Endogenous Gamma-Hydroxybutyrate in Postmortem Samples.

Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) is a naturally occurring molecule present in the human body as a catabolite of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyrate (GABA). In the USA, GHB has a history of being manufactured illicitly and abused, with misguided proposed benefits for the body-building community and a persistent party drug with reported GHB overdoses occurring worldwide. The interpretation of GHB in postmortem biological fluids is complicated by the endogenous nature of the molecule.

Determination of Specific Absorbance (A¦) for Six Psychoactive Drugs Encountered in Forensic Toxicology.

Specific absorbance (A¦) is defined as the maximum absorbance of a 1% solution over a 1-cm path length measured via spectroscopy. Finding a reliable value for specific absorbance for a drug provides an important tool for the quantitative verification of concentration of analytical standards. Although many new drugs have emerged within the last ten years, many either do not have a reliable value for A¦, or a value simply has never been published.

Validation of the i-STAT®1 Analyzer for Postmortem Vitreous Humor Electrolytes and Glucose Analysis.

The analytical value of vitreous humor as a specimen in postmortem forensic toxicology has been known for some time. Numerous medical examiner laboratories outsource the analysis of this important specimen for electrolyte and glucose measurements. This can be both time-consuming and costly.

The expression of kainate receptor subunits in hippocampal astrocytes after experimentally induced status epilepticus.

Astrocytes have emerged as active participants of synaptic transmission and are increasingly implicated in neurologic disorders including epilepsy. Adult glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)-positive hippocampal astrocytes are not known for ionotropic glutamate receptor expression under basal conditions. Using a chemoconvulsive status epilepticus (SE) model of temporal lobe epilepsy, we show by immunohistochemistry and colocalization analysis that reactive hippocampal astrocytes express kainate receptor (KAR) subunits after SE.