Why Do I Choose an Animal Model or an Alternative Method in Basic and Preclinical Biomedical Research? A Spectrum of Ethically Relevant Reasons and Their Evaluation.

Background: Research model selection decisions in basic and preclinical biomedical research have not yet been the subject of an ethical investigation. Therefore, this paper aims, (1) to identify a spectrum of reasons for choosing between animal and alternative research models (e.g.

The pelvic vascular injury score (P-VIS): a prehospital instrument to detect significant vascular injury in pelvic fractures.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify predictive factors for peri-pelvic vascular injury in patients with pelvic fractures and to incorporate these factors into a pelvic vascular injury score (P-VIS) to detect severe bleeding during the prehospital trauma management.

Methods: To identify potential predictive factors, data were taken (1) of a Level I Trauma Centre with 467 patients (ISS ≥ 16 and AIS ≥ 3). Analysis including patient's charts and digital recordings, radiographical diagnostics, mechanism and pattern of injury as well as the vascular bleeding source was performed.

Values, decision-making and empirical bioethics: a conceptual model for empirically identifying and analyzing value judgements.

It can be assumed that value judgements, which are needed to judge what is 'good' or 'better' and what is 'bad' or 'worse', are involved in every decision-making process. The theoretical understanding and analysis of value judgements is, therefore, important in the context of bioethics, for example, to be able to ethically assess real decision-making processes in biomedical practice and make recommendations for improvements. However, real decision-making processes and the value judgements inherent in them must first be investigated empirically ('empirical bioethics').

Diagnostic challenges in rapidly progressive dementia.

Rapidly progressive dementia is a syndrome caused by numerous disease entities. Accurate diagnosis is crucial as substantial proportion of these diseases is highly treatable. Others might implicate specific hygienic problems.

Mass Spectrometry Imaging Shows Cocaine and Methylphenidate Have Opposite Effects on Major Lipids in Drosophila Brain.

Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) was used to study the effects of cocaine versus methylphenidate administration on both the localization and abundance of lipids in Drosophila melanogaster brain. A J105 ToF-SIMS with a 40 keV gas cluster primary ion source enabled us to probe molecular ions of biomolecules on the fly with a spatial resolution of ∼3 μm, giving us unique insights into the effect of these drugs on molecular lipids in the nervous system. Significant changes in phospholipid composition were observed in the central brain for both.

Antiviral Agents Added to Corticosteroids for Early Treatment of Adults With Acute Idiopathic Facial Nerve Paralysis (Bell Palsy).

Clinical Question: Compared with oral corticosteroids alone, are oral antiviral drugs associated with improved outcomes when combined with oral corticosteroids in patients presenting within 72 hours of the onset of Bell palsy?

Bottom Line: Compared with oral corticosteroids alone, the addition of acyclovir, valacyclovir, or famcyclovir to oral corticosteroids for treatment of Bell palsy was associated with a higher proportion of people who recovered at 3- to 12-month follow-up. The quality of evidence is limited by heterogeneity, imprecision of the result estimates, and risk of bias.

Is there a right not to know one's sex? The ethics of 'gender verification' in women's sports competition.

The paper discusses the current medical practice of 'gender verification' in sports from an ethical point of view. It takes the recent public discussion about 800 m runner Caster Semenya as a starting point. At the World Championships in Athletics 2009 in Berlin, Germany, Semenya was challenged by competitors as being a so called 'sex impostor'.