[Homicide by hypothermia].

Death due to hypothermia is normally accidental. Homicides by hypothermia are rare and have been observed especially in cases of abandonment of newborns as a method of infanticide and formerly in criminal experiments on humans in the Dachau concentration camp. 3 deaths due to hypothermia are reported, among them two cases of homicide.

The role of an independent and interdisciplinary assessment of research studies with human subjects in Europe and worldwide.

The author reviews the history of human experimentation beginning as documented by holes in human sculls 6000 years before, addressing the first controlled experiments by James Lind and Edward Jenner in the 18th century and ending with the inhuman experiments in Nazi Camps and the Tuskegee case in Alabama in the 20th century. Resting on the Declaration of Helsinki, quite a number of declarations, scientific, national and international guidelines was issued since aiming at enhancing medical research as well as protecting the subjects from harm. Now a dense ethical, legal, scientific and social network exists for investigator initiated and commercial trials for a rich market of the Pharmaceutical Industry.

Unassisted childbirth or homicide--different appraisals of severe injuries in a newborn.

A case of a 24-year-old woman who gave birth to a mature newborn is reported. Many injuries at the head, neck and shoulders, back, mouth and throat which at least partly indicated unassisted childbirth were observed during autopsy. Some injuries, especially the different scull fractures were discussed controversially on trial.

[Self-deliverance or infanticide?].

Self-deliverance by a woman in labour is nowadays a very rare event. The authors report the case of a 24-year-old primipara and a newborn of 49 cm length and 2484 g body weight with a complex pattern of injuries on the head, neck, shoulder and back who had breathed for at least 15 to 30 minutes after birth and died from massive craniocerebral trauma and lesions in the oral and cervical region. As one of the experts considered it possible that the skull fractures were exclusively due to the self-deliverance, the woman was acquitted of the charge of manslaughter.

Comparative analysis of short tandem repeats and single nucleotide polymorphisms on the Y-chromosome in Germans, Chinese and Thais.

We have typed genomic DNA samples from 95 individuals from Western Germany, 78 individuals from Bangkok/Thailand and 56 individuals from Chengdu/China for 11 Y-chromosomal diallelic polymorphisms and eight short tandem repeat (STR) systems. For single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis, a rapid method was applied using the single base extension technology (minisequencing) in combination with capillary electrophoresis. PCR products for SRY-8299, Tat, SRY2627, 92R7, SRY1532, M9, M13, M17/M19 and M20 were pooled and used as templates for the commercially available SNaPshot kit.

A proposal for an anonymous living organ donation in Germany.

In Germany, living organ donation of paired and usually not regenerating organs is restricted by law to related individuals, as well as persons who 'obviously entertain an especially intimate personal relationship'. When this law was adopted in 1997, the intention of the legislator was to guarantee the free will of the donor and to exclude any trade of organs. Since then the transplantation of cadaveric organs has not increased.

Expert witness in paternity testing in Germany.

In Germany, paternity testing can be ordered by a judge as well as by private persons. In the case of private counselling, the expert has the duty to inform the parties on all medical, legal and ethical aspects. Informed consent must be given by each individual included in an exploration of family relationships.

Differential genetic determination of immune responsiveness to hepatitis B surface antigen and to hepatitis A virus: a vaccination study in twins.

Background: The course of viral hepatitis is thought to be affected by genetic host variability and, in particular, by genes of the major histocompatibility locus. Hepatitis A and B vaccination is a useful model to study the effect of host factors on the immune response to viral antigens. We aimed to assess the heritability of the HBsAg (anti-HBs) and anti-hepatitis A virus (anti-HAV) immune response and to estimate the effect of the HLA-DRB1 locus and other genetic loci unlinked to HLA.

C4A deficiency and nonresponse to hepatitis B vaccination.

Background/aims: Hepatitis B vaccination failure has been linked to the presence of certain human leukocyte antigen class II alleles. However, the functional background of these associations has remained unclear. Complement component C 4 is encoded within the major histocompatibility complex and is essential for classical pathway activation.