Biomedical subjects

Marcel A Verhoff

Publications and source records attributed to Marcel A Verhoff.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2003

Pitfalls of toxicological analysis.

Pitfalls are a permanent risk in all fields of forensic- and clinical-toxicological analysis and are not only concerned with immunoassays, although they are at present mostly discussed with regard to this subject. There are risks inherent in the field of preanalysis (e.g. the sampling, transportation, storage und treatment of the samples immediately prior to analysis). Furthermore, various pitfalls during measurement itself are to be avoided in connection with derivatization, choice of analysis parameters, memory-effects and many other sources of error. Another important section concerns the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic interpretation of analytical results. Many toxicokinetic (e.g. enzyme induction) and toxicodynamic factors (e.g. tolerance effects) must be considered with special regard to plausibility controls (e.g. constellation, longitudinal, transversal and trend monitoring).

False Negative Reactions↗

PubMed2002

Anticoagulant-related iliopsoas muscle bleeding leading to fatal exsanguination: report of two autopsy cases.

Two cases of massive iliopsoas muscle bleeding leading to fatal exsanguination are presented. Both patients (two women, 61 and 74 years old, respectively) received oral anticoagulation with phenprocoumon. The intramuscular bleeding occurred spontaneously in women of relatively good physical condition. Intriguingly, phenprocoumon concentrations were within the therapeutic range (1.55 microg/ml and 1.26 microg/ml, respectively) as detected by toxicologic analysis. These cases demonstrate that severe bleeding in the iliopsoas muscle has to be considered in all patients receiving anticoagulant medication, even in those who have coagulation parameters within the therapeutic range. Especially in older patients with a high degree of comorbidity or in patients receiving analgesic drugs, the potential of fatal outcome of iliopsoas muscle bleeding seems to be of clinicopathologic relevance.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Cadaver mix-up--an avoidable problem?].

Depending on local conditions it may happen from time to time that no officer involved in the previous investigation is present during the forensic autopsy. In this case, the post mortem examiner often has to rely solely on written documentation concerning the identity of the deceased. The authors report a case where the body had already been mixed up with another body by the undertaker prior to the inspection by the police. In spite of clear distinguishing characteristics in the written documentation, this led to the wrong body being autopsied. For the post mortem examiner, the only safe way to identify a body seems to be the presence of persons who had known the deceased or of police officers as acknowledging witnesses. If these conditions are not given, other means of safe information on the identity are called for, for example a "police body card" similar to an evidence card.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Storage time for criminal trace evidence].

The article discusses the question if and under what conditions trace evidence may be stored for DNA analysis. The authors report on several cases in which methodological improvements or even the introduction of DNA technology itself helped to identify the perpetrator or to rule out a suspect, who may already have been wrongly convicted, many years after the offence. Under medical and scientific aspects these cases seem to speak in favour of unlimited storage. German law does not contain explicit regulations on the storage of trace evidence of unknown origin, although it seems admissible under existing law. In view of a minor need of protection as against a high interest in the preservation of trace evidence, storage for an unlimited period of time seems necessary.

DNA Fingerprinting↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Interindividual morphologic variability as reason for misinterpretations in forensic osteology exemplified by a rib].

Bone finds make great demands on the examiner. The first priority is to establish the remains as human, because then further analyses have to be performed for identification. Especially for bone fragments it may be extremely difficult to determine whether they are of human or animal origin. In the reported case a bone fragment similar to a human rib was found in a medieval town together with more than 300 non-human bones. As it turned out, a medieval cesspit had been opened during excavation works. Even an mtDNA analysis could not answer the question whether the rib was of human origin. A direct comparison with numerous ribs of humans and mammals showed the great interindividual variability, but in the end it was possible to rule out a human origin and to identify the fragment as the third left rib of a pig.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Heteroplasmy in mtDNA in a set of dizygotic twins].

The authors report on a case of a dicygotic female twin pair, one of them containing a T/C heteroplasmy in two (heart and brain) of five analysed organs at position nt204 of the HV2 region. Results and especially the evidence of an unequal distribution of the heteroplasmy are discussed.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Signs of injury in bone findings--analysis and evaluation].

Recent bone finds examined under forensic aspects as well as historic skeletons (mainly dating from the Middle Ages) with a known history as to the cause of death and the place where they were found were studied to develop basic criteria for the assessment of the cause and time of origin of bony defects. With regard to the time of origin it was found that the closer an injury occurs before or after death, the harder it is to distinguish from a perimortal injury. A schematic pattern was worked out for the kind of origin classifying the injuries as to "type of force", "mechanism", "weapon/object" and "effect to the bone", which helps in the forensic assessment of the causes of injuries found on bones.

Bone and Bones↗