ABSTRACT
Translating basic research discoveries through entrepreneurship must be scientist driven and institutionally supported to be successful (not the other way around). Here, we describe why scientists should engage in entrepreneurship, where institutional support for scientist-founders falls short, and how these challenges can be overcome.
Subject(s)
Entrepreneurship , Research PersonnelABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Patients with acromegaly can be treated with surgery, medical therapy and/or radiation therapy. For the patients not being cured with surgery, treatment with somatostatin analogues (SSAs) is the primary therapy. SSA can be taken by self- or partner-administered injections in addition to being given by a nurse at a clinic. The aim was to assess if patients with acromegaly prefer self-injections and to investigate their attitudes towards long-term medical therapy. METHOD: All patients in the southern medical region of Sweden with a diagnosis of acromegaly and treated with SSA were eligible for the study (n = 24). The study is based on a questionnaire asking about the patients' attitudes and preferences for injections with SSA, including their attitudes towards self-injection with SSA. RESULTS: The patients' (23 included) median age was 68.5 years and the patients had been treated with SSA for 13 (1-38) years. One patient was currently self-injecting. All of the other patients were receiving injections from a nurse at a clinic. Three patients preferred self-injections, one preferred partner injections and 19 patients did not prefer self- or partner injections. The most frequent arguments to not preferring self-injections were 'feeling more secure with an educated nurse' and 'preferring regular contact with a specialised nurse'. CONCLUSION: Patients with acromegaly prefer regular contact with the endocrine team to the independence offered by self-injections. These findings might mirror the patients' desires for continuity and safety. We need to address patients' concerns regarding injections with SSA and support them in their choices.
Subject(s)
Atrial Fibrillation/surgery , Catheter Ablation/adverse effects , Hemoptysis/etiology , Pulmonary Veno-Occlusive Disease/etiology , Hemoptysis/diagnosis , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Pulmonary Veno-Occlusive Disease/diagnosis , Pulmonary Veno-Occlusive Disease/diagnostic imaging , Tomography, X-Ray ComputedABSTRACT
A gender difference in the glucagon response to insulin-induced hypoglycemia was previously demonstrated in humans. Whether this reflects a gender difference in autonomic activation or in pancreatic alpha-cell regulation is not known. We investigated the glucagon, epinephrine, and norepinephrine responses to neuroglycopenic stress induced by 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) or insulin in female and male mice. 2-DG increased plasma glucagon levels by 559 +/- 68% in females versus 281 +/- 46% in males (P < 0.01). Plasma levels of epinephrine or norepinephrine after 2-DG administration did not differ between genders. During insulin-induced hypoglycemia, the glucagon response was similarly higher in females (P < 0.001), whereas the plasma catecholamine response was higher in males (P < 0.05). In vivo, the glucagon response to carbachol or clonidine was higher in females (P < 0.05). In isolated islets, the glucagon response to carbachol (100 microM; P = 0.003) but not to clonidine (1 microM) was larger in females. We conclude that in addition to a larger alpha-cell mass (previously described in female mice), an increased sensitivity of the glucagon-producing alpha-cell to cholinergic activation contributes to the larger glucagon response to glucopenic stress in female mice.
