背景和目的:脑类器官是自组装的,从多能干细胞产生的三维(3D)聚集体。这些模型可用于对人脑发育和功能的实验研究,因此越来越多地用于全球研究。随着它们越来越多的使用引发了几个道德问题,我们的目的是使用横断面数据库评估新闻界关于脑类器官研究的现状,以了解公众对这一主题的讨论程度.材料和方法:我们对从NexisUni数据库获得的新闻报道进行了描述性分析,2020年4月搜索。提取新闻报道后,分析了每年发表的报告数量和包含的术语。结果:截至2020年4月,共发布了332篇新闻报道,其中一半以上在美国和英国出版,随着数字每年逐渐增加。总的来说,113(34.0%)新闻报道包括与道德相关的关键词,并且研究期中点前后的研究比率显着增加(21.0%(2013-2016)与38.2%(2017-2020年);p=0.0066,卡方检验与耶茨连续性校正)。结论:尽管有关脑类器官研究伦理方面的新闻报道逐渐增加,出版地区存在偏见。针对大脑类器官研究的伦理方面的其他研究应努力评估世界不同地区公众对该主题的看法。
Background and Objectives: Brain organoids are self-assembled, three-dimensional (3D) aggregates generated from pluripotent stem cells. These models are useful for experimental studies on human brain development and function and are therefore increasingly used for research worldwide. As their increasing use raises several ethical questions, we aimed to assess the current state of the press on brain organoid research using a cross-sectional database to understand the extent of discussion of this subject in the public. Materials and Methods: We conducted a descriptive analysis of news
reports obtained from the Nexis Uni database, searched in April 2020. After extracting the news
reports, the number of published
reports in each year and the included terms were analyzed. Results: Up to April 2020, 332 news
reports had been published, with over half of them published in the United States and the United Kingdom, with the numbers gradually increasing every year. In total, 113 (34.0%) news
reports included ethics-related keywords, and the ratio of studies before and after the study-period midpoint was significantly increased (21.0% (2013-2016) vs. 38.2% (2017-2020); p = 0.0066, Chi-square test with Yates\' continuity correction). Conclusions: Although news
reports on the ethical aspects of brain organoid research have been increasing gradually, there was a bias in the region of publication. Additional studies focusing on the ethical aspects of brain organoid research should strive to assess the public perception on the subject in different parts of the world.