Jesse H. Bidanset

The Distribution of Ethanol in Postmortem Blood Specimens

Ethanol was determined by gas chromatography in a variety of tissues and body fluids secured at autopsy in 61 cases. The specimens tested included right and left heart blood, femoral blood, pericardial fluid, cerebrospinal fluid, vitreous humor, urine, stomach contents, and brain. Statistical analysis of the cases revealed no significant differences among the various blood sites tested. However, the variations in blood ethanol concentrations among the various sampling sites within each case were as follows: 40 cases showed differences of less than 25%; 16 cases revealed variability between 25% and 50%, 4 cases had differences exceeding 50%. In one case, satisfactory blood analyses could not be accomplished. The larger variances occurred especially in those instances in which stomach alcohol concentration was 0.50% or greater. In one case, the variability amongst the different blood sites exceeded 400% (femoral blood--0.043%, right atrium--0.070%, root of aorta--0.156%); the brain was 0.050%, and the stomach contents was 1.2%. For all 61 cases, variances in blood alcohol content among the different sampling sites in a single cadaver ranged from 1.8 to 428%.

Comparative study of postmortem barbiturates, methadone, and morphine in vitreous humor, blood, and tissue.

With the introduction of radioimmunoassay (RIA) techniques, it has become toxicologically possible to determine drug concentrations in postmortem vitreous humor. This study demonstrates and confirms this toxicological feasibility. In 49 medical examiners drug related cases, postmortem tissue levels of morphine, barbiturates, and methadone were compared to the vitreous humor.

Evaluation of the Abuscreen for methadone.

The increased use and abuse of methadone in recent years has posed a problem of both its identification and quantitation in body tissues. Recent development of a radioimmunoassay for methadone appears to have solved the problem. In our hands the assay was extremely sensitive and specific. It also appears to be an excellent tool when quantitative estimates are to be obtained. Although it initially appears to be relatively expensive, the time saved in doing a complete tissue distribution equalizes the cost. It is hoped that other radioimmunoassays currently under development will prove as satisfactory.

Alcohol levels in intracranial blood clots

In 1967 a routine alcohol determination was performed on the brain and blood of a 43-year-old male (HVB) who had been found unconscious, lying at the foot of a stairway in his home. He had sustained a fracture of the skull and survived nine hours in the hospital.

Protective effects of zinc sulfate and l-lysine on acute ethanol toxicity in mice☆

Abstract Survival rates were determined in three groups of male CF-1 mice, treated ip with single and multiple doses of zinc sulfate and/or l -lysine, each alone and in combination, followed by administration of an acute toxic dose of ethanol 1 hr post-treatment. Significant protective effects were observed in all pretreated groups. Zinc and lysine (combined)-treated groups showed a maximal protective effect. Blood ethanol determinations were also made in mice similarly pretreated with zinc sulfate (5 μg/kg) and/or l -lysine (2.5 g/kg) ip and subjected to 4.55 g/kg ethanol ip 1 hr post-treatment. Blood ethanol values were significantly lower in the lysine-treated group ( P P

ACUTE TEMPORAL DISTRIBUTION OF FATTY ACID ETHYL ESTERS IN PREGNANT LONG-EVANS RATS

Fetal alcohol syndrome is a term used to describe the birth defects associated with maternal ethanol use during pregnancy. Ethanol, a rapidly biotransformed compound, is currently the only biochemical marker used to detect maternal ethanol use during pregnancy. A minor pathway of ethanol biotransformation is the nonoxidative enzymatic reaction which leads to esterification of free fatty acids with the ethyl group of ethanol. This research explored the formation of two fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs), palmitic acid ethyl ester (PAEE) and stearic acid ethyl ester (SAEE), in the pregnant rat and its offspring. In this acute study, pregnant (gestational day 9) Long-Evans rats were dosed 5 g/kg with ethanol (25%) p.o., and animals were sacrificed at 15, 30, 60, 120, 240, 480, and 720 min postdose. Tissues removed for PAEE and SAEE analysis included maternal blood, liver, brain, and fetal/ placental tissue. Analysis for the FAEEs was accomplished using a one-step liquid-liquid extraction. The extracts were then...

A study of the myocardial depressant factor and its relative influence in drug/alcohol mortality.

A shock factor, a low molecular weight peptide, has been isolated from postmortem blood. High levels of this peptide, which depresses the myocardium, were seen in cases where drug overdose or alcoholism, or both, were the cause of death. An elevated myocardial depressant factor (MDF) level also demonstrated in a fire victim and a patient in cardiogenic shock. The peptide analysis was accomplished by using an isolated cat papillary muscle followed by paper chromatographic confirmation. Postmortem electrolytes, alcohol, and various toxic agents were eliminated as causes of myocardial depression in the isolated cat papillary muscle assay. The presence of elevated MDF levels may be significant in the overall death process.