Forensic science, medicine, and pathology
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Forensic Sci Med Pathol · Jan 2008
Case ReportsFatal bupropion overdose with post mortem blood concentrations.
We report five cases of fatal bupropion overdose with post mortem bupropion concentrations ranging from 3.1 to >20 mg/L. Four patients had ingested a sustained-release formulation of bupropion and had evidence of pill "bodies" in their stomach with significantly elevated blood bupropion concentrations. The pills found in these patients may represent the residual matrix/shell with significant portions of the actual bupropion released and absorbed by the patients.
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Forensic Sci Med Pathol · Jan 2008
Postmortem serum nitrogen compounds and C-reactive protein levels with special regard to investigation of fatal hyperthermia.
The present study analyzed serum levels of urea nitrogen (UN), creatinine (Cr), and C-reactive protein (CRP), which are very stable during the early postmortem period, for investigation of the cause of death with special regard to hyperthermia (heat stroke) in serial medico-legal autopsy cases (n = 429), excluding fatal injury, intoxication, and fire fatality. In this series, mechanical asphyxiation, drowning, and sudden cardiac death cases (n = 56, n = 43, and n = 212, respectively) usually showed low levels within postmortem reference ranges for these serum markers, although UN and CRP levels were mildly elevated in cases of sudden cardiac death and cerebrovascular stroke. ⋯ However, hyperthermia cases showed an isolated elevation in the serum Cr level, suggesting an influence of systemic skeletal muscle damage. These serum markers may be practically useful for postmortem investigation of death due to hyperthermia (heat stroke), for which specific pathological and toxicological evidence may not be available.
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Forensic Sci Med Pathol · Jan 2008
Historical ArticleUniversity Institute of Legal Medicine in Berlin celebrates its 175th anniversary.
The University Institute of Legal Medicine of the University Hospital Charité in Berlin is the oldest faculty in Germany. On February 11, 1833 it was founded as a "Praktische Unterrichtsanstalt für Staatsarzneikunde (Practice-oriented School of Public Health and Medicine)" at the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität (founded in 1810) and in 1886 it received its own building in Berlin-Mitte. ⋯ Regardless of the accepted scientific achievements, the institute fell victim to the Berlin policy of austerity after 2003 leading to staff reduction and the closure of the historical location. Since the new appointment to the chair in 2007 and the junction of the subject in Berlin-Moabit there is now the chance for a new impetus of forensic medicine in the German capital.