The role of policies and networks in development of cord blood usage in China.

Research regarding the use of cord blood (CB) has focused on antigen match and the number of stem cells, with policies and networks related to its use being under researched. This article is based on fieldwork in China from 2013 to 2015 and examines ways that the studied CB bank enhances CB usage in China. This article identifies that in addition to finding a match, CB use is linked to the policies and networks, release fee and public awareness that enable CB usage development.

The tridimensional personality of male heroin users treated with methadone in Taiwan.

It was our assumption that male heroin users have the personality traits of high impulsivity and low social interaction. Compliance regarding methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) is hypothesized to be related to personality features. We recruited 43 patients that had been receiving MMT and 43 healthy volunteers. All participants completed a Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (TPQ). Information related to the Opiate Treatment Index (OTI) was gathered from the heroin group. The personality dimensions in the heroin user group and the control group were compared. We further investigated the association between TPQ and OTI. The heroin group presented with lower reward dependence than the control group. Regarding sub-dimensions, heroin users showed higher impulsivity and fatigability, and lower exploratory excitability and social dependence. The explosive (borderline) pattern was more common among the heroin users. The odds ratio of explosive pattern developing to heroin dependence was 4.19. Q scores of heroin use and the maximal methadone dose were associated with persistence.

Cardiac autonomic modulation during methadone therapy among heroin users: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Methadone therapy benefits heroin users in both the medical and psychosocial dimensions. However, both heroin and methadone have cardiac toxicity. Only limited information is available describing the changes in cardiac autonomic function of heroin users and effects of methadone therapy. We conduct the current study to explore the cardiac vagal function in heroin users as well as the impact of lapse and methadone therapy. METHODS: 80 heroin users from a methadone therapy clinic were distributed into 31 compliant and 49 incompliant patients according to whether they lapsed into heroin use within 10 days. 40 healthy control subjects were recruited from the community. Participants underwent electrocardiographic recordings and the heroin users were further investigated before and after methadone therapy. Spectral analysis of heart rate variability (HRV) was computed for cardiac parasympathetic modulation (high-frequency power, HF) and cardiac sympathetic modulation (normalized low-frequency power, LF%). RESULTS: The baseline HRV parameters found lower HF values for heroin users and lower RR interval values for patients with a recent lapse compared with the healthy control subjects. After 1h of methadone administration, heroin users who had lapsed showed a significant increase in HF but the heroin users who had not lapsed did not. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that heroin users show decreased cardiac vagal activity and that methadone therapy immediately facilitates vagal regulation in patients with a recent lapse. The differential patterns of autonomic alteration under methadone between those with and without lapse might offer an objective measure of lapse.