Synthetic drugs for recreational purposes are in constant evolution, and their consumption promotes a significant increase in intoxication cases, resulting in damaging public health. The development of analytical methodologies to confirm the consumption of illicit drugs in biological matrices is required for the control of these substances. This work exploited the development of an extraction method based on homogenous liquid-liquid microextraction with switchable hydrophilicity solvent (SHS) as extraction phase for the determination of the synthetic drugs 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine and N-methoxybenzyl-methoxyphenylethylamine derivates (25B, 25C and 25I) in postmortem blood, followed by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry in tandem. The optimized sample preparation conditions consisted of using 250 µL of ZnSO4 10% and 50 µL of NaOH 1 mol/L in the protein precipitation step; N,N-dimethylcyclohexylamine was used as SHS, 650 μL of a mixture of SHS:HCl 6 mol/L (1:1 v/v), 500 μL of whole blood, 500 μL of NaOH 10 mol/L and 1 min of extraction time. The proposed method was validated, providing determination coefficients higher than 0.99 for all analytes; limit of detection and limit of quantitation ranged from 0.1 to 10 ng/mL; intra-run precision from 2.16% to 9.19%; inter-run precision from 2.39% to 9.59%; bias from 93.57% to 115.71% and matrix effects from 28.94% to 51.54%. The developed method was successfully applied to four authentic postmortem blood samples from synthetic drugs users, and it was found to be reliable with good selectivity.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jat/bkab100 | DOI Listing |
Int J Mol Sci
December 2024
Institute of Legal Medicine, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Magna Graecia University, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy.
Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are a leading cause of mortality and morbidity, particularly in forensic settings where determining the cause of death and timing of injury is critical. Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), a biomarker specific to astrocytes, has emerged as a valuable tool in post-mortem analyses of TBI. A PRISMA-based literature search included studies examining GFAP in human post-mortem samples such as brain tissue, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), serum, and urine.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Mol Sci
December 2024
Institute of Legal Medicine, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, "Magna Graecia" University, 88100 Catanzaro, Italy.
Postmortem diagnosis of myocardial ischemia remains a challenge in forensic pathology, as traditional methods like autopsy and histology may not always provide conclusive results. Cardiac troponins, specifically cTnI and cTnT, are well-established biomarkers for myocardial injury in living patients, but their role in postmortem ischemia diagnosis is still under investigation. This systematic review aims to evaluate the role of troponins in diagnosing myocardial ischemia in postmortem cases, focusing on the diagnostic accuracy, sample types, and the influence of the postmortem interval (PMI).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFQJM
January 2025
Medical Genetic Center, Guangdong Women and Children Hospital, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510010, China.
Background: ALG8-congenital disorder of glycosylation (ALG8-CDG) is a rare inherited metabolic disorder leading to severe multisystem manifestations, with no reported prenatal patients to date.
Methods: We describe two fetuses from a single family with ALG8-CDG presenting with prenatal hydrops, undergoing comprehensive prenatal ultrasound, umbilical cord blood biochemistry, autopsy, placental pathology, and genetic testing.
Results: Prenatal ultrasound revealed fetal hydrops, skeletal anomalies, cardiac developmental abnormalities, cataracts, echogenic kidneys and bowel, oligohydramnios, choroid plexus cysts, and intrauterine growth restriction.
Cells
December 2024
Institute of Anaesthesiologic Pathophysiology and Process Development, University Hospital Ulm, Helmholtzstrasse 8/1, 89081 Ulm, Germany.
Fluids Barriers CNS
January 2025
Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, 760 Press Ave, 124 HKRB, Lexington, KY, 40536-0679, USA.
Background: Blood-brain barrier dysfunction is one characteristic of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and is recognized as both a cause and consequence of the pathological cascade leading to cognitive decline. The goal of this study was to assess markers for barrier dysfunction in postmortem tissue samples from research participants who were either cognitively normal individuals (CNI) or diagnosed with AD at the time of autopsy and determine to what extent these markers are associated with AD neuropathologic changes (ADNC) and cognitive impairment.
Methods: We used postmortem brain tissue and plasma samples from 19 participants: 9 CNI and 10 AD dementia patients who had come to autopsy from the University of Kentucky AD Research Center (UK-ADRC) community-based cohort; all cases with dementia had confirmed severe ADNC.
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