A case of drug-facilitated sexual assault involving 3,4-methylenedioxy-methylamphetamine.

Typical scenarios of drug-facilitated sexual assaults usually involve victims having ingested a drink after which they had little, partial or no recollection of events for a period of time. We were surprised by the case of a woman who was sexually assaulted and described a state of amazement, leading to an incapacity to resist physically or verbally to her aggressor, and who remembered everything. Alcohol was first suspected but toxicological analysis revealed the presence of 3,4-methylene-dioxy-methylamphetamine (MDMA, Ecstasy).

Methadone-related deaths in Montpellier and Region, from 2000 to 2010.

Purpose: The objectives of this analysis were to assess the role of methadone and related substances in death occurring, discussing methadone blood concentrations and the contribution of the autopsy to the accountability of methadone in the death process.

Method: We retrospectively analyzed all forensic cases positive for methadone from January 2000 to December 2010, in Montpellier and the region served by our laboratory.

Results: During the study period, 64 cases of deaths (11 women, 53 men) with methadone detection were recorded.

Distribution of ibogaine and noribogaine in a man following a poisoning involving root bark of the Tabernanthe iboga shrub.

In the present paper, we report for the first time the tissue distribution of ibogaine and noribogaine, the main metabolite of ibogaine, in a 48-year-old Caucasian male, with a history of drug abuse, found dead at his home after a poisoning involving the ingestion of root bark from the shrub Tabernanthe iboga. Ibogaine and noribogaine were quantified in tissues and fluids using a fully validated liquid chromatography-electrospray mass spectrometry method. Apart from cardiac tissue, ibogaine and noribogaine were identified in all matrices investigated.

Liquid chromatography-electrospray mass spectrometry determination of ibogaine and noribogaine in human plasma and whole blood. Application to a poisoning involving Tabernanthe iboga root.

A liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS) method was developed for the first time for the determination of ibogaine and noribogaine in human plasma and whole blood. The method involved solid phase extraction of the compounds and the internal standard (fluorescein) from the two matrices using OasisHLB columns. LC separation was performed on a Zorbax eclipse XD8 C8 column (5 microm) with a mobile phase of acetonitrile containing 0.

Liquid chromatography-electrospray mass spectrometry determination of free and total concentrations of ropivacaine in human plasma.

A specific and sensitive liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS) method was developed for the determination of free and total ropivacaine in human plasma. The work-up procedure involved a simple precipitation of plasma proteins with methanol. Etidocaine served as the internal standard.