A systematic regional study of dopamine and dopamine-derived salsolinol and norsalsolinol levels in human brain areas

Dopamine and the dopamine-derived tetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloids salsolinol and norsalsolinol were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection in 15 regions of the human brain. The regional distribution of dopamine in 32 brains was similar to previous reports with highest concentrations in the basal ganglia, especially in the striatum, followed by the substantia nigra and the hypothalamus. Significant amounts of salsolinol and norsalsolinol were only found in these dopamine-rich areas, whereas in the other regions no alkaloids were detected. These findings suggest that the concentration of the substrate dopamine may determine the alkaloid level during in vivo formation.     

Fatal hemorrhage from a periumbilical wound: Stabbing or hemorrhage from a caput medusae?

Varices are the main clinical manifestation of portal hypertension, and their bleeding is the predominant cause of mortality from this condition. Periumbilical varices are known as “caput medusae.” Reports of their bleeding are rare, with only three fatal cases described in the literature. The antemortem diagnosis is relatively simple, while the postmortem diagnosis is more complex. This paper is the first report of fatal hemorrhage from a caput medusae for which the diagnosis was made postmortem, thanks to a complete diagnostic process including scene and circumstances, medical history, and autopsy with detailed histology. The circumstantial analysis showed the presence of a large amount of blood at the scene, blood which originated from a small abdominal wound; an analysis of the subject's clinical data reported that he was affected by portal hypertension. The autopsy revealed some dilated and convoluted veins in the subcutaneous tissue of the umbilical region; a fistula between these veins and the abdominal wound was detected. The histological study confirmed the presence of periumbilical varices, one of them ruptured and connected with the overlying skin. The cause of death was attributed to a massive hemorrhage generated by a periumbilical varix in a patient affected by portal hypertension.     

3D forensic facial approximation: Implementation protocol in a forensic activity

The primary objective of this paper is to report on the successful implementation of forensic facial approximation in a real case in the forensic context. A three‐dimensional (3D) facial approximation protocol of the skull was performed with free software, applying techniques in a virtual environment that have already been consolidated in the literature. The skull was scanned with the photogrammetry technique, the digital replica was imported in the Blender software (Blender Foundation, Amsterdam) and individualized model sketches of the face were traced with the MakeHuman software (MakeHuman Org) according to the anthropological profile of the victim. The face created was imported in Blender, where it was adapted, modeled, and sculpted on the 3D skull and its soft tissue markers, using an American open‐source application of the technique in the digital environment. The face created in a virtual environment was recognized and legal identification procedures were started, resulting in the more agile delivery of the disappeared body to its next of kin. It is therefore concluded that facial approximation may not be a primary method of human identification, but it can be satisfactorily applied in the forensic field as an individual recognition resource. It has great value in narrowing the search, reducing the number of alleged victims, and leading to identification tests, therefore significantly reducing the number of genetic DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) tests—which are considered costly for the State or Federation—and consequently reducing the waiting time before delivery of the body to its family.     

Primary intimal sarcoma of the pulmonary artery misdiagnosed as pulmonary thromboembolism: A case confirmed at medicolegal autopsy

Misdiagnosed PAS confirmed at medicolegal autopsy Pulmonary artery sarcoma (PAS) is a rare disease and usually indistinguishable from acute or chronic thromboembolic disease of the pulmonary arteries. We present a case of pulmonary artery sarcoma in a 54‐year‐old male, who was clinically misdiagnosed as pulmonary thromboembolism. The patient died of disease; however, the actual diagnosis of PAS was made after a medicolegal autopsy. PAS can be a diagnostic challenge for both clinicians and pathologists. In an autopsy case with a clinical suspicion of pulmonary thromboembolism, if there is an abnormal gross appearance in the pulmonary artery, the forensic pathologist should have a high index of suspicion of PAS, which should be ruled out by a histopathologic examination.     

Intentional overdose of glargine insulin: Determination of the parent compound in postmortem blood by LC-HRMS

Insulin glargine is a long-acting insulin analog that is converted after enzymatic cleavage of the arginine pair of the β-chain into its main metabolite M1 (21^A-Gly-insulin), which is responsible for the hypoglycemic activity. In all the overdose cases described in the literature, only M1 concentrations have been reported, whereas insulin glargine was always absent or below the limit of quantitation. In this study, we present a case of suicide of a young nurse by injection of insulin glargine in which the parent molecule was found at a toxic concentration in blood. The determination and the discrimination of insulin glargine from human insulin and other synthetic analogs in the blood specimen were performed by liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (Waters XEVO G2-XS QToF) and extraction after precipitation in the presence of bovine insulin (internal standard), with a mixture of acetonitrile/methanol +1% formic acid followed by purification on solid phase extraction cartridges C18. Glargine insulin tested highly positive in the blood with a concentration of 1.06 mg/L. Due to the difficulty in obtaining a M1 pure standard, the metabolite could not be dosed. This unique presence of the parent molecule, reported for the first time, can be explained by inter-individual variability in the rate of conversion to metabolite. Intravenous injection versus subcutaneous injection can also explain the presence of insulin glargine. Finally, the dose injected may have been so high that saturation of the proteolytic enzymes responsible for conversion to M1 should have occurred.     

Radiodense bullet wipe around osseous entrance gunshot wounds

“Bullet wipe” is the material deposited by a bullet on any surface with which it comes into contact after it is fired and may contain debris from the gun barrel, including particles of primer and metal fragments from previously fired bullets. X‐ray analysis is a non‐destructive method by which traces of metallic elements can be visually detected. The analysis of osseous defects for radiodense bullet wipe (RBW) assists in determining the presence or absence of perforating gunshot wounds, especially in fragmented, skeletonized remains. The aim of our current study was to determine the frequency of RBW around entrance firearms injuries that perforated bone. We prospectively analyzed entrance gunshot wounds for RBW over a three‐year period using digital X‐ray analysis (n = 59). We retrospectively reviewed the corresponding autopsy reports to determine the frequency of RBW by biologic sex, reported ancestry, age‐at‐death, location of wound, manner of death, range of fire, bullet caliber, and presence of bullet jacket. Data were analyzed by Fisher's exact test or Chi‐square test with significance levels accepted at p < 0.05. RBW was present in 66% (n = 39) of examined cases. Decedent characteristics did not significantly alter RBW distribution, including biologic sex (p = 0.75), reported ancestry (p = 0.49), and age‐at‐death (p = 0.43). Additionally, the location of the osseous entrance gunshot wound, manner of death, range of fire, and cartridge caliber did not affect RBW detection. All cases involving non‐jacketed rounds (n = 5) showed RBW (p = 0.30). To our knowledge, this study is the first to report the frequency of RBW detection from osseous entrance gunshot wounds.     

Driving under the influence of amphetamine-like drugs

Scientific opinions differ whether the use of stimulants causes deterioration in driving skills. In 1857 of 8709 cases of driving under the influence of drugs, amphetamine-like drugs (amphetamine, methamphetamine, and methylendioxyamphetamine) were present either alone or together with other licit or illicit drugs. In 338 cases, amphetamines were the only psychoactive substance group in plasma at mean, median, and highest concentrations of 0.18, 0.12, and 1.05 mg/L, respectively. A widespread opinion is that after the consumption of amphetamines, centrally stimulating effects with corresponding consequences on safe driving are expected. In contrast, many cases were observed that rather suggested an influence of centrally sedating substances when considering the psycho-physical conditions. Relations between concentration and effect could not be established. The apparent sedation is probably the consequence of sleep deprivation during an amphetamine binge and the after-effects of the drug.     

Suicide by self-immolation

In the Western world, self-incineration is a rare event compared with the Asian countries. The circumstances of death are often unusual, and differentiation from homicide is sometimes possible only after evaluating all the investigation results and findings. In many cases of self-cremation, a fire accelerant is used. In our study material at least 30% of the body surface were burned. Unaffected skin was predominantly found on the back of the body. The cases presented by us are inhomogenous as to the motive and differ from those reported in the literature with regard to gender distribution, scene, motivational situation and psychological constitution.     

New trends in hair analysis and scientific demands on validation and technical notes

This review focuses on basic aspects of method development and validation of hair testing procedures. Quality assurance is a major issue in drug testing in hair resulting in new recommendations, validation procedures and inter-laboratory comparisons. Furthermore recent trends in research concerning hair analysis are discussed, namely mechanisms of drug incorporation and retention, novel analytical procedures (especially ones using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and alternative sample preparation techniques like solid-phase microextraction (SPME)), the determination of THC-COOH in hair samples, hair testing in drug-facilitated crimes, enantioselective hair testing procedures and the importance of hair analysis in clinical trials. Hair testing in analytical toxicology is still an area in need of further research.