Euthanasia - Science topic

An advance request for medical assistance in dying (ARM) is a document that allows individuals to request euthanasia if they lose their decision-making capacity. Currently, it is available in all countries where medical assistance in dying is permitted for individuals suffering from a serious and incurable illness whose natural death is not reasona...

ESPIRATORY disease is common in rabbits, which is frequently difficult to detectable in live animals until it becomes serious and complicated. This study was aimed to describe the histopathological changes of the lung, liver and kidney of rabbits after induction of infection by Klebseilla pneumoniae which is isolated from respiratory system infecte...

La eutanasia como soporte del final de la vida es una práctica sanitaria auspiciada legislativamente, hecho que la convierte en una prestación incluida en la cartera de servicios de los distintos sistemas sanitarios autonómicos. Su puesta en marcha exige de la figura del médico responsable, quien, por defecto, será el médico de familia o atención p...

The weight loss and lipid‐lowering effects of fermented garlic polysaccharides (BGP) in obese mice were analyzed by detecting the intestinal flora and short‐chain fatty acids. An obesity model was established by feeding mice a high‐fat diet (HFD) for 8 weeks. After euthanasia, biochemical index testing and hematoxylin and eosin staining were perfor...

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is one of the major viral arthropod-borne diseases in Africa. In recent decades, RVF virus (RVFV), the causative agent of RVF, has been responsible for multiple outbreaks in West Africa with important consequences on human and animal health. In particular, an outbreak occurred in 2010 after heavy rains in the desertic region...

Advances around Artificial Intelligence (AI) intersect with complex ethical issues, given its potential to assist and propagate misinformation in health. This communication aims to fill a gap identified in the state of the art, shedding light on the new misinformative threats offered by AI in euthanasia and directly implicated end-of-life issues (a...

Case summary A 16-year-old spayed female domestic shorthair cat with methimazole-treated hyperthyroidism presented with a chronic progressive history of a stiff gait progressing to recumbency. A neurological examination revealed continuous excessive muscle tone with myokymia, which exacerbated with exercise and persisted during general anaesthesia....

Introduction Feline respiratory tract infection poses a serious challenge in animal shelters. Potential risk factors include pathogens introduced through animals entering the shelter. We aimed to determine the proportion of animals shedding feline upper respiratory tract (URT) pathogens at the time of entry and to assess how this contributed to the...

Support that mitigates the detrimental impact of adverse events on human healthcare practitioners is underpinned by an understanding of their experiences. This study used a mixed methods approach to understand veterinary practitioners’ responses to adverse events. 12 focus groups and 20 interviews with veterinary practitioners were conducted and an...

Background Desmotomy of the accessory ligament of the superficial digital flexor tendon (AL‐SDFT) has been described for the treatment of superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) tendinopathy in Thoroughbred and Standardbred racehorses, and in event horses. To our knowledge, the outcome of this procedure has not been described in a population of wa...

The word “euthanasia” has a greek origin, basically meaning “good death”. The technique is applied to humans and animals and, in Veterinary Medicine, it must be elected by the person responsible for the pet and who is guided by the veterinarian. The procedure must be performed by a professional or qualified person under their supervision and carrie...

The international debate on the legitimacy of assisted dying has recently taken a new turn. In 2007, Penny Lewis argued that this was unlikely to anticipate «legalization of assisted suicide or euthanasia using challenges based on constitutionally entrenched rights in any major common law or European jurisdiction». She was wrong. It seems a judgeme...

Background Paratuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP), is a chronic granulomatous enteritis that affects domestic and wild ruminants and camelids. The disease has rarely been reported in alpacas in Germany. This publication describes epidemiologically independent cases of paratuberculosis in two alpacas in Ger...

Background Cellulitis caused by Escherichia coli is a common cause of condemnation of broiler chickens at slaughter worldwide and is associated with economic losses and a possible negative impact on animal welfare. The study objective was to monitor clinical signs and immune responses after subcutaneous E. coli inoculation (1.1–1.8 × 10⁷ CFU), aimi...

Assisted dying is a conflict-ridden and debatable subject, and a broad range of interests should inform any proposed policy changes to promote autonomy and end and mitigate intense suffering by providing a 'safe and comfortable' death to patients who believe they would otherwise have to endure unbearable suffering at the end of life. Some could arg...

This article aims to explore the Fiqh approach to the issue of euthanasia within a medical context, given the increasing implementation and debate surrounding this practice globally. This study gains urgency from the significant growth in requests for euthanasia and assisted dying, raising profound questions about the criteria and conditions that p...

The first objective of this study was to quantify the impact and disability weight (DW) of frequent diseases or syndromes of pre-weaned dairy calves using the perceptions of producers and veterinarians. The second objective was to compare the opinions of producers and veterinarians regarding the impact and DW of dairy calves’ frequent diseases and...

Background/Objectives: Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rats exhibit insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) without obesity. This study explored the effects of ω-3 fatty acid supplementation on T lymphocyte polarization in Wistar (WT) and GK rats. Methods: They were administered ω-3 fatty acid-rich fish oil (FO) containing eicosapentaenoic (540 m...

Background We have previously developed a DNA-based vaccine, INO-4500, encoding the Lassa lineage IV glycoprotein precursor. INO-4500, when delivered with electroporation, elicited humoral and cellular responses, and conferred 100% protection in cynomolgus non-human primates. Here, we expanded the characterization of INO-4500 assessing immunogenici...

A highly invasive species, free-ranging Sus scrofa often negatively impact the ecosystem and are capable of spreading a number of impactful pathogens to domestic livestock. Measures taken to ameliorate these impacts and/or control population size are based on the delivery of oral baits containing bioactive chemicals or vaccines, e.g., classical swi...

Objectives: The increase in suicidal behavior in patients treated with promising new drugs for Alzheimer’s disease is a dilemma that deserves to be understood. The correlations between suicide and neurodegenerative disorders have been debated for decades in the context of ethics, considering that many people with cognitive decline have opted for eu...

OBJECTIVE To determine the presence of Tritrichomonas foetus in the accessory sex glands, epididymis, and testicular tissue of T foetus –positive bulls and to assess the impact of post mortem tissue acidity on quantitative reverse-transcription PCR results. METHODS 8 bulls were euthanized from June 12 through June 15, 2023, and samples from their...

Duguetia furfuracea, “araticum-seco”, is known to contain several bioactive compounds that can mitigate oxidative stress and act on the central nervous system (CNS). This effect is partly attributed to its potent antioxidant and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors. In this study, the effects were explored of the methanolic extract (MEDF) and alk...

Background Deaths can be caused by terminal illnesses, accidents, or natural disasters. However, medically, death can be hastened by healthcare providers, patients themselves, or their relatives. In advanced cancers where the patient’s quality of life is compromised, Euthanasia can be used to hasten death. Inadequate medical resources and low socio...

Abstract: Post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis (PSGN) is an immune-mediated complication primarily associated with preceding Group A streptococcal (GAS) skin or throat infections. PSGN constitutes a significant risk factor for later-life chronic kidney disease and concurrent kidney failure. The pathogenesis of PSGN is considered multifactorial and...

Pharmaceutical-grade medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) are common excipients for in vivo pharmacological studies in laboratory animals, and as an experimental therapeutic in certain metabolic and neurological disorders. In this study, we examined the tolerability of repeated administration of a pharmaceutical-grade formulation of three MCTs—capryli...

Background In 2021, a survey was conducted among doctors and nurses at Landspítali Iceland University Hospital (LIUH) regarding their views on medical assistance in dying (MAID) and the underlying arguments, the inclusion criteria and modality of implementation. Surveys on identically defined study groups in 1995 and 2010 were used for comparison....

Despite numerous surveys conducted across the world considering assisted death, content validity evaluations of the survey questionnaires are seldom published. Likewise, there is no previous research about the content validity of the survey “Finnish physicians´ attitudes and opinions on euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide” conducted by the Fi...

Background: Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a rare genetic disorder affecting mainly type I collagen, which leads to bone fragility and deformities. OI patients also present craniofacial abnormalities such as macrocephaly and malocclusion. Recently, craniofacial dysmorphism was highlighted in the osteogenesis imperfecta mouse (oim), a validated mod...

Euthanasia, a fundamental right of individuals seeking relief from incurable conditions or persistent vegetative states, encompasses various practices aimed at painlessly ending life. Originating in ancient Greece and Rome, and later refined by Francis Bacon's philosophical work in the 18th century, this article traces its evolution to contemporary...

Background Umbilical outpouchings (UO) are common in Danish weaners. In slaughter pigs UOs consist of various pathological diagnoses; however, no studies have assessed the pathology in weaners from randomly selected herds, nor the agreement between clinical examination findings and post-mortem results. The primary objective was to estimate the prev...

Background Recently, the concept of expanded terminal sedation emerged to describe using sedation at the end of life in cases beyond the usual use. Using this sedation could be a stressful ethical encounter for healthcare providers. Case In this paper, we describe a case of a Muslim palliative care nurse who cared for a patient with cancer who req...

Background Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is a pathology that affects various organs, including the testicles. The mechanisms by which this condition alters fertility is unknown. This study aimed at determining if experimental CH affects gonocyte differentiation and arrests meiosis; and the possible role of the Sertoli cell (SC) in this condition....

Purpose Artificial urinary sphincters (AUS) are largely used to treat severe urinary incontinence in men, due to reduced outlet resistance. The aim of this animal study was to assess safety of a new electronic artificial urinary sphincter (UroActive™, UroMems, France) on a castrated ram model. Methods RAM study was a non-clinical study, led in a c...

This study aimed to identify whether there is an ideal concentration for applying ozonized oil (OZ) in the post-exodontic alveoli of senescent rats treated with zoledronate (ZOL). Thirty-five female rats, aged 18 months, were divided into five groups: ZOL; ZOL+OZ500; ZOL+OZ600; ZOL+OZ700; and SAL. The groups treated with ZOL, and other concentratio...

Monitoring mortality rates offers crucial insights into public health by uncovering the hidden impacts of diseases, identifying emerging trends, optimising resource allocation, and informing effective policy decisions. Here, we present a novel approach to analysing premature mortality in companion animals, utilising data from 28,159 deceased dogs a...

Fecal virome transfer (FVT) shows promise in reducing necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), likely due to donor bacteriophages preventing the gut dysbiosis preceding disease. However, concurrent transfer of eukaryotic viruses may carry a risk of infection for the recipient. To increase safety, we investigated chemostat propagation as a method to elimina...

The end-of-life (i.e., on-farm euthanasia and culling, including fitness for transport to slaughter) of a dairy cow or calf is preceded by a series of decisions often influenced by many complex factors. The aim of this study was to utilize the opinions of experts with roles in the dairy supply chain to identify factors that influence end-of-life de...

Background: Coleoptera is the second-most significant insect group associated with decomposing carcasses, yet its role in the decomposition process and postmortem colonization following envenomation is poorly understood. Purpose of the Study: This study aimed to investigate the effects of the venoms from Cerastes cerastes and Naja haje on the decom...

El presente articulo presenta un análisis de una de las decisiones más importantes y trascendentales de la Corte Constitucional del Ecuador, sentencia en la cual, se analiza el derecho a la vida, enfatizando los derecho a la vida digna y libre desarrollo de la personalidad como elementos inherentes y esenciales del derecho a la vida, permitiendo la...

The objective of this study was to ascertain the impact of photobiomodulation and radiofrequency on the healing of pressure injuries in mice. A total of 70 animals were randomly assigned to seven experimental groups. A pressure injury was induced in the dorsal region of the mice by the application of two magnets. The photobiomodulation treatment wa...

Hyperlipidic and hyperglycemic diets, called cafeteria diets, are important factors that favor the development of pathologies and comorbidities such as obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, neoplasms, and cardiovascular diseases. Thus, their use in experimental studies that aim to understand the factors that encompass the pathophysiology and treatment...

The best practice for killing decapod crustaceans lacking a centralized ganglion has been debated for a century. Currently, there is a movement away from live boiling towards electrocution and mechanical splitting or spiking, which are efficient in the large commercial setting but may be unavailable and impractical for small decapods such as shrimp...

The purpose of this scientific article is to discuss the "right to a dignified death," aiming to reflect on whether, within the Brazilian legal system, terminally ill patients may exercise their autonomy in determining the medical and therapeutic procedures that should or should not be employed in treating their condition in the final stages of lif...

The accurate assessment of drug concentrations in biodistribution studies is crucial for evaluating the efficacy and toxicity of compounds in drug development. As the concentration of biologics in plasma can be higher than in tissue due to their potentially low volume of distribution, transcardiac perfusion is commonly employed to reduce the influe...

OBJECTIVE To describe the outcome of common medical therapies, intraoral dental procedures, extraoral surgical interventions, and resulting complications of treatment in client-owned rabbits diagnosed with dental disease. METHODS The medical records of 51 client-owned domestic rabbits presenting for veterinary care and management of dental disease...

Weaning stress in pigs is associated with low feed intake and poor nutrient utilization. Cysteine is a sulfur amino acid with key roles in pig production, but how cysteine metabolism and requirements are affected by weaning stress should be better defined. The objective of this study was to determine the collective impact of weaning and feed restri...

Background: Bioethics addresses complex moral conundrums in medicine, health, and human rights that usually run counter to national and religious values. Specific Background: These tensions are especially evident in bioethical concerns such as genetic engineering, reproductive technologies, and euthanasia since societal perspectives are influenced...

Objective The role of propionic acid (PPA) in eliciting behaviors analogous to autism in rat models is a documented phenomenon. This study examines the therapeutic implications of pentoxifylline—an agent traditionally used for peripheral vascular diseases—on these autism‐like behaviors by modulating brain proteins and reducing pro‐inflammatory cyto...

Veterinarians, small mammal and exotic animal owners and the pets form a triangle of mutual interactions in veterinary practice. This triadic interaction structure is based on both human-human and hu-man-animal interactions. Within the following framework of this triad, animal health and animal welfare, including animal protec-tion, are described a...

Every year, a higher number of dogs are abandoned or euthanised due to temperament issues and a lack of understanding by owners regarding dog behaviour and training. This research focuses on the potential to make predictions of adult dog temperament based on early puppy behaviours by using a machine learning model. Specifically, the research used g...

Micro-CT imaging is a powerful tool for generating high-resolution, isotropic, three-dimensional datasets of whole, centimeter-scale model organisms. At histological resolutions, micro-CT can be used for whole-animal qualitative and quantitative characterization of tissue and organismal structure in health and disease. The small size, global freshw...

As advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) continue to transform various fields, one of the most contentious and ethically complex areas of exploration is the potential application of AI in euthanasia. Euthanasia, the practice of intentionally ending a life to relieve pain and suffering, has long been a subject of moral, legal, and philosophic...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the mechanical effect of ovariectomy, diet, and tooth extraction on the bone structure of the mandible of Wistar rats. Mandibles from 40 female Wistar rats were used, divided into rats with ovariectomy surgery or surgical simulation. Half of the rats had the right upper incisor extracted and a soft diet was int...

Introduction In veterinary practice, euthanasia is one of the tools available to clinicians to deal with the cases they encounter. Although the principle of euthanasia in veterinary medicine is no longer controversial, it is often difficult to apply and must be managed on a case-by-case basis. In Africa, euthanasia has long been a taboo subject. Sp...

Buruli ulcer (BU) is a neglected tropical disease of skin and subcutaneous tissues caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans. BU-endemic areas are highly focal, and M. ulcerans transmission dynamics vary by setting. In Victoria, Australia, BU is an endemic vector-borne zoonosis, with mosquitoes and native possums implicated in transmission, and humans incid...

Background Safe, effective therapies are desperately needed to improve survival and long-term quality of life for patients with pediatric brain tumors. Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells are a promising therapeutic option as they specifically target T-cell cytotoxic potential to surface antigens only presented by tumor cells. However, CAR-T ce...

The number of ischemic heart failure (HF) patients is growing dramatically worldwide. However, there are at present no preventive treatments for HF. Our previous study showed that Gata4 overexpression improved cardiac function after myocardial infarction in rat hearts. We also found that Gata4 overexpression significantly increased the expression o...

(1) Background: This study investigates the impact of social vulnerability, as quantified by the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI), on animal shelter intakes and adoptions, and the flow of animals between SVI groups at seven shelters within the United States. Understanding how social vulnerability influences these factors is crucial for developing t...

Background Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies have shown remarkable success in treating hematological malignancies. However, demonstrations of efficacy in solid cancer indications have been limited so far, in part due to antigen heterogeneity. Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) has an elevated expression in metastastic castrati...

Background/Objectives: For the development of new treatments, the acute phase of Chagas disease (CD) in experimental models acts as a filter to screen out potentially effective interventions. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate ZnO nanocrystals and Ag-ZnO/AgO nanocomposites containing different proportions of silver (ZnO:5Ag, ZnO:9Ag a...

Objectives Periodontitis (PD) has the potential to induce systemic changes that affect both physical and behavioral aspects. These alterations may be associated with changes in both the inflammatory profile and the oxidative stress status of individuals with PD. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the effects of PD on oxidative stress, as well as on be...

In Spain, the right to euthanasia has become a legislated act included in its legal sys- tem. Various draft laws had to be presented until several months ago the Organic Law 3/2021, of March 24, on the regulation of euthanasia saw the light. Even with good intentions, this regulation ignores the social dimension of the disease and does not contempl...

Survival is obviously important, but sometimes, under particular circumstances, life can become miserable, difficult, or intolerable; at that point, survival can seem like a punishment or misfortune. A patient who is in a vegetative state, unable to sustain life with dignity, and who is suffering from a terminal illness, has freedom to choose betwe...

Nipah virus (NiV) is a highly pathogenic Paramyxovirus associated with outbreaks in Malaysia, Bangladesh, and India with high mortality rates. NiV infection causes fatal respiratory and neurological disease. The majority of survivors suffer from long-term neurological sequelae or late onset and relapsed encephalitis. The pathogenesis of neurologica...

Importance Euthanasia or assisted suicide (EAS) in patients suffering from a psychiatric disorder (PD) is a controversial topic worldwide. In the Netherlands, this practice is regulated by law. All cases of EAS have to be reported and are assessed by the Regional Euthanasia Review Committees (RTEs), who publish a selection of all cases on their web...

Suicidal behavior has been a dilemma in Alzheimer's disease. Many ethical debates have been raised about euthanasia in patients with neurodegenerative diseases, and there is a finding of increased suicide rates in the early stages of dementia. However, little is known about the history of suicide ideations or attempts in people with Alzheimer's dis...

The COVID‐19 pandemic made it difficult to obtain pharmaceutical‐grade injectable anaesthetics used in animal experiments in Japan. To address this problem, it is worth the effort to evaluate whether the use of non‐pharmaceutical‐grade sodium pentobarbital (PBNa) water solution can be an alternative one from the perspective of stability, physicoche...