Free fatty acids as markers of death from hypothermia.

The possibilities of using morphological markers of fatal hypothermia are limited; therefore, other diagnostic criteria of deaths from hypothermia are being researched. The initiation of protective mechanisms against adverse effects of low temperatures results in activation of hormonal systems and development of characteristic biochemical changes that can be impaired by alcohol intoxication. The aim of the study was to assess the usefulness of determinations of the profile of free fatty acid concentrations as potential markers of hypothermia-related deaths, particularly in intoxicated victims.

Glucocorticosteroids as markers of death from hypothermia.

In the course of hypothermia, biochemical changes occur that are associated with stimulation of protective thermogenic mechanisms as well as mobilization of internal energy resources mediated by the hormone system. The objective of the investigation was the assessment of validity of determinations of cortisol, cortisone and corticosterone as hypothermia markers in cases of fatal hypothermia combined with concomitant insobriety of the victims. The experimental group consisted of blood samples collected in the course of medico-legal autopsies of 23 hypothermia victims.

Low dose of bupropion significantly enhances the anticonvulsant activity of felbamate, lamotrigine and topiramate in mice.

Experimental evidence indicates that bupropion hydrochloride, an antidepressant and a first-line smoking cessation aid, exerts dose-dependently anticonvulsant and convulsant effects. In this study, chronic bupropion pretreatment intraperitoneally (i.p.

[Diagnostic usefulness of the beta-hydroxybutyrate/acetone ratio in medico-legal diagnostics of sudden deaths].

Our previous studies demonstrated the usefulness of screening determinations of acetone as an initial diagnostic criterion in deaths due to hypothermia, alcoholic ketoacidosis, diabetes mellitus, starvation and some poisonings. In alcoholemia, particularly in cases of prolonged ethanol consumption, the above-mentioned conditions may not result in acetonemia, despite marked concentrations of beta-hydroxybutyrate acid (beta-HBA). Therefore, for the purpose of the present study, the method of beta-HBA determination was modified using GC-MS-EI and applied to analyze 47 autopsy blood samples of individuals who died suddenly due to unknown causes.