Synthesis and cytostatic activity of xylofuranosyl analogs of nucleosides

Translated from Khimiko-farmatsevticheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 23, No. 10, pp. 1217–1223, October, 1989.     

The role of EGF-stimulated epidermis in the regulation of wound healing

Sluggish wounds are characterized by impaired proportions of proinflammatory cytokines, deficiency of fibrogenic growth factors, imbalance in the system of matrix metalloproteinases and their inhibitors this preventing reparation. The study was made of biopsies obtained from patients with sluggish wounds before the treatment, 5, 10 and 15 days after transplantation on the wound of allogenic EGF-stimulated cryopreserved epidermis. The wound closure with biologically active coat was followed by the reduction of expression of proinflammatory cytokines and return to their normal correlations, higher production of fibrogenic growth factors, restoration of balance in the expression of MMP-9 and TIMP-1/TIMP-2.     

Cancer of the colon in an egg donor: policy repercussions for donor recruitment

This paper describes the tragic case of a young woman who died of cancer of the colon after successfully donating eggs to her younger sister. Although there is no direct link between her operation and the subsequent development of bowel carcinoma, this case imparts a feeling of unease when seen in conjunction with other cases reported during the last few years. It is a reminder that little is known of the long-term consequences of some aspects of assisted conception. Women undergoing ovarian stimulation for themselves or a matched recipient have the right to be advised, in an agreed format, that there is some concern about unproven potential risks from the stimulatory drugs. The safety of egg donors must assume priority over all other considerations, including lack of donors or any moral position. The recent decision by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) to withdraw any form of payment or recompense to egg donors does not seem to us to be based on a balance of scientific advances, patient needs and the ethics of gamete supply. They state that the intention to withdraw payments was implicit in the 1990 Human Fertilisation and Embryology (HFE) Act. However the Act was based on the Warnock report made 6 years earlier. Even in 1990 ovum donation was uncommon and fertility drugs had not yet caused any unease. The Act provided the HFEA with discretionary powers to issue directions so that the future policies would be consistent with any emerging new medical evidence. It is imperative that the HFEA provide convincing evidence on how the current policy of payment to donors harms society, donors or recipients, and how in the UK the new policy will improve medical practice in assisted conception. Successful pilot studies must precede the implementation of any new policy. Failure to do this could cause irreversible harm to the practice of assisted conception using donor gametes, which will ultimately be against the basic aims of the 1990 HFE Act.