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Biomedical subjects

M Staak

Publications and source records attributed to M Staak.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

[Postmortem increase in potassium in the vitreous humor. Which parameters are suitable as indicators of antemortem agonal electrolyte imbalance?].

The relationship between a rise in the potassium concentration in the vitreous humor and the time of death has been established by several authors. Sturner (1963) and Adelson (1963) have been able to demonstrate a more precise relationship between potassium and the time of death in cases of sudden death and death occurring within 6 h as opposed to death after a chronic, lingering disease. However, the duration of the terminal episode cannot always be assessed in forensic medicine. Therefore, it would be valuable if other parameters could also be established that would indicate an agonal dysregulation of electrolytes. Our study revealed that sodium, urea, chloride, and calcium are of great value in indicating antemortem electrolyte imbalance because of their stability in the vitreous humor after death. The first results established that urea may be a suitable internal standard.

Calcium↗

[Methodology and interpretation of morphiate detection in urine samples].

In TLC screenings of 335 urine samples taken because of suspicion of heroin consumption, positive evidence of morphine was found in about 50% of the cases, which was confirmed without exception by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In 66% of the positive cases, morphine and codeine were found; in about 31% only morphine was found, and the median value of 0.4 mg/l free morphine and 1.0 mg/l conjugated morphine was considerably lower than in the whole collection of samples. Comparison of the codeine/morphine quotients (Q), especially the free bases, proves that the groups of heroin/morphine or codeine consumers can be distinctly differentiated. The critical conditions of the conjugated bases worked out by Dutt et al. (1983) proved to be right. Using the equation Qf less than 0.5 square root c, a boundary condition for the free flare bases can also be developed, which is dependent on the sum of the codeine and morphine concentrations and which proves heroin/morphine consumption with 98% certainty.

Codeine↗