Background: Pharmaceutical product development relies on thorough and costly clinical trials. Participant recruitment and monitoring can be challenging. The incorporation of cutting-edge technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence has revolutionized clinical research (particularly in the recruitment stage), enhanced secure data storage and analysis, and facilitated participant monitoring while protecting their personal information. Objective: This study aims to investigate the use of novel digital platforms and their features, such as e-recruitment, e-consent, and matching, aiming to optimize and expedite clinical research. Methods: A review with a systematic approach was conducted encompassing literature from January 2000 to October 2024. The MEDLINE, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases were examined thoroughly using a customized search string. Inclusion criteria focused on digital platforms involving clinical trial recruitment phases that were in English and had international presence, scientific validation, regulatory approval, and no geographic limitations. Literature reviews and unvalidated digital platforms were excluded. The selected studies underwent meticulous screening by the research team, ensuring a thorough analysis of novel digital platforms and their use and features for clinical trials. Results: A total of 24 digital platforms were identified that supported clinical trial recruitment phases. In general, most of them (n=22, 80%) are headquartered and operating in the United States, providing a range of functionalities including electronic consent (n=14, 60% of the platforms), participant matching, and monitoring of patients’ health status. These supplementary features enhance the overall effectiveness of the platforms in facilitating the recruitment process for clinical trials. The analysis and digital platform findings refer to a specific time frame when the investigation took place, and a notable surge was observed in the adoption of these novel digital tools, particularly following the COVID-19 outbreak. Conclusions: This study underscores the vital role of the identified digital platforms in clinical trials, aiding in recruitment, enhancing patient engagement, accelerating procedures, and personalizing vital sign monitoring. Despite their impact, challenges in accessibility, compatibility, and transparency require careful consideration. Addressing these challenges is crucial for optimizing digital tool integration into clinical research, allowing researchers to harness the benefits while managing the associated risks effectively.

Objective: Protein supplements (PSs) are widely consumed by professional and non-professional athletes, yet research on non-athletic PS users’ perceptions, motivations, and health risk awareness is limited. This study aimed to investigate non-professional athletes’ PS patterns of use, motivations, and safety. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a constructed questionnaire reporting on PS usage trends, exercise habits, and demographic factors. Adult respondents were recruited from gyms, athletic organizations, amusement parks, and playing fields. Results: We received 1100 responses, and 327 were PS users. From the total of PS users, there was a prevalence of PS use in males [(203 (62%)]; adults in the age group of 25–34 [136 (42%)], p < 0.001; and participants with a normal BMI (189, 58%), p < 0.001. Following high-intensity fitness exercise sessions and engagement with more than two types of physical activity were associated with more than doubled odds of PS consumption (p < 0.001). The main reasons for PS intake were for muscle mass increase (35%) and recovery (18%), and protein powder was the most popular PS (279; 64%). The main channels of information for PS use were Web/social media (50, 40%) and coaches (54, 43.2%), while one out of two [35 (49%); p = 0.008] of those engaged in more than two types of physical exercise declared that PSs are good for health. Conclusion: The findings highlight demographic, behavioral, and informational factors shaping PS consumption in non-professional athletes. Despite the perceived benefits, reliance on non-expert sources and unregulated products raises concerns about consumer awareness and safety, while educational initiatives to promote evidence-based supplementation practices are deemed crucial.

BACKGROUND Pharmaceutical product development relies on thorough and costly clinical trials. Participant recruitment and monitoring can be challenging. The incorporation of cutting-edge technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence has revolutionized clinical research (particularly in the recruitment stage), enhanced secure data storage and analysis, and facilitated participant monitoring while protecting their personal information. OBJECTIVE This study aims to investigate the use of novel digital platforms and their features, such as e-recruitment, e-consent, and matching, aiming to optimize and expedite clinical research. METHODS A review with a systematic approach was conducted encompassing literature from January 2000 to October 2024. The MEDLINE, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases were examined thoroughly using a customized search string. Inclusion criteria focused on digital platforms involving clinical trial recruitment phases that were in English and had international presence, scientific validation, regulatory approval, and no geographic limitations. Literature reviews and unvalidated digital platforms were excluded. The selected studies underwent meticulous screening by the research team, ensuring a thorough analysis of novel digital platforms and their use and features for clinical trials. RESULTS A total of 24 digital platforms were identified that supported clinical trial recruitment phases. In general, most of them (n=22, 80%) are headquartered and operating in the United States, providing a range of functionalities including electronic consent (n=14, 60% of the platforms), participant matching, and monitoring of patients’ health status. These supplementary features enhance the overall effectiveness of the platforms in facilitating the recruitment process for clinical trials. The analysis and digital platform findings refer to a specific time frame when the investigation took place, and a notable surge was observed in the adoption of these novel digital tools, particularly following the COVID-19 outbreak. CONCLUSIONS This study underscores the vital role of the identified digital platforms in clinical trials, aiding in recruitment, enhancing patient engagement, accelerating procedures, and personalizing vital sign monitoring. Despite their impact, challenges in accessibility, compatibility, and transparency require careful consideration. Addressing these challenges is crucial for optimizing digital tool integration into clinical research, allowing researchers to harness the benefits while managing the associated risks effectively.

Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPSs) and other psychoactive or misuse-relevant compounds present a persistent global public health threat, underscoring the critical need for real-time crawling and monitoring tools to investigate and provide valuable information assisting in the management and preparedness against that dynamic and evolving threat. This study utilized the NPS finder ^® web crawler to analyze NPS trends during the post-pandemic period, with data collected from selected highly trafficked psychonaut websites continuously monitored between January and September 2023. Following a comprehensive filtering process of screening, assessment, and evaluation, the dataset provided insights into the availability and characteristics of recently reported NPSs. Three hundred and sixty-eight molecules were analyzed, of which 158 were newly captured NPSs, suitable for inclusion in the NPS finder ^® database. Those substances were classified based on their chemical structure, pharmacological mechanism of action, therapeutic indication, if any, and abuse liability. The main NPS classes identified were natural origin/herbal substances (25; 16%), cannabinoids (23; 15%), prescribed medications (23; 15%), synthetic opioids (20; 13%), phenethylamines (14; 9%), cathinones (11; 7%), and anabolic substances (8; 5%). The findings highlight ongoing diversification in substances identified across selected online sources during the post-pandemic period. The study benefits from a timely focus, a substantial and systematically curated dataset, and the application of a continuous web-crawling methodology enabling near real-time detection of emerging substances. The integration of pharmacological and chemical classification further enhances the interpretability and potential clinical relevance of the findings. However, results should be interpreted cautiously. The reliance on predominantly English-language, open-web sources may introduce selection bias and limit geographic generalizability, and the descriptive design does not allow inference regarding prevalence, user behavior, or causal trends. Within these constraints, web-crawling approaches may serve as valuable complementary tools to established early warning systems, supporting early signal detection and informing future toxicological and public health responses.

Background/Objectives: The rapidly evolving crisis of Novel Synthetic Opioids (NSOs) poses a serious and growing threat for global public health. NSOs include prescription/non-prescription opioids (fentanyl, non-fentanyl analogues), herbal derivatives, and other emerging analogues that are of critical concern due to their high potency, misuse potential, and addiction and intoxication risk. There remains an important gap in real-time, systematic monitoring of NSOs emergence, especially in online communities where these substances appear for the first time. This study aimed to employ the NPSfinder^® automated web-crawling tool to detect, monitor, analyse, and evaluate the evolving NSOs scene. Methods: Data were collected during two time-periods, i.e., 2017–2019 and 2023, from selected high traffic psychonaut online platforms to better understand trends in opioids market evolution and adaptability and compare NPSfinder^® findings with other well-known Early Warning Systems (EWSs) databases to assess detection overlap and early identification capacity. Results: Within the selected time-periods, a total of 446 NSOs were detected by NPSfinder^®; fentanyl analogues (n = 249) were dominant, with a notable rise in non-fentanyl analogues, especially nitazene-like compounds, in 2023. Over 57% of these NSOs were not captured by any of the other EWSs, confirming the tool’s strong capacity to identify early threats. Conclusions: Overall, the low overlap across EWS databases underscores the global challenges in comprehensive opioid detection and surveillance. Future studies should integrate web-crawler findings with real-world datasets. It will be vital to combine these efforts with toxicological, mortality, and clinical outcome analyses, especially for emerging research compounds, to inform targeted harm-reduction strategies.