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Related Experiment Videos

Possible markers for postmortem drug redistribution

A M Langford1, D J Pounder

  • 1University of Dundee, Department of Forensic Medicine, Royal Infirmary, Scotland.

Journal of Forensic Sciences
|January 1, 1997
PubMed
Summary

Postmortem blood analysis reveals amino acids, especially methionine, can indicate drug redistribution patterns. This finding is crucial for understanding drug concentrations after death, particularly in pulmonary blood samples.

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Area of Science:

  • Forensic Toxicology
  • Biochemistry
  • Pharmacokinetics

Background:

  • Investigating postmortem biochemical changes to identify reliable markers for drug redistribution.
  • Examining the correlation between drug concentrations and biochemical markers in postmortem blood and tissues.

Observation:

  • A case study involving amitriptyline overdose examined drug and 17 amino acid levels in 18 blood and 14 tissue/fluid samples 16 hours postmortem.
  • Drug concentrations varied significantly by blood sampling site, with higher levels in pulmonary vein blood.
  • Amino acid levels displayed distinct site-to-site variability.

Findings:

  • Strong positive correlations were observed between specific amino acids (glycine, leucine, methionine, serine, valine) and drug levels in pulmonary blood.

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  • Methionine showed a strong positive correlation (r=0.93) in pulmonary samples but a negative correlation (r=-0.68) in great vein samples.
  • Lactic acid exhibited a strong negative correlation in pulmonary samples (r=-0.93) and a positive correlation in great vein samples (r=0.71).
  • Hepatic enzymes showed weak correlations with drug levels, suggesting limited utility as markers for postmortem hepatic drug shifts.

    • Implications:

    • Amino acids, particularly methionine, show potential as valuable markers for assessing postmortem pulmonary drug shifts.
    • Certain biochemical markers may provide insights into drug redistribution dynamics in the postmortem state.
    • Findings contribute to refining forensic analysis of drug concentrations and distribution after death.