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Objective:In our study, we aimed to determine the accompanying cardiac pathologies and accompanying findings in other organs in the cases of giant cell myocarditis.Methods:The histopathology reports of the autopsied cases between 2011 and 2020 were reviewed. Cases diagnosed with myocarditis were evaluated retrospectively according to their histopathological pattern. According to the histopathological pattern, it was divided into subgroups as neutrophilic, lymphocytic, lymphohistiocytic, eosinophilic, myocarditis accompanied by granulomas, and giant cell myocarditis. Age and gender distribution, death patterns, autopsy findings, concomitant cardiac pathologies, and histopathological findings in other organs of the cases diagnosed with giant cell myocarditis were evaluated retrospectively.Results:Between 2011 and 2020, 558 of 49,612 autopsies performed in Morgue Department of the Council of Forensic Medicine were diagnosed as myocarditis in the histopathological examination. 1.02% (n=6) were giant cell myocarditis. Three of the cases with giant cell myocarditis were male and three were female. Histopathological findings were similar in all cases diagnosed with giant cell myocarditis. The mean age was found to be 55.66 (31-80). Heart weight ranged from 433-740 gram. Mononuclear cells, polymorphonuclear leukocytes and, eosinophils accompanying giant cells were seen in the inflammatory infiltrate with necrosis. On macroscopic examination, variegated discoloration and scarring on the ventricular wall was the most common finding. Giant cell myocarditis resulted was the cause of death in four cases. Lobular pneumonia was observed in the lungs in two cases. One case had acalculous cholecystitis.Conclusion:Autopsy and histopathological diagnosis in sudden and unexpected deaths gain importance to diagnose giant cell myocarditis.

Objective:It is aimed to reveal the demographic characteristics of patients who died due to non-traumatic aortic dissection, the findings that will increase the risk of aneurysm and dissection, and the complications that develop after dissection, in the light of histopathological findings.Methods:One hundred thirty-eight cases diagnosed with non-traumatic aortic dissection, whose autopsies were performed in Council of Forensic Medicine Morgue Department between 2014 and 2018, were retrospectively analyzed. Age and gender distribution, body mass index, distribution of dissection types, complications that may develop after dissection in organs, and histopathological changes in the aortic wall were evaluated.Results:Cardiac tamponade was detected in 67.4% (n=93) of the cases, tamponade and hemothorax in 15.9% (n=22) and hemothorax in 11.6% (n=16). 5.1% (n=7) had a bicuspid aortic valve. 28.2% (n=39) had atherosclerosis, 21.7% (n=30) had elastic degeneration, and 10.8% (n=15) had cystic medial necrosis. In 55.8% (n=77), pathological changes in the vessel wall were not reported. There was widespread intraalveolar bleeding in 34.8% (n=48) and focal intraalveolar hemorrhage in 6.5% (n=9). When cardiac findings were examined, myocardial infarction was observed in 2.2% (n=3).Conclusion:In cases of aortic dissection, a detailed macroscopic and microscopic examination should be performed together with the clinical history. Histopathological examination of the dissected area is important in demonstrating the underlying factors. Histopathological findings in the organs may be useful in predicting the complications of the disease. Autopsy has a critical importance not only in recognizing and understanding the disease, but also in determining the treatment methods to be applied for the disease.

Amaç: Resveratrol, ilk olarak 1940 yılında Melanthiaceae (Dokuztepegiller) familyasında yer alan bitkinin köklerinden izole edilmiştir. Bitkilerde özellikle kırmızı üzüm, yer fıstığı, ananas, dut ve yaban mersininde yüksek konsantrasyonda bulunmaktadır. Resveratrol (3,5,4'-trihidroksistilben) antioksidan, antifungal, antibakteriyel, anti-inflamatuar, anti-proliferatif etkilerin yanında çeşitli biyokimyasal etkilere sahip doğal bir polifenoldür. Bitkiler tarafından mikrobik, fungal ve fiziksel uyaranlara karşı üretilen antimikrobiyel ve antifungal etkili bir bileşik yani fitoaleksindir. Bu çalışmada Polygonum Cuspidatum kökünden elde edilen resveratrolün bazı mikrobik ve fungal insan enfeksiyonları üzerindeki çoğalmayı azaltıcı veya durdurucu etkisi olup olmadığı araştırılmıştır. Yöntem: Bu çalışmada Candida albicans, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ve Staphylococcus aureus mikroorganizmaları kullanılmıştır. Çalışmada kullanılan mikroorganizmaların her biri üremeleri için uygun besiyerlerine ekilmiştir. Her bir mikroorganizma biri normal şartlarda (resveratrol içermeyen) diğerleri ise 1/4 ve 1/1 dilüsyon oranlarında resveratrol içeren besiyerlerine ekilmiş ve organizmaların üremeleri için belirli sürelerde inkübasyona bırakılmıştır. Bulgular: Bu süre sonunda resveratrol içermeyen besiyerinde Staphylococcus aureus'un beta hemoliz ve üremesi saptanırken, 1/1 ve 1/4 dilüsyonlu resveratrol içeren %5 koyun kanlı besiyerinde beta hemoliz yapma yeteneği kaybolmuş olup 1/1 ve 1/4 dilüsyonlu resveratrol içeren Mueller Hinton besiyerinde üremesi inhibe olmuştur. Resveratrol içermeyen ve içeren (1/1 ve 1/4 dilüsyonlu) besiyerlerinde Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ve Candida albicans mikroorganizmalarının üremelerinde değişiklik saptanmamıştır. Sonuç: Resveratrolün gram pozitif bakteriler üzerindeki etkilerinin yanında çeşitli antibiyotikler ve dezenfektanlar ile kombine edilerek tedavi edici ve koruyucu etkinliği yeni yapılacak çalışmalarla değerlendirilebilir.

Sarcina ventriculi is a gram-positive anaerobic coccus with characteristic tetrad morphology. Sarcina ventriculiis identified by light microscopy with features of basophilic staining, cuboidal shape, tetrad morphology, and refractile nature. There have been very few case reports of Sarcina ventriculi reported in the literature. We present a case of a 53-year-old male, with gastric ulcer perforation where peritonitis was incidentally found to harbor Sarcina ventriculi in postmortem histopathological examination. Most of the cases exhibit abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and delayed gastric emptying. It has also fatal life-threatening complications, such as gastric perforation and emphysematous gastritis. The histopathological examination has a key role for identification of the bacteria. The pathologist must always keep it in mind these bacteria as a cause of gastric ulcer perforation in the differential diagnosis. We want to present a case of a 53-year-old male gastric ulcer perforation who was found dead in his bed.

Pneumocystis jiroveci is the most common and serious opportunistic infection in acquired immune deficiency syndrome patients. It is detected in approximately 80% of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected individuals. In this paper, we present a case of pneumocystic jiroveci pneumonia in a 32-year-old HIV-infected patient who committed suicide. We also present histopathological findings in the lung and aim to draw attention to suicidal tendency in HIV-infected individuals.

Background: Human bocavirus (HBoV) is a virus belonging to the Parvoviridae family, which has been newly discovered to be associated with respiratory tract infections in children. There are many reports worldwide on the endemicity of this virus. Since it is relatively new, it is not routinely detected in clinical laboratory investigations. Case Report: We demonstrated that HBoV infection caused the death of a 5-month-old girl with a history of high fever and wheezing. Human bocavirus (HBoV 1/2/3/4) was found in a nasopharyngeal swab, paraffin-embedded lung tissue and stool samples by multiplex PCR methods using postmortem microbiological analysis. Conclusion: This case suggests that lower respiratory tract infections due to HBoV may cause severe and life-threatening diseases. Postmortem microbiology is useful in both clinical and forensic autopsies, and allows a suspected infection to be confirmed. To our knowledge, this report is the first document of a HBoV postmortem case in Turkey.

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Enterococcus species rarely cause bacterial meningitis without predisposing factors such as trauma, brain surgery, etc. In this study, we present a bacterial meningitis case caused by Enterococcus faecalis (E. faecalis) in a 13-year-old male who was found dead at home. One hundred and forty two cm tall, 37 kg weight male had admitted to hospital two days after the beginning of complaints such as weakness, headache, swelling of left eye, nausea and vomiting. Body temperature was 37.3 oC, leucocyte count 22100/ mm3, and CRP 71 g/dl at the hospital admission. Antibiotic treatment with amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (625 mg) was given to the patient but he was found dead in his house the day after. In autopsy; yellow-green purulant liquid in left frontoparietal zone, fullness of meningeal vessels and oedema was seen in brain. Isolated bacteria in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was identificated as E. faecalis by mini API 32 Strep®. Postmortem microbiological sampling in autopsy and defining etiologic agents is important for rare meningitis cases in which antemortem identification could not be done before death.

Background and aims: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is a growing global epidemic in Türkiye and worldwide. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and predictors of MASLD and steatohepatitis among adults who died of unnatural causes including sudden death and non-burn trauma. Method: We conducted a prospective review of all consecutive adult forensic autopsies for natural (sudden unexpected) and non-natural (Suicidal, homicidal and accidental) suspicious deaths carried out at the Istanbul Council of Forensic Medicine from February to May 2022. Four wedge biopsies were extracted from sagittal sectioned liver specimens. A liver pathologist with 20 years of experience examined each case for steatosis, ballooning, inflammation, and fibrosis. Results: Among 1797 autopsies, 62 met inclusion criteria. Overall, 43.3 % (n = 26) of autopsies showed evidence of steatotic liver disease, with a distribution of steatosis severity as: Grade I (28.3 %), Grade II (6.6 %), and Grade III (8.3 %). All these cases met at least one cardiometabolic criteria and diagnosed with MASLD. Ballooning was observed in 20.0 % of cases (5 cases grades 1 and 7 cases grade 2), and Inflammation was present in 51.7 % (9 cases with grade 0–1, 12 with 1–2, 7 with 2–3, and 3 with 5–6). Notably, 46.1 % (n = 12) of MASLD cases and 20.0 % (n = 12) of all cases were diagnosed with steatohepatitis, with three cases exhibiting delicate perisinusoidal fibrosis and one case showing portal fibrosis. Conclusion: The histopathological findings from this autopsy study confirmed the markedly high prevalence of MASLD and steatohepatitis within the general adult population, highlighting the concerning burden of steatotic liver disease in Türkiye.

Phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) is known as phenylthiourea and it is an organic compound that has the phenyl ring. Ability to perceive the tastes of PTC chemical is related to the dominance of taste genes. There are a large number of population studies regarding the PTC taste perception and different personal characteristics or disease conditions. The purpose of this study is to reveal and compare the relation between the PTC taste perception and work-out habits, smoking, alcohol consumption and tendency to the depression of people. A total of 2500 adults were volunteered to be included in this study. PTC taste perception was measured by tasting with PTC solution (10 mg/L) filtered in a paper. It showed that tasters were significantly more frequent (81.8%) than nontasters (18.2%) in all population. And in some parameters analyzed in this study, there are significant differences. The taste genetics show up with environmental factors and create the sense of taste, which develops the feeding behaviors. The taste perception resulting from food and beverages diversifies by genetic and environmental effects and the nervous system interprets this perception. This study is enlightening in terms of presenting that the taste perception of people affects their lifestyles and lead them to start and either continue or discontinue some habits.