PLoS medicine
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Race and ethnicity are imprecise markers of the genotypic and sociocultural determinants of health, argue the authors.
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The authors argue that there have been few systematic attempts to determine the effectiveness of community engagement in research.
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Comparative Study
Prevention of LPS-induced acute lung injury in mice by mesenchymal stem cells overexpressing angiopoietin 1.
The acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a clinical complication of severe acute lung injury (ALI) in humans, is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients. ALI is characterized by disruption of the lung alveolar-capillary membrane barrier and resultant pulmonary edema associated with a proteinaceous alveolar exudate. Current specific treatment strategies for ALI/ARDS are lacking. We hypothesized that mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), with or without transfection with the vasculoprotective gene angiopoietin 1 (ANGPT1) would have beneficial effects in experimental ALI in mice. ⋯ Treatment with MSCs alone significantly reduced LPS-induced acute pulmonary inflammation in mice, while administration of pANGPT1-transfected MSCs resulted in a further improvement in both alveolar inflammation and permeability. These results suggest a potential role for cell-based ANGPT1 gene therapy to treat clinical ALI/ARDS.
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The authors discuss the policy questions arising from a new study on "abstinence-plus" interventions for reducing HIV risk behavior among youth in high-income countries.
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Comparative Study
Will spam overwhelm our defenses? Evaluating offerings for drugs and natural health products.
At least one-third of spam e-mails include offers of health products, according to this new study.