Stability of plasma total cholesterol, triglycerides, and apolipoproteins B and A-I during the early postmortem period

The stability of plasma lipids and apolipoproteins during the early postmortem period was studied by taking four duplicate blood samples from eight cadavers 2, 6, 12, and 24 h after death. The bodies were kept at +4 degrees C. The plasma samples were analyzed for total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), apolipoprotein B (apo B), and apolipoprotein A-I (apo A-I). In TC, values rose by 6 and 11% in two cases, and in six cases diminished 3 to 15% during the first 6 h compared to values obtained 2 h postmortem. The greatest changes were a continuing rise in one case by 33% and a fall by 21% in another case during 24 h. In TG values marked changes took place including one case with a rise of 67% within 24 h. The concentrations of apo B rose by 9 to 11% in three cases and fell by 3 and 4% in two cases during 6 h, but during the whole study period a rise up to 78% occurred. In the concentrations of apo A-I, cases fell by as much as 42% in 6 h, and in one case rose by 20% during 6 h. The results indicate that unpredictable fluctuations occur in plasma lipid and apolipoprotein values within 24 h after death, and they should be interpreted cautiously if the samples have been taken after a prolonged postmortem period.     

Chloroquine as a poison in murder. Report of fatalities after criminal or suicidal chloroquine administration

Presented is a case of murder by means of chloroquine, committed on a 36-year-old male. The wife of the deceased had confessed to have secretely administered chloroquine-containing tablets to her husband. She was lawfully sentenced to life-imprisonment. The toxicological findings of this case are compared to the results of two chloroquine suicide cases and discussed in the context of the referring literature. An additional case where chloroquine intoxication was doubtful is introduced because of the unusual circumstances under which it occurred.     

Isoelectric focusing studies on the PGM1 subtypes in the northern Japanese population

The distribution of the human red cell phosphoglucomutase (PGM1) subtypes in samples from Japanese population (n = 277) living in the Miyagi Prefecture, the northern part of Japan, was investigated by applying the thinlayer polyacrylamide gel isoelectric focusing. In our population sample all the ten common phenotypes were demonstrated, and the estimated allele frequencies for the genes PGM1+1, PGM1-1, PGM2+1, and PGM2-1 were 0.671, 0.107, 0.161, and 0.061, respectively. Family studies (n = 40) indicated an autosomal codominant inheritance and confirmed the four alleles. The new system will increase the probability of exclusion in paternity cases among Japanese to 29.4% compared with 14.3% if the two allele system is used.     

The investigation of the density of human hair in the forensic medical expert assessment of its similarity

Principally new, simple and objective method for investigation of human hair density is suggested. Hair identity in relation to a concrete person can be confirmed or excluded by statistical processing of the results obtained.     

Hepatotoxicity of dichloromethane

We studied hepatotoxicity of dichloromethane using primary cultures of parenchymal cells (hepatocyte) from adult rat livers. The production of carbon monoxide from dichloromethane increased with time, the increased cell number, and the concentration of dichloromethane. However, the carbon monoxide production per hepatocyte decreased with increasing cell density. When dichloromethane was in a high concentration, the metabolism of dichloromethane to carbon monoxide was extensively depressed, total glutamic-oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) and mitochondrial GOT (m-GOT) levels in the cultured medium were extensively elevated, and the cultured hepatocytes were destroyed by dichloromethane. A case of accidental exposure to dichloromethane which occurred in Japan was also considered, and it is suspected that the inhalation of dichloromethane vapors in a high concentration for many hours may cause hepatotoxicity.     

Intoxication at home due to carbon monoxide production from gas water heaters

Forensic medicine has a role to play in the community not only when dealing with criminal cases. When the forensic scientist observes fatalities that could have been prevented, he has an obligation to respond with the purpose of preventative measures. In a short period in Copenhagen there were a number of fatalities due to the production of carbon monoxide from gas water heaters. The gas water heaters were in most cases malfunctioning due to sooted convectors and installed without a flue, but at the time of installation maintenance checks were not mandatory, and if carried out they were often unprofessional. It is emphasized that even with well functioning equipment, the danger of intoxication exists when using a heater without a flue over an extended period, if the apartment is thoroughly insulated. The oxygen will then be used in the combustion and CO produced. The symptoms are insidious and uncharacteristic. Examples are described where physicians have failed to diagnose the condition in patients in adjoining apartments. The authorities finally responded to the medical reports with new regulations and with a favourable result. The responsibility with regard to the control of technical installations in a technically advanced society is discussed.