Lancet
-
Biography Historical Article
Zhong Nan-Shan: leader of clinical research in China.
-
60 years ago, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights laid the foundations for the right to the highest attainable standard of health. This right is central to the creation of equitable health systems. We identify some of the right-to health features of health systems, such as a comprehensive national health plan, and propose 72 indicators that reflect some of these features. ⋯ Where they are available, the indicators show where health systems need to be improved to better realise the right to health. We provide recommendations for governments, international bodies, civil-society organisations, and other institutions and suggest that these indicators and data, although not perfect, provide a basis for the monitoring of health systems and the progressive realisation of the right to health. Right-to-health features are not just good management, justice, or humanitarianism, they are obligations under human-rights law.
-
The loss of a normal airway is devastating. Attempts to replace large airways have met with serious problems. Prerequisites for a tissue-engineered replacement are a suitable matrix, cells, ideal mechanical properties, and the absence of antigenicity. We aimed to bioengineer tubular tracheal matrices, using a tissue-engineering protocol, and to assess the application of this technology in a patient with end-stage airway disease. ⋯ The results show that we can produce a cellular, tissue-engineered airway with mechanical properties that allow normal functioning, and which is free from the risks of rejection. The findings suggest that autologous cells combined with appropriate biomaterials might provide successful treatment for patients with serious clinical disorders.