The emergence of new psychoactive substances has earned a great deal of attention, and several reports of acute poisoning and deaths have been issued involving, for instance, synthetic opiates. In recent years, there have been profound alterations in the legislation concerning consumption, marketing, and synthesis of these compounds; rapid alert systems have also been subject to changes, and new substances and new markets, mainly through the internet, have appeared. Their effects and how they originate in consumers are still mostly unknown, primarily in what concerns chronic toxicity. This review intends to provide a detailed description of these substances from the point of view of consumption, toxicokinetics, and health consequences, including case reports on intoxications in order to help researchers and public health agents working daily in this area.
Social media is broadening opportunities to engage in discussions about biomedical advances such as stem cell research. However, little is known about how information pertaining to stem cells is disseminated on platforms such as Twitter. To fill this gap, we conducted a content analysis of tweets containing (i) a stem cell keyword, and (ii) a keyword related to either spinal cord injury (SCI) or Parkinson disease (PD). We found that the discussion about stem cells and SCI or PD revolves around different aspects of the research process. We also found that the tone of most tweets about stem cells is either positive or neutral. The findings contribute new knowledge about Twitter as a connecting platform for many voices and as a key tool for the dissemination of information about stem cells and disorders of the central nervous system.
In 2016, Canada passed legislation to legalize medical assistance in death (MAID) for patients with severe, irremediable conditions. The passage of this law follows those of Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and 5 US states that allow patients to choose to die given specific criteria intended to uphold the principles of beneficence, human rights and dignity, and justice. 1 It signals progress in the arena of end-of-life (EOL) decision making and opens new discussions about competence and communication where technology, human intervention, or both are needed as intermediaries. We consider the case where the legitimacy of technology-assisted, medically assisted dying is tested and, however seemingly far-fetched, is already in the public eye. This specific context pertains to patients with brain injuries in whom functional magnetic resonance imaging that relies on blood oxygen levels in particular brain regions, or electrophysiological measurements from the scalp, have been used to reveal signals that are interpreted as consciousness.
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