Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “EUGENICS”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,315 records · Page 73Linked to original sources
PubMed2004

Knowledge and attitudes towards preimplantation genetic diagnosis in Germany.

BACKGROUND: Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is a technique which is often related to emotional debates because of its ethical and social implications. Worldwide there are different forms of legislation; Germany constitutes an interesting case because of the historical background concerning eugenics and dealing with handicapped persons at the time of national socialism. PGD is currently not legal but there are still polarized positions and legalization remains an issue. Studies about the attitudes of the general population towards PGD are rare. METHODS: Data were collected in a representative survey carried out in November 2003. Subjects were 2110 persons in Germany aged 18-50 years. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Respondents had little knowledge about PGD. There were incorrect assumptions about the diagnostic possibilities and a lack of basic genetic knowledge. A tendency towards a general acceptance of PGD for medical indications was found. Non-medical indications such as sex selection were generally not accepted. It could be observed that respondents who already had a notion about PGD overestimated the diagnostic possibilities and would eventually use PGD in the future more than respondents who had never heard about PGD before.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Arguing along the slippery slope of human embryo research.

One frequent argument in the debate over federal funding of human embryo research is the slippery slope argument. Slope arguments can be of several types: either logical, empirical, or full (a combination of logical and empirical slope arguments, with an additional psychological premise). A full slope argument against human embryo research suggests that funding embryo research could undermine current protections for human subjects research, erode respect for persons with disabilities, and encourage eugenics practices. While the Panel commissioned by the National Institutes of Health to issue funding guidelines regarding human embryo research acknowledges some slippery slope concerns, the Panel's final report fails to address such concerns in any depth. Given this failure seriously to address these valid concerns, federal funding of embryo research should not proceed at this time.

Advisory Committees↗
PubMed2001

Medical ethos and social responsibility in clinical medicine.

The medical profession will face many challenges in the new millenium. As medicine looks forward to advances in molecular genetics and the prospect of unprecedented understanding of the causes and cures of human disease, clinicians, scientists, and bioethicists may benefit from reflection on the origins of the medical ethos and its relevance to postmodern medicine. Past distortions of the medical ethos, such as Nazism and the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, as well as more recent experience with the ethical challenges of employer-based, market-driven managed care, provide important lessons as medicine contemplates the future. Racial and ethnic disparities in health status and access to care serve as reminders that the racial doctrines that fostered the horrors of the Holocaust and the Tuskegee Syphilis Study have not been removed completely from contemporary thinking. Inequalities in health status based on race and ethnicity, as well as socioeconomic status, attest to the inescapable reality of racism in America. When viewed against a background of historical distortions and disregard for the traditional tenets of the medical ethos, persistent racial and ethnic disparities in health and the prospect of genetic engineering raise the specter of discrimination because of genotype, a postmodern version of "racist medicine" or of a "new eugenics." There is a need to balance medicine's devotion to the well-being of the patient and the primacy of the patient-physician relationship against the need to meet the health care needs of society. The challenge facing the medical profession in the new millennium is to establish an equilibrium between the responsibility to ensure quality health care for the individual patient while effecting societal changes to achieve "health for all."

Black or African American↗
PubMed1997

DNA hybridization evidence for the principal lineages of hummingbirds (Aves:Trochilidae).

The spectacular evolutionary radiation of hummingbirds (Trochilidae) has served as a model system for many biological studies. To begin to provide a historical context for these investigations, we generated a complete matrix of DNA hybridization distances among 26 hummingbirds and an outgroup swift (Chaetura pelagica) to determine the principal hummingbird lineages. FITCH topologies estimated from symmetrized delta TmH-C values and subjected to various validation methods (bootstrapping, weighted jackknifing, branch length significance) indicated a fundamental split between hermit (Eutoxeres aquila, Threnetes ruckeri; Phaethornithinae) and nonhermit (Trochilinae) hummingbirds, and provided strong support for six principal nonhermit clades with the following branching order: (1) a predominantly lowland group comprising caribs (Eulampis holosericeus) and relatives (Androdon aequatorialis and Heliothryx barroti) with violet-ears (Colibri coruscans) and relatives (Doryfera ludovicae); (2) an Andean-associated clade of highly polytypic taxa (Eriocnemis, Heliodoxa, and Coeligena); (3) a second endemic Andean clade (Oreotrochilus chimborazo, Aglaiocercus coelestis, and Lesbia victoriae) paired with thorntails (Popelairia conversii); (4) emeralds and relatives (Chlorostilbon mellisugus, Amazilia tzacatl, Thalurania colombica, Orthorhyncus cristatus and Campylopterus villaviscensio); (5) mountain-gems (Lampornis clemenciae and Eugenes fulgens); and (6) tiny bee-like forms (Archilochus colubris, Myrtis fanny, Acestrura mulsant, and Philodice mitchellii). Corresponding analyses on a matrix of unsymmetrized delta values gave similar support for these relationships except that the branching order of the two Andean clades (2, 3 above) was unresolved. In general, subsidiary relationships were consistent and well supported by both matrices, sometimes revealing surprising associations between forms that differ dramatically in plumage and bill morphology. Our results also reveal some basic aspects of hummingbird ecologic and morphologic evolution. For example, most of the diverse endemic Andean assemblage apparently comprises two genetically divergent clades, whereas the majority of North American hummingbirds belong a single third clade. Genetic distances separating some morphologically distinct genera (Oreotrochilus, Aglaiocercus, Lesbia; Myrtis, Acestrura, Philodice) were no greater than among congeneric (Coeligena) species, indicating that, in hummingbirds, morphological divergence does not necessarily reflect level of genetic divergence.

Americas↗
PubMed1983

The interaction between GABA and dopamine: implications for schizophrenia.

A role for gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia was first suggested by Eugene Roberts in 1972. Since then considerable work has been accomplished in both the clinical and basic sciences regarding GABA and schizophrenia. Although it was originally thought that GABA might be useful in treating schizophrenia because of its inhibition of dopaminergic activity, recent data have shown that in certain models GABA has the opposite effect on dopaminergic functions. Regardless of the relationships of GABA to dopamine, neither biochemical nor pharmacological studies have been able to demonstrate a clear and reproducible GABA disturbance in schizophrenia. A number of problems contribute to the difficulty in studying GABA in schizophrenia, including the lack of specific and nontoxic GABA agonists as well as the complexity of the GABA system in brain. Interest in GABA research in schizophrenia appears to have waned, but several areas nevertheless appear promising for clinical investigation.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

In search of the 'problem family': public health and social work in England and Wales 1940-70.

Recent attempts to explain the decline of public health in England and Wales after 1948 have suggested that services had developed steadily but haphazardly in the interwar period, and that the lack of an underlying philosophy left Medical Officers of Health and their empires vulnerable to a range of forces that included the decline of infectious disease, the rise of hospital medicine, the growth of general practice, and the increasing professionalism of social work. Yet the argument that public health practitioners lagged behind contemporary thinking on social work in the 1950s deserves closer examination, and this article uses the rise and decline of the concept of the 'problem family' to examine the changing relationship between the two professional groups. It traces the emergence of the concept of the 'social problem group' in the 1930s, and considers why and how Medical Officers of Health and the Eugenics Society took up the idea of the 'problem family' after the Second world War. It charts how the Ministry of Health encouraged local authorities to use home helps and health visitors to tackle the 'problem family', and contrasts this medical approach with the casework methods developed by voluntary organizations and subsequently adopted by the social work profession. The article concludes that in revealing how Medical Officers of Health were out of touch with contemporary research and practice in social work, the issue of the 'problem family' helps to explain the decline of public health under the early National Health Service.

Family↗
PubMed1996

Variation in expression of hsp27 messenger ribonucleic acid during the cycle of the seminiferous epithelium and co-localization of hsp27 and microfilaments in Sertoli cells of the rat.

The purpose of these studies was to define expression of hsp27 mRNA during the cycle of the seminiferous epithelium and to determine the distribution of hsp27 protein in the rat testis. To study hsp27 mRNA expression, a rat hsp27 cDNA was isolated and sequenced (GenBank no. M86389). The cDNA was used in Northern blot analysis to estimate the relative levels of hsp27 mRNA in rat seminiferous tubule segments selected for different stages of the cycle of the seminiferous epithelium. The level of hsp27 mRNA was low during stages IX-XII of the cycle of the seminiferous epithelium. Approximately 15-fold higher levels of hsp27 mRNA were expressed during stages II-VI, with intermediate levels being expressed during stages XIII-I and VII-VIII. No effect of FSH on hsp27 mRNA expression was detected in cultured Sertoli cells, suggesting that hsp27 synthesis in Sertoli cells is not directly regulated by FSH. The distribution of hsp27 was also studied by use of immunofluorescence in frozen sections of rat testis, in isolated seminiferous tubules, in primary cultures of Sertoli cells isolated from 19-26-day-old rats, in peritubular myoid cells from 26-day-old rats, and in several cell lines. Microfilaments were localized in similar preparations by using rhodamine-phalloidin or BODIPY-phallicidin (Molecular Probes, Eugene, OR). The hsp27 was co-localized with micro-filaments in Sertoli cells from 20-day-old and older rats, but not in Sertoli cells from younger rats. In other cell types, hsp27 was diffusely distributed throughout the cytoplasm. These results demonstrate that hsp27 expression varies with the cycle of the seminiferous epithelium and provide the first direct morphological evidence that hsp27 is associated with microfilaments in a normal, intact tissue. They also suggest that Sertoli cell micro-filaments, by virtue of their associated hsp27, may be different in composition and function from microfilaments of peritubular myoid cells and many other cell types.

Actin Cytoskeleton↗
PubMed2000

Myocyte endothelin exposure during cardioplegic arrest exacerbates contractile dysfunction after reperfusion.

Transient left ventricular (LV) dysfunction can occur after cardioplegic arrest. The contributory mechanisms for this phenomenon are not completely understood. We tested the hypothesis that exposure of LV myocytes to endothelin (ET) during simulated cardioplegic arrest would have direct effects on contractile processes with subsequent reperfusion. LV porcine myocytes were randomly assigned to three groups: 1) CONTROL: normothermic (37 degrees C) cell media (n = 204); 2) Cardioplegia: simulated cardioplegic arrest (K(+) 24 mEq/L, 4 degrees C x 2 h) followed by reperfusion and rewarming with cell media (n = 164); and 3) Cardioplegia/ ET: simulated cardioplegic arrest in the presence of ET (200 pM) followed by reperfusion with cell media containing ET (n = 171). Myocyte contractility was measured by computer-assisted video microscopy. In a subset of experiments, myocyte intracellular calcium was determined after Fluo-3 (Molecular Probes, Eugene, OR) loading by digital fluorescence image analysis. Myocyte shortening velocity was reduced after cardioplegic arrest compared with controls (52 +/- 2 vs 84 +/- 3 microm/s, respectively; P < 0.05) and was further reduced with cardioplegic arrest and ET exposure (43 +/- 2 microm/s, P < 0.05). Intracellular calcium was significantly increased in myocytes exposed to cardioplegia compared with normothermic control myocytes and was further augmented by cardioplegia with ET supplementation (P < 0.05). Exposure of the LV myocyte to ET during cardioplegic arrest directly contributed to contractile dysfunction after reperfusion. Moreover, alterations in intracellular calcium may play a role in potentiating the myocyte contractile dysfunction associated with ET exposure during cardioplegic arrest.

Adrenergic beta-Agonists↗
PubMed2004

Surfactant reduction in embolism bubble adhesion and endothelial damage.

BACKGROUND: Surfactants may reduce the adhesion force holding bubbles to the vessel wall in gas embolism. The authors measured bubble adhesion force using excised microvessels. They assessed endothelial damage by measuring vessel reactivity and with microscopy. METHODS: Microbubbles injected into arterioles resided for 5, 10, or 30 min, with intact or damaged endothelium. Perfusion was with rat serum alone (control) or with 1% Perftoran (OJSC SPC Perftoran, Moscow, Russia) or 1% Pluronic F-127 (Molecular Probes, Eugene, OR) added. Pressure across the bubble, bubble length, and bubble diameter were measured, and adhesion force per unit surface area, K = deltaPD/4 l, was calculated. Vessel reactivity was assessed using topical application of phenylephrine and acetylcholine. RESULTS: With the endothelium intact, K was higher in controls than with Perftoran at 10 and 30 min or Pluronic F-127 at 10 min (P < 0.05). With surfactant added after air perfusion to damage the endothelium, K was lower (P < 0.05) at all times for both Perftoran and Pluronic F-127. With surfactant in the perfusate before air perfusion, K was lower at 10 and 30 min for Perftoran and at 10 min for Pluronic F-127 than for controls (P < 0.05). Phenylephrine-induced vasoconstriction was identical among groups. Acetylcholine-induced vasodilatation was the same among groups with an intact endothelium but was found to be lower in controls after air perfusion that followed surfactant exposure than in either surfactant group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Surfactants reduced bubble adhesion force and preserved basic endothelial structure and vasodilatory function despite attempts to damage the endothelium. Surfactants seem to protect the endothelium from mechanically induced injury in addition to decreasing bubble adhesion forces.

Adhesiveness↗
PubMed2005

Surfactants reduce platelet-bubble and platelet-platelet binding induced by in vitro air embolism.

BACKGROUND: The effect of gas bubbles on platelet behavior is poorly characterized. The authors assessed platelet-bubble and platelet-platelet binding in platelet-rich plasma in the presence and absence of bubbles and three surface-active compounds. METHODS: Platelet-rich plasma was prepared from blood drawn from 16 volunteers. Experimental groups were surfactant alone, sparging (microbubble embolization) alone, sparging with surfactant, and neither sparging nor surfactant. The surfactants were Pluronic F-127 (Molecular Probes, Eugene, OR), Perftoran (OJSC SPC Perftoran, Moscow, Russia), and Dow Corning Antifoam 1510US (Dow Corning, Midland, MI). Videomicroscopy images of specimens drawn through rectangular glass microcapillaries on an inverted microscope and Coulter counter measurements were used to assess platelet-bubble and platelet-platelet binding, respectively, in calcium-free and recalcified samples. Histamine-induced and adenosine diphosphate-induced platelet-platelet binding were measured in unsparged samples. Differences between groups were considered significant for P < 0.05 using analysis of variance and the Bonferroni correction. RESULTS: Sixty to 100 platelets adhered to bubbles in sparged, surfactant-free samples. With sparging and surfactant, few platelets adhered to bubbles. Numbers of platelet singlets and multimers not adherent to bubbles were different (P < 0.05) compared both with unsparged samples and sparged samples without surfactant. No significant platelet-platelet binding occurred in uncalcified, sparged samples, although 20-30 platelets adhered to bubbles. Without sparging, histamine and adenosine diphosphate provoked platelet-platelet binding with and without surfactants present. CONCLUSIONS: Sparging causes platelets to bind to air bubbles and each other. Surfactants added before sparging attenuate platelet-bubble and platelet-platelet binding. Surfactants may have a clinical role in attenuating gas embolism-induced platelet-bubble and platelet-platelet binding.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗
PubMed2006

Influence of endothelial glycocalyx degradation and surfactants on air embolism adhesion.

BACKGROUND: Microbubble adherence to endothelial cells is enhanced after damage to the glycocalyx. The authors tested the hypothesis that exogenous surfactants delivered intravascularly have differential effects on the rate of restoration of blood flow after heparinase-induced degradation of the endothelial glycocalyx. METHODS: Air microbubbles were injected into the rat cremaster microcirculation after perfusion with heparinase or saline and intravascular administration of either saline or one of two surfactants. The surfactants were Pluronic F-127 (Molecular Probes, Eugene, OR) and Perftoran (OJSC SPC Perftoran, Moscow, Russia). Embolism dimensions and dynamics were observed using intravital microscopy. RESULTS: Significant results were that bubbles embolized the largest diameter vessels after glycocalyx degradation. Bubbles embolized smaller vessels in the surfactant treatment groups. The incidence of bubble dislodgement and the magnitude of distal displacement were smallest after glycocalyx degradation alone and largest after surfactant alone. The time to bubble clearance and restoration of blood flow was longest with heparinase alone and shortest with Pluronic F-127 alone. CONCLUSIONS: Degradation of the glycocalyx causes air bubbles to adhere to the endothelium more proximally in the arteriolar microcirculation. Surfactants added after glycocalyx degradation and before gas embolization promotes bubble lodging in the distal microcirculation. Surfactants may have a clinical role in reducing embolism bubble adhesion to endothelial cells undergoing glycocalyx disruption.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Fever without apparent source on clinical examination, lower respiratory infections in children, other infectious diseases, and acute gastroenteritis and diarrhea of infancy and early childhood.

This section focuses on issues in infectious disease that are commonly encountered in pediatric office practice. Paul McCarthy discusses recent literature regarding the evaluation and management of acute fevers without apparent source on clinical examination in infants and children and the evaluation of children with prolonged fevers of unknown origin. Jean Klig reviews recent literature about lower respiratory tract infection in children. Eugene Shapiro discusses recent developments in the literature concerning several infectious diseases commonly facing practitioners in the office. Michael Baron reviews recent literature about gastroenteritis and diarrhea of infancy and early childhood.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1997

Fever without apparent source on clinical examination, lower respiratory infections in children, other infectious diseases, and acute gastroenteritis and diarrhea of infancy and early childhood.

This section focuses on issues in infectious disease that are commonly encountered in pediatric office practice. Paul McCarthy discusses recent literature regarding the evaluation and management of acute fevers without apparent source on clinical examination in infants and children and the evaluation of children with prolonged fevers of unknown origin. Jean Klig reviews recent literature about lower respiratory tract infection in children. Jeffrey Kahn and Eugene Shapiro discuss literature concerning several infectious diseases commonly seen in office settings and concerning which recent developments are of interest. Michael Baron reviews recent literature about gastroenteritis and diarrhea of infancy and early childhood.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1998

Fever without apparent source on clinical examination, infectious diseases, and lower respiratory infections in children.

This section focuses on issues in infectious diseases that are commonly encountered in pediatric office practice. Paul McCarthy discusses recent literature regarding the evaluation and management of acute fevers without apparent source on clinical examination in infants and children, and the evaluation of children with prolonged fevers of unknown origin. Jean Klig reviews recent literature about lower respiratory tract infection in children. Jeffrey Kahn and Eugene Shapiro discuss recent developments in pediatric infectious diseases concerning neonatal herpes infections, poliovirus immunization schedule, and group B streptococcus screening and treatment.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1997

Spirometry and airway reactivity in elite track and field athletes.

OBJECTIVES: To characterize spirometry and to document the incidence of exercise-induced bronchospasm (EIB) during competition in elite track and field athletes. DESIGN: Spirometry was performed in 120 men and 69 women athletes before competition and peak expiratory flows in 50 men and 23 women athletes before and after competition. SETTING: The 1991 (Randalls Island, NY, U.S.A.) and the 1993 (Eugene, OR, U.S.A.) National Track and Field Championships (World Championship team-qualifying meet). PARTICIPANTS: American track and field athletes who met World Championship qualifying standards. MEASUREMENTS: Spirometry (Cybermedic, Inc., Boulder, CO, U.S.A.) and peak expiratory flows (Personal Best, Healthscan Products, Cedar Grove, NJ, U.S.A.)--the best of three reproducible efforts. RESULTS: Male sprinters had lower vital capacities than other track athletes, whereas both male and female field (throwing) athletes had larger vital capacities than both runners and other field athletes. Decreases of 10% peak expiratory flows were found in 10% of men and 26% of women track athletes within 15 min after competition. The incidence was higher in longer-distance events. Most participants did not have a history of asthma. CONCLUSIONS: A higher-than-expected prevalence of EIB was found in high-level track athletes. The results suggest that spirometry and/or peak flows should be measured in track athletes because small decreases in airflow may impair training or performance, a condition that is easily treated.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Scientists' and science writers' experiences reporting genetic discoveries: toward an ethic of trust in science journalism.

PURPOSE: To describe the relationship between scientists and science writers and their experiences with media reporting of genetic discoveries. METHODS: This study included individual interviews with 15 scientists who specialize in genetics and 22 science writers who have covered their stories and a qualitative analysis of the data. RESULTS: Scientists and science writers place an equally high priority on accuracy of media reports. They agree on what makes genetics stories newsworthy and the particular challenges in reporting genetic discoveries (i.e., poor public understanding of genetics, the association of genetics with eugenics, and the lack of immediately apparent applications of genetic discoveries to human health). The relationship between scientists and bona fide science writers is largely positive. Scientists tend to trust, respect, and be receptive to science writers. Both scientists and science writers acknowledge that trust is an essential component of a good interview. Science writers report a fair degree of autonomy with respect to the relationship they have with their editors. CONCLUSION: To the degree that trust facilitates the access that science writers have to scientists, as well as higher quality interviews between scientists and science writers, trust might also contribute to higher quality media reporting. Therefore, scientists and science writers have an ethical obligation to foster trusting relationships with each other. Future research should systematically explore ways to cultivate such relationships and assess their impact on the quality of science journalism.

Biomedical Research↗
PubMed2005

Endoscopic confocal fluorescence microscopy of normal and tumor bearing rat bladder.

PURPOSE: We evaluated the possibility of performing endoscopic fiber-optic confocal microscopy in a rat bladder model and we distinguished different cell types. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Rhodamine 123 (Molecular Probes, Eugene, Oregon) (100 microM) was instilled for 30 minutes in 5 tumor bearing rat bladders (AY27). Five normal rats served as controls. A Cell-viziotrade mark confocal microscopy fiber was placed transurethrally in contact with normal or transformed bladder wall. Frozen sections were obtained from the same spots and subjected to conventional fluorescence microscopy and anatomical-pathological analysis. RESULTS: The different cells types present in rat epithelium (umbrella, intermediate and basal cells) could easily be identified with the Cell-viziotrade mark device due to their differences in morphology and fluorescence intensity. Individual AY-27 cells could not be demarcated due to the strong fluorescence signal but the entire tumor appeared as a brightly homogenous fluorescent blot surrounded by small inflammatory cells. CONCLUSIONS: We report the feasibility of endoscopic, in vivo, fiber-optic confocal microscopy in the rat bladder. We distinguished tumors from normal epithelium and visualized the different epithelial cell types in nontransformed rat bladder epithelium.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Intellectual disability and parenthood.

Parenthood in persons with intellectual disability (ID) is an issue of concern for the family, guardians, and professionals as there are many sentiments and problems involved: financial, technical, medical, legal, and above all moral. People with intellectual, developmental, or other disabilities have feelings, want relationships, and are able to have children also. The attitude of society has changed through time from the early eugenic concern with heredity and fertility, to a focus on the risk to the children due to parental neglect or abuse, to acceptance and a search for solutions to parental training and support. This change can be seen as a result of a shift from institutional care to community care and normalization. This paper reviews available research, prevalence, service issues, experience from around the world, and relates to the situation in Israel. Jewish Law has been very progressive regarding the possibility of marriage between persons with ID (in contrast to American Law where historically this right has been denied, until recently). Recent research has shown that, in the case of such a union resulting in children, although they require some supervision, family, friends, and social welfare agencies have scrutinized these families so much they are in constant fear of their child being taken away. There is little information on the number of such cases and an overall dearth of information on the effects on the children, although one recent study from the U.K. has shown a varied picture of resilience and a close, warm relationship later on with the family and especially the mother.

Adolescent↗