Skeletal tissues from a domestic pig exposed to amitriptyline, diazepam, and pentobarbital were analyzed to determine the relative distribution of these drugs in bone. Following drug exposure and euthanasia, remains were allowed to decompose outdoors to complete skeletonization between summer 2007 and fall 2009. Remains were recovered and separated according to bone type. Twelve different bone types were pulverized and sampled in triplicate. Each bone sample underwent methanolic extraction (96 h, 50 °C), followed by solid-phase extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in the selected ion monitoring mode. Mass-normalized assay responses underwent ANOVA with post-hoc testing, revealing bone type as a main effect for all three drugs, but not for the diazepam metabolite (nordiazepam). The assay response varied with respect to bone type by factors of 27, 39, and 20 for pentobarbital, diazepam, and amitriptyline, respectively. The relative distribution between bone type was qualitatively similar for the three administered drugs analyzed for, with the largest response obtained from rib for all three drugs. This is the first study, to the authors' knowledge, of the distribution of different drugs in various decomposed skeletal tissues in a controlled experiment using an animal model of comparable physiology to humans. These data have implications for the interpretive value of forensic drug measurements in skeletal tissues.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jat/34.8.510 | DOI Listing |
BMC Health Serv Res
January 2025
AO Alliance, Stiftung, Switzerland.
Background: In low and middle-income countries like Ghana, out-of-pocket (OOP) payments remain a significant barrier to healthcare access, often leading to catastrophic health expenditures (CHE). This study evaluates the incidence of CHE among patients treated for long bone fractures at Ghana's major teaching hospitals, providing insight into the economic burdens faced by these patients.
Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed data from 2,980 patients with long bone fractures treated at four major teaching hospitals in Ghana from July 2017 to July 2020.
Neurosurg Rev
January 2025
Department of Neurological Sciences, Christian Medical College Vellore- Ranipet Campus Vellore, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, 632517, India.
To describe the distribution of jugular bulb position and pneumatization of posterior lip of internal auditory meatus (IAM) in patients with vestibular schwannoma (VS). This retrospective study included 43 patients who had a thin slice (< 2 mm) CT temporal bone for preoperative planning of retrosigmoid approach for excision of VS between March 2011 and March 2021. On computed tomography (CT), high riding jugular bulb was defined by its relationship to IAM and correlated with type of jugular bulb according to Manjila et al.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Rep
January 2025
Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, 24061-0910, USA.
Sepsis is a leading cause of death worldwide, with most patient mortality stemming from lingering immunosuppression in sepsis survivors. This is due in part to immune dysfunction resulting from monocyte exhaustion, a phenotype of reduced antigen presentation, altered CD14/CD16 inflammatory subtypes, and disrupted cytokine production. Whereas previous research demonstrated improved sepsis survival in Ticam2 mice, the contribution of TICAM2 to long-term exhaustion memory remained unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Commun
January 2025
Interfakultäres Institut für Biochemie, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
A balanced activity of cGMP signaling contributes to the maintenance of cardiovascular homeostasis. Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) can generate cGMP via three ligand-activated guanylyl cyclases, the NO-sensitive guanylyl cyclase, the atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP)-activated GC-A, and the C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP)-stimulated GC-B. Here, we study natriuretic peptide signaling in murine VSMCs and atherosclerotic lesions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAm J Pathol
January 2025
Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606; Molecular, Cellular & Integrative Physiology Program, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606; Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095. Electronic address:
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a lethal, muscle-wasting, genetic disease that is greatly amplified by an immune response to the diseased muscles. The mdx mouse model of DMD was used to test whether the pathology can be reduced by treatments with a CTLA4-Ig fusion protein that blocks costimulatory signals required for activation of T-cells. CTLA4-Ig treatments reduced mdx sarcolemma lesions and reduced the numbers of activated T-cells, macrophages and antigen presenting cells in mdx muscle and reduced macrophage invasion into muscle fibers.
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