Suspected suicide and suicide attempt with mysterious concomitant circumstances

Two cases of suicide and attempted suicide, respectively, are presented. A 15-year old boy suffering from diabetes died of hyperglycemia after continuous drinking of large amounts of sugared tea. He concealed his disease from the teachers as well as from the doctor. A 52-year old woman was found with multiple blunt force injuries and stab wounds. The suspicion of homicide attempt could be clarified, as all of the injuries were self-inflicted.     

饮酒与自杀

饮酒和许多非正常死亡有关,如自杀、他杀、意外伤害死亡等,对各国社会公共健康卫生有着不容忽视的影响。自杀同时也是一个独立的社会公共健康问题,在世界各国均成为日渐严重的社会问题,尤其在青少年群体中,这两种社会现象尤其严重。对饮酒和自杀的关系的研究已有数十年的历史,早在1966年Durkheim就提出酒精消耗在自杀中是一个精神病理的个人因素,1991年Skog等提出酒精消耗作为一种社会现象对自杀有着深远的影响。[1]近年随着饮酒与自杀研究的逐年深入,目前人们已经普遍认识到无论是急性饮酒还是慢性酒精依赖均与自杀有关,[2]Bris-mar等甚…     

Ecstasy and suicide

Deaths due to the ring-derivative amphetamines are not common and are usually accidental involving dehydration and hyperthermia. Suicides from 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and related ring-derivative amphetamines overdose are rare. A 15-year-old female who had a history of depression and previous suicide attempts was found dead with a suicide note. Toxicology demonstrated lethal serum concentrations of MDMA (9.3 mg/L), with 34 mg/kg of MDMA in the liver, 2.4 mg/L in the urine, and 530 mg/kg in the stomach. The cause of death was MDMA toxicity, the manner suicide. While MDMA may be detected in victims in other drug-related or traumatic deaths, it is only rarely used in isolation in suicide, with a predominance in the 21- to 25-year-old range. Despite the rarity of such events, the possibility of a nonaccidental manner of death should be considered when high levels of MDMA and associated amphetamines are found at autopsy.     

饮酒与自杀

饮酒和许多非正常死亡有关,如自杀、他杀、意外伤害死亡等,对各国社会公共健康卫生有着不容忽视的影响.     

Nine-gunshot suicide

In this article, we describe an unusual case of suicide involving nine gunshot wounds to the anterior chest. This illustrates that individuals may function for a short time with fatal wounds and stresses the importance of a complete investigation.     

Nail-gun suicide

Two cases are reported of young men who committed suicide using a nail gun. One shot himself through the heart and left lung. The other shot himself in the head. No cases of completed suicide by nail gun have previously been reported in the English literature. These cases are reported because of their uncommon nature and because they represent a potentially fatal use of a relatively common industrial implement.     

Assisted suicide and human rights

The case of R (Pretty) v. Director of Public Prosecutions, gave the House of Lords the opportunity to comment on the issues surrounding the application of the European Convention on Human Rights to the crime of assisted suicide in the case of the terminally ill. A conservative approach was taken in relation to both this issue and indeed in relation to the possibilities of judicial control of the Law Officers of the Crown.     

Homicide and suicide by aircraft

A report of simultaneous homicide and suicide by aircraft is presented. This confirms the view of Phillips (Science, 201 (1978) 748–750), that despite the previous absence of similar reports in the history of civil aviation, such incidents may occur, and that therefore murder and suicide should be considered as a possible cause of aircraft accidents.