挤压家兔后肢导致急性肝损伤和抗氧化能力降低

目的本实验观察挤压家兔后肢导致肝氧化损伤,探讨氧化应激在挤压家兔后肢导致肝损伤中的作用。方法用标准重物间断压迫家兔后肢复制模型。采用生化方法检测ALT和AST活性;分析天平称重方法检测肝脏湿干重比值(W/D);比色法测定肝组织超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、过氧化氢酶(CAT)、谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶(GSH-Px)活性和总抗氧化能力(T-AOC)以及丙二醛(MDA)含量变化;并观察肝组织病理学改变。结果血清ALT和AST活性明显增高(P<0.01),肝细胞明显肿胀,肝窦轻度淤血,而肝脏湿干重比值(W/D)轻度增加(P<0.05);肝脏氧化损伤明显加重,MDA含量增高,而肝脏抗氧化能力下降,SOD、CAT、GSH-Px活性和T-AOC分别比对照组降低了17%、29%、24%和21%(P均<0.01)。结论挤压家兔后肢引起急性肝损伤及肝脏的抗氧化能力下降;肝脏局部抗氧化能力下降可能是肝损伤的重要因素。     

Lethal mixed intoxication with propofol in a medical layman

The authors report on a drug fatality of a 21-year-old man with a propofol (2,6-di-isopropylphenol) dependency. Propofol was detected in tissues and body fluids using SPME-GC/MS methods. The postmortem concentrations of propofol were 364 ng/ml in urine, 71 ng/ml in heart blood and 79 ng/ml in femoral blood. The drug addict had only an autodidactic medical knowledge, but had inserted himself a permanent cannula for intravenous injection of propofol several times a day. The injection material was bought via online auctions from eBay. The case illustrates how job-related drug dependencies become indistinct due to the free access to information and goods via the Internet.     

Reduction of postmortem angiography-induced tissue edema by using polyethylene glycol as a contrast agent dissolver

Postmortem investigation is increasingly supported by computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging, in which postmortem minimal invasive angiography has become important. The newly introduced approach using an aqueous contrast agent solution provided excellent vessel visualization but was suspected to possibly cause tissue edema artifacts in histological investigations. The aim of this study was to investigate on a porcine heart model whether it is possible to influence the contrast agent distribution within the soft tissue by changing its viscosity by dissolving the contrast agent in polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a matrix medium. High-resolution CT scans after injection showed that viscosities above c. 15 mPa s (65% PEG) prevented a contrast agent distribution within the capillary bed of the left ventricular myocardium. Thereby, the precondition of edema artifacts could be reduced. Its minimal invasive application on human corpses needs to be further adapted as the flow resistance is expected to differ between different tissues.     

Importance of radiological diagnosis applied to necroscopy

The authors evaluate the consequences of incomplete necroscopic examinations wherein it was impossible to apply radiological resources to locate firearm projectiles. The study includes 8185 reports from the Instituto Médico-Legal Afranio Peixoto in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, representing the totality of corpses processed from January to December 2001; of these, 3122 were gunshot victims, 309 of which were buried with unremoved projectiles, being liable to future judicial reappraisal. During the same period, there were 23 exhumation requests by police authorities, 12 of them querying the existence of projectiles. The authors looked into the formal reasons assumed by the medico legal experts to conclude their reports from incomplete examinations, and suggest that gunshot necroscopic examinations should follow specific protocols, as incomplete autopsies will require further exhumations, at unnecessary additional costs.