Iranian Journal of Toxicology
Volume:5 Issue: 1, Spring and Summer 2011

To determine the role of drugs in fatal overdose, analyses were done on samples obtained from autopsy examination and death and crime scene investigations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of toxicology analyses of postmortem biological and non-biological samples belonging to a subject in determining the forensic cause of death. Toxicological analysis were done on 31 cases of fatal drug poisoning accompanied with scene evidence that had been referred to Legal Medicine Organization(LMO) of Iran, Tehran, over 12 months, starting from March 2008. Drugs and ethanol were detected in biological and non-biological samples through toxicological analyses. Overall, 64.52% of the cases showed the same positive analytical results in both biological and non-biological samples. Opiates were indicated in 65% of the deaths. About two thirds (64.51%) of the cases indicated the involvement of more than one drug (active ingredient). With a sex ratio of 4.16, men composed 80.65% of the study cases. The mean age for male and female victims (mean ± SD) was 34.07±11.93 and 32.67±8.04, respectively, and the majority of the cases (77.42%) were below the age of 40. There are many important parameters in determining the forensic cause of death, among them autopsy reports, toxicological findings, police information and circumstances surrounding the death are important.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of arterial blood gases (ABGs) in determining the type of intoxication. Medical charts of all patients who had referred to the toxicology ward of Baharloo Hospital between January 2009 and December 2009 were evaluated. After excluding the patients with multi-drug toxicity, data, including age, sex, type of intoxication (the medication ingested), ABG options, including pH, pco2, Hco3, and the type of acid-base disturbance were collected and recorded in a self-made questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 11. Of the 1570 cases evaluated, 807(51.4%) were male and 763(48.6%) were female. Most of the patients were 20 to 29 years old (554 patients; 35.3%). Arterial blood gases were normal in 578 (36.8%) patients. Metabolic acidosis, respiratory acidosis, respiratory alkalosis, mixed acidosis, and mixed alkalosis were detected in 434(27.6%), 292(18.6%), 177(11.3%), 60 (3.8%), and 29(1.8%) patients, respectively. Pure metabolic alkalosis was not detected in any of the patients. The toxins were classified into 18 groups with opium/opioids, acetaminophen/NSAIDS, and antidepressants and anticonvulsants being the most common toxicities. Although metabolic acidosis may not be helpful in diagnosis of the type of intoxication, respiratory and mixed acidosis as well as mixed alkalosis may indicate special types of intoxication. This may help faster diagnosis and reduce the mortality and morbidity of the patients.

Rosa damascena is a traditional medicinal plant used in Asia to treat several ailments. This study reports In vitro and In vivo antioxidative properties and toxicity of methanolic and aqueous extracts of white rose, an indigenous variety of Rosa damascena from Iran. The antimicrobial activities, total phenolics, antioxidative properties and the blood sera Ferric-Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) of the extracts were determined using standard methods. Acute and subchronic toxicity and cytotoxicity of the extracts were tested. Hematology and clinical chemistry parameters were investigated. S.aureus only was susceptible. The total phenol contents of the methanolic and aqueous extracts were 137.67±9.50 and 138.67±5.69 μg Gallic acid equivalent/mg sample respectively. DPPH scavenging and lipid peroxidation inhibition effects were higher than those of the synthetic antioxidants. A dose dependent FRAP was noted in blood sera of rats fed with the extracts. Cholesterol/HDL and LDL/HDL ratios, fasting glucose, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine and uric acid levels decreased. IC50 of 4.5 µg/ml was determined for cytotoxicity of the extract against Hela cell line. Antioxidative activity and cytotoxicity of white rose suggests its promising applications as a natural antioxidant and health promoting agent for the treatment and prevention of free radicals associated diseases.

Atrazine (ATR) is used as an agriculture herbicide worldwide. It has been shown that ATR adversely affect the reproductive system in rodents. In this study we aimed to evaluate the impact of chronic exposure to Atrazine (ATR) on male testicular tissue, sperm parameters, serum level of total thiol molecules (TTM) and malodialdehyde (MDA) content of testes. To follow-up this study, 72 adult and mature male rats were divided into test and control-sham groups. The animals in test group received the compound at dose levels of 100, 200 and 300 mg/kg, b.w., orally representing the low, medium and high doses of ATR respectively for 12, 24, 48 days. Control-sham group received the corn oil (0.2 ml/day) in the same manner as test groups. Light microscopic analyses revealed increased thickness of tunica albuginea, atrophied seminiferous tubules, arrested spermatogenesis, decreased leydig cells/ mm2 of interstitial tissue (2.0±0.7/mm2 in high dose received rats), vasodilatation and thrombosis. Sperm parameters assays showed that the sperm count (26.50±2.16×106 vs control 70.25±1.25), viability (21.26±2.58% vs control 90.75±6.23) and motility (12.00±1.58% vs control 90.41±2.12) decreased in ATR-exposed animals in a dose-dependent fashion. Biochemical analyses for TTM and MDA demonstrated that in ATR-exposed animals the serum level of TTM (0.100±0.005 Mol/ml vs control 0.321± 0.002) decreased significantly (P<0.05) and by contrast the testicular MDA level (4.053±2.28 nMol/mg vs control 1.75±0.34) elevated in testicular tissues. the current data provide inclusive histological feature of chronic exposure against ATR in testicular tissue. Moreover, other reproductive-related disorders including abnormalities in spermatogenesis, sperm viability, volume and motility, may attribute to the ATR-induced oxidative stress, which reflected by remarkable alteration in TTM and MDA levels.

In recent years, silver nanoparticles due to their antimicrobial properties, have formed about 56% of nanoparticles global production. Since the released nanoparticles ultimately enter water ecosystems, their maximum toxic effects are magnified in aquatic ecosystems. The aim of this study is to show how salinity can decrease the toxic effects of silver nanoparticles on exposed rainbow trout fry (Oncorhynchus mykiss), as a model in aquatic eco-toxicological studies. The effects of colloidal silver nanoparticles on rainbow trout fry (n=540, 10-week-old; 1000 ± 35.0 mg) were examined in two different salinities (6±0.3ppt, and 12±0.2 ppt) in comparison with de-chlorinated tap water (0.4ppt). Median lethal concentration (LC50) of various concentrations of the Ag-NPs (ranging from 0.25 up to 80 ppm) was determined through a 6-day static-renewal exposure of tested fish fry to the salinities. LC50 of the colloidal Ag-NPs for rainbow trout fry in 12±0.2 ppt salinity was almost 20 and 2 times greater than 0.4 and 6±0.3ppt salinities, respectively. The release of silver nanoprticles into fresh water ecosystems can lead to more biological, physical, and chemical irrecoverable impacts on the ecosystems and their fishes in comparison with saline water ecosystems.

The existence of fluoride ion in potable water has distinctive effects on human health. Fluoride is attracted by positively charged calcium in teeth and bones due to its strong electro-negativity which results in dental, skeletal, and non-skeletal forms of xuorosis and associated health complaints in children as well as adults. Water samples from groundwater used for drinking were collected from different water sources (over 22) and fluoride levels were determined through spectrophotometer, DR/5000 (Hach). The mean fluoride concentration was 1.14 ppm. The maximum concentration of fluoride recorded was 1.78 ppm while the lowest was 0.85 ppm. Semnan drinking water is suitable for consumption without any treatment.

The poisoning is mostly due to suicide and is observed in younger age groups. The systemic manifestations of ALP poisoning are common but pernicious manifestations of them are cardiotoxicity, shock, and ARDS. The clinical hallmark of cardiotoxicity is arrhythmia. The aim of this study was to investigate cardiac arrhythmias in patients poisoned with ALP who were admitted to Razi Hospital to reduce mortality rate. This survey was performed as a cross sectional descriptive study. Overall, 102 patients were admitted to the hospital. Their gender, age, first blood pressure (BP), and the number of consumed tablet were registered. A cardiologist studied the patients’ ECGs and recorded various arrhythmias. Then, data were analyzed using SPSS version 11. In this study the mean age was 29.75±14.34 years and 66.7% of the patients were male. Used tablet and first BP average were 1.74±1.25 and 69.51±27.31 mmHg, respectively. Arrhythmia was recorded in 75.5% of the patients, among which arterial fibrillation (AF) was the most prevalant with the rate of 40.3%. PVC, Junc and PAC were the most common arrhythmias, respectively. Another arrhythmia was categorized in one group. All kinds of arrhythmia were common in younger males who had used more than one tablet and had first BP less than 90 mmHg. All patients with arrhythmia died. Cardiotoxicity is an important cause of death in all studies and in this study as well. All patients with arrhythmia, demonstrated through ECG, died. Therefore, this study can be the basis for more detailed studies.

Our aim was to evaluate the effect of intravenous intralipid administration as an antidote on the poisoned patients'' Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), hemodynamic parameters, arterial blood gas analysis, and routine metabolic profile tests (i.e. urea, glucose, sodium, and potassium) in the setting of non-local anesthetic drug overdose. In this randomized controlled trial, a total of 30 patients with non-local anesthetic drug intoxication were enrolled and randomly assigned to case (n=15) and control (n=15) groups. In the case group, all patients received 10cc/kg intralipid 10% infusion. The patients in the control group just received supportive care. The patients'' demographic and clinical characteristics and the results of their laboratory tests were evaluated upon admission and 6 hours after that. Mean age was 23±5 and 28±11 years in cases and controls, respectively. There were no significant statistical differences between these two groups in terms of age, gender, elapsed time between intubation and extubation, and prevalence of need for intubation and/or mechanical ventilation (P=0.70 and P= 1.00, respectively). Also, systolic blood pressure, pulse rate, mean rate- pressure product, respiratory rate, and results of acid-base gas, serum sodium, potassium, urea, and creatinine tests upon admission and six hours later were not significantly different between the two groups. However, a significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of GCS difference (P= 0.048) and blood glucose six hours after presentation (P= 0.04). In the setting of non-local anesthetic drug overdose, intravenous intralipid infusion can increase GCS and interestingly, decrease the blood glucose.

Mercury (Hg) is considered a global pollutant because Hg0 which is the predominant form of atmospheric Hg resides in the atmosphere for as long as 0.5 to 2 years. Mercury has many negative effects on the reproductive, respiratory, and immune systems. In this study, 24 Caspian lampreys (Caspiomyzon wagneri) were transported to the university laboratory and then stored in -20 oC until they were dissected. The liver, muscle, skin, ovaries, and testes were all dissected out. All samples were freeze-dried and ground by a mortar and pestle into powder. The specimens were analyzed by a Leco AMA254 mercury analyzer. The order of mercury concentration in the lamprey tissues was as follows: Muscle > ovaries > liver > skin > testes. The mean values of mercury in muscle and testes were 192.25 ± 7.10 and 21.42 ± 1.48 Hg ng/g dry weight, respectively. There were no significant differences (N = 24) between the sexes in the Hg level of most tissues except for gonads. A comparison with some ammocoetes of jawless fishes shows a 10 times less concentration than other records. This difference probably is due to non-parasitic behavior and use of various sources of nutrition in other species. In comparison of other kind of sea lamprey, due to detritivore habits of Caspian lamprey on a very specific part of food web (non-live food only in the sea floor), the supposed species can introduce as a special indicator of mercury and heavy metal levels in the aquatic ecosystem.

Formalin is an aqueous solution of formaldehyde. It is a protoplasmic poison and causes coagulation necrosis and tissue fixation. Case: A 19-year-old girl was brought for autopsy to the mortuary of JSS Medical College, Mysore. Formalin is an unusual poison to be ingested for suicidal purposes due to selective availability and its strong taste and odor.