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Leg Med (Tokyo) 2021 Jun 9;53:101930. Epub 2021 Jun 9.

Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China. Electronic address:

The aim of this study was to detect the postmortem serum total IgE levels in frozen corpses and identify whether the death incident caused by an anaphylaxis in forensic medicine. Autopsy cases with pathological death (total, n = 106; 4-214 h postmortem) include cardiac disease (n = 15), pulmonary infection (n = 12), central nervous system disorder (n = 6), pulmonary emboliszn (n = 7), hapetic disease (n = 5), kidney disease (n = 6), enteric disease (n = 10), necrotizing pancreatitis (n = 7), diffuse peritonitis (n = 6), MODS (n = 6), toxicosis (n = 5:), anaphylactic shock (n = 7), bronchial asthma (n = 8) and other disease (n = 6) were examined. Results showed that there was no significant difference between serum IgE levels and ages, postmortem intervals (PMIs), gender as well as survival time. Read More

Neurocase 2021 Jun 15:1-7. Epub 2021 Jun 15.

Department of Neurology, Tokyo Metropolitan Bokutoh Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.

Corticobasal syndrome (CBS) is associated with diverse pathological substrates such as tau, prion protein, transactive response and, rarely, alpha synuclein. We report the case of a54-year-old man, who presented with asymmetric levodopa-poor-responsive parkinsonism, frontal lobe signs and behavioral changes. He was diagnosed with CBS, and postmortem analyses revealed Lewy body disease Braak stage VI without comorbid pathologies. Read More

Prenat Diagn 2021 Jun 15. Epub 2021 Jun 15.

Shandong Provincial Hospital Affliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, Shandong, 250021, China.

Objective: Before evaluating spinal pathology, it is essential to have knowledge of the normal spinal development at different gestational ages. This study aims to characterize normal spinal growth in human fetuses during the second and third trimester.

Methods: Postmortem 3. Read More

J Vet Diagn Invest 2021 Jun 10:10406387211021865. Epub 2021 Jun 10.

Comparative, Diagnostic, and Population Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.

Estimation of the postmortem interval (PMI) is a poorly studied field in veterinary pathology. The development of field-applicable methods is needed given that animal cruelty investigations are increasing continually. We evaluated various histologic criteria in equine brain, liver, and muscle tissue to aid the estimation of PMI in horses, which is central to forensic investigations of suspicious death. Read More

Autism 2021 Jun 10:13623613211014408. Epub 2021 Jun 10.

UC Davis School of Medicine, USA.

Lay Abstract: The cerebral cortex affected with autism spectrum disorder presents changes in the number of neurons and glia cells, possibly leading to a dysregulation of brain circuits and affecting behavior. However, little is known about cell number alteration in specific layers of the cortex in autism spectrum disorder. We found an increase in the number of neurons and a decrease in the number of astrocytes in specific layers of the prefrontal cortex in postmortem human brains from autism spectrum disorder cases. Read More

Hear Res 2021 May 24;407:108276. Epub 2021 May 24.

Department of Ophthalmology, Visual, and Anatomical Sciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA; John D. Dingell VAMC, Detroit, MI, USA. Electronic address:

Magnetic resonance imaging data collection and analysis have been challenges in the field of auditory neuroscience. Recent studies have addressed these concerns by using manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MEMRI). Basic challenges for in vivo application of MEMRI in rodents includes how to set inclusion criteria for adequate Mn uptake and whether valid data can be collected from brains postmortem. Read More

Exp Eye Res 2021 Jun 5;209:108653. Epub 2021 Jun 5.

Brien Holden Vision Institute Limited, Sydney, Australia; School of Optometry and Vision Science, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Ophthalmic Biophysics Center, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA.

It is well known that human crystalline lens shape, dimensions and optical properties change throughout life and influence whole eye refraction. However, it is not clear if lens properties are associated with other ocular parameters. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship of corneal and external globe dimensions with adult lens diameter (LD), lens thickness (LT) and lens power (LP) in order to determine if external factors influence lens properties. Read More

Forensic Sci Int 2021 May 27;325:110851. Epub 2021 May 27.

Department of Health Care Surveillance and Bioethics, Section of Legal Medicine, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy; Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy.

Background And Aim: COVID-19 is an extremely challenging disease, both from a clinical and forensic point of view, and performing autopsies of COVID-19 deceased requires adequately equipped sectorial rooms and exposes health professionals to the risk of contagion. Among one of the categories that are most affected by SARS-Cov-2 infection are the elderly residents. Despite the need for prompt diagnoses, which are essential to implement all isolation measures necessary to contain the infection spread, deceased subjects in long-term care facilities are still are often diagnosed post-mortem. Read More

Braz J Anesthesiol 2021 Jun 2. Epub 2021 Jun 2.

Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina, Instituto de Psiquiatria (IPq), Grupo Interdisciplinar de Estudos sobre Álcool e Drogas (GREA), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.

Background: Anesthetic and/or opioid abuse is more prevalent among anesthesiologists than in other medical specialties and it has been associated with high mortality. The aim of this study was to evaluate factors associated with lethal anesthetic and/or opioid abuse among anesthesiologists.

Methods: We evaluated psychological factors, and occupational history and circumstances of death of anesthesiologists who died from anesthetic abuse. Read More

Aging Cell 2021 Jun 5:e13411. Epub 2021 Jun 5.

Center for Genetic Medicine Research, Children's Research Institute, Children's National Hospital, Washington, DC, USA.

Age-related loss of muscle mass and strength is widely attributed to limitation in the capacity of muscle resident satellite cells to perform their myogenic function. This idea contains two notions that have not been comprehensively evaluated by experiment. First, it entails the idea that we damage and lose substantial amounts of muscle in the course of our normal daily activities. Read More

J Nucl Med 2021 Jun 4. Epub 2021 Jun 4.

Uppsala University, Sweden.

Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of amyloid-β (Aβ) has become an important component of Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnosis. C-Pittsburgh compound B (C-PiB) and analogs bind to fibrillar Aβ. However, levels of nonfibrillar, soluble aggregates of Aβ, appear more dynamic during disease progression and more affected by Aβ reducing treatments. Read More

Food Chem 2021 May 25;362:130189. Epub 2021 May 25.

College of Food Science and Engineering, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, China.

Structural changes of cytochrome c and its relationship with apoptosis and protein degradation of bovine muscle during postmortem aging were investigated. Results from amide I and amide II ~ VI showed that the π* orbital d electron decreased, the π electron density increased, and the frequency of the C-N stretching vibration increased. The distance between heme Fe and N atoms of the porphyrin decreased, the bond length decreased, and the heme core size decreased. Read More

Forensic Sci Int 2021 Jul 19;324:110846. Epub 2021 May 19.

Department of Forensic Medicine and Clinical Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Egypt.

Background: Estimation of postmortem interval (PMI) is a critical component of forensic death investigations. C5b-9 and cardiac Troponin C (cTnC) have the potential as markers for myocardial damage and can be suitable markers for determination of PMI. The aim of current study was to estimate different postmortem intervals using C5b-9 and cTnC detected by immunohistochemical technique in stab wounds and firearm injuries of the heart. Read More

J Ophthalmic Vis Res 2021 Apr-Jun;16(2):234-247. Epub 2021 Apr 29.

Poostchi Ophthalmology Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.

Apart from conjunctival involvement which is the most well-known ocular manifestation of coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19), there are multiple reports of the involvement of other ocular structures by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). We comprehensively reviewed PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Google Scholar for available evidence regarding COVID-19 various ocular manifestations, with special focus on less known and unusual ocular findings. We then categorized the findings based on the parts of the eye which was involved. Read More

Hum Pathol (N Y) 2021 Jun 16;24:200524. Epub 2021 May 16.

Directorate of Epidemiology, Biosecurity & Global Health, Ministry of Health, Lagos State, Nigeria.

Objectives: To report the postmortem findings of a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) positive individual who died in Lagos (Nigeria) in June 2020 and to investigate the cause, pathogenesis as well as pathological changes noticed during the examination.

Methods: Complete postmortem examination was performed according to standard procedures in a regular autopsy suite using personal protective equipment including N95 masks, goggles and disposable gowns. The diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was confirmed by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing on postmortem nasopharyngeal swabs. Read More

Leg Med (Tokyo) 2021 May 1;52:101900. Epub 2021 May 1.

Department of Forensic Medicine, Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, No. 13 Hangkong Road, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, PR China. Electronic address:

X-linked lymphoproliferative disease (XLP) is a rare immunodeficiency disease characterized by severe immune disorder and extreme vulnerability to Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infections. Here we report a 14-month-old Chinese boy presenting with fulminant infectious mononucleosis (FIM) following EBV infection, and died of hepatic failure within one week of disease progression. Postmortem examination revealed icterus, ascites, extensive enlarged mesenteric lymphnodes and hepatosplenomegaly. Read More

Neurol Genet 2021 Jun 14;7(3):e593. Epub 2021 May 14.

Child Neuropsychiatry Unit(F.D.), Department of Surgical Sciences, Dentistry, Gynecology and Pediatrics University of Verona; Child Neuropsychiatry Unit(T.L.B.), Department of Surgical Sciences, Dentistry, Gynecology and Pediatrics University of Verona; PhD Program in Clinical and Experimental Medicine (T.L.B.), University of Modena and Reggio Emilia; Pediatric Unit (R.O.), Department of Surgical Sciences, Dentistry, Gynecology and Pediatrics University of Verona; Pediatric Neurology (E.P.), Neurogenetics and Neurobiology Unit and Laboratories, Meyer Children's Hospital, University of Florence; Pediatric Neurology (C.B.), Neurogenetics and Neurobiology Unit and Laboratories, Meyer Children's Hospital, University of Florence; Child Neuropsychiatry Unit (E.F.), Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata di Verona; Neurology (Child Neurology and Neuropathology) (A.S.), Department of Neuroscience, Biomedicine and Movement, University of Verona; CREP (Research Center for Pediatric Epilepsies) (B.D.B.), Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Integrata di Verona; and Pediatric Neurology (R.G.), Neurogenetics and Neurobiology Unit and Laboratories, Meyer Children's Hospital, University of Florence, Italy.

Objective: To report longitudinal clinical, EEG, and MRI findings in 2 sisters carrying compound heterozygous mutations and exhibiting a peculiar form of developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (DEE). Neuropathologic features are also described in one of the sisters.

Methods: Clinical course description, video-EEG polygraphic recordings, brain MRI, skin and muscle biopsies, whole-exome sequencing (WES), and brain neuropathology. Read More

Mult Scler 2021 May 20:13524585211014760. Epub 2021 May 20.

Department of Biomedical Engineering, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA.

Background: Detecting cortical demyelination using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in multiple sclerosis (MS) remains a challenge. Magnetization transfer ratio (MTR), T1-weighted/T2-weighted ratio (T1T2R), and T2-weighted (T2w) signal are sensitive to cortical demyelination, but their accuracy is unknown.

Objectives: To quantify the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of postmortem T1T2R, MTR, and T2w in detecting cortical demyelination. Read More

Sud Med Ekspert 2021 ;64(3):52-55

Volgograd Regional Bureau of Forensic Medical Expertise, Volgograd, Russia.

A case of COVID-19-associated acute hemorrhagic necrotizing encephalopathy in adults in combination with comorbid pathology was analyzed. The key data of the medical history, the results of laboratory and instrumental studies are presented. The results of postmortem forensic medical diagnostics with demonstration and description of macro- and microscopic changes in the examined organs are presented. Read More

Sud Med Ekspert 2021 ;64(3):29-33

N.I. Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Moscow, Russia.

Some features of changes in the electrophysical properties of adipose tissue of animal origin in the postmortem period when working with direct-current sources are considered.

Objective: Evaluate experimentally the possibilities of registering changes in the electro-physical properties of biological tissues using a direct current source when working with a specific resistance as well as to identify the possible recorded changes in biological tissues when a reverse electromotive force and polarization phenomena occur. At the first stage the fatty subcutaneous layer of a pig was used as samples of adipose tissue which is closely similar to human adipose tissue in composition. Read More

Sud Med Ekspert 2021 ;64(3):24-28

Medical Institute of the Russian Peoples Friendship University, Moscow, Russia.

Objective: Evaluation of the relationship between the activity of proteolytic enzymes (cathepsin D and calpains) and the dynamics of the fluorescence intensity of the coenzymes nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) in the rats' skeletal muscles in relation to the time of death. The proteolytic activity of enzymes in rat skeletal muscle was determined at the postmortem time points corresponding to the most significant changes in the dynamics of coenzymes NADH and FAD fluorescence intensity. The proteolytic enzymes activity was found to be low during the period of increasing intensity of NADH fluorescence observed within 3 hours after death. Read More

Sud Med Ekspert 2021 ;64(3):21-23

N.I. Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Moscow, Russia.

Objective: Study of muscles response to mechanical irritation with the establishment of the maximum time of its occurrence for 2 to 15 hours of the postmortem period in children and adolescents who died at the age of 4 to 17 years. The the study data of 228 corpses of children and adolescents aged from 4 to 17 years with a precisely established time of death - from 2 to 15 hours are presented. Three age groups are identified: 1st - from 4 to 7 years, 2nd - from 8 to 11th and 3rd - from 12 to 17 years old. Read More

Eye Brain 2021 12;13:131-146. Epub 2021 May 12.

Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology, Belgorod State National Research University, Belgorod, Russia.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease resulting in a gradual loss of motor neuron function. Although ophthalmic complaints are not presently considered a classic symptom of ALS, retinal changes such as thinning, axonal degeneration and inclusion bodies have been found in many patients. Retinal abnormalities observed in postmortem human tissues and animal models are similar to spinal cord changes in ALS. Read More

Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci 2021 May;62(6):20

Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.

Purpose: In diabetic subjects, early visual functional alterations such as color vision deficiencies (CVDs) are known to precede clinically apparent diabetic retinopathy. Prominent photoreceptor outer segment degeneration and an increase in the number of retinal dual cones (co-expressing S- and M-opsins simultaneously) have been described in diabetic rat models, suggesting a connection with the development of CVDs. As cone opsin expression is controlled by thyroid hormones, we investigated the diabetic retina in association with thyroid hormone alterations. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 May 17;11(1):10450. Epub 2021 May 17.

Key Laboratory of Veterinary Pharmaceutical Development, Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Affairs, Lanzhou Institute of Husbandry, Pharmaceutical Sciences of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, 730050, People's Republic of China.

To identify differentially expressed proteins associated with energy metabolism and tenderness during the postmortem aging of yak longissimus lumborum muscle samples, we collected tissue samples from yaks raised at different altitudes. At 12 h post-slaughter, we identified 290 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in these samples, whereas 436 such DEPs were detected after 72 h. Identified DEPs were clustered into four main functional categories: cell structural proteins, glycogen metabolic proteins, energy reserve metabolic proteins, and cellular polysaccharide metabolic proteins. Read More

Biol Psychiatry 2021 Apr 16. Epub 2021 Apr 16.

Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut; Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, VA Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, Connecticut.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a stress-related disorder associated with many cytoarchitectural and neurochemical changes. However, the majority of these changes cannot be reliably detected in the living brain. The examination of animal stress models and postmortem human brain tissue has significantly contributed to our understanding of the pathophysiology of MDD. Read More

J Am Heart Assoc 2021 Jun 15;10(11):e019627. Epub 2021 May 15.

Sleep Division Department of Neurology Vanderbilt University Medical Center Nashville TN.

Background Patients with restless legs syndrome (RLS) have increased silent microvascular disease by magnetic resonance imaging. However, there has been no previous autopsy confirmation of these magnetic resonance imaging findings. RLS is also frequently associated with inflammatory and immunologically mediated medical disorders. Read More

J Affect Disord 2021 Jul 3;290:61-64. Epub 2021 May 3.

Division of Clinical Neuroscience, Chiba University Center for Forensic Mental Health, Chiba, Japan. Electronic address:

Background: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) antisense RNA (BDNF-AS) was identified as naturally conserved non-coding antisense RNA that suppresses the transcription of BDNF.

Methods: We measured the expression of BDNF mRNA and BDNF-AS mRNA in iPSC and NSC from bipolar disorder (BD) patients and healthy control subjects, and postmortem brain samples such as the corpus callosum, the Brodmann area (BA8), and BA46 from BD patients and age- and sex-matched controls.

Results: The expression of BDNF mRNA in iPSC from BD patients (n = 6) was significantly lower than that of control subjects (n = 4) although the expression of BDNF mRNA in NSC from BD patients was significantly higher than that of control subjects. Read More

Forensic Sci Int 2021 Jul 1;324:110809. Epub 2021 May 1.

Department of Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece. Electronic address:

In previous research, we modeled the ethanol production by certain bacteria under controlled experimental conditions in an attempt to quantify the production of microbial postmortem ethanol in cases where other alcohols were co-detected. This contribution on the modeling of postmortem ethanol production by Candida albicans is complementary to these previous studies. Τhis work aimed to study ethanol, higher alcohols (1-propanol, isobutanol, 2-methyl-1-butanol and 3-methyl-1-butanol), and 1-butanol production by Candida albicans: (i) in different culture media (Brain Heart Infusion, BHI and, Sabouraud Dextrose Broth, SDB), (ii) under mixed aerobic/anaerobic or strict anaerobic conditions, and (iii) at different temperatures (37 °C, 25 °C and, 4 °C), and develop simple mathematical models, resulted from fungal cultures at 25 °C, to predict the microbially produced ethanol in correlation with the other alcohols. Read More

Food Res Int 2021 May 9;143:110289. Epub 2021 Mar 9.

School of Food and Biological Engineering, Shaanxi University of Science & Technology, Xi'an 710021, China.

As traditional frozen storage leads to the degradation of meat quality, elucidation of dynamic change mechanism is urgently needed. Proteomic differences in postmortem frozen storage time (0, 30 and 60 days) of Hengshan goat meat at -18 °C were studied by label-free proteomics based on high resolution quadrupole-Orbitrap mass spectrometry. A total of 492 proteins were identified, of which 485 proteins were quantified, and the difference of 199 proteins was observed. Read More