To bridge or not to bridge: Moral Judgement in Cocaine Use Disorders, a case-control study on human morality

BACKGROUND

In the "Dual-Process theory", morality is characterized by the interaction between an automatic-emotional process, mediated by the Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) and linked to personal-deontological decisions, and a rational-conscious one, mediated by the Dorso-Lateral Prefrontal Cortex (DLPFC) and linked to impersonal-utilitarian decisions. These areas are altered by chronic use of cocaine, with a possible impact on moral decision-making.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the difference between a group of Cocaine Use Disorder (CUD) patients and a control group in moral decision-making.

METHODS

Subjects with CUD were compared to an equal-sized healthy group regarding their moral decision-making. Trolley and Footbridge Moral Dilemmas were administered to each group. The quality of the answer (yes or no) and the time needed to answer were recorded.

RESULTS

The recruited group includes 72 subjects, 36 with CUD and 36 healthy subjects (average age of 39.51 ± 9.89). In the Trolley dilemma, almost all the subjects (97.3%) answered "yes", while in the Footbridge dilemma CUD subjects answered "yes" more often (52.7%) than the healthy group (19.4%).

CONCLUSION

For strong emotional dilemmas (Footbridge), cocaine users answered "yes" with a higher frequency compared to healthy subjects, highlighting a wider utilitarian tendency in decision-making and a poor emotional participation.

Antibody and siRNA Nanocarriers to Suppress Wnt Signaling, Tumor Growth, and Lung Metastasis in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

The paucity of targeted therapies for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) causes patients with this aggressive disease to suffer a poor clinical prognosis. A promising target for therapeutic intervention is the Wnt signaling pathway, which is activated in TNBC cells when extracellular Wnt ligands bind overexpressed Frizzled7 (FZD7) transmembrane receptors. This stabilizes intracellular β-catenin proteins that in turn promote transcription of oncogenes that drive tumor growth and metastasis. To suppress Wnt signaling in TNBC cells, we developed therapeutic nanoparticles (NPs) functionalized with FZD7 antibodies and β-catenin small interfering RNAs (siRNAs). The antibodies enable TNBC cell-specific binding and inhibit Wnt signaling by locking FZD7 receptors in a ligand unresponsive state, while the siRNAs suppress β-catenin through RNA interference. Compared to NPs coated with antibodies or siRNAs individually, NPs coated with both agents more potently reduce the expression of several Wnt related genes in TNBC cells, leading to greater inhibition of cell proliferation, migration, and spheroid formation. In two murine models of metastatic TNBC, the dual antibody/siRNA nanocarriers outperformed controls in terms of inhibiting tumor growth, metastasis, and recurrence. These findings demonstrate suppressing Wnt signaling at both the receptor and mRNA levels via antibody/siRNA nanocarriers is a promising approach to combat TNBC.