The Debt of a Hand

Adam and Eve, summoned by the snake, seize the apple from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and taste the fall. They find themselves guilty and naked and hide from a god who will damn them both to the mortal and subjugating cultivation of the soil (culture). We are thus already in the very violence of a distance, taking up the form of a political shame. I will be following the way that technique becomes the pharmakon of the privileged being which has broken away from its own nature. In view of a transformative engagement that calls on us, on thought, and on politics, to transgress the passivity of interpreting and of mourning, the necessity a political involvement will have to pass through the dimension of technology

NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS: CLINICAL AND BIOLOGICAL STUDIES OF MANGANESE

From Symposium on Radioactivation Analysis and its Application to the Biological Sciences, Saclay, France, Sept. 1963. The use of neutron activation analysis for studying the metabolism of manganese in the body is discussed. Results of various clinical and biological studies of manganese metabolism are described. Some of the results indicate that pigments (melanin) in general contain high manganese concentrations and might play a role in extrapyramidal diseases. (D.L.C.

L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine-induced hypersensitivity simulating features of denervation.

The manner in which dyskinesia and intermittency of neurological control had emerged late in the therapy of Parkinsonism with L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (levodopa) had suggested to us that this drug can imprint on the brain a chemical memory of its passage. The majority of authors ascribed these events to denervation hypersensitivity caused by the nigral and other lesions of the disease. By feeding levodopa to mice, however, we induced a state that simulated denervations hypersensitivity, including hyperreaction to single injections of levodopa and increased dopamine-stimulated adenylate cyclase [ATP pyrophosphate-lyase (cyclizing), EC 4.6.1.1] activity in homogenates of caudate nuclei. These phenomena were not caused by actual denervation, because the hypersensitivity declined and disappeared some weeks after the dietary levodopa was stopped

Fundal pressure during the second stage of labour

Background Fundal pressure during the second stage of labour involves application of manual pressure to the uppermost part of the uterus directed towards the birth canal in an attempt to assist spontaneous vaginal delivery and avoid prolonged second stage or the need for operative delivery. Fundal pressure has also been applied using an inflatable girdle. A survey in the United States found that 84% of the respondents used fundal pressure in their obstetric centres.There is little evidence to demonstrate that the use of fundal pressure is effective to improve maternal and/or neonatal outcomes. Several anecdotal reports suggest that fundal pressure is associated with maternal and neonatal complications: for example, uterine rupture, neonatal fractures and brain damage. There is a need for objective evaluation of the effectiveness and safety of fundal pressure in the second stage of labour. Objectives To determine the benefits and adverse effects of fundal pressure in the second stage of labour. Search methods We searched the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group's Trials Register (November 2008). Selection criteria Randomised and quasi-randomised controlled trials of fundal pressure versus no fundal pressure in women in the second stage of labour with singleton cephalic presentation. Data collection and analysis Three review authors independently assessed for inclusion all the potential studies. We extracted the data using a pre-designed form. We entered data into Review Manager software and checked for accuracy. Main results We excluded two of three identified trials from the analyses for methodological reasons. This left no studies on manual fundal pressure. We included one study (500 women) of fundal pressure by means of an inflatable belt versus no fundal pressure to reduce operative delivery rates. The methodological quality of the included study was good. Use of the inflatable belt did not change the rate of operative deliveries (RR 0.94, 95% CI 0.80 to 1.11). Fetal outcomes in terms of five-minute Apgar scores below seven (RR 4.62, 95% CI 0.22 to 95.68), low arterial cord pH (RR 0.47, 95% CI 0.09 to 2.55) and admission to the neonatal unit (RR 1.48, 95% CI 0.49 to 4.45) were also not different between the groups. There was no severe neonatal or maternal mortality or morbidity. There was an increase in intact perineum (RR 1.73, 95% CI 1.07 to 2.77), as well as anal sphincter tears (RR 15.69, 95% CI 2.10 to 117.02) in the belt group. There were no data on long-term outcomes

Dyskinesias after neural transplantation in Parkinson's disease: what do we know and what is next?

Since the 1980 s, when cell transplantation into the brain as a cure for Parkinson's disease hit the headlines, several patients with Parkinson's disease have received transplantation of cells from aborted fetuses with the aim of replacing the dopamine cells destroyed by the disease. The results in human studies were unpredictable and raised controversy. Some patients showed remarkable improvement, but many of the patients who underwent transplantation experienced serious disabling adverse reactions, putting an end to human trials since the late 1990 s. These side effects consisted of patients' developing troublesome involuntary, uncontrolled movements in the absence of dopaminergic medication, so-called off-phase, graft-induced dyskinesias. Notwithstanding the several mechanisms having been proposed, the pathogenesis of this type of dyskinesias remained unclear and there was no effective treatment. It has been suggested that graft-induced dyskinesias could be related to fiber outgrowth from the graft causing increased dopamine release, that could be related to the failure of grafts to restore a precise distribution of dopaminergic synaptic contacts on host neurons or may also be induced by inflammatory and immune responses around the graft. A recent study, however, hypothesized that an important factor for the development of graft-induced dyskinesias could include the composition of the cell suspension and specifically that a high proportion of serotonergic neurons cografted in these transplants engage in nonphysiological properties such as false transmitter release. The findings from this study showed serotonergic hyperinnervation in the grafted striatum of two patients with Parkinson's disease who exhibited major motor recovery after transplantation with fetal mesencephalic tissue but later developed graft-induced dyskinesias. Moreover, the dyskinesias were significantly attenuated by administration of a serotonin agonist, which activates the inhibitory serotonin autoreceptors and attenuates transmitter release from serotonergic neurons, indicating that graft-induced dyskinesias were caused by the dense serotonergic innervation engaging in false transmitter release. Here the implications of the recent findings for the development of new human trials testing the safety and efficacy of cell transplantation in patients with Parkinson's disease are discussed