Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics (Euronext: AMT), a leader in the field of human gene therapy, announced today that the Company has a negative equity position, as a result of ongoing loss-making operations. The development of this negative equity position is in line with previous guidance that the Company has cash into early 2012, and is exploring alternatives for additional financing.
AMT announced on November 17, 2011 that its cash position at September 30, 2011 amounted to € 3.8 million, and AMT continues to be loss making and to experience net cash outflows. At December 12, 2011 AMT’s cash position amounted to € 2.1 million; AMT does not have any loan, credit or other borrowing facilities other than the € 5 million convertible loan issued in December 2009.
The Company continues partnering discussions with pharma companies. At this time, AMT anticipates that it may be possible to conclude a partnership for its hemophilia B program during the first half of 2012, provided that additional funding can be secured in the meantime. AMT is also looking at additional collaborations with academic groups, which would contribute towards the short-term funding of its GDNF program for up to three indications.
AMT is continuing to explore all options with regard to the business, its financing, and support from existing shareholders. This includes selling all or part of the business, and raising additional capital in conjunction with its bankers and investors. AMT is also tracking opportunities for funding, from non-dilutive sources such as grants, and collaborations with partners. The Company has already taken appropriate action to reduce its costs, and the number of employees has decreased by approximately 50 per cent to 45 staff. Further cost reductions are possible but the savings would not provide a significantly longer runway for seeking a funding solution. Additional reductions may also have a detrimental effect on those programs still ongoing. In the event that additional cash inflows are not secured, AMT may not be able to continue as a going concern and would therefore be likely to go into insolvency.
15 December 2011
Carl Zeiss: los ingresos alcanzan la marca de 4.000 millones de euros por primera vez
Carl Zeiss ha presentado ahora sus declaraciones financieras anuales. En el año fiscal 2010/11, la compañía generó unos ingresos de 4.230 millones de euros (año anterior: 2.981 millones de euros), un incremento del 10 por ciento*. Con una cifra de 607 millones de euros, la EbIT estuvo claramente por encima de la cifra del año anterior (423 millones de euros). "Hemos conseguido cifras récord para la mayoría de los indicadores de rendimiento," dijo Michael Kaschke, director general y consejero delegado de Carl Zeiss AG. "Carl Zeiss ha permanecido en vías de un crecimiento continuado y rentable y ha consolidado su posición como líder tecnológico y agente global". Carl Zeiss generó un 87 por ciento de los ingresos fuera de Alemania. Un crecimiento particularmente fuerte de los ingresos se dio en Asia (+12%*) y América (+11%*).
* Desde el inicio del año fiscal 2010/11, el fabricante de lentes oculares Carl Zeiss Vision (ingresos en el año fiscal 2010/11 en torno a 850 millones de euros) se integró como un grupo empresarial independiente y se consolidó totalmente en las declaraciones financieras por primera vez. El cambio especificado se basa en cifras pro forma comparables para el Carl Zeiss Group, incluyendo Carl Zeiss Vision.
* Desde el inicio del año fiscal 2010/11, el fabricante de lentes oculares Carl Zeiss Vision (ingresos en el año fiscal 2010/11 en torno a 850 millones de euros) se integró como un grupo empresarial independiente y se consolidó totalmente en las declaraciones financieras por primera vez. El cambio especificado se basa en cifras pro forma comparables para el Carl Zeiss Group, incluyendo Carl Zeiss Vision.
Revuelo en el Sant Hospital de la Seu d'Urgell por unas radiografías eróticas
Calumnia, que algo queda. El presidente de la asociación de usuarios del Sant Hospital de la Seu d¿Urgell ha colgado carteles con la radiografía de una mujer en postura erótica de un calendario editado por la empresa japonesa de radiología Eizo atribuyendo la placa a una trabajadora del centro sanitario.
.
No tiene intención de rectificar. Se escuda en que una trabajadora del sector sanitario le contó por correo electrónico que varias compañeras suyas habían hecho un calendario con radiografías sensuales en la Seu y en Andorra.
"Yo he publicitado esto porque considero que es una inmoralidad que las trabajadoras estén gastándose así el dinero cuando el propio hospital tiene que cobrar los sillones a los usuarios porque no hay dinero para cambiarlos", insiste. "Colgué diez o doce, y puse la radiografía más decente". Así explica su difamación, Jaume Mendia, a quien el patronato del hospital exigirá oficialmente una rectificación de las mismas características de su calumnia.
En los carteles, debajo de la foto de la radiografía, el presidente de la asociación escribió: "Así se gastan el dinero algunas trabajadoras de la Fundació del Santo Hospital y los usuarios sufren listas de espera y pagan los muebles (sillones)". Jaume Mendia ha colgado los carteles, dice, de manera particular para que se supiera lo que hacían las trabajadoras. Explica que nunca ha atribuido las radiografías a la Fundación ni al Patronato del Hospital, por lo que considera que no tiene que responder a la petición de rectificación que hacen ambos.
.
No tiene intención de rectificar. Se escuda en que una trabajadora del sector sanitario le contó por correo electrónico que varias compañeras suyas habían hecho un calendario con radiografías sensuales en la Seu y en Andorra.
"Yo he publicitado esto porque considero que es una inmoralidad que las trabajadoras estén gastándose así el dinero cuando el propio hospital tiene que cobrar los sillones a los usuarios porque no hay dinero para cambiarlos", insiste. "Colgué diez o doce, y puse la radiografía más decente". Así explica su difamación, Jaume Mendia, a quien el patronato del hospital exigirá oficialmente una rectificación de las mismas características de su calumnia.
En los carteles, debajo de la foto de la radiografía, el presidente de la asociación escribió: "Así se gastan el dinero algunas trabajadoras de la Fundació del Santo Hospital y los usuarios sufren listas de espera y pagan los muebles (sillones)". Jaume Mendia ha colgado los carteles, dice, de manera particular para que se supiera lo que hacían las trabajadoras. Explica que nunca ha atribuido las radiografías a la Fundación ni al Patronato del Hospital, por lo que considera que no tiene que responder a la petición de rectificación que hacen ambos.
-Petición de retracto
Para el presidente del comité de empresa, Toni Rueda, trabajador de la sección de rayos, las imágenes son de un mal gusto terrible. "Acusar a los trabajadores en estos momentos de ser los culpables del recorte es ridículo", opina. Una trabajadora, que prefiere permanecer en el anonimato, asegura que como mujer las imágenes le parecen denigrantes y patéticas. "Me gustaría que tuviera la decencia de retractarse".
Las secretarías de la mujer de los sindicatos estudian también medidas. "Este señor ha tenido un comportamiento totalmente sexista atacando directamente al colectivo femenio mayoritario en el centro sanitario acusando a los trabajadores de los problemas económicos o de los recortes", afirma con vehemencia Elena Motos, responsable de los servicios sanitarios de CCOO. Los carteles, colocados en el hospital y en tablones de anuncios, duraron unas horas. Los quitó la policía local. Por su parte, el director del hospital llevó su queja al patronato del que forman parte el Ayuntamieto el Obispado y la Generalitat.
Para el presidente del comité de empresa, Toni Rueda, trabajador de la sección de rayos, las imágenes son de un mal gusto terrible. "Acusar a los trabajadores en estos momentos de ser los culpables del recorte es ridículo", opina. Una trabajadora, que prefiere permanecer en el anonimato, asegura que como mujer las imágenes le parecen denigrantes y patéticas. "Me gustaría que tuviera la decencia de retractarse".
Las secretarías de la mujer de los sindicatos estudian también medidas. "Este señor ha tenido un comportamiento totalmente sexista atacando directamente al colectivo femenio mayoritario en el centro sanitario acusando a los trabajadores de los problemas económicos o de los recortes", afirma con vehemencia Elena Motos, responsable de los servicios sanitarios de CCOO. Los carteles, colocados en el hospital y en tablones de anuncios, duraron unas horas. Los quitó la policía local. Por su parte, el director del hospital llevó su queja al patronato del que forman parte el Ayuntamieto el Obispado y la Generalitat.
**Publicado en "EL PERIODICO DE CATALUNYA"
Brain and heart link may explain sudden death in Rett
Poets might scoff at the notion that heart and brain are closely related, but scientists led by those at Baylor College of Medicine say a genetic defect that affects the brain can stop a heart. In a study published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, BCM researchers and colleagues found that heart problems that occur in nearly 20 percent of children with Rett syndrome, a neurological disorder, originate because the Rett gene (MeCP2) is lost in nerve cells -- not in heart muscle cells.
"The finding in mice opens the door to tailoring treatments to prevent heart rhythm problems and even deaths in girls with the disorder," said Dr. Jeffrey Neul, associate professor of pediatrics at BCM, a researcher at the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's Hospital and the assistant medical director of the Blue Bird Circle Rett Clinic.
Long QT syndrome
"We began by looking at mice whose symptoms closely mimicked that of Rett syndrome. We found that those mice also exhibited electrical malfunctions in the heart, known as long QT syndrome," said BCM collaborator Dr. Xander Wehrens, professor of molecular physiology and biophysics and the Juanita P. Quigley endowed chair in cardiology at BCM. Long QT syndrome describes an interval usually measured on an electrocardiogram or ECG. These electrical malfunctions cause that interval to be too long, which can lead to a dangerous heart beat that can cause sudden death in people.
"Long QT syndrome is found in nearly 20 percent of people with Rett syndrome," said Neul. Sudden death also occurs in a significant percentage of Rett patients, and Neul and his colleagues wondered if the two might be linked.
The gene MECP2 occurs in the genomes of every cell, providing a code for the protein associated with it, MeCP2. It can have different activities in different cells. In this study, researchers created a mouse in which MeCP2 was missing only in the brain and nervous system. Even though MeCP2 functioned normally in the heart, the heart beat abnormally.
Brain sends wrong message to heart
"We showed that the heart problems were actually secondary to nervous system deficits and that cardiac activity can be remolded by abnormalities in brain activity," said Neul. "Basically, the brain is sending the wrong message to the heart leading to the malfunction."
Taking a closer look at the heart cells affected by the nervous system deficits, researchers found an unusual persistent sodium current.
Sodium currents occur naturally in cell function. When there is cell activity, sodium travels in and out of the cell through a channel that acts like a window opening and closing. Unusual persistent sodium current means the "window" doesn't close properly, causing a slow trickle of sodium to flow through the channel for a longer period of time.
Seizure drug improves sodium problem
There are seizure medications that block this process, which also occurs in other neurological disorders. When Neul and his colleagues used an anti-seizure drug to treat these malfunctioning heart muscle cells in the lab, the sodium current problem improved. They then gave the common anti-seizure drug to the abnormal mice which corrected the heart rhythm problem and blocked sudden cardiac death.
The next step is to treat the animals long term, he said. At that same time, they plan to look at what is going on in children with Rett who are already taking these kinds of medicines to treat their seizures.
"Are the people on these drugs less likely to have long QT intervals?" he said, "More research in the lab will help us reassess what we are doing in the clinic and determine if we need to change our treatment methods," Neul said.
Others who contributed to the research include: Mark D McCauley, Tiannan Wang, Elise Mike, Jose Herrera, David L. Beavers, Teng-Wei Huang, Christopher S. Ward, and Daniel G. Glaze, all of BCM; Steven Skinner, Greenwood Genetic Center; and Alan K. Percy, University of Alabama, Birmingham.
*Source: Baylor College of Medicine
"The finding in mice opens the door to tailoring treatments to prevent heart rhythm problems and even deaths in girls with the disorder," said Dr. Jeffrey Neul, associate professor of pediatrics at BCM, a researcher at the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's Hospital and the assistant medical director of the Blue Bird Circle Rett Clinic.
Long QT syndrome
"We began by looking at mice whose symptoms closely mimicked that of Rett syndrome. We found that those mice also exhibited electrical malfunctions in the heart, known as long QT syndrome," said BCM collaborator Dr. Xander Wehrens, professor of molecular physiology and biophysics and the Juanita P. Quigley endowed chair in cardiology at BCM. Long QT syndrome describes an interval usually measured on an electrocardiogram or ECG. These electrical malfunctions cause that interval to be too long, which can lead to a dangerous heart beat that can cause sudden death in people.
"Long QT syndrome is found in nearly 20 percent of people with Rett syndrome," said Neul. Sudden death also occurs in a significant percentage of Rett patients, and Neul and his colleagues wondered if the two might be linked.
The gene MECP2 occurs in the genomes of every cell, providing a code for the protein associated with it, MeCP2. It can have different activities in different cells. In this study, researchers created a mouse in which MeCP2 was missing only in the brain and nervous system. Even though MeCP2 functioned normally in the heart, the heart beat abnormally.
Brain sends wrong message to heart
"We showed that the heart problems were actually secondary to nervous system deficits and that cardiac activity can be remolded by abnormalities in brain activity," said Neul. "Basically, the brain is sending the wrong message to the heart leading to the malfunction."
Taking a closer look at the heart cells affected by the nervous system deficits, researchers found an unusual persistent sodium current.
Sodium currents occur naturally in cell function. When there is cell activity, sodium travels in and out of the cell through a channel that acts like a window opening and closing. Unusual persistent sodium current means the "window" doesn't close properly, causing a slow trickle of sodium to flow through the channel for a longer period of time.
Seizure drug improves sodium problem
There are seizure medications that block this process, which also occurs in other neurological disorders. When Neul and his colleagues used an anti-seizure drug to treat these malfunctioning heart muscle cells in the lab, the sodium current problem improved. They then gave the common anti-seizure drug to the abnormal mice which corrected the heart rhythm problem and blocked sudden cardiac death.
The next step is to treat the animals long term, he said. At that same time, they plan to look at what is going on in children with Rett who are already taking these kinds of medicines to treat their seizures.
"Are the people on these drugs less likely to have long QT intervals?" he said, "More research in the lab will help us reassess what we are doing in the clinic and determine if we need to change our treatment methods," Neul said.
Others who contributed to the research include: Mark D McCauley, Tiannan Wang, Elise Mike, Jose Herrera, David L. Beavers, Teng-Wei Huang, Christopher S. Ward, and Daniel G. Glaze, all of BCM; Steven Skinner, Greenwood Genetic Center; and Alan K. Percy, University of Alabama, Birmingham.
*Source: Baylor College of Medicine
El ICS confirma que convertirá los hospitales en empresas
Tras los hospitales Doctor Trueta de Girona y Arnau Vilanova de Lleida, el resto de los centros públicos del Instituto Catalán de la Salud (ICS) se convertirán en empresas con personalidad jurídica propia en un plazo máximo “de cuatro o cinco años”. Así lo confirmó ayer el gerente del ICS, Joaquim Casanovas, después de que EL PAÍS avanzara los planes del Departamento de Salud para trocear el ICS.
Salud pretende, además, que el personal sanitario adquiera a su vez participaciones de la empresa resultante “de forma mayoritaria y voluntaria”, detalló el ICS en un comunicado. Ello implica que los hospitales puedan funcionar como una suerte de cooperativas y que realicen servicios al margen de la sanidad pública, aunque el ICS aseguró que no prevé “la entrada de capital privado ajeno”.
**Publicado en "EL PAIS"
Salud pretende, además, que el personal sanitario adquiera a su vez participaciones de la empresa resultante “de forma mayoritaria y voluntaria”, detalló el ICS en un comunicado. Ello implica que los hospitales puedan funcionar como una suerte de cooperativas y que realicen servicios al margen de la sanidad pública, aunque el ICS aseguró que no prevé “la entrada de capital privado ajeno”.
**Publicado en "EL PAIS"
Simple test to help diagnose bowel and pancreatic cancer could save thousands of lives
A simple online calculator could offer family GPs a powerful new tool in tackling two of the most deadly forms of cancer, say researchers. Academics from The University of Nottingham and ClinRisk Ltd have developed two new QCancer algorithms, which cross-reference symptoms and risk factors of patients to red flag those most likely to have pancreatic and bowel cancer, which could help doctors to diagnose these illnesses more quickly and potentially save thousands of lives every year.
Leading the research, Professor Julia Hippisley-Cox in the University's Division of Primary Care, said: "We hope these new tools will help GPs with the difficult task of identifying patients with suspected cancer earlier and that this in turn could help improve treatment options and outcomes for patients."
Pancreatic cancer, which affects more than 8,000 people in the UK every year, has the worst survival rate for any cancer -- almost three-quarters of patients die within a year of diagnosis. Catching the disease in the early stages can offer a more optimistic prognosis for patients -- however, with very few established risk factors and no reliable screening test available, it is also one of the toughest cancers for GPs to spot.
The research, published in the January edition of the British Journal of General Practice (BJGP), used patient data from 564 GPs practices to develop the algorithm and test its success at predicting which patients were likely to have pancreatic cancer, based on a combination of symptoms such as weight loss, appetite loss, and abdominal pain and risk factors such as age, chronic pancreatitis, smoking and diabetes.
It was successful in predicting 62 per cent of all pancreatic cancers diagnosed over the following two years which were in the top 10 per cent of patients predicted to be most at risk.
Colorectal cancer, or bowel cancer, is the second most common cancer in Europe as well as the second most common cause of cancer-related death. In the UK, 16,500 people die every year from bowel cancer and 36,000 people develop the disease. The UK has one of the poorest survival rates for bowel cancer in Europe, which is thought to be largely due to late presentation, delays in diagnosis and delays in treatment. Swift diagnosis can make all the difference -- among patients where the disease is diagnosed early, the five year survival rate can be as high as 90 per cent.
Many of the major symptoms, such as rectal bleeding, weight loss, appetite loss, diarrhea, constipation or abdominal pain are very common and can more often be linked to other less serious conditions, presenting GPs with a diagnostic challenge.
Based on using single 'red flag' symptoms such as rectal bleeding, doctors could miss 60 per cent of current bowel cancers.
For the research, published in the same edition of the BJGP, academics used anonymous data from the same 564 GP surgeries to develop and test the colorectal cancer algorithm by looking at a combination of risk factors, including age, family history of bower cancer, anemia, symptoms including rectal bleeding, abdominal pain, appetite loss, weight loss, diarrhea and changes in bowel habits. The researchers also took into account the different risks affecting men and women.
The study found that the algorithm was very successful in spotting which patients would be most likely to develop bowel cancer over the following two years -- 70 per cent of all bowel cancer patients subsequently diagnosed were in the top 10 per cent of patients predicted to be most at risk, The two studies used the anonymous data of patients aged between 30 and 84 years old who were all free from diagnosis or symptoms of the two cancers over the previous 12 months. The GPs' practices were all contributing to the QResearch® database system -- a not-for-profit partnership between The University of Nottingham and leading GP systems supplier EMIS.
The new algorithms for pancreatic and bowel cancer could be incorporated into existing GP computer systems to alert doctors to patients who are potentially most at risk of developing the diseases.
They could support the work of GPs in reducing diagnosis times in line with current Government policy and the National Awareness and Early Diagnosis Initiative (NAEDI) -- a public/third sector partnership between the Department of Health, National Cancer Action Team and Cancer Research UK. Evidence suggests that simply raising awareness of symptoms and speeding up diagnosis could save 5,000 lives per year without any new advances in medicine.
The study has resulted in two simple web calculators -- one for pancreatic cancer (http://www.qcancer.org/pancreas/) and one for bowel cancer (http://www.qcancer.org/colorectal) -- which are designed for doctors but a simpler version could also be made available on the internet to raise awareness among the general public and to prompt patients with risk factors or symptoms to seek advice from their doctor.
*Source: University of Nottingham
Leading the research, Professor Julia Hippisley-Cox in the University's Division of Primary Care, said: "We hope these new tools will help GPs with the difficult task of identifying patients with suspected cancer earlier and that this in turn could help improve treatment options and outcomes for patients."
Pancreatic cancer, which affects more than 8,000 people in the UK every year, has the worst survival rate for any cancer -- almost three-quarters of patients die within a year of diagnosis. Catching the disease in the early stages can offer a more optimistic prognosis for patients -- however, with very few established risk factors and no reliable screening test available, it is also one of the toughest cancers for GPs to spot.
The research, published in the January edition of the British Journal of General Practice (BJGP), used patient data from 564 GPs practices to develop the algorithm and test its success at predicting which patients were likely to have pancreatic cancer, based on a combination of symptoms such as weight loss, appetite loss, and abdominal pain and risk factors such as age, chronic pancreatitis, smoking and diabetes.
It was successful in predicting 62 per cent of all pancreatic cancers diagnosed over the following two years which were in the top 10 per cent of patients predicted to be most at risk.
Colorectal cancer, or bowel cancer, is the second most common cancer in Europe as well as the second most common cause of cancer-related death. In the UK, 16,500 people die every year from bowel cancer and 36,000 people develop the disease. The UK has one of the poorest survival rates for bowel cancer in Europe, which is thought to be largely due to late presentation, delays in diagnosis and delays in treatment. Swift diagnosis can make all the difference -- among patients where the disease is diagnosed early, the five year survival rate can be as high as 90 per cent.
Many of the major symptoms, such as rectal bleeding, weight loss, appetite loss, diarrhea, constipation or abdominal pain are very common and can more often be linked to other less serious conditions, presenting GPs with a diagnostic challenge.
Based on using single 'red flag' symptoms such as rectal bleeding, doctors could miss 60 per cent of current bowel cancers.
For the research, published in the same edition of the BJGP, academics used anonymous data from the same 564 GP surgeries to develop and test the colorectal cancer algorithm by looking at a combination of risk factors, including age, family history of bower cancer, anemia, symptoms including rectal bleeding, abdominal pain, appetite loss, weight loss, diarrhea and changes in bowel habits. The researchers also took into account the different risks affecting men and women.
The study found that the algorithm was very successful in spotting which patients would be most likely to develop bowel cancer over the following two years -- 70 per cent of all bowel cancer patients subsequently diagnosed were in the top 10 per cent of patients predicted to be most at risk, The two studies used the anonymous data of patients aged between 30 and 84 years old who were all free from diagnosis or symptoms of the two cancers over the previous 12 months. The GPs' practices were all contributing to the QResearch® database system -- a not-for-profit partnership between The University of Nottingham and leading GP systems supplier EMIS.
The new algorithms for pancreatic and bowel cancer could be incorporated into existing GP computer systems to alert doctors to patients who are potentially most at risk of developing the diseases.
They could support the work of GPs in reducing diagnosis times in line with current Government policy and the National Awareness and Early Diagnosis Initiative (NAEDI) -- a public/third sector partnership between the Department of Health, National Cancer Action Team and Cancer Research UK. Evidence suggests that simply raising awareness of symptoms and speeding up diagnosis could save 5,000 lives per year without any new advances in medicine.
The study has resulted in two simple web calculators -- one for pancreatic cancer (http://www.qcancer.org/pancreas/) and one for bowel cancer (http://www.qcancer.org/colorectal) -- which are designed for doctors but a simpler version could also be made available on the internet to raise awareness among the general public and to prompt patients with risk factors or symptoms to seek advice from their doctor.
*Source: University of Nottingham
EE UU se propone crear un sistema de indemnización para pacientes con secuelas por experimentos médicos
La comisión que el presidente Barack Obama creó para que investigara el tratamiento a pacientes de experimentos médicos realizados por el Gobierno de Estados Unidos, después de que se supiera que en los años cuarenta del siglo pasado se había infectado intencionalmente a guatemaltecos con sífilis y gonorrea, ha concluido su labor y ha emitido hoy un informe en el que asegura que aquel incidente fue una excepción y que no hay casos similares en el pasado reciente. Aun así, recomienda al Gobierno federal que cree un fondo de indemnizaciones para pagar a aquellos pacientes que tomen parte en experimentos y acaben sufriendo secuelas médicas.
“Lo que esta comisión ha concluido es que nada similar a lo que sucedió en Guatemala podría suceder hoy con investigaciones financiadas con fondos federales”, explicó ayer en conferencia de prensa telefónica la presidenta de esa delegación, Amy Gutmann. “Lo que sucedió en Guatemala se ha calificado, adecuadamente, de bárbaro, por el nivel de maltrato y por la violación de la dignidad humana en esos experimentos. La comisión ha llegado a la conclusión de que las normas y regulaciones ahora en pie hacen que lo ocurrido en Guatemala sea una cosa del pasado”.
En este momento, hay 18 agencias del Gobierno de EE UU que efectúan experimentos con pacientes humanos. Existen, en total, 55.000 proyectos de investigación dentro y fuera de EE UU. Según reveló en 2010 la profesora Susan Reverby, de la Universidad de Wesley, entre 1946 y 1948, 696 presos, soldados y pacientes de hospitales psiquiátricos fueron infectados con sífilis y gonorrea para analizar los efectos de esas enfermedades y los efectos de la penicilina sobre ellas. El Gobierno de Obama pidió entonces perdón y ordenó la creación de la Comisión para el Estudio de Asuntos Bioéticos, que hoy presenta sus resultados.
La comisión ha efectuado una serie de recomendaciones para evitar casos como el de Guatemala. La principal es que el Gobierno cree un directorio con cada experimento en que tomen parte seres humanos y que se mantenga actualizado rigurosamente. “Cuando las agencias federales carecen de los mecanismos internos para ofrecer la información necesaria sobre los experimentos que financian, operan con limitaciones que les impedirían responder a las indagaciones del presidente sobre qué mecanismos tienen en pie para proteger a los pacientes”, añadió Gutmann.
Otra recomendación importante es crear un sistema de compensaciones para pagar los gastos médicos derivados de secuelas sufridas por los pacientes. Hoy en día, esos experimentos son totalmente voluntarios. Muchos de ellos se efectúan ofreciendo dinero a los pacientes. Otros brindan tratamientos experimentales a aquellas personas que aquejan de enfermedades raras. La comisión recomienda al Gobierno en su informe que establezca los parámetros por los que cubrirá las visitas médicas y los medicamentos que deban recibir esos pacientes.
“Dado que los individuos que resulten afectados por secuelas de las investigaciones no deberían cargar con los gastos de los tratamientos acarreados, el Gobierno federal, a través de la Oficina de Políticas para la Ciencia y la Tecnología del Departamento de Sanidad, debería iniciar de forma rápida un estudio de las circunstancias de esas secuelas, para determinar si se necesita un sistema nacional de compensaciones o tratamientos de heridas relacionadas con esos experimentos”, se asegura en el informe. Si se creara un programa semejante, aquellas personas que sufran ahora secuelas por los experimentos en Guatemala podrían recibir compensaciones. Los portavoces de la comisión rechazaron detallar ayer de qué cuantía serían esas compensaciones indemnizaciones, pero indicaron que cubrirían únicamente gastos médicos y no morales.
**Publicado en "EL PAIS"
“Lo que esta comisión ha concluido es que nada similar a lo que sucedió en Guatemala podría suceder hoy con investigaciones financiadas con fondos federales”, explicó ayer en conferencia de prensa telefónica la presidenta de esa delegación, Amy Gutmann. “Lo que sucedió en Guatemala se ha calificado, adecuadamente, de bárbaro, por el nivel de maltrato y por la violación de la dignidad humana en esos experimentos. La comisión ha llegado a la conclusión de que las normas y regulaciones ahora en pie hacen que lo ocurrido en Guatemala sea una cosa del pasado”.
En este momento, hay 18 agencias del Gobierno de EE UU que efectúan experimentos con pacientes humanos. Existen, en total, 55.000 proyectos de investigación dentro y fuera de EE UU. Según reveló en 2010 la profesora Susan Reverby, de la Universidad de Wesley, entre 1946 y 1948, 696 presos, soldados y pacientes de hospitales psiquiátricos fueron infectados con sífilis y gonorrea para analizar los efectos de esas enfermedades y los efectos de la penicilina sobre ellas. El Gobierno de Obama pidió entonces perdón y ordenó la creación de la Comisión para el Estudio de Asuntos Bioéticos, que hoy presenta sus resultados.
La comisión ha efectuado una serie de recomendaciones para evitar casos como el de Guatemala. La principal es que el Gobierno cree un directorio con cada experimento en que tomen parte seres humanos y que se mantenga actualizado rigurosamente. “Cuando las agencias federales carecen de los mecanismos internos para ofrecer la información necesaria sobre los experimentos que financian, operan con limitaciones que les impedirían responder a las indagaciones del presidente sobre qué mecanismos tienen en pie para proteger a los pacientes”, añadió Gutmann.
Otra recomendación importante es crear un sistema de compensaciones para pagar los gastos médicos derivados de secuelas sufridas por los pacientes. Hoy en día, esos experimentos son totalmente voluntarios. Muchos de ellos se efectúan ofreciendo dinero a los pacientes. Otros brindan tratamientos experimentales a aquellas personas que aquejan de enfermedades raras. La comisión recomienda al Gobierno en su informe que establezca los parámetros por los que cubrirá las visitas médicas y los medicamentos que deban recibir esos pacientes.
“Dado que los individuos que resulten afectados por secuelas de las investigaciones no deberían cargar con los gastos de los tratamientos acarreados, el Gobierno federal, a través de la Oficina de Políticas para la Ciencia y la Tecnología del Departamento de Sanidad, debería iniciar de forma rápida un estudio de las circunstancias de esas secuelas, para determinar si se necesita un sistema nacional de compensaciones o tratamientos de heridas relacionadas con esos experimentos”, se asegura en el informe. Si se creara un programa semejante, aquellas personas que sufran ahora secuelas por los experimentos en Guatemala podrían recibir compensaciones. Los portavoces de la comisión rechazaron detallar ayer de qué cuantía serían esas compensaciones indemnizaciones, pero indicaron que cubrirían únicamente gastos médicos y no morales.
**Publicado en "EL PAIS"
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