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HEALTH

Spain halts electric shock experiment on violent inmates to curb aggression

Spanish authorities have called off phase two of a scientific experiment to see if electric shocks administered to the brains of violent prisoners could curb aggression.

Spain halts electric shock experiment on violent inmates to curb aggression
Photo: lufimorgan/Depositphotos

The pilot study was carried out at Huelva Prison in southwestern Spain and saw the technique – known as transcranial direct current stimulation, or tDCS – carried out on 41 violent prisoners, 15 of them serving murder sentences.

Spain’s interior ministry announced that the experiment had been called off the day after preliminary details of the study, which tested the impact of small electrical currents passed into the prefrontal cortex of volunteer male prisoners, were published in the New Scientist.

The trial, which had the approval of prison officials and university ethics committee wanted to determine whether TDCS deliver to the frontal lobe in three 15-minute sessions had an effect on levels of aggression reported by the male inmates.

Phase two of the study was due to commence this month.

But an interior ministry spokesman explained that permission for the experiments had been given by the previous government and would now be suspended as a precaution pending a full investigation into the matter.

The treatment, which is supposed to be painless, involves strapping electrodes to the inmates head and turning on an electric current for 15 minutes per day over the course of three days.

The prisoners are required to fill out questionnaires before and after treatment rating their feelings of anger.

Samples of each participant's saliva are also tested for cortisol levels – a hormone that increases with stress and can indicate aggressive tendencies. 

 

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HEALTH

Lengthy waiting times at Danish hospitals not going away yet: minister

Danish Minister for the Interior and Health Sophie Løhde has warned that, despite increasing activity at hospitals, it will be some time before current waiting lists are reduced.

Lengthy waiting times at Danish hospitals not going away yet: minister

The message comes as Løhde was set to meet with officials from regional health authorities on Wednesday to discuss the progress of an acute plan for the Danish health system, launched at the end of last year in an effort to reduce a backlog of waiting times which built up during the coronavirus crisis.

An agreement with regional health authorities on an “acute” spending plan to address the most serious challenges faced by the health services agreed in February, providing 2 billion kroner by the end of 2024.

READ ALSO: What exactly is wrong with the Danish health system?

The national organisation for the health authorities, Danske Regioner, said to newspaper Jyllands-Posten earlier this week that progress on clearing the waiting lists was ahead of schedule.

Some 245,300 operations were completed in the first quarter of this year, 10 percent more than in the same period in 2022 and over the agreed number.

Løhde said that the figures show measures from the acute plan are “beginning to work”.

“It’s positive but even though it suggests that the trend is going the right way, we’re far from our goal and it’s important to keep it up so that we get there,” she said.

“I certainly won’t be satisfied until waiting times are brought down,” she said.

“As long as we are in the process of doing postponed operations, we will unfortunately continue to see a further increase [in waiting times],” Løhde said.

“That’s why it’s crucial that we retain a high activity this year and in 2024,” she added.

Although the government set aside 2 billion kroner in total for the plan, the regional authorities expect the portion of that to be spent in 2023 to run out by the end of the summer. They have therefore asked for some of the 2024 spending to be brought forward.

Løhde is so far reluctant to meet that request according to Jyllands-Posten.

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