825 research outputs found
Corrigendum to “Fatal inhalation of nitrogen inside a closed environment: toxicological issues about the cause of death” [Forensic Sci. Int. 302C (2019) 109871] (Forensic Science International (2019) 302, (S0379073819302865), (10.1016/j.forsciint.2019.06.029))
No full textThe authors regret that Dr. Alberto Amadasi and Dr. Alessio Battistini have been missed from the author list. The author list should have been as: Alfredo Fabrizio Lo Faroa, Alessio Battistinic, Filippo Pirania, Alberto Amadasic, Antonino Paratoreb, Adriano Tagliabraccia, Francesco Paolo Busardòa aSection of Legal Medicine, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy biCTLab s.r.l. Spin-off of University of Catania, Catania, Italy cSezione di Medicina Legale e delle Assicurazioni – Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche per la Salute – Università degli Studi di Milano The authors would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused
Is the issue of Chemsex changing?
No full textIn this letter, which is meant as a response to the letter titled “Sex enhancers: challenges, threats and the need for targeted measures”, the Authors discuss the evolution of Chemsex phenomenon towards at least two directions: firstly, the use of psychoactive and non-psychoactive substances usually implicated in Chemsex, such as GHB/GBL, ketamine, mephedrone and other synthetic cathinones and erectile dysfunction medications, is currently accompanied by the use of illicit opioids, which have recently been indicated as a new serious health threat for consumers. In addition, as reported by the last European Drug report, the simultaneous use of illicit benzodiazepines with non-medical opioids misuse has also been observed. Secondly, strictly linked to the rising use of non-medical opioids is the risk of transition towards heroine followed by the adoption of risky injection practices frequently accompanied by high-risk sexual behaviors. In this sense, the current definition of the phenomenon as “the voluntary intake of certain psychoactive and non- psychoactive drugs in the context of sex parties and sexual intercourses with the intention of facilitating and/or enhancing the sexual encounter mostly among men who have sex with other men (MSM)” has been expanded to “heterosexual chemsex”
A critique on the preparation and enzymatic characterization of synaptic and nonsynaptic mitochondria from hyppocampus
No full textSynthetic cathinones and cardiotoxicity risks
No full text: Recently, there has been a worldwide rise in the popularity and abuse of synthetic cathinones. The spectrum of side effects caused by the intake of these drugs of abuse is very wide since they act on different systems with various mechanisms of action, they appear to be involved in different cardiac events, including myocardial infarction and sudden cardiac death due to fatal arrhythmias. Overall, khat users have a higher risk of death, recurrent myocardial ischemia, cardiogenic shock, ventricular arrhythmia, and stroke compared with non-khat user
Is GHB-glucuronide useful as a biomarker for the exogenous use of GHB?
No full textDetection of gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) in biological matrices of conscious and unconscious consumers has become crucial in many clinical and forensic settings, due to its increasing use for recreational purposes, including “chemsex” and drug-facilitated sexual assault. It has to be mentioned that the drug itself as well as its precursors, gamma- butyrolactone (GBL) and 1,4-butanediol (1,4-BD), are currently restricted in several countries (e.g. United States, United Kingdom, Italy) and also the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs has listed GHB among Psychotropic Substances. The main issue in the analytical determination of GHB concentrations in biological fluids (e.g. blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid) and in keratin matrices (e.g. hair, nails) derives from the importance of being able to distinguish endogenous GHB from exogenous administration of an illegal drug, as reported above, and in the latter hypothesis, the challenge is the detection of single doses unknowingly consumed by victims of suspected sexual violence. GHB naturally occurs in the human body, so caution must be taken in the interpretation of positive results. Furthermore, GHB has a narrow window of detection (about 3-12 h in both blood and urine) and quickly reaches concentrations overlapping the endogenous ones. In the search of a biomarker of its use with a longer detection window, the in vivo existence of a glucuronated GHB metabolite (GHB-glucuronide) was investigated9. Successfully, the glucuronated metabolite was determined in different biological matrices (plasma, urine, hair, nails, cerebrospinal fluid and whole blood) with hyphenated techniques and a longer window of detection than the parent drug was demonstrated. Unfortunately, in all the reported studies, GHB-glucuronide was quantified in negligible concentrations regardless of whether the parent drug had been administered as a medication or abused as a recreational drug. This evidence has raised some questions concerning the real importance of this metabolic pathway for GHB and in agreement with the conclusions of reported studies, it is likely that this glucuronated metabolite does not provide any diagnostic information regarding GHB exogenous intake. However, an important aspect that has to be taken into account is that the metabolite analyzed to date is the glucuronate at the level of the hydroxyl group of GHB and not the glucuronate at the level of the carboxylic group, due to the unavailability of the standard compound. Therefore, the possibility of monitoring the carboxylic glucuronated metabolite of GHB, when the chemical standard will be available, could allow to evaluate if this other metabolite is useful in detecting GHB exogenous administration with a better diagnostic time-frame
Fatal inhalation of nitrogen inside a closed environment: Toxicological issues about the cause of death
No full textIn the path for creating research-to-business new opportunities on green hydrogen between Italy and Brazil
No full textOn September 22, 2021, 5 experts from Brazil and 5 from Italy discussed the future of research-to-business (R2B) cooperation between Italy and Brazil on green hydrogen (H2) and related technologies. The workshop discussed some priorities of the Brazilian policies and elucidated the strengths and the weaknesses of the biggest economy among the Latin American countries. Because of its territorial and underground resources its social and economic activities, Brazil offers an excellent basin for supporting an H2-based economy. A well-established connection between Brazilian Universities and EU research organisations already exists in up-to-date research activities and frameworks for grants programmes. Nevertheless, Brazil has some difficulties creating new economies through the industri-alisation of research achievements. On the other hand, Italy has a long tradition of creating and exporting technologies because its enterprises are generally prone to creating new business.In this communication, we reported the argued discussions between Brazilian and Italian players on green hydrogen that discussed how to improve the technological inter-action between the two countries. This meeting discussed the entire value chain for green hydrogen, from the production to the end-user, and included distribution and commerci-alisation of green H2 and related technologies.(c) 2022 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
Fatal inhalation of nitrogen inside a closed environment: toxicological issues about the cause of death
No full textAsphyxia due to inhalation of nitrogen, as accidental or suicidal event, has been seldom reported in the forensic field. Death usually occurs because of a displacement and decrease of environmental and alveolar oxygen concentrations, but taking into account that nitrogen is a normal component of atmosphere, autopsy findings, which may be in certain cases unremarkable, must be corroborated with a careful scene investigation in order to determine the cause of death.
We present a case of a 37-year old male found unresponsive inside his car with five liquid nitrogen tanks placed in the trunk, three of them with clear losses because of incomplete lock. Resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful. Autopsy findings and histological analyses were unremarkable, but toxicological analyses were crucial. Percentages of nitrogen were high in blood collected from the inferior vena cava (85.2%), left ventricle (81.01%) and the right lung (80.73%). Concentrations of nitrogen were higher than those detected in control samples: 14 autopsy cases, room air and water. The cause of death was identified as an inert gas asphyxiation, which was classified as accidental in accordance with the police report
A 2017-2019 Update on Acute Intoxications and Fatalities from Illicit Fentanyl and Analogs
No full textThe aim of this review was to report the most recent cases of acute intoxication, fatalities and "driving under the influence"cases, involving illicit fentanyl and its newest analogs. When available, information on age, sex, circumstances of exposure, intoxication symptoms, cause of death (if applicable) and toxicology results from biological fluid testing was described. Scientific publications reporting fatalities or acute intoxications involving use of fentanyl derivatives were identified from PubMed, Scopus and institutional/governmental websites from January 2017 up to December 2019. The search terms, used alone and in combination, were as follows: fentanyl, street fentanyl, analogs, compounds, derivatives, abuse, fatality, fatalities, death, toxicity, intoxication and adverse effects. When considered relevant, reports not captured by the initial search but cited in other publications were also included. Of the 2890 sources initially found, only 44 were suitable for the review. Emergent data showed that the most common analogs detected in biological samples and seized materials are acetylfentanyl, acrylfentanyl, butyrfentanyl, carfentanil, cyclopropylfentanyl, fluorofentanyl, 4-fluorobutyrfentanyl, 4-fluoroisobutyrfentanyl, furanylfentanyl, 2-methoxyacetylfentanyl, 3-methylfentanyl and ocfentanil. These compounds were frequently administered in association with other illicit substances, medicinal drugs and/or alcohol; patients and the victims often had a previous history of drug abuse. The trend of fentanyl analogs is rapidly evolving with illicit market fluctuations. Since information about potency and lethal dosage are frequently unknown, it is important to identify the new trends for further investigation on therapeutic use, toxicity and fatal doses, and implement public health measures. Recently marketed fentanyl analogs such as crotonylfentanyl and valerylfentanyl were not involved in intoxications to date, but should be carefully monitored. Many intoxications and fatalities might have gone unnoticed, and research efforts should focus on metabolite identification studies and the implementation of updated and comprehensive analytical methods
Pharmacology of herbal sexual enhancers: A review of psychiatric and neurological adverse effects
No full textSexual enhancers increase sexual potency, sexual pleasure, or libido. Substances increasing libido alter the concentrations of specific neurotransmitters or sex hormones in the central nervous system. Interestingly, the same pathways are involved in the mechanisms underlying many psychiatric and neurological disorders, and adverse reactions associated with the use of aphrodisiacs are strongly expected. However, sexual enhancers of plant origin have gained popularity over recent years, as natural substances are often regarded as a safer alternative to modern medications and are easily acquired without prescription. We reviewed the psychiatric and neurological adverse effects associated with the consumption of herbal aphrodisiacs Areca catechu L., Argemone Mexicana L., Citrus aurantium L., Eurycoma longifolia Jack., Lepidium meyenii Walp., Mitragyna speciosa Korth., Panax ginseng C. A. Mey, Panax quinquefolius L., Pausinystalia johimbe (K. Schum.) Pierre ex Beille, Piper methysticum G. Forst., Ptychopetalum olacoides Benth., Sceletium tortuosum (L.) N. E. Brown, Turnera diffusa Willd. ex. Schult., Voacanga africana Stapf ex Scott-Elliot, and Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal. A literature search was conducted on the PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases with the aim of identifying all the relevant articles published on the issue up to June 2020. Most of the selected sexual enhancers appeared to be safe at therapeutic doses, although mild to severe adverse effects may occur in cases of overdosing or self-medication with unstandardized products. Drug interactions are more concerning, considering that herbal aphrodisiacs are likely used together with other plant extracts and/or pharmaceuticals. However, few data are available on the side effects of several plants included in this review, and more clinical studies with controlled administrations should be conducted to address this issue
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