Bioethics & Health News
December 8

December 8, 2005

Face Transplants: Medicine’s New Ethical Dilemma

French doctors who recently performed the world’s first partial face transplant pushed not only scientific frontiers, but ethical ones as well.
(HealthDay)

Scientists Discover How Cancer Spreads

Scientists have discovered how cancer spreads from a primary site to other places in the body in a finding that could open doors for new ways of treating and preventing advanced disease.
(Reuters)

Poor Not Buying New Drug Benefit Yet

The poor seem to need more convincing that they’d be helped by the new Medicare prescription drug benefit that begins next month.
(AP)

Dutch ‘Suicide Consultant’ Jailed

A Dutch court has sentenced a man calling himself a “suicide consultant” to a year in jail for helping a mentally ill woman to end her life.
(BBC)

‘Good Samaritan Effect’ Rises With Level of Threat

People are more likely to turn from passive bystanders to good Samaritans in situations that are dangerous or violent, German researchers report.
(HealthDay)

FDA Strengthens Warning on Paxil

The Food and Drug Administration is strengthening its warning that the antidepressant Paxil may be associated with birth defects, citing a new study that found increased risk of fetuses developing heart defects.
(AP)