The ball is in the game : opportunities for the protection of freedom of expression at the EU level arising from Real Madrid vs Le Monde case

First published online on Verfassungblog: 24 April 2024In 2017, after the assassination of the Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) became an important topic on the EU level. As a result, the EU adopted the anti-SLAPP Directive, which shall protect journalists from abusive lawsuits that do not serve justice but only the sinister aim of silencing free press. Days from now, that directive will enter into force. Member States have two years for implementation. Nevertheless, the Directive is not the EU’s only SLAPP-related legal project at the moment. There is important litigation as well. This litigation originates, of all places, from the equally flashy and dirty world of professional football. In February 2024, Advocate General Maciej Szpunar delivered his opinion on the Real Madrid Club de Fútbol vs Le Monde case (C-633/22). The case addressed the problem of exorbitant damages targeting press and introducing a deterrent effect on freedom of speech in transnational cases. It is the Court of Justice of the European Union’s (ECJ) first opportunity to address the vastly growing problem of SLAPPs

The miR151 and miR5100 Transfected Bone Marrow Stromal Cells Increase Myoblast Fusion in IGFBP2 Dependent Manner

BACKGROUND: Bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) form a perivascular cell population in the bone marrow. These cells do not present naïve myogenic potential. However, their myogenic identity could be induced experimentally in vitro or in vivo. In vivo, after transplantation into injured muscle, BMSCs rarely fused with myofibers. However, BMSC participation in myofiber reconstruction increased if they were modified by NICD or PAX3 overexpression. Nevertheless, BMSCs paracrine function could play a positive role in skeletal muscle regeneration. Previously, we showed that SDF-1 treatment and coculture with myofibers increased BMSC ability to reconstruct myofibers. We also noticed that SDF-1 treatment changed selected miRNAs expression, including miR151 and miR5100. METHODS: Mouse BMSCs were transfected with miR151 and miR5100 mimics and their proliferation, myogenic differentiation, and fusion with myoblasts were analyzed. RESULTS: We showed that miR151 and miR5100 played an important role in the regulation of BMSC proliferation and migration. Moreover, the presence of miR151 and miR5100 transfected BMSCs in co-cultures with human myoblasts increased their fusion. This effect was achieved in an IGFBP2 dependent manner. CONCLUSIONS: Mouse BMSCs did not present naïve myogenic potential but secreted proteins could impact myogenic cell differentiation. miR151 and miR5100 transfection changed BMSC migration and IGFBP2 and MMP12 expression in BMSCs. miR151 and miR5100 transfected BMSCs increased myoblast fusion in vitro. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT: [Image: see text] SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12015-022-10350-y

The Efficacy and Safety of Metastasis-directed Therapy in Patients with Prostate Cancer:A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Prospective Studies

CONTEXT: Despite the lack of level 1 evidence, metastasis-directed therapy (MDT) is used widely in the management of metastatic prostate cancer (mPCa) patients. Data are continuously emerging from well-designed prospective studies.OBJECTIVE: To summarise and report the evidence on oncological and safety outcomes of MDT in the management of mPCa patients.EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: We searched the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases for prospective studies assessing progression-free survival (PFS), local control (LC), androgen deprivation therapy (ADT)-free survival (ADT-FS), overall survival (OS), and/or adverse events (AEs) in mPCa patients treated with MDT. A meta-analysis was performed for 1- and 2-yr PFS, LC, ADT-FS, OS, and rate of AEs. Meta-regression and sensitivity analysis were performed to account for heterogeneity and identify moderators.EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: We identified 22 prospective studies (n = 1137), including two randomised controlled trials (n = 116). Two studies were excluded from the meta-analysis (n = 120). The estimated 2-yr PFS was 46% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 36-56%) or 42% (95% CI: 33-52%) after excluding studies using biochemical or ADT-related endpoints. The estimated 2-yr LC, ADT-FS, and OS were 97% (95% CI: 94-98%), 55% (95% CI: 44-65%), and 97% (95% CI: 95-98%), respectively. Rates of treatment-related grade 2 and ≥3 AEs were 2.4% (95% CI: 0.2-7%) and 0.3% (95% CI: 0-1%), respectively.CONCLUSIONS: MDT is a promising treatment strategy associated with favourable PFS, excellent LC, and a low toxicity profile that allows oligorecurrent hormone-sensitive patients to avoid or defer ADT-related toxicity. Integration of MDT with other therapies offers a promising research direction, in particular, in conjunction with systemic treatments and as a component of definitive care for oligometastatic PCa. However, in the absence of randomised trials, using MDT for treatment intensification remains an experimental approach, and the impact on OS is uncertain.PATIENT SUMMARY: Direct treatment of metastases is a promising option for selected prostate cancer patients. It can delay hormone therapy and is being investigated as a way of intensifying treatment at the expense of manageable toxicity.</p

The Efficacy and Safety of Metastasis-directed Therapy in Patients with Prostate Cancer:A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Prospective Studies

CONTEXT: Despite the lack of level 1 evidence, metastasis-directed therapy (MDT) is used widely in the management of metastatic prostate cancer (mPCa) patients. Data are continuously emerging from well-designed prospective studies.OBJECTIVE: To summarise and report the evidence on oncological and safety outcomes of MDT in the management of mPCa patients.EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: We searched the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases for prospective studies assessing progression-free survival (PFS), local control (LC), androgen deprivation therapy (ADT)-free survival (ADT-FS), overall survival (OS), and/or adverse events (AEs) in mPCa patients treated with MDT. A meta-analysis was performed for 1- and 2-yr PFS, LC, ADT-FS, OS, and rate of AEs. Meta-regression and sensitivity analysis were performed to account for heterogeneity and identify moderators.EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: We identified 22 prospective studies (n = 1137), including two randomised controlled trials (n = 116). Two studies were excluded from the meta-analysis (n = 120). The estimated 2-yr PFS was 46% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 36-56%) or 42% (95% CI: 33-52%) after excluding studies using biochemical or ADT-related endpoints. The estimated 2-yr LC, ADT-FS, and OS were 97% (95% CI: 94-98%), 55% (95% CI: 44-65%), and 97% (95% CI: 95-98%), respectively. Rates of treatment-related grade 2 and ≥3 AEs were 2.4% (95% CI: 0.2-7%) and 0.3% (95% CI: 0-1%), respectively.CONCLUSIONS: MDT is a promising treatment strategy associated with favourable PFS, excellent LC, and a low toxicity profile that allows oligorecurrent hormone-sensitive patients to avoid or defer ADT-related toxicity. Integration of MDT with other therapies offers a promising research direction, in particular, in conjunction with systemic treatments and as a component of definitive care for oligometastatic PCa. However, in the absence of randomised trials, using MDT for treatment intensification remains an experimental approach, and the impact on OS is uncertain.PATIENT SUMMARY: Direct treatment of metastases is a promising option for selected prostate cancer patients. It can delay hormone therapy and is being investigated as a way of intensifying treatment at the expense of manageable toxicity.</p

We Do Not Like It: A Likert-Type Scale Survey on the Attitudes of a Young Population towards the Transhumanistic Theory of Education

Transhumanists assume that future education may be purely based on technological stimulation. The question is: Do potential clients of education “like” such vision? In order to check this, we asked over one thousand two hundred young Poles to evaluate their identification with the transhumanistic theory of education. The results are quite surprising: its show that they disagree with the assumptions of this theory, while they rather agree with the postulates of more traditional (and no technology-based) concepts of education

Gloss to the judgment of the ECtHR of 15 May 2022, OOO Memo p. Russia application no. 2840/10

W dniu 15 marca 2022 r. Europejski Trybunał Praw Człowieka wydał wyrok w sprawie OOO Memo p. Rosji, skarga nr 2840/10. Wyrok ten stanowi zwrot w dotychczasowej linii orzeczniczej Trybunału. ETPCz uznał, że postępowania o ochronę dobrego imienia wszczęte przez podmioty sprawujące władzę publiczną są co do zasady pozbawione uzasadnionego celu i tym samym niezgodne z art. 10 Europejskiej Konwencji Praw Człowieka. Wyrok ten ustanawia wyższy niż dotychczas poziom ochrony przeciwko nieuzasadnionym ingerencjom w wolność słowa i będzie miał znaczące konsekwencje zarówno w odniesieniu do postępowań przed ETPCz, jak i do postępowań krajowych. Wyrok ten jest istotny również ze względu na zwrócenie uwagi na problem strategicznych działań prawnych przeciwko partycypacji publicznej (eng. Stategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation).No legitimate aim of proceedings for protection of reputation initiated by public authorities – gloss to the judgment of the ECtHR of 15 May 2022, OOO Memo p. Russia application no. 2840/10 On March 15, 2022. The European Court of Human Rights issued its judgment in the case of OOO Memo p. Russia, Application No. 2840/10. This judgment represents a turnaround in the Court’s previous line of jurisprudence. The ECtHR ruled that proceedings for civil defamation brought by public authorities have, as a rule, no legitimate aim and are thus incompatible with Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The judgment establishes a higher level of protection against unjustified interference with freedom of expression than has been the case to date, and will have significant consequences for both proceedings before the ECHR and domestic proceedings. The judgement is also important because it draws attention to the problem of Stategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation