Manuel Bento de Sousa foi um célebre médico da segunda metade do século XIX. A sua ligação à Medicina Legal é indiscutível pois é a figura homenageada na rua onde se encontra instalada a Delegação do Sul do INMLCF, em Lisboa. Porém, esta ligação vai muito além da toponímia. Ao longo da sua vida destacou-se como Clínico, Cirurgião e Professor, dedicando-se também à produção de artigos científicos e à escrita criativa onde se salienta a sua faceta polemista. No âmbito da Medicina Legal, Manuel Bento de Sousa fez parte da equipa que realizou as perícias no mediático "caso Joana Pereira", relativo a uma morte por asfixia (cadáver encontrado em Mafra no ano 1876) em que os suspeitos do crime foram ilibados, o que contrariou as conclusões do relatório pericial, tendo levado a uma discussão científica sobre a possibilidade de suicídio ou homicídio. Mas a ligação deste médico à Medicina Legal não se cinge aos processos onde participou como perito, o que à época era muito pontual, pois décadas antes da publicação da Carta de Lei de 1899, que promoveu a organização da Medicina Legal em Portugal, apresentou uma proposta sobre esta matéria. Em 1865, Manuel Bento de Sousa publicou vários artigos onde criticou o ensino da Medicina Legal, referindo que o mesmo era puramente teórico, defendendo, desta forma, a adoção do modelo Prussiano, adaptando-o à realidade portuguesa. Assim, propõe a criação de laboratórios nas três escolas médicas, que deveriam ser dirigidos pelo professor da disciplina de Medicina Legal e dotados de materiais e preparadores. Este seria o local do ensino prático e pericial onde se realizariam as perícias médico-legais solicitadas pelos tribunais da comarca e onde os estudantes teriam oportunidade de assistir e participar na execução dos exames. Estes espaços deveriam assegurar igualmente os exames de outras comarcas, sempre que envolvessem meios de investigação mais minuciosos não disponíveis nesses locais como, por exemplo, os exames de "veneficio", o que nos remete para as investigações de cariz laboratorial. No âmbito das comarcas fora das áreas escolares, defendia também que deveriam existir médicos adjuntos aos tribunais com remuneração pelo seu trabalho "não ficando dependentes de terem ou não as partes e os réus meios para pagarem", como acontecia naquela época. A ação e as propostas de Manuel Bento de Sousa são marcos importantes na história da Medicina Legal Portuguesa. E apesar da Carta de Lei de 1899 ter ficado aquém das suas ideias, elas vieram a ser recuperadas e valorizadas no início do século XX por Azevedo Neves, estando na base de muito do conteúdo do Decreto 5023 de 1918, que vem depois reorganizar os serviços médico-legais em Portugal, e que em diversos aspetos mantém vivo o que é hoje o ensino e a organização da Medicina Legal nacional.

A 17 de agosto de 1899 é publicada a carta de lei que cria os serviços médico-legais em Portugal. O diploma divide o país em três circunscrições cujas sedes são Lisboa, Porto e Coimbra, definindo que nestas cidades seriam criadas as Morgues com funções não apenas periciais, mas também de ensino prático da medicina legal; estabelece ainda, o funcionamento de um Conselho Médico-legal em cada uma destas sedes. O funcionamento destes serviços é rapidamente implementado, porém irá debater-se com diversas dificuldades que culminarão com a publicação de nova legislação em 1918.

As an improvement in efficiency and in Human Discrimination Power, the new six dye multiplex kit PowerPlex® Fusion 6C System, by Promega, available for human identification can co-amplify 27 loci, in a single reaction, have been introduced in the last years with great success. This kit allows the amplification and detection of autosomal loci included in the expanded Combined DNA Index System CODIS, plus the loci Penta D, PENTA E and SE33 as well as Amelogenin for gender determination. Furthermore, this kit includes three Y –STRs (DYS391, DYS576 and DYS570), allowing allelic attribution in a total of 27 loci. This genetic markers extension satisfies not only CODIS but also European Standard Set recommendations. Thinking about continuous human migration movements, especially in a very cosmopolitan region like Lisbon and south of Portugal, and also, in keeping population studies and actualized STR databases we decided to update our previous studies. Our sample is composed of 600 unrelated individuals, from paternity testing with laboratory identity anonymised. DNA was extracted by Prep-n-go BufferTM(Thermo-Fisher Scientific). PCR amplification was performed with PowerPlex® Fusion 6C System, according to manufacturer’s guidelines. Fragment analysis was carried out in an Applied Biosystems® 3500 Genetic Analyser. Electrophoresis results were analysed with GeneMapper® ID-X v1.4. Allele frequencies and population statistics, including Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium p-values from exact test probabilities and forensic parameters were calculated with adequate software. In conclusion, our population information was updated in order to apply most recent data in our casework weight of evidence.

Cannabis-based products have gained attention in recent years for their perceived therapeutic benefits (with cannabinoids such as THC and CBD) and widespread availability. However, these products often lack accurate labelling regarding their cannabinoid content. Our study, conducted with products available in Portugal, revealed significant discrepancies between label claims and actual cannabinoid compositions. A fully validated method was developed for the characterisation of different products acquired from pharmacies and street shops (beverages, herbal samples, oils, and cosmetic products) using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a diode array detector. Linearity ranged from 0.4 to 100 µg/mL (0.04–10 µg/mg) (THC, 8-THC, CBD, CBG, CBDA, CBGA), 0.1–100 µg/mL (0.01–10 µg/mg) (CBN), 0.4–250 µg/mL (0.04–25 µg/mg) (THCA-A), and 0.8–100 µg/mL (0.08–10 µg/mg) (CBCA). Among sampled beverages, none contained detectable cannabinoids, despite suggestive packaging. Similarly, oils often differed from the declared cannabinoid compositions, with some containing significantly higher CBD concentrations than labelled. These inconsistencies raise serious concerns regarding consumer safety and informed decision-making. Moreover, our findings underscore the need for stringent regulation and standardised testing protocols to ensure the accuracy and safety of cannabis-based products.

Allele frequencies of sixteen autossomal short tandem repeats (STRs), D3S1358, VWA, D16S539, D8S1179, D21S11, D18S51, TH01, FGA, D5S818, D13S317, D7S820, TPOX, CSF1PO, Penta D, Penta E (included in the PowerPlex 16 kit), and the SE33 (PowerPlex ES Monoplex System SE33) were determined in a sample of 200 healthy unrelated individuals from the north of Portugal.

Allele frequencies and population data for 17 Y-STR loci included in a new commercial kit that has recently been available, the AmpFlSTR Y-filer PCR amplification kit (Applied Biosystems), that permits the simultaneous amplification of all the markers included in the actually used European "extended haplotype", DYS19, DYS189I, DYS389II, DYS390, DYS391, DYS392, DYS393, DYS385I/II, DYS438, DYS439 and also DYS437, DYS448, DYS456, DYS458, DYS635 and Y GATA H4, were obtained from a sample of 175 healthy unrelated males and 45 father-son pairs from the North of Portugal. A total of 171 haplotypes were identified, of which 167 were unique and 4 were found in 2 individuals. The haplotype diversity (99.97%) and discrimination capacity (95.43%) were calculated. We report some non-standard situations, such as allele duplications and mutations. We also report a case of disputed paternity in which duplicated alleles plus an inconsistency of the transmitted alleles appeared.

Introduction: Suicide is a major public health problem, estimated to be the cause of death of more than 700.000 people a year worldwide. Lithium is not considered an essential physiological element. However, a high dietary intake of lithium has been associated with beneficial effects, particular, a decrease in the suicide rate, possibly due to lithium having a known therapeutic role in bipolar disorder [1]. Objectives: To assess the existing scientific evidence on the relation between lithium levels in drinking water and the suicide rate in distinct world regions. Methods: An exhaustive literature search on the topic was carried out on PubMed, between January and February 2022. Results: In the majority of the published studies, the suicide mortality rate was shown to be inversely related to lithium levels in drinking water. However, this relation was not observed in some studies, including in Portugal. Additionally, it seems that a minimum concentration of 30 μg/L is the threshold from which such relation is observed [2,3,4,5]. Conclusions: An inverse relation has been demonstrated between the lithium concentration in drinking water and the suicide mortality rate. Portugal presented itself as one of the exceptions. The main limitation of these studies (ecological studies) is that they assume a correlation between the concentration of lithium in drinking water and the intake of lithium. However, other sources may be important. The determination of urinary lithium levels could represent an advance in addressing the issue of the possible protective effect of lithium concerning the tendency to suicide, by allowing a more realistic determination of lithium intake by the general population.