by Sharon Begley, Scientific American, June 12, 2018
Editing cells’ genomes with CRISPR-Cas9 might increase the risk that the altered cells, intended to treat disease, will trigger cancer, two studies published on Monday warn—a potential game-changer for the companies developing CRISPR-based therapies. In the studies, published in Nature Medicine, scientists found that cells whose genomes are successfully edited by CRISPR-Cas9 have the potential to seed tumors inside a patient. (https://tinyurl.com/yaxcw39h)
Two studies demonstrate that cells that have been genetically modified using CRISPR-Cas9 could be more cancer-prone than non-modified cells. After publication of these studies, CRISPR Therapeutics, Editas Medicine, and Intellia Therapeutics’ stocks declined. In response, the companies pointed out that even though they are not working with the types of cells used in the Nature Medicine studies, the risk factor should not be ignored.
by Michelle Cortez, Bloomberg, June 20, 2018
A small biotechnology company may be the first to offer dying patients unproven drugs under a new U.S. law called Right to Try that deregulated access to such experimental treatments. But it won’t be for free: Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics Inc. would charge for a therapy it is developing for the deadly condition known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. (https://tinyurl.com/ycro8tp4)
The Right to Try law, passed in May 2018, allows patients to work directly with drug companies to use experimental treatments that have only passed Phase I clinical trials. There are ethical concerns over whether drug companies are exploiting desperate patients by charging them for a drug with unknown efficacy. Furthermore, patients may risk unknown side effects. In January 2019, a brain cancer patient became the first “publicly known” recipient of experimental therapy under this law (https://tinyurl.com/y35q4wm9).
by Kong Meta, The Phnom Penh Post, June 25, 2018
Anti-human trafficking police in Phnom Penh’s Russey Keo district arrested five people on Thursday, including a Chinese national, and discovered 33 women who were paid to have children for Chinese clients, the unit’s chief said on Sunday. Keo Thea, the Phnom Penh anti-trafficking police chief, said Chinese national Liu Qiang, 49, was the alleged mastermind of the surrogacy ring. (https://tinyurl.com/ycbepa5k)
Thailand had been a hub for people of other countries to hire surrogates to gestate children for them. However, once surrogacy was banned in Thailand, prospective parents moved to other countries, including Cambodia. A Cambodian surrogacy trafficking ring was in the news on several occasions: first for the involvement of an Australian nurse, then when the location was raided, and finally, when the surrogates faced charges. The main clientele for this surrogacy ring were Chinese citizens.
by Aristos Georgiou, Newsweek, July 20, 2018
[T]he authors of the latest paper said the previous research also raised a number ethical concerns, especially given that the mummy is thought to be just a few decades old and the context in which [the mummy was] discovered remained unclear. They argued that the Stanford scientists did not follow the correct protocols for studying human remains, which are protected by law in Chile, like in many countries. Furthermore, the DNA extraction techniques that were used caused damage to Ata’s body. (https://tinyurl.com/ycs2nzkc)
The Atacama mummy study has been criticized for not following appropriate ethical guidelines for human subject research. The mummy, originally dubbed an ‘alien’ because of her deformed features, was found to be a premature female fetus that was likely buried twenty years ago. The Chilean government alleges that the corpse was mishandled—including evidence that DNA studies conducted on the corpse were inappropriately done—and that it was removed from the country without permission.
by Steve Doughty, Daily Mail, July 23, 2018
Three children are among thousands of people to have died under Belgium’s radical euthanasia regime, figures reveal. They were euthanised under the world’s only law that allows children of any age to choose to be put to death—a move opponents warn trivialises the value of life. An official report has revealed the annual number of euthanasia cases across all age groups has multiplied almost fivefold in ten years. (https://tinyurl.com/yc2fpu67)
Belgium’s annual report for 2016/2017 shows that 4,337 people underwent euthanasia, 3 of whom were children with terminal diseases. However, several people that underwent euthanasia were not terminal. Seventy-seven adults had “mental and behavioral difficulties,” and 710 adults were elderly people with non-terminal conditions like loss of sight or incontinence.
by Daniel Boffey, The Guardian, July 25, 2018
A doctor is under criminal investigation over a potential breach of Dutch euthanasia laws after slipping a sleeping drug into a woman’s coffee before asking family members to hold her down to allow the insertion of a drip through which a fatal dose could be administered. The Dutch medical complaints board has reprimanded the doctor, who retired after her treatment of the 74-year-old patient, who had been suffering from severe dementia. The chief public prosecutor in The Hague is examining if there are grounds for criminal charges. (https://tinyurl.com/ybk5fjed)
The Netherlands is not without its own controversies surrounding its liberal euthanasia laws. In this case, the doctor breeched accepted guidelines and potentially violating the law by slipping a sleeping aid into an elderly woman’s drink, and having her family hold down the patient despite her protests. While the woman suffered from dementia, she had not specifically stated she wanted euthanasia when she was lucid. In 2018 The Netherlands recorded 6,585 deaths from euthanasia, 83 of which were people suffering from psychiatric disease, including one 29-year-old girl whose death was made into a documentary. (https://tinyurl.com/y7quldwa)
by Antonio Regalado, MIT Technology Review, August 8, 2018
Facing criticism from fellow scientists, the researcher behind the world’s largest effort to edit human embryos with CRISPR is vowing to continue his efforts to develop what he calls “IVF gene therapy.” Shoukhrat Mitalipov, of Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, drew global headlines last August when he reported successfully repairing a genetic mutation in dozens of human embryos, which were later destroyed as part of the experiment. (https://tinyurl.com/ydel5kx2)
Shoukhrat Mitalipov became the first U.S. scientist to successfully genetically modify human embryos using CRISPR-Cas9. Previously a team in China had edited the genes for beta-thalassemia in non-viable human embryos. Mitalipov’s work received pushback from other scientists who are concerned over CRISPR’s tendency to make off-target edits and deletions. Aside from the ethical issues surrounding germline editing, there are concerns over Mitalipov’s group paying women $5000 each to donate eggs from which they created 160 embryos for research purposes.
by Christopher Ingraham, The Washington Post, August 15, 2018
Drug overdose deaths surpassed 72,000 in 2017, according to provisional estimates recently released by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That represents an increase of more than 6,000 deaths, or 9.5%, over the estimate for the previous 12-month period. That staggering sum works out to about 200 drug overdose deaths every day, or one every eight minutes. (https://tinyurl.com/yyly3a6r)
The Centers for Disease Control show that overdose deaths, predominantly from opioids, has increased for another year in a row. Fentanyl is a particularly potent opioid and the main culprit in these deaths. Global reports show that the United States has twice the rate of overdoses compared to other wealthy countries. In a separate CDC report for 2017, suicide rates in the United States also increased for another year in a row. (https://tinyurl.com/y9cglvfb)
by Christine Vestal, Pew Trusts, August 24, 2018
This school year, addiction specialists say they’re expecting an onslaught of teens addicted to Xanax and other sedatives in a class of anti-anxiety drugs known as benzodiazepines, or “benzos.” Many teens view Xanax as a safer and more plentiful alternative to prescription opioids and heroin—with similar euphoric effects. (https://tinyurl.com/y6wot6jd)
Xanax is an anti-anxiety medication that is being abused by more and more people. One study showed that about thirty percent of people who died of opioid overdose also had Xanax or another benzodiazepine in their system. Teens in particular are vulnerable and prone to anxiety and depression. Moreover, the drug can be particularly addictive to this age group. An apparent problem for many is the illusion of safety. Many teens mistakenly believe that because it is a prescription drug, it must be safe.
by Dennis Normile, Science, July 30, 2018
Researchers in Japan [on July 30th] announced the launch of a clinical trial to treat Parkinson’s disease with neurological material derived from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, mature cells chemically manipulated to return to an early stage of development from which they can theoretically differentiate into any of the body’s specialized cells. (https://tinyurl.com/y7bg57tm)
A group of researchers in Japan are has announced a human trial using induced pluripotent stem cells. These dopamine-producing cells will be injected into a particular region of the brain in patients with Parkinson’s disease. This is the third stem cell trial using iPSCs, all of which have been conducted in Japan. The first was for macular degeneration. The second was for heart disease, although this trial has been met with some criticism.
