In the paper, Dr Nakou argues that the routine offering of prenatal screening may inadvertently undermine genuine autonomous decision-making. She suggests that, rather than routinely offering tests such as non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT), healthcare systems should first provide high-quality counselling, enabling women to reflect on their values and preferences before deciding whether to undergo testing.

Organised by the Medical and Veterinary School Student Societies, with the support of the UNIC Health research team, the conference reflects UNIC Health’s ongoing commitment to fostering a strong research culture. It provides students with the opportunity to present their work to peers and faculty through oral and e-poster presentations.

The review focuses on the combined use of EEG and heart rate variability as an integrated biomarker framework for Alzheimer’s disease, with findings suggesting that brain-heart coupling may offer improved sensitivity in identifying early cognitive decline.

Medical students of the graduate-entry programme, Nirmal Pandit, Yahya Wehbeh, and Omar Itani, under the supervision of Professor Dimitrios N. Kanakis, have recently published a paper in the peer-reviewed journal International Journal of Molecular Sciences.

Fourth-year MD students Aikaterini Katramadou and Eva Sonja Bender have co authored a review article on traumatic brain injury (TBI)/chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and Alzheimer's disease, under the supervision of Professor Dimitrios N. Kanakis.

The authors summarise current evidence on the gut–brain axis, describing how intestinal microorganisms and their metabolites affect immune regulation, inflammatory pathways, and the tumour microenvironment in glioblastoma. They discuss how changes in gut microbiota composition (dysbiosis) may contribute to the disease’s highly immunosuppressive environment and resistance to treatment.