RESUMO

The so-called neurorights are emerging human rights, or rather reconfigurations of already existing human rights, seeking to address the impact of the possible misuse of neurotechnologies, which have the potential to become more invasive and harmful in the future if not regulated. The aim of specifying neurorights is to protect the dignity and autonomy of the individual in the face of neurotechnological advances. Recently, Chile proposed a Constitutional reform inspired by the neurorights, opening a debate. One of the proposed neurorights is fair and equitable access to cognitive enhancement, which will be the specific object of this perspective article. Starting from the legal proposal, we analyse and discuss some perspectives on cognitive enhancement, or "neuroenhancement", which could be considered as part of enhancement neurotechnologies, pointing out that pharmacological enhancers, or "smart drugs", might be considered as part of these enhancers. We present a classification of the different types of cognitive enhancements as it has been proposed in the literature, into which pharmacological cognitive enhancement can be included, concluding that there is currently no agreement amongst scholars and lawyers about the ethical consideration of pharmacological cognitive enhancement. We therefore argue that it is necessary for the legislator to explicitly address the issue in the proposed regulations, in order to take a clear position on the topic, as it has been done in the United Kingdom, where the pharmacological neuroenhancers have been explicitly excluded from the regulation. If pharmacological neuroenhancers are going to be considered neurotechnologies, then new law proposals should seek harmonization with the already existing legislation regulating pharmacological health and consumer rights (both globally, taking into account international drug laws, and locally, according to each country's internal regulations) and of course, with the whole system of fundamental rights. Finally, we briefly discuss the ethical problem of equitable access to this new type of neurotechnologies (as part of the neurorights) and leave the debate open for new insights from the scientific community on the possible consequences of including (or not) pharmacological neuroenhancers as neurotechnologies for cognitive enhancement in the framework of the ethical and legal debate.

RESUMO

Actualmente las enfermedades cardiovasculares representan la principal causa de morbimortalidad en el mundo; la aplicación de la nanotecnología es una gran promesa en su prevención y tratamiento. Se están desarrollando nanodispositivos para la liberación dirigida y controlada de medicamentos en sitios específicos en el organismo, por ejemplo, en células, tejidos, vasos sanguíneos y el corazón, así como para el diagnóstico, detección temprana de enfermedades cardiovasculares y tratamiento individualizado de pacientes. Otra posible aplicación de los nanodispositivos es la liberación de fármacos para corregir el mal acoplamiento de proteínas defectuosas. Con potentes superefectos, las nanopartículas deberán ser capaces de provocar efectos terapéuticos a bajas dosis en periodos prolongados. La fabricación de nanodispositivos y nanoacarreadores deberá llevarse a cabo con un enfoque integral que tome en cuenta las propiedades generales, con la finalidad de evaluar la biocompatibilidad y, en consecuencia, evitar efectos adversos y tóxicos. La investigación intensificada en este campo ayudará a reducir significativamente la morbimortalidad provocada por las enfermedades cardiovasculares.Currently, cardiovascular disease represents the main cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide; the application of nanotechnology holds great promise for its prevention and treatment. Nanodevices ("smart drugs") are currently being developed for directed and controlled delivery of drugs to specific sites in the body, such as cells, tissues, blood vessels and the heart, as well as for diagnosis and early detection of cardiovascular conditions and patient-individualized treatment. Another application of nanodevices is the delivery of drugs to correct defective protein bad coupling or binding. With potent super-effects, nanoparticles should be able to elicit therapeutic effects at lower doses and prolonged periods. The manufacture of nanodevices and nanocarriers should be with a comprehensive approach that takes general properties into account in order to assess for biocompatibility and, therefore, avoid adverse and toxic effects. Intensified research in this field will help to significantly reduce morbidity and mortality caused by cardiovascular disease.

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RESUMO

Dried herbal preparations, based on "Zornia latifolia," are commonly sold on web, mainly for their supposed hallucinogenic properties. In this work, we demonstrate that these commercial products contain a different Fabacea, i.e., Stylosanthes guianensis, a cheaper plant, widely cultivated in tropical regions as a fodder legume. We were provided with plant samples of true Zornia latifolia from Brazil, and carried out a thorough comparison of the two species. The assignment of commercial samples was performed by means of micro-morphological analysis, DNA barcoding, and partial phytochemical investigation. We observed that Z. latifolia contains large amounts of flavonoid di-glycosides derived from luteolin, apigenin, and genistein, while in S. guianensis lesser amounts of flavonoids, mainly derived from quercetin, were found. It is likely that the spasmolytic and anxiolytic properties of Z. latifolia, as reported in traditional medicine, derive from its contents in apigenin and/or genistein.

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