if vulnerable populations do not have access to skilled personnel and to other necessary inputs. This paper focuses on the geographical dimension of access and on one of its critical determinants: the availability of qualified personnel. The objective of this paper is to offer a better understanding of the determinants of geographical imbalances in the distribution of health personnel, and to identify and assess the strategies developed to correct them. It reviews the recent literature on determinants, barriers and the effects of strategies that attempted to correct geographical imbalances, with a focus on empirical studies from developing and developed countries. An analysis of determinants of success and failures of strategies implemented, and a summary of lessons learnt, is included.     

试论加强国际合作与促进我国医学伦理学教育的发展

原北京医科大学(现为北京大学医学部)从20世纪90年代初开始,积极寻求与美国中华医学基金会的合作以促进医学伦理学的学科发展和国际化水平的提高。十几年来,北京大学医学部作为基地和依托极大地支持和引领了我国医学伦理学的教学改革与发展,增强了相关人员的医学伦理意识以及医学伦理学理论对实践的指导作用,促进了伦理学知识和能力的培训,提升了我国生物医学科研伦理的实力,奠定了医学伦理学继续教育的基础,使医学伦理学实现了系统性和跨越式的发展。     

骨质疏松相关基因的研究进展

骨质疏松(osteoporosis,OP)在很大程度上受基因的影响。在OP的相关基因中,维生素D受体(VDR)基因、雌激素受体(ER)基因、Ⅰ型胶原基因及转化生长因子基因都是重要的候选基因。VDR基因中BB基因型者比Bb及bb基因型者的腰椎骨密度(bone mineral density,BMD)低,骨丢失率高。FokⅠ基因型与腰椎BMD降低有明显相关性,ff基因型者腰椎BMDXx基因型者>xx基因型者。Ⅰ型胶原基因与骨量呈显著相关性,COLIA1基因突变可致低骨量、骨脆性增加。转化生长因子β(TGF-β)基因对调节骨形成和骨吸收有重要作用,TGF-β基因中可发生碱基丢失,这种变异多见于OP患者。     

Subclinical course of adult visceral Niemann–Pick type C1 disease. A rare or underdiagnosed disorder?

Summary  We present the third case of Niemann–Pick disease type C without neurological symptoms. The patient was a 53-year-old woman without significant prior health problems who died of acute pulmonary embolism. Autopsy findings of hepatosplenomegaly, lymphadenopathy and ceroid-rich foam cells raised the suspicion of the visceral form of acid sphingomyelinase deficiency (Niemann–Pick disease type B; NPB) or a much rarer disorder, variant adult visceral form of Niemann–Pick disease type C (NPC). To verify the histopathological findings, SMPD1, NPC1 and NPC2 genes were analysed. Two novel sequence variants, c.1997G>A (S666N) and c.2882A>G (N961S) were detected in the NPC1 gene. No pathogenic sequence variants were found either in the SMPD1 gene mutated in NPB or in NPC2 gene. The pathogenicity of both NPC1 variants was supported by their location in regions important for the protein function. Both variations were not found in more than 300 control alleles. Identified sequence variations confirm the diagnosis of the extremely rare adult visceral form of Niemann–Pick disease type C, which is otherwise dominated by neurovisceral symptoms. Although only three patients have been reported, this (most probably underdiagnosed) form of NPC should be considered in differential diagnosis of isolated hepatosplenomegaly with foam cells in adulthood. Electronic supplementary material  Supplementary material is available for this article at     

Expression of innate immune complement regulators on brain epithelial cells during human bacterial meningitis

Background  

In meningitis, the cerebrospinal fluid contains high levels of innate immune molecules (e.g. complement) which are essential to ward off the infectious challenge and to promote the infiltration of phagocytes (neutrophils, monocytes). However, epithelial cells of either the ependymal layer, one of the established niche for adult neural stem cells, or of the choroid plexus may be extremely vulnerable to bystander attack by cytotoxic and cytolytic complement components.     

外固定架治疗桡骨远端粉碎性骨折的疗效分析

目的:探讨闭合手法复位外固定架治疗桡骨远端粉碎性关节内骨折的临床疗效。方法:对29例桡骨远端粉碎性关节内骨折,通过外固定架的牵伸辅助复位,矫正桡骨的短缩、成角移位,恢复关节面的解剖关系,利用外固定架维持复位后的位置并进行功能练习。术后定期进行X线和腕关节功能的评价。结果:29例均获得随访,随访时间3~12个月,平均6.5个月。根据Aro功能评价:优9例,良17例,可2例,差1例,优良率89.66%。结论:外固定架能很好维持复位后的位置,恢复桡尺骨的相对长度和关节面的平整,使腕关节功能得到良好的恢复,因此是治疗桡骨远端粉碎性关节内骨折的有效方法。     

儿童肺炎支原体感染状况分析

目的 探讨儿童的肺炎支原体(MP)感染现状及早期诊断的意义。方法 检测181例就诊儿童血液标本分析MP感染的状况。结果 肺炎支原体感染率为29.8％;男性患儿MP检测阳性率(35.7％)明显高于女性患儿(16.4％)(P<0.01);5岁以下患儿阳性率超过50％,且有3例婴儿检测阳性;10-12月份支原体肺炎发病率明显增加,占全年的40.7％。结论 针对儿童支原体肺炎的发病情况,早诊断,早治疗,利于患儿尽早康复,防止肺部病变迁延及肺外并发症的发生。