The Measures for the Administration of Healthcare Organizations Conducting Investigator-Initiated Trials stipulates that conducting interventional research and observational research that accept additional examinations， tests， diagnostics， and other measures beyond the needs of routine diagnosis and treatment or disease prevention and control， which may pose risks exceeding the minimal risk， must undergo both scientific and ethical reviews. Currently， these two reviews tend to be poorly interfaced and inefficient. This paper analyzed the connections and differences between scientific review and ethical review of investigator-initiated trials （IITs）. It also elaborated the existing issues in the process of interfacing scientific review and ethical review from five aspects， encompassing an immature management system， insufficient awareness of scientific review， failure to understand the different purposes of duplicative review on certain contents， unclear review criteria， and limited professional knowledge and a lack of communication among committee members. Recommendations were proposed from eight dimensions， namely， improving the management system and regulatory measures， coordinating the review time， unifying the document submission checklist， establishing an information system for clinical research management， enhancing training for investigators， providing cross-disciplinary training for committee members， improving the communication mechanisms， and jointly developing the review elements for scientific issues. The aim was to facilitate the efficient interface between scientific review and ethical review for IITs， thereby enhancing the quality and efficiency of IIT management.

The World Medical Association approved the latest revision of the Declaration of Helsinki on October 19， 2024， which was revised again after 11 years. As the international ethical principles for medical research involving research participants worldwide， this revision aims to respond to the dynamic and rapidly changing research environment and to ensure its relevance. The main contents of this revision include changing subjects to research participants as partners； adding other researchers as the implementing subjects and requiring individuals， teams， and organizations to comply； adding social value， always for the purpose of improving individual and public health； requiring free and full informed consent and maintaining the autonomy of research participants； advocating fair distribution and encouraging community participation； responsibly integrating vulnerable individuals， groups and communities； supporting the maintenance of independent review and authority， and clarifying the dual ethical review of international collaborative research； strengthening the supervision of biological samples and data to prevent risks； emphasizing that the welfare of research participants should be continuously maintained after the end of the clinical trials； adding environmental sustainability and expanding the scope of attention； requiring scientific integrity and maintaining the research environment； demonstrating the scientific validity of research plans and avoiding research waste； adding ethical principles should be observed during public health emergencies； using placebos cautiously and avoiding abuse； clarifying the conditions for the use of unproven interventions. To implement the revised contents of the Declaration of Helsinki， measures that could be taken include applying to all human-related research to protect research participants； centering on patients to ensure that research meets patients’ needs； implementing responsible inclusion through the collaboration of all parties； strictly supervising biological samples and data to protect privacy and maintain sustainable and healthy development； strengthening the supervision of the use of unproven interventions to safeguard the long-term interests of patients； continuously constructing ethics committees and embracing the support of artificial intelligence； standardizing effective informed consent and implementing the principles of freedom and adequacy. The Declaration of Helsinki， which aims to promote and ensure respect and protection of participants in a rapidly innovating medical research ecosystem， will continue to face revisions brought about by new challenges in the future.

Non-human primates are the closest relatives of human beings and possess similar morphological， anatomical， physiological， and behavioral characteristics， making them indispensable in fields such as neuroscience， reproduction， infectious diseases， and drug research and development. Currently， the restrictions on using non-human primates in experiments are becoming increasingly stringent in Europe and the United States. These experiments have ethical particularities that are different from those involving ordinary animals， and they also pose ethical challenges such as lack of necessity assessment， no unified assessment standards， and ethical dumping hazards. Supervision and ethical review should be strengthened. The key points of their ethical review include the necessity of the experiments， the assessment of the harm-benefit ratio， and the implementation of the “3R” principles.

Radiopharmaceuticals play an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases， malignant tumors， central nervous system diseases， and other diseases. Under the urgent need for clinical diagnosis and treatment as well as medical development， the clinical research of radiopharmaceuticals has become a hotspot in international research. By analyzing the current situation of clinical research on radiopharmaceuticals in Europe， America， and China， the ethical issues of clinical research on radiopharmaceuticals were elaborated from four aspects， including lack of relevant laws and regulations， a higher risk of radiopharmaceuticals， dilemmas in ethical review， and insufficient radiation protection. Response principles and measures were proposed from four aspects， including improving regulations and policies， enhancing radiological protection for all parties involved in the research， strengthening ethical review， and reinforcing the training of relevant personnel， to enhance the quality and level of clinical research on radiopharmaceuticals.

Access to the clinical application of medical technology is one of the core institutional contents of medical quality management， involving medical quality assurance， the achievement of patient safety goals， and medical service satisfaction. Medical technology is only permitted for clinical use after its safety and effectiveness have been verified through clinical research， as well as evaluated and reviewed by the medical technology clinical application management committee and ethics committee of this medical and health institution. Based on the relevant laws， regulations， and ethical principles， combined with the experience of ethical review in the clinical application of medical technology from some medical and health institutions， a thematic discussion was held to formulate ethical review guidelines for the clinical application of medical technology for references. These guidelines elaborated on the management system for access to the clinical application of medical technology in medical and health institutions， the system of ethics committees and the requirements of review norms， technical plans and their review points， key points for the implementation of informed consent， technical teams and conditions， and other aspects.

Investigator-initiated clinical trials （IIT） are an important part of scientific and technological activities involving human study participants. Among them， high-quality IIT can be used to support the marketing and registration application of drugs， medical devices， and other products when conditions permit. Currently， there is a huge gap between IIT and industry-initiated clinical trials. The use of unlisted products in IIT has problems， such as lack of regulatory support， insufficient research funding support， the need to improve the ability of clinical research management departments， the weakness of professional clinical research teams， and the difficulty of ethics review to match the demands. The challenges could be addressed by improving regulations and conducting pilot trials on a small scale， guaranteeing adequate research funding， strengthening the construction of clinical research management systems， building professional clinical research teams， ensuring the quality of ethical reviews and strict follow-up reviews， shifting from ethical reviews to a system for protecting research participants， and reinforcing training for researchers. Ethics committees should strictly review key points， such as the risk-benefit ratio， informed consent， research funding， compensation for damages， qualifications and equipment of research team members， and management of conflict of interest.

The investigator-initiated trials （IIT）， as a widely existing form of clinical research both domestically and internationally， have attracted the attention of governments around the world due to the potential legal risks and issues they may cause， and the trend of legal supervision has gradually strengthened. The legal regulation of IIT in China is still in its early stages， with numerous legal issues that need to be clarified and sorted out. Based on the domestic and international legal reviews of IIT， this paper systematically sorted out the current situation of legal supervision of IIT in China and examined the existing issues， including weak legislative rules， incomplete regulatory systems， imperfect protection rules for research participants and informed consent systems， inadequate regulation of conflicts of interest management， and lax legal supervision of ethical review. Furthermore， this paper proposed suggestions for legal regulation of IIT from three perspectives， including strengthening legislation and emphasizing regulation， improving the mechanism for protecting research participants’ rights and interests， and balancing the legalization of IIT and the scientific development of clinical research， with a view to providing references for legal regulatory paths of IIT in China.

Objective To investigate the protective effects of berberine(BBR)against drug-induced liver injury(DILI)in mice and the change profiles in gut microbiota,and to elucidate the underlying mechanism by which BBR alleviates DILI through modulation of the gut microbiota.Methods Acetaminophen(APAP)administration was performed on C57BL/6J mice with or without pre-treatment of ampicillin-neomycin-metronidazole-vancomycin(ABX,depletion of gut microbiota)to establish a DILI model.Based on body weight,12 mice were randomly divided into an APAP group and a BBR group,with 6 animals in per group.Serum and liver tissue samples were collected from both groups to determine the effects of intragastrical administration of BBR on serum transaminase levels,inflammatory indicators,and liver histopathology.Fresh fecal samples were also collected to profile the gut microbiota using 16S rRNA gene sequencing.Then the alpha and beta diversity,as well as the overall microbial community structure,were compared between the 2 groups.Pearson correlation analysis was employed to analyze the relationships between differentially abundant bacteria and the serological indicators.Results Intragastrical administration of BBR significantly reduced APAP-induced serum levels of alanine aminotransferase(ALT)and aspartate aminotransferase(AST),and ameliorated the proportion of hepatocellular necrosis caused by APAP.The results of 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed that there were no statistical differences in the alpha diversity indices(Chao1 and Shannon)between the APAP-BBR and APAP groups,but a significant difference was observed in beta diversity(P<0.05).Compared to the APAP-BBR group,the relative abundances of Alloprevotella and Ruminococcaceae_UCG_014 were significantly increased in the APAP group(P<0.05).Conversely,the relative abundance of Parabacteroides was significantly higher in the APAP-BBR group than the APAP group(P<0.05).Pearson correlation analysis demonstrated that Alloprevotella was strongly correlated with AST level(P<0.05),while both Ruminococcaceae and Parabacteroides showed strong correlations with ALT and AST levels(P<0.05).Conclusion Intragastric administration of BBR can mitigate the progression of DILI in mice,potentially through modulating the gut microbiota.

In-utero pediatrics is a fetal general medicine for perinatal medicine redevelopment,with the main purpose of preventing and treating fetal diseases,which studies the early prevention,screening,diagnosis,and treatment of diseases from gametes,fertilized eggs,and embryos sequential to children,adolescents,adolescence,and even the entire life cycle.Medical ethics provides strong support for the normative development of this discipline.This paper summarized the formation and development of in-utero pediatrics,analyzed the vulnerability of service subjects within in-utero pediatrics,and sorted out their ethical issues in the prevention and control of birth defects,fetal intrauterine diagnosis and treatment,as well as multidisciplinary collaborative diagnosis and treatment.It was proposed that in-utero pediatrics should follow the medical principle of maternal and fetal interests first,the principle of respect,and the principle of no harm.Finally,suggestions for ethical review of clinical and research projects on in-utero pediatrics were proposed,including strengthening the advisory service role of the ethics committee in clinical practice,timely launching the guidelines of ethical review for clinical research,and enhancing the ethical awareness of medical staff.

It is worth pondering how to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages in stem cell clinical research and give full play to the advantages of technology for the benefit of mankind. Through the analysis of the status of stem cell clinical research, including technology and related management methods, proposed the main problems existing in stem cell research, such as the risks of technological uncertainty, ambiguity between research and treatment, over-treatment and technological innovation. Then this paper discussed the ethical and legal risks of stem cell clinical research in China, mainly related to the problems that the construction of laws and regulations is lagging behind, the regulatory challenges of administrative departments are large, the ethical awareness of researchers needs to be further improved, the principle of fairness and justice is not taken into account, the research platform construction of medical institutions is not in place and the protection system of subjects is imperfect, and the organization construction and review capacity of the ethics committee is still lacking.