Relationship between serum prostate-specific antigen and age in cadavers.

Area of Science:

• Forensic Science
• Biochemistry
• Gerontology

Background:

• Unidentified cadavers pose a significant challenge in forensic investigations.
• Accurate age estimation is crucial for the identification of unknown human remains.
• Current methods for cadaver age estimation can be subjective or invasive.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the correlation between postmortem serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels and cadaver age.
• To evaluate the utility of PSA as an objective biomarker for age estimation in unidentified cadavers.

Main Methods:

• Serum PSA levels were quantified in 140 male autopsy cases.
• The age range of the studied cadavers was from 0 to 94 years.
• Correlations were analyzed between PSA levels, age at death, prostate weight, psoas muscle index, and body mass index.

Main Results:

• A significant correlation was observed between postmortem serum PSA levels and age at death (r=0.393, P<0.01).
• PSA levels showed a correlation with prostate weight but not with psoas muscle index or body mass index.
• The cause of death did not significantly affect postmortem serum PSA levels.

Conclusions:

• Postmortem serum PSA levels provide a simple, objective, and rapid method for estimating age at death.
• This method is expected to significantly aid in the identification of unidentified cadavers.
• Serum PSA serves as a valuable biomarker in forensic age estimation.