Clinical psychedelic research in adolescents: a scoping review and overview of ethical considerations.

The potential use of psychedelic-assisted therapy for adolescents with mental illness has sparked both interest and concern. Modern psychedelic research has focused on adults, and adolescents younger than 18 years are typically excluded due to ethical and legal challenges. To explore whether adolescents have been included in 21st century psychedelic research, we conducted a scoping review of the medical literature from January, 2000, to April, 2025.

Comprehensive characterization of waveform-dependent cardiac tissue electroporation for pulsed field ablation.

Pulsed field ablation (PFA) has emerged as an alternative to thermal techniques in treating cardiac arrhythmias due to the better safety profile and similar efficacy. However, lack of deep electric field penetration has led to incomplete transmural lesions and 1-year recurrence rates of ∼30 %. Electroporation induces non-linear increases in tissue electrical conductivity, influencing the electric field distribution and subsequent ablation.

Novel combination of irreversible electroporation and allogenic chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy synergizes therapeutic outcomes in a preclinical human pancreatic cancer mouse model.

Irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a non-thermal ablation modality used clinically for treating unresectable tumors while preserving vital structures through controlled application of pulsed electric fields. Previous data suggest that patient outcomes are enhanced with the induction of an anti-tumor immune response, but current research focuses on using immune checkpoint inhibitors, which function through conventional immune pathways that may be downregulated by cancer or dysregulated by chemo-induced lymphodepletion. Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cells overcome this limitation, as they are engineered with synthetic receptors that redirect lymphocytes to recognize and target cells expressing tumor-specific structures.

Power-Driven Electroporation Is Predictive of Treatment Outcomes in a Conductivity-Independent Manner.

This study characterizes the effects of external conductivity on electroporation to develop methods to overcome potential patient-to-patient variability. We demonstrate that constant power pulsed electric fields (PEFs) achieve consistent treatment outcomes despite variations in conductivity, thereby improving the predictability and efficacy of electroporation-based therapies. Electropermeabilization-based therapies typically deliver static voltages between electrodes to induce cell permeabilization.

Characterization of glioma spheroid viability and metastatic potential following monophasic and biphasic pulsed electric fields.

Currently, the leading 3D cell culture models for characterizing and validating pulsed electric fields (PEFs) are spheroids and cell-laden hydrogels. We hypothesize that incorporating a glioblastoma multicellular tumor spheroid (MTS) onto a collagen hydrogel will leverage their strengths to form a more physiologically relevant model to study viability, proliferation, and migration. The MTS-hydrogel platform was subjected to PEFs varying in pulse width and electric field (EF) strength.

Effects of Interphase and Interpulse Delays on Tissue Impedance and Pulsed Field Ablation.

Purpose: High-frequency irreversible electroporation (H-FIRE) is a pulsed field ablation (PFA) technique that employs a series of high-voltage, microseconds-long positive and negative pulses, separated by interphase (d1) and interpulse (d2) delays to non-thermally ablate tissue. Previous experimental and computational data suggest an impact of delays on nerve excitation and electrochemical effects. However, the impact of delays on PFA outcomes, such as change in resistance and ablation generation, has only recently started to be elucidated.

On Minimizing Risk and Harm in the Use of Psychedelics.

Objective: This article outlines recommendations from 30 psychedelic researchers on how to create a better psychedelic safety net.

Methods: A survey of 30 psychedelic researchers asked them to identify key critical research gaps around psychedelic harm and safety.

Results: The critical research gaps identified by the authors included defining the main types of psychedelic harm, the predictors of those harms, and the most effective way to treat those harms.

Pulsed field ablation in medicine: irreversible electroporation and electropermeabilization theory and applications.

Background: Focal ablation techniques are integral in the surgical intervention of diseased tissue, where it is necessary to minimize damage to the surrounding parenchyma and critical structures. Irreversible electroporation (IRE) and high-frequency IRE (H-FIRE), colloquially called pulsed-field ablation (PFA), utilize high-amplitude, low-energy pulsed electric fields (PEFs) to nonthermally ablate soft tissue. PEFs induce cell death through permeabilization of the cellular membrane, leading to loss of homeostasis.

Transient Lymphatic Remodeling Follows Sub-Ablative High-Frequency Irreversible Electroporation Therapy in a 4T1 Murine Model.

High-frequency irreversible electroporation (H-FIRE) is a minimally invasive local ablation therapy known to activate the adaptive immune system and reprogram the tumor microenvironment. Its predecessor, irreversible electroporation (IRE), transiently increases microvascular density and immune cell infiltration within the surviving non-ablated and non-necrotic tumor region, also known as the viable tumor region. However, the impact of pulse electric field therapies on lymphatic vessels, crucial for T-cell fate and maturation, remains unclear.

Psychedelic group-based integration: ethical assessment and initial recommendations.

A number of organizations have developed or are developing psychedelic integration groups, held in person or online. In parallel, there have been calls to make enhanced integration available in the community after clinical trials. Here, we explore a potential reason why individuals may seek out these groups: namely, the feelings of disconnection and loneliness that may arise after the psychedelic experience (noting that there may be other reasons that individuals may seek out these groups).

Tracing Tomorrow: young people's preferences and values related to use of personal sensing to predict mental health, using a digital game methodology.

Background: Use of personal sensing to predict mental health risk has sparked interest in adolescent psychiatry, offering a potential tool for targeted early intervention.

Objectives: We investigated the preferences and values of UK adolescents with regard to use of digital sensing information, including social media and internet searching behaviour. We also investigated the impact of risk information on adolescents' self-understanding.

UK medical students' self-reported knowledge and harm assessment of psychedelics and their application in clinical research: a cross-sectional study.

Objective: To capture UK medical students' self-reported knowledge and harm assessment of psychedelics and to explore the factors associated with support for changing the legal status of psychedelics to facilitate further clinical research.

Design: Cross-sectional, anonymous online survey of UK medical students using a non-random sampling method.

Setting: UK medical schools recognised by the General Medical Council.

When the Trial Ends: The Case for Post-Trial Provisions in Clinical Psychedelic Research.

The ethical value-and to some scholars, necessity-of providing trial patients with post-trial access (PTA) to an investigational drug has been subject to significant attention in the field of research ethics. Although no consensus has emerged, it seems clear that, in some trial contexts, various factors make PTA particularly appropriate. We outline the atypical aspects of psychedelic clinical trials that support the case for introducing the provision of PTA within research in this field, including the broader legal status of psychedelics, the nature of the researcher-therapist/participant relationship, and the extended time-frame of the full therapeutic process.

Ultra-thin and ultra-porous nanofiber networks as a basement-membrane mimic.

Current basement membrane (BM) mimics used for modeling endothelial and epithelial barriers do not faithfully recapitulate key physiological properties such as BM thickness, porosity, stiffness, and fibrous composition. Here, we use networks of precisely arranged nanofibers to form ultra-thin (∼3 μm thick) and ultra-porous (∼90%) BM mimics for blood-brain barrier modeling. We show that these nanofiber networks enable close contact between endothelial monolayers and pericytes across the membrane, which are known to regulate barrier tightness.

Transformative experience and informed consent to psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy.

Just as psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy (PAP) represents a clinical innovation that may need to be accommodated with corresponding theoretical and methodological innovations, there is growing awareness that the tools, normative frameworks, and standard practices of our clinical ethics may also need to be adapted, renewed, or replaced to accommodate its unusual features. Drawing on L. A.

Spatiotemporal estimations of temperature rise during electroporation treatments using a deep neural network.

The nonthermal mechanism for irreversible electroporation has been paramount for treating tumors and cardiac tissue in anatomically sensitive areas, where there is concern about damage to nearby bowels, ducts, blood vessels, or nerves. However, Joule heating still occurs as a secondary effect of applying current through a resistive tissue and must be minimized to maintain the benefits of electroporation at high voltages. Numerous thermal mitigation protocols have been proposed to minimize temperature rise, but intraoperative temperature monitoring is still needed.

Real-Time Temperature Rise Estimation during Irreversible Electroporation Treatment through State-Space Modeling.

To evaluate the feasibility of real-time temperature monitoring during an electroporation-based therapy procedure, a data-driven state-space model was developed. Agar phantoms mimicking low conductivity (LC) and high conductivity (HC) tissues were tested under the influences of high (HV) and low (LV) applied voltages. Real-time changes in impedance, measured by Fourier Analysis SpecTroscopy (FAST) along with the known tissue conductivity and applied voltages, were used to train the model.

Testing Design Bioethics Methods: Comparing a Digital Game with a Vignette Survey for Neuroethics Research with Young People.

Background: Over the last decades, the neurosciences, behavioral sciences, and the social sciences have all seen a rapid development of innovative research methods. The field of bioethics, however, has trailed behind in methodological innovation. Despite the so-called "empirical turn" in bioethics, research methodology for project development, data collection and analysis, and dissemination has remained largely restricted to surveys, interviews, and research papers.

Neuroenhancements in the Military: A Mixed-Method Pilot Study on Attitudes of Staff Officers to Ethics and Rules.

Unlabelled: Utilising science and technology to maximize human performance is often an essential feature of military activity. This can often be focused on mission success rather than just the welfare of the individuals involved. This tension has the potential to threaten the autonomy of soldiers and military physicians around the taking or administering of enhancement neurotechnologies (e.