There is a worldwide discussion to provide safety limits in food for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a group of persistent contaminants associated to human disease. Processed food is more at risk of containing increased amounts of PFAS as a consequence of intentionally or non-intentionally contamination during manipulation and packaging. Among food products, also vegetables can be submitted to industrial manipulation; therefore, a different PFAS content correlated to the level of vegetables processing is conceivable. This study assessed the amount and type of PFAS present in fresh, frozen and ready-to-eat vegetables. Differences have been observed between the three groups of samples in the average PFAS content; the difference between ready-to eat and frozen vegetables resulted statistically significative. Organic vegetables displayed a lower total amount of PFAS respect to the traditional counterpart. The impact of industrial manipulation remains to be cleared, but pesticides use during cultivation could be considered a source of PFAS contamination.

Fetal inflammatory response syndrome (FIRS) represents the fetal inflammatory reaction to intrauterine infection or injury, potentially leading to multiorgan impairment, neonatal mortality, and morbidity. Infections induce FIRS after chorioamnionitis (CA), defined as acute maternal inflammatory response to amniotic fluid infection, acute funisitis and chorionic vasculitis. FIRS involves many molecules, i.e., cytokines and/or chemokines, able to directly or indirectly damage fetal organs. Therefore, due to FIRS being a condition with a complex etiopathogenesis and multiple organ dysfunction, especially brain injury, medical liability is frequently claimed. In medical malpractice, reconstruction of the pathological pathways is paramount. However, in cases of FIRS, ideal medical conduct is hard to delineate, due to uncertainty in diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of this highly complex condition. This narrative review revises the current knowledge of FIRS caused by infections, maternal and neonatal diagnosis and treatments, the main consequences of the disease and their prognoses, and discusses the medico-legal implications.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) represent a major advance in cancer treatment. The lowered immune tolerance induced by ICIs brought to light a series of immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Pembrolizumab belongs to the ICI class and is a humanized IgG4 anti-PD-1 antibody that blocks the interaction between PD-1 and PD-L1. The ICI-related irAEs involving various organ systems and myocarditis are uncommon (incidence of 0.04% to 1.14%), but they are associated with a high reported mortality. Unlike idiopathic inflammatory myositis, ICI-related myositis has been reported to frequently co-occur with myocarditis. The triad of myasthenia, myositis, and myocarditis must not be underestimated as they can rapidly deteriorate, leading to death. Herein we report a case of a patient with metastatic melanoma who fatally developed myasthenia gravis, myocarditis, and myositis, after a single cycle of pembrolizumab. Considering evidence from the literature review, autopsy, histological, and immunohistochemical investigations on heart and skeletal muscle are presented and discussed, also from a medical–legal perspective.

The intricate interplay of exposure and speed leave motorcyclists vulnerable, leading to high mortality rates. During the collision, the driver and the passenger are usually projected away from the motorcycle, with variable trajectories or final positions. Injuries resulting from the crash can exhibit distinct and specific characteristics depending on the circumstances of the occurrence.The aim of this study is to provide a systematic review of the literature on injuries sustained by motorcyclists involved in road accidents describing and analyzing elements that are useful for forensic assessment.The literature search was performed using PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science from January 1970 to June 2023. Eligible studies have investigated issues of interest to forensic medicine about during traffic accidents involving motorcycle. A total of 142 studies met the inclusion criteria and were classified and analyzed based on the anatomical regions of the body affected (head, neck, thoraco-abdominal, pelvis, and limb injuries). Moreover, also the strategies for preventing lesions and assessing injuries in the reconstruction of motorcycle accidents were examined and discussed.This review highlights that, beyond injuries commonly associated with motorcycle accidents, such as head injuries, there are also unique lesions linked to the specific dynamics of accidents. These include factors like the seating position of the passenger or impact with the helmet or motorbike components. The forensic assessment of injury distribution could serve as support in reconstructing the sequence of events leading to the crash and defining the cause of death in trauma fatalities.