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Background: The weight of human brains is subject of numerous scientific research studies particularly in anatomy, pathology, and forensic medicine. Just a few investigations deal with a possible correlation between psychiatric disorders, especially suicidality, and brain weight. The results are contradictory., Aims: This study aims to find out if postmortem brain weight is higher in suicide victims considering the discrepancies of previous studies., Method: In a retrospective study, the weight of brains obtained by autopsies performed in the Institute of Legal Medicine in Frankfurt, Germany, was evaluated. Data of 99 suicide cases (64 males, 35 females) were compared with those obtained from similar number cases of sudden death in a matched pair analysis. In each case, body weight, height, and body mass index were also taken into account., Results: No significant differences in brain weight were found in suicide victims compared to those of the control group., Conclusions: The brain weight depends on various parameters such as gender, age, body height, and weight. The selection criteria for suicide cases as well as for the corresponding control population are essential in evaluating the brain weight in suicide.

Background: In international epidemiological studies, associations between suicides and body height, or body mass index (BMI) were found. Because of the recently growing number of suicides in Germany, a closer look on different anthropometric measures of suicide victims autopsied at the Institute of Forensic Medicine of the Goethe-University in Frankfurt/Main, Germany, was taken., Method: A retrospective analysis of 1,271 non-natural death cases autopsied between 2006 and 2010 was performed. A total of 566 other than suicide (control group) and 245 suicide cases (study group) with a given body height and weight aged between 18 and 96 years were examined., Results: Body mass indices of the 18-59-year-old male and 60-79-year-old female suicide victims were significantly lower. Old-aged women who committed suicide exhibited beside a significant lower body mass a significantly slender body shape measured as smaller pelvic circumference, waist circumference, and waist-to-tallness ratio. Self-poisoning was by far the leading suicide method in both genders. The victims of the suicide method hanging were the youngest on average, and this method was most common in the male underweight and female lightly normal weight BMI categories, whereas old, overweight, and obese men killed themselves predominantly with firearms., Conclusion: The analysis showed that body measures of suicide cases in comparison to other non-natural death circumstance cases differ. For criminal procedural reasons, all suicide cases should be autopsied. But high autopsy rates are also needed for scientific research and to ensure a high level of patient safety.

Accidents constitute one of the greatest risks to children, yet there are few medical reports that discuss the subject of accidental asphyxia. However, a systematic analysis of all documented cases in Germany over the years 2000-2008 has now been conducted, aiming at identifying patterns of accidental asphyxia, deducing findings, defining avoidance measures and recommending ways of increasing product safety and taking possible precautions. The analysis is based on a detailed retrospective analysis of all 91 relevant autopsy reports from 24 different German forensic institutes. A variety of demographic and morphological data was systematically collected and analysed. In 84 of the 91 cases, the sex of the victim was reported, resulting in a total of 57 boys (68 %) and 27 girls (32 %). The age spread ranged between 1 day and 14 years, with an average of 5.9 years. Most accidents occurred in the first year of life (20 %) or between the ages of 1 and 2 years (13 %). In 46 % of cases, the cause of death was strangulation, with the majority occurring in the home environment. In 31 % of all cases, the cause of death was positional asphyxia, the majority resulting from chest compression. In 23 % of cases, the cause of death was aspiration, mainly of foreign bodies. Today, accidental asphyxiation is a rare cause of death in children in Germany. Nevertheless, the majority of cases could have been avoided. Future incidence can be reduced by implementing two major precautions: increasing product safety and educating parents of potentially fatal risks. Specific recommendations relate to children's beds, toys and food.