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New York Times Examines Changes In Surrogacy Process In Recent Years
The medical, legal and interpersonal processes involved with a surrogate birth have changed significantly since the controversial "Baby M" case two decades ago, the New York Times reports. In the case, the surrogate was the infant"s biological mother and unsuccessfully sought custody of the child after birth. The Times reports that the legal proceedings in the case helped reinforce the validity of surrogacy contracts, which are now standard practice.Most couples today use a gestational surrogate -- meaning that they have no genetic link to the woman carrying the fetus -- and some choose to maintain friendships with the surrogate after birth. According to the Times, people might choose gestational surrogacy if the woman lacks a uterus, has a malformed uterus, must take medication incompatible with pregnancy, or has had repeated miscarriages or failures at in vitro pregnancies. Male couples or single men might also use this option.Legal protections have strengthened since the Baby M case, although surrogacy remains illegal in some states. State laws also vary in the steps required to ensure that the parents" names, rather than the surrogate"s, are on the child"s birth certificate.Despite an increase in popularity, surrogacy remains "fraught with controversy" over criticisms that compensation to surrogates amounts to "baby selling" and exploitation of low-income women, according to the Times. However, surrogacy advocates say that most women who choose to become surrogates have altruistic motives. Surrogates typically receive between $15,000 and $20,000 as compensation for carrying the pregnancy and undergoing hormonal preparations. The Times reports that reputable agencies and lawyers who specialize in surrogacy help guard against exploitation and spurious motives for seeking a surrogate pregnancy. Prospective surrogates and parents typically undergo psychological screening and legal guidance, and most lawyers require that surrogates meet certain age and health criteria (Brody, New York Times, 7/21).
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Research Scientists Discover How Flu Damages Lung Tissue
A protein in influenza virus that helps it multiply also damages lung epithelial cells, causing fluid buildup in the lungs, according to new research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and Southern Research Institute . Publishing online this week in the journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, the researchers say the findings give new insight into how flu attacks the lungs and provides targets for new treatments.
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800th Implant Of World's Only Approved Total Artificial Heart Performed By Heart And Diabetes Center NRW
On June 12, the Heart and Diabetes Center NRW in Bad Oeynhausen, Germany, performed the 800th implant of the SynCardia temporary CardioWest™ Total Artificial Heart. The 60-year-old patient, who was suffering from biventricular failure, was listed in stable condition post-implant.
Oncology

Discovery 'Significant Step' In Understanding Leukaemia Drug Resistance

Scientists have pinpointed an enzyme responsible for breaking down and inactivating a key childhood leukaemia drug, which could help to explain why around 20 per cent of patients do not respond to therapy. Their findings are published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation * today (Monday). The researchers, funded by Cancer Research UK and Leukaemia Research, also discovered that the enzyme - called AEP - was not found in healthy white blood cells, which are the cells affected by leukaemia. So production of AEP and resistance to the drug is the result of a genetic fault in some leukaemia cells**. Over 80 per cent of children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) are successfully treated, but for some patients the treatment does not work. So it is crucial that new treatments are found to help ensure all children with this type of cancer are cured. Asnase is a form of a drug called Asparaginase and is used to treat all children with ALL in the UK. It is produced commercially using the bacteria E. coli. Around 20 per cent of ALL patients become resistant to the drug or have an allergic reaction. The scientists found that AEP breaks down Asnase and so stops the drug from working. They think that the presence of AEP could determine whether patients respond to Asnase treatment, and whether they have an allergic reaction to it. If these results are confirmed in patients, a test could one day be developed to help doctors predict whether children with ALL will benefit from Asnase before treatment starts and hopefully prevent some patients undergoing unnecessary chemotherapy. Professor Vaskar Saha, Cancer Research UK"s paediatric oncologist, based at the Paterson Institute in Manchester, said: "Although our results are at an early stage, our study is an important development in understanding the science behind why some patients don"t respond to leukaemia drugs. "If our findings in leukaemia cells are confirmed in patients, we could be able to test if this drug is the best option before treatment starts - we"re currently recruiting patients from 18 childhood cancer centres in the UK to help us discover if this is the case." Dr Paul Bates, study co-author based at Cancer Research UK"s London Research Institute, said: "We are now looking at how to modify the drug to make it more potent and resistant to AEP"s actions." ALL is the most common type of childhood cancer, and accounts for one in four of all cancers in children in the UK - around 450 cases are diagnosed each year. Around 20 per cent of ALL patients are thought to have cancer cells that produce AEP, and so will not respond to Asnase. Dr David Grant, Scientific Director of Leukaemia Research, said: "Asparaginase has been in use for over 40 years and it continues to be an essential element of treatment of ALL in adults and children. Almost as soon as it entered use, asparaginase resistance was recognized as a problem; this tremendously exciting work offers both an explanation of how that resistance may arise and a possibility of modifying the drug to overcome resistance. "Researchers and clinicians have transformed childhood ALL from a virtual death sentence to an illness curable in over 80 per cent of cases. This still means that about one in five will not survive and many children who do survive have long-term side effects. This research is still at the laboratory stage and there is a long process ahead to translate this into clinical benefit but it offers hope of overcoming one of the obstacles to curing all children with ALL." Professor Sir David Lane, chief scientist at Cancer Research UK, said: "These encouraging results are a significant step forward in developing "personalised treatment" - where therapy is tailored to the requirements of an individual patient. "This concept is now becoming a reality and we look forward to seeing if this discovery can be translated to benefit children with cancer. Our goal is to control or cure cancer in all children." Notes * A Dyad of Lymphoblastic Lysosomal Cysteine Proteases Degrades the Key Anti-Leukemic Drug L-Asparaginase. Patel et al. Journal of Clinical Investigation. 8 June 2009. ** The cells used in this study were acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) cells. Cancer Research UK


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