Mechanism of formation of spinal injuries

It was stipulated that in medicolegal examination of deaths due to mechanical trauma accompanied by vertebral column separation it is necessary to investigate the surface of separation, which as a rule passes along the verge of the osseous and cartilagnous locking laminae. At the initial stage of avulsion a fragment of osseous lamina of the adjacent vertebral corpus remains fixed to cartilaginous lamina. Taking into account the localization of this fragment one may judge upon the direction of spine flexure.     

Orosomucoid (ORM) typing by isoelectric focusing: description of two new alleles in a German population and thermostability in bloodstains

The genetic polymorphism of serum orosomucoid (ORM) was studied in 168 unrelated German individuals using isoelectric focusing followed by immunoprinting. Two new alleles, tentatively designated ORM1*14 and ORM2*13, were identified. The method was successfully applied to demonstrate ORM1 types in dried bloodstains. Each type of ORM1 was also correctly determined in bloodstains heated at 130 degrees C for 30 min. The results indicated that ORM1 is a new powerful genetic marker system for the grouping of bloodstains.     

Fatal intoxication by Remoxipride

The case history and toxicologic findings of a 23-year-old woman who committed suicide with Remoxipride are described. Remoxipride is a recently developed neuroleptic drug of the benzamide type. Remoxipride was detected in the liver, stomach content, blood, and urine. The concentration of Remoxipride in the blood was 230 mg/L. The recommended therapeutic level for Remoxipride should not exceed 7 to 8 mg/L. The victim had no blood alcohol, but an ethanol concentration of 0.048 g/100 L was detected in the urine. The mechanism of death from Remoxipride intoxication is not known. In clinical studies, sinus bradycardia and infrequent supraventricular and ventricular ectopic beats have been noted.     

ABH and Lewis antigens of tracheal glands. II. Lewis negative individuals

Immunocytochemical studies were performed on tracheal wall samples embedded in paraffin; the samples were taken at 23 autopsies. In all cases, the red cells had been typed in postmortem serological studies as being Le(a-b-). Blood-group antigens were demonstrated by the indirect immunoperoxidase technique, using monoclonal Anti-A, Anti-B, Anti-Lea and Anti-Leb; H was detected by UEA 1. The secretor characteristics could clearly be diagnosed from the ABH staining pattern of the mucous glands. In 11 cases, the lewis antigen labeling patterns were identical to the group of Lewis-positive individuals. It seems probable, from the statistical point of view, that these 11 individuals were, in fact, Lewis-positive and that the negative serology resulted from deterioration of the cadaver blood samples. The immunocytochemistry was quite different in the remaining 12 cases: (a) secretors (n = 9) were completely negative for Lea, Leb was equally negative in one case, but in the remainder it was detectable within mucous epithelia in minimal amounts and in an atypical granular distribution; (b) nonsecretors (n = 3) reversely exhibited complete negativity for Leb but a minimal staining for Lea. These findings are in harmony with the well established Lewis serology typing of secretions in Lewis negative individuals. Thus, a minimal Lewis antigen biosynthesis and secretion seem to occur in the absence of the Le gene: A alpha-4-L-fucosyltransferase of low activity might be the product of the allele le.     

Tetrahydrocannabinols in hair of hashish smokers

The study investigates the presence of tetrahydrocannabinols in the head hair and the pubic and axillary hair. The hair samples were obtained from hashish smokers. The concentrations were determined by radioimmunoassay and reflect total tetrahydrocannabinols and metabolites. The values found ranged from 0.4 ng/mg hair up to 3.8 ng/mg hair. The presence of the drug in the hair samples was also demonstrated by GC/MS.