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Cocaine postmortem distribution in three brain structures: a comparison with whole blood and vitreous humour.
- Source :
-
Journal of forensic and legal medicine [J Forensic Leg Med] 2013 Apr; Vol. 20 (3), pp. 143-5. Date of Electronic Publication: 2012 Jul 12. - Publication Year :
- 2013
-
Abstract
- The presence of cocaine (COC) in fluids or tissues does not prove that death was due to drug consumption and the interpretation of postmortem concentrations is more complex than attempts at making such correlations in the living. The purpose of this study was to investigate the distribution of cocaine and its metabolite benzoylecgonine in brain and compare with whole blood and vitreous humour. The distribution in three brain structures (prefrontal cortex, basal ganglia and cerebellum) was homogeneous. There is a strong correlation for cocaine concentrations between vitreous humour and brain, vitreous humour and whole blood, and whole blood and brain in overdose cases. In addition, the comparison of COC/benzoylecgonine (BE) ratios in different experimental specimens proved to be more appropriate for evaluating cocaine-related death than individual drug values. These findings suggest that the comparison of cocaine levels in different compartments is essential to assess the cause of death.<br /> (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd and Faculty of Forensic and Legal Medicine. All rights reserved.)
- Subjects :
- Adolescent
Adult
Analysis of Variance
Cocaine analogs & derivatives
Cocaine pharmacokinetics
Drug Overdose
Female
Forensic Toxicology
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Narcotics pharmacokinetics
Postmortem Changes
Young Adult
Basal Ganglia chemistry
Cerebellum chemistry
Cocaine analysis
Narcotics analysis
Prefrontal Cortex chemistry
Vitreous Body chemistry
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1878-7487
- Volume :
- 20
- Issue :
- 3
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Journal of forensic and legal medicine
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 23472791
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jflm.2012.06.006