Attitudes to Male Homosexuality Within the British Medical Association in the 1950s.

The British Government appointed a departmental committee to review anti-homosexuality laws in 1954 following a marked increase in the number of arrests for homosexuality after World War II. The committee invited the British Medical Association (BMA) and other institutions to provide scientific and medical evidence relating to homosexuality. In 1954, the BMA established the Committee on Homosexuality and Prostitution to present its view on how the law impacted upon homosexuals and society. This paper analyses the BMA's attitudes to homosexuality by examining its submission to the Departmental Committee. Whilst the BMA supported implicitly the decriminalization of certain homosexual acts, it remained strongly opposed to homosexuality from a moral perspective and insisted that it was an illness. It is concluded that the BMA's submission was driven primarily by a desire to control the "unnatural deviant" behavior of homosexuals and to protect society from that behavior rather than to protect homosexuals.

Investigating the specificity of endothelin-traps as a potential therapeutic tool for endothelin-1 related disorders.

BACKGROUND: Endothelin (ET)-traps are Fc-fusion proteins with a design based on the physiological receptors of ET-1. Previous work has shown that use of the selected ET-traps potently and significantly reduces different markers of diabetes pathology back to normal, non-disease levels. AIM: To demonstrate the selected ET-traps potently and significantly bind to ET-1. METHODS: We performed phage display experiments to test different constructs of ET-traps, and conducted bio-layer interferometry binding assays to verify that the selected ET-traps bind specifically to ET-1 and display binding affinity in the double-digit picomolar range (an average of 73.8 rM, n = 6). RESULTS: These experiments have confirmed our choice of the final ET-traps and provided proof-of-concept for the potential use of constructs as effective biologics for diseases associated with pathologically elevated ET-1. CONCLUSION: There is increased need for such therapeutics as they could help save millions of lives around the world.

ET-traps offer a potential therapeutic tool for use in different autoimmune diseases.

Research shows that endothelin (ET)-traps are a potential therapy for diabetes. Given that type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is an autoimmune disorder, ET-traps could also have an efficacious, therapeutic effect on other autoimmune diseases associated with pathologically elevated ET-1. Here, we describe those different autoimmune diseases that might benefit from a tool such as ET-traps, which potently sequester these elevated levels of ET-1. We also discuss the current use of ET receptor (ETR) antagonists and the associated adverse effects, and how ET-traps are associated with no toxicity and potentially offer a superior alternative. ET-traps could be used against different autoimmune diseases and, therefore, are a novel therapeutic tool for such conditions.

Adapting the 14-day rule for embryo research to encompass evolving technologies.

We consider the scientific evidence that research on in-vitro development of embryos beyond 14 days is necessary. We then examine potential new developments in the use of stem cells to make embryoids or synthetic human entities with embryo-like features, and consider whether they also require legal control. Next, we consider the arguments advanced against extending the 14-day period during which research on human embryos is currently permitted, and find none of them to be convincing. We end by proposing a new objective limit that could serve as a mechanism for regulating the use of embryos for research in vitro.

A short history of in vitro fertilization (IVF).

The history of in vitro fertilization (IVF) in humans from the early attempts in the USA through to the first definitive achievement of IVF by Edwards, Steptoe and Purdy (1969-1978), and the brief period of innovative IVF achievements to Melbourne, Australia, cut short by the passage of restrictive legislation (1979-1984) is recorded. A summary of the key achievements since the mid 1980s is then given. The shameful connotations of engaging in IVF of those esrly days is contrasted with its wide acceptance today, in which IVF is setting the norms for modern families.

IVF: The women who helped make it happen.

In this paper I pay tribute to four named women and 280 unidentified women patients for their essential roles in supporting Bob Edwards and Patrick Steptoe during the pioneering early days of IVF. The four named women are Jean Purdy, Muriel Harris, Lillian Lincoln Howell and Ruth Fowler.

Variation of maternal KIR and fetal HLA-C genes in reproductive failure: too early for clinical intervention.

A distinctive type of (uterine) natural killer (NK) cell is present in the uterine decidua during the period of placental formation. Uterine NK cells express members of the killer immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) family that bind to parental HLA-C molecules on the invading placental trophoblast cells. The maternal KIR genes and their fetal ligands are highly variable, so different KIR/HLA-C genetic combinations occur in each pregnancy. Some women only possess inhibitory KIR genes, whereas other women also express activating KIR genes. The overall signal that NK cells receive from paternal HLA-C on trophoblast depends on the ratio of activating and inhibitory KIR genes expressed by them. Therefore, NK cells provide a balance during placentation to ensure maternal survival and an adequately nourished fetus. Because inhibitory KIRs are found more frequently in women with defective placentation, e.g. pre-eclampsia, fetal growth restriction or recurrent spontaneous abortion, some fertility clinics suggest that women should be 'tissue typed' for their KIR genotypes. We explain why, presently, it is premature to introduce KIR and HLA-C typing to predict pregnancy outcome. In future, however, selecting for certain combinations of KIR and HLA-C variants in surrogacy, egg or sperm donation may prove useful to reduce disorders of pregnancy.