9 research outputs found
Constitutionalization of self-government in the basic laws of the Second and Third Republics of Poland as a rationale for establishing professional self-governments (the case study of pharmacists’/pharmaceutical self-government)
No full textCelem prezentowanego artykułu jest analiza wpływu przepisów konstytucyjnych na funkcjonowanie samorządu zawodowego oraz ich późniejszego rozwijania w przepisach ustawowych. Autor poszukuje odpowiedzi na pytania, jakie rozwiązania konstytucyjne dotyczące samorządu zawodowego przyjęto w konstytucjach II i III RP, które z przepisów konstytucyjnych bardziej sprzyjały funkcjonowaniu samorządu i na jakie bariery natrafiał w swoim funkcjonowaniu samorząd w efekcie wprowadzania przepisów konstytucyjnych w II i w III RP. W tekście postawiono hipotezę, że przepisy konstytucyjne II RP w szerszym zakresie sprzyjały funkcjonowaniu samorządu zawodowego niż analogiczne przepisy w III RP, a żeby ją potwierdzić, wykorzystano metodę dogmatycznoprawną z zastosowaniem techniki analizy dokumentów wtórnych i pierwotnych.The aim of the article is to analyze the impact of constitutional provisions on the functioning of professional self-government and their further development in statutory provisions. The author seeks to answer the following questions: what constitutional solutions regarding professional self-government were adopted in the constitutions of the Second and Third Republics of Poland, which constitutional provisions were more conducive to the functioning of self-government, and what barriers it encountered as a result of the introduction of constitutional provisions in the Second and Third Republics of Poland. A hypothesis has been put forward in the paper that the constitutional provisions of the Second Polish Republic were more conducive to the functioning of professional self-government than similar provisions in the Third Polish Republic. In order to confirm the hypothesis, the dogmatic and legal method was employed in the article, which enabled an analysis of secondary and primary documents
Selected aspects of hospital financing during the 1st and 2nd waves of the COVID-19 pandemic
No full textPURPOSE: The aim of this scientific study is to analyze selected rules governing the financing
of hospitals. The studied period is the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The aforementioned pandemic waves posed new challenges for hospitals in respect to patient
treatment, which had to entail changes in the financing of such medical entities. The author
discusses the financing of health services, costs generated by "hospital beds", and the costs
of protection and treatment of the patients infected with Sars-CoV-2. One of the changes that
has affected the whole system was the introduction of the "Medical Fund".METHODOLOGY: The article uses the following research methods: historical and legal –
selected legal acts and communications issued by public administration bodies such as the
Minister of Health and the President of the National Health Fund were analyzed, including
their effect on public health institutions during the first two waves; dogmatic and legal – a
systemic and linguistic interpretation of legal acts, reports and information found on
websites was carried out.RESULTS: The research results allow for putting forward de lege ferenda conclusions which
might be helpful if new epidemiological threats emerge in the future. To be more precise, it
will be possible for public authorities to better prepare for crisis situations and ensure stable
financing of hospitals.PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The solutions regarding the financing of health services provided by
hospitals adopted during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic exerted an influence on
the evolution of financing medical services during the subsequent waves.ORIGINALITY: The article is original in its approach to the problem of financing hospitals
taking into account the level of COVID protection. Determination of the importance of
allocating funds to hospitals during the pandemic waves is an attempt to determine
measurable effects for COVID-19 patients and patients not infected with the coronavirus.
The article may provide an impetus for an international discussion on the principles
governing the financing of medical entities such as hospitals in individual countries.The article has been written as part of the research project (DNWZ.711.291.2022.PBU)
financed by the Pedagogical University of Cracow, Poland.peer-reviewe
Drug Repositioning for Alzheimer’s Disease: A Delphi Consensus and Stakeholder Consultation
No full textBackground
Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is an escalating global challenge, with over 40 million people affected and this number is projected to increase to over 100 million by 2050. While amyloid-targeting antibody treatments (lecanumab and donanemab) are a considerable step forward, the benefits of these therapies remain limited. This highlights the necessity for safe and effective compounds that offer greater therapeutic benefits to the majority of individuals with or at risk of AD. Drug repurposing allows for a cost-effective, time-efficient strategy to accelerate the availability of treatments due to the safety profiles already being known.
Method
This study focuses on the third iteration of the Delphi consensus programme aimed at identifying new high-priority drug candidates for repurposing in AD. An international expert panel comprised of published academics and/or clinicians, or industry representatives was convened. Through a combination of anonymized drug nominations, systemic evidence reviews, iterative consensus ranking, and a lay advisory input, drug candidates were evaluated and ranked based on rational, preclinical and clinical evidence and overall safety profiles.
Results
Out of the 80 candidates that were nominated by the expert panel, seven underwent review with only three candidates meeting the consensus criteria: (1) the live attenuated Herpes Zoster (HZ) vaccine (Zostavax), (2) Sildenafil, a PDE5 inhibitor, and (3) Riluzole, a glutamate antagonist. Each demonstrated relevant mechanisms for targeting neurodegenerative pathways, preclinical efficacy and tolerability in older individuals. The HZ vaccine additionally offers a potential for population-level dementia risk reduction.
Conclusion
This Delphi consensus identified 3 high-priority drug repurposing candidates for Alzheimer’s Disease. With their favourable safety profiles and mechanistic plausibility, they are considered suitable for pragmatic clinical trials, including remote or hybrid designs. The PROTECT platform, which supports international cohorts in the UK, Norway and Canada, offers a well-established means to conduct such trials effectively, thus helping to accelerate the evaluation and the potential deployment of these drug candidates to benefit individuals
IMAGE: Development of a European curriculum for the training of prevention managers
No full text IMAGE (Development and Implementation of a European Guideline and Training Standards for Diabetes Prevention) was a European Union funded project (2003–2008) in the field of public health which focussed on diabetes prevention. The IMAGE study group comprised a Europe-wide consortium of healthcare professionals and behavioural and health scientists. This group has published guidelines, a toolkit and quality indicators for diabetes prevention and more recently a comprehensive curriculum for the training of diabetes prevention managers, the development of which is described herein. </jats:p
Effects of the DailyColors™ polyphenol supplement on serum proteome, cognitive function, and health in older adults at risk of cognitive and functional decline
No full textThe Mediterranean diet is associated with reduced mortality and cognitive decline, largely due to its polyphenol content. However, Western populations often do not meet recommended fruit and vegetable intakes. Polyphenols exert anti-inflammatory effects and may influence extracellular vesicle (EV) dynamics. DailyColors™ is a polyphenol-rich blend inspired by this dietary pattern, containing extracts from 16 fruits, vegetables, and herbs. This 60-day, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised trial involved 150 UK adults aged 50+ with a BMI ≥ 25, recruited to complete cognitive and physical fitness assessments via the PROTECT-UK online platform. Participants received either a medium (750 mg) or high (2000 mg) dose of DailyColors™ (∼300 mg and ∼750 mg polyphenols, respectively) or a placebo. A sub-group (n = 15 per group) underwent additional assessments, including blood pressure measurements, characterisation of circulating EVs and tandem-mass-tagged serum proteomics. Significant cognitive benefits were observed, with improvements in reaction time for the high-dose group and accuracy for both active supplement groups. The high-dose group also showed significant physical fitness gains on the Timed Stand test (P < 0.001). All groups significantly improved on the Chair Stand test. Proteomic analysis showed significantly reduced serum protein expression in immune and pre-β1-HDL pathways, suggesting anti-inflammatory effects. Pre-β1-HDL proteins are typically elevated in obesity; their reduction suggests a reversal of this effect. No significant changes were noted in EV concentration or size. DailyColors™ supplementation, may enhance cognitive function, physical fitness, and systemic health in older, overweight adults. These findings warrant further investigation in larger trials.</p
Evaluation of different recruitment and randomisation methods in a trial of general practitioner-led interventions to increase physical activity : a randomised controlled feasibility study with factorial design
No full textBackground:
Interventions promoting physical activity by General Practitioners (GPs) lack a strong evidence base. Recruiting participants to trials in primary care is challenging. We investigated the feasibility of (i) delivering three interventions to promote physical activity in inactive participants and (ii) different methods of participant recruitment and randomised allocation.
Methods:
We recruited general practices from Devon, Bristol and Coventry. We used a 2-by-2 factorial design for participant recruitment and randomisation. Recruitment strategies were either opportunistic (approaching patients attending their GP surgery) or systematic (selecting patients from practice lists and approaching them by letter). Randomisation strategies were either individual or by practice cluster. Feasibility outcomes included time taken to recruit the target number of participants within each practice. Participants were randomly allocated to one of three interventions: (i) written advice (control); (ii) brief GP advice (written advice plus GP advice on physical activity), and (iii) brief GP advice plus a pedometer to self-monitor physical activity during the trial. Participants allocated to written advice or brief advice each received a sealed pedometer to record their physical activity, and were instructed not to unseal the pedometer before the scheduled day of data collection. Participant level outcomes were reported descriptively and included the mean number of pedometer steps over a 7-day period, and European Quality of Life (EuroQoL)-5 dimensions (EQ-5D) scores, recorded at 12 weeks’ follow-up.
Results:
We recruited 24 practices (12 using each recruitment method; 18 randomising by cluster, 6 randomising by individual participant), encompassing 131 participants. Opportunistic recruitment was associated with less time to target recruitment compared with systematic (mean difference (days) -54.9, 95% confidence interval (CI) -103.6; -6.2) but with greater loss to follow up (28.8% versus. 6.9%; mean difference 21.9% (95% CI 9.6%; 34.1%)). There were differences in the socio-demographic characteristics of participants according to recruitment method. There was no clear pattern of change in participant level outcomes from baseline to 12 weeks across the three arms.
Conclusions:
Delivering and trialling GP-led interventions to promote physical activity is feasible, but trial design influences time to participant recruitment, participant withdrawal, and possibly, the socio-demographic characteristics of participants
Użytkowanie wieczyste jako instrument wzmacniania socjalistycznej własności państwowej z perspektywy współczesnych skutków w prawie rzeczowym
No full textThe first part of this study presents historical reasons for introducing perpetual usufruct by the Management of Urban Areas Act 1961 and the Civil Code 1964. It begins with the general analysis that focuses on the changes of laws from the initial introducing development right and perpetual lease to ownership divided into periods and then usufruct of the state residential property. The author explains the mechanism of influence of the factors arising from communist ideology (Marxism-Leninism) on the proposed legal solutions particularly attributing a prominent role to socialist state property in the People’s Republic of Poland. Next, the official version of the perpetual usufruct’s role is also presented. The perpetual usufruct was introduced as a new real right which was to be attractive for citizens and enabled the state to administer areas in towns and settlements in accordance with a legal town development plan. The aim of the study is the explanation of the real function of the perpetual usufruct of residential lands in towns. The construction of perpetual usufruct was a result of referring to models of Soviet law. It was an instrument which was to protect socialist state property as well as to counteract a depletion of the accumulated state lands through a transfer of those lands for private persons. The perpetual usufruct also was to enable the socialist state to control how urban land was used. The perpetual usufruct was a result of the ideological and political principles of the socialist system in the People’s Republic of Poland, particularly strengthening socialist state property of lands. The perpetual usufruct was really a semblance of ownership of land. This was indirectly explained in the resolutions of the Supreme Court of 1968 and 1969. Therefore, in our times there are difficult legal problems also connected with the issue of granting property rights to perpetual usufructuary. The legal proposals of replacing perpetual usufruct with different rights still haven’t been introduced. The last part of this study expresses in a concise way the contemporary legal acts which were aimed at reducing the accumulation of lands which were let on a perpetual usufruct. Nevertheless, these acts weren’t always effective. The Act of 2018 on Transformation Perpetual Usufruct of Built-up Residential Lands into Ownership of those Lands is the last legal act concerning the discussed issues. In principle this act introduced the enfranchisement in accordance with the law for every perpetual usufructuary of built-up residential land. However, it didn’t eliminate the perpetual usufruct in Polish property law. The analysis in this paper proposes the thesis that the perpetual usufruct of residential lands (on a large scale) was never justified in an economy, but was only determined by ideological and political reasons in the People’s Republic of Poland.Artykuł w pierwszej części prezentuje historyczne tło wprowadzenia instytucji użytkowania wieczystego w ustawie z 1961 roku o gospodarce terenami w miastach i osiedlach oraz w kodeksie cywilnym z 1964 roku. Ogólnie zostały przedstawione zmiany legislacyjne od wstępnego wprowadzenia prawa zabudowy i dzierżawy wieczystej do własności czasowej, a następnie użytkowania gruntów państwowych na cele mieszkaniowe. Pokazano mechanizm wpływania na projektowane rozwiązania prawne czynników wynikających z komunistycznej ideologii marksistowsko-leninowskiej, szczególnie przypisanie w PRL podstawowej roli socjalistycznej własności państwowej. W tekście przedstawiona została oficjalnie prezentowana rola użytkowania wieczyste-go jako nowego prawa rzeczowego, które miało być atrakcyjne dla obywateli i umożliwić gospo-darowanie terenami w miastach i osiedlach zgodnie z planami zagospodarowania przestrzennego. Celem artykułu jest wyjaśnienie rzeczywistej funkcji użytkowania wieczystego gruntów miejskich przeznaczonych na budownictwo mieszkaniowe. Konstrukcja użytkowania wieczystego była wynikiem sięgania do wzorców z prawa radzieckiego. Stało się ono instrumentem, który miał zabezpieczać socjalistyczną własność państwową i przeciwdziałać uszczuplaniu zasobów przez ich zbywanie podmiotom prywatnym oraz umożliwiać kontrolę sposobu korzystania z gruntów. Użytkowanie wieczyste było efektem przyjęcia założeń ideologiczno-politycznych ustroju socjalistycznego w PRL, a szczególnie wzmacniania socjalistycznej własności państwowej gruntów. W rzeczywistości użytkowanie wieczyste było namiastką prawa własności gruntu, na co wskazały pośrednio uchwały Sądu Najwyższego z lat 1968 i 1969. Dlatego współcześnie w prawie rzeczowym pojawiają się trudne do rozwiązania problemy prawne, związane także z uwłaszczaniem użytkowników wieczystych. Nie zostały też dotychczas wprowadzone projekty zastąpienia użytkowania wieczystego innym prawem rzeczowym. W ostatniej części artykułu syntetycznie ujęto współczesne rozwiązania prawne zmierzające, choć nie zawsze skutecznie, do ograniczenia zasobu gruntów oddanych w użytkowanie wieczyste. Ostatnim aktem dotyczącym tej materii jest ustawa z 2018 roku o przekształceniu prawa użytkowania wieczystego gruntów zabudowanych na cele mieszkaniowe w prawo własności tych gruntów. Ustawa ta zasadniczo wprowadza uwłaszczenie z mocy prawa w przypadku użytkowników wieczy-stych gruntów zabudowanych na cele mieszkaniowe, lecz nie eliminuje definitywnie użytkowania wieczystego. Ostatecznie analiza zmierza do postawienia tezy, że nigdy nie było uzasadnienia gospodarczego dla masowego oddawania w użytkowanie wieczyste gruntów mieszkaniowych, a przemawiały za tym wyłącznie przyczyny ideologiczno-polityczne w PRL. 
Drug repurposing for Alzheimer’s disease: a Delphi consensus and stakeholder consultation
No full textAbstract Background Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an escalating global challenge, with more than 40 million people affected, and this number is projected to increase to more than 100 million by 2050. While amyloid-targeting antibody treatments (lecanemab and donanemab) are a significant step forward, the benefits of these therapies remain limited. This highlights the necessity for safe and effective compounds that offer greater therapeutic benefits to the majority of individuals with or at risk of AD. Drug repurposing allows for a cost-effective, time-efficient strategy to accelerate the availability of treatments, owing to the availability of safety information. Method This study focuses on the third iteration of the Delphi consensus programme aimed at identifying new high-priority drug candidates for repurposing in AD. An international expert panel comprising academics, clinicians and industry representatives was convened. Through a combination of anonymized drug nominations, systemic evidence reviews, iterative consensus rankings, and lay advisory inputs, drug candidates were evaluated and ranked based on rational, non-clinical, and clinical evidence and overall safety profiles. Results Among the 80 candidates that were nominated by the expert panel, seven underwent review, with only three candidates meeting the following consensus criteria of relevant mechanisms for targeting neurodegenerative pathways, non-clinical efficacy, and tolerability in older individuals. The three agents were: [1] the live attenuated herpes zoster (HZ) vaccine (Zostavax) [2], sildenafil, a phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) inhibitor, and [3] riluzole, a glutamate antagonist. The HZ vaccine additionally offers potential for population-level dementia risk reduction. Conclusion This Delphi consensus identified three high-priority drug repurposing candidates for AD with favourable safety profiles and mechanistic plausibility, which are considered suitable for pragmatic clinical trials, including remote or hybrid designs. The PROTECT platform, which supports international cohorts in the UK, Norway, and Canada, offers a well-established means to conduct such trials effectively, thus helping to accelerate the evaluation and potential deployment of these drug candidates to benefit individuals with or at risk for AD
