P Kintz

..Nor should the presence of a metabolite be considered as a discrimination tool, as it can also be present in putrefactive material...

..Moreover, the window of drug detection is dramatically extended to weeks, months or even years. The aim of this review is to document the current status of hair analysis in postmortem toxicology...

..In the other case, alprazolam was detected in four consecutive 1cm hair segments at 3.1-0.4 pg/mg, obtained from an adolescent who had been forced to prostitute herself...

..4 to 25.0 ng/mg (in comparison with physiological concentrations < 2 ng/mg). Methylenedioxymethamphetamine was present in femoral blood at 144 ng/mL. These results are consistent with an acute fatal overdose of GHB...

..9-14.1% and 13.7-16.8%, respectively, with an extraction recovery of 97.6%. The analysis of a strand of hair obtained from two bodybuilders, revealed the presence of methenolone at the concentrations of 7.3 and 8.8 pg/mg...

..2 and 15.1%, respectively, with an extraction recovery of 81.7%. The analysis of three strands of hair, obtained from three bodybuilders, revealed the presence of nandrolone at the concentration of 1, 3.5 and 7.5 pg/mg...

..The heart blood (917 ng/ml) to peripheral blood (390 ng/ml) ratio was 2.4. No other drugs, including ethanol were detected...

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..The death of the babies was attributed to accidental asphyxia ina situation where methadone was considered as a chemical weapon. The mothers, who were the perpetrators in both cases, did not deny the use of methadone as a sedative drug...

..Some references, dealing with amphetamine and methamphetamine in alternative specimens are listed in the manuscript to give an overview on the stimulants detection...

..In these cases, the combination of an alternative specimen (hair) and hyphenated analytical techniques (tandem mass spectrometry) appears to be a pre-requisite...

..These results were found suitable to screen for 17 benzodiazepines in oral fluid and detect them at very low concentrations, making this method suitable for monitoring subjects under the influence...

..Hair analysis may be a useful adjunct to conventional drug testing in sexual assault. It should not be considered as an alternative to blood and urine analyses but as a complement. MS/MS technologies appear to be a prerequisite...

..The use of buprenorphine as a sedative drug was not challenged by the perpetrator...

..Moreover, the window of drug detection is dramatically extended to weeks, months or even years. The aim of this review is to document the current detection of anabolic steroids in hair...

..These results demonstrate that a positive (>50 mg/l) postmortem blood GHB concentration cannot support alone drug exposure and that it is essential to document the case with other specimens, including peripheral blood and vitreous humor...

..6 to 0.8 ng/mg). This study demonstrates that a single exposure to GHB in a case of sexual assault can be documented by hair analysis when collected about one month after the crime...

..Therefore, in case of drug-facilitated crimes involving lorazepam, urine appears as the best specimen to document exposure, particularly if LC-MS/MS is used...

..Since this date, numerous deaths were attributed to this drug. This paper reports a new series of 13 fatalities involving buprenorphine observed at the Institute of Legal Medicine of Strasbourg, between August 2000 to October 2001...

..4 ng/ml) after 15 min intake. Peak zolpidem concentrations were obtained at 150 min (53.5 ng/ml) and 180 min (75.7 ng/ml), respectively. Oral fluid tested positive for zolpidem for over 8 h (9-15 ng/ml)...

..The drug tested also positive in the corresponding hair segment at 0.75 pg/mg. The requested extraordinary sensitivity of LC-MS/MS appears as a pre-requisite to document any case involving drug-facilitated sexual assault...

..This new technology may find useful applications in anabolic abuse control...

..In the hair of the two subjects, trimeprazine was detected at concentrations in the range 23 to 339 pg/mg. The stepmother, who was the perpetrator in both cases, did not challenge the use of trimeprazine as a sedative drug...

..Although not yet recognized by the International Olympic Committee, hair analysis may be a useful adjunct to conventional drug testing in urine from athletes...

..In view of these results we concluded that a single determination should not be used firmly to discriminate long-term exposure to a drug...

..This was in accord with the victim's claim. In the absence of any controlled studies, it was impossible to put any quantitative interpretation on the measured concentration...

..Because of its potential effects on behavior, the influence of the drug on the mental functioning of the user should be considered in cases of suicide...

..Given the results, the DDSV device was considered as an acceptable tool to detect cannabis abuse in oral fluid within a period of 2-3 hours after smoking...

..It appears, therefore, that it is not possible to document the drinking status of a subject by simply switching from head hair to pubic hair...

..These results prove that more than 97% of the arsenic found in the hair of Napoleon is in inorganic form, which is consistent with a chronic intoxication to arsenic...

..A current limitation of the use of this specimen for roadside testing is the absence of a suitable immunoassay that detects the parent compound in sufficiently low concentrations...

..2-152.1 and 167.1 and m/z 289.9-154.0 for diphenhydramine and the IS, respectively. In the hair of the child, diphenhydramine was detected at concentrations in the range 33-39 pg/mg, depending on the segment...

..Peripheral blood concentration was 175.7 mg/l. Alpha-chloralose was quantified in several tissues, indicating kidney sequestration. No other drugs, including ethanol, were detected...

..All concentrations were clearly under the proposed positive cut-off level (2 ng/ml) and the concentration of NA was always higher than the concentration of NE...

..In addition, two suicide-related deaths were also observed, with blood buprenorphine concentrations at 144 and 3276ng/ml...

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..Liquid chromatography-tandem MS appears to be a necessity for testing tropane alkaloids of the Datura group, given the low concentrations to be measured...

..Five drugs (triazolam, oxazepam, phenobarbital, alimemazine, and clomipramine) were identified and assayed in some tissues of a putrefied cadaver and in the maggots found on and in the body...

..2 pg/mg, in accordance with a single exposure to the drug. In the other expertise, zopiclone was detected in the two segments analyzed, at 21.3 and 21.5 pg/mg, making unlikely the hypothetical single exposure to zopiclone...

..4 pg/mg. In the other case, zolpidem was detected in all the segments analyzed, demonstrating likely previous drug use in addition to recent exposure associated with a positive blood result...

..3-15.6 ng/mL), did not cause a false negative response by the immunoassay...

..The blood concentrations of secobarbital, nitrazepam, and codeine were found to be 11.48, 1.72, and 0.036 microgram/ml, respectively. Results are discussed in the light of the existing literature...

..The blood concentration of dothiepin was 5.75 mg/l. Hair analysis clearly indicated a chronic antidepressant exposure, with a dothiepin concentration of 1.89 ng/mg hair. Results are discussed in the light of the existing literature...

..Among thirty samples obtained from polydrug abusers, thirteen tested positive for nordiazepam, in the range of 0.25-18.87 ng/mg. Five samples were also positive for oxazepam, in the range 0.11-0.50 ng/mg...

..While the blood level was 204.6 micrograms/ml, the maximum concentration was found in the heart (708 micrograms/g), confirming the cardiac toxicity of meprobamate. Other drugs were not detected...

..1%, respectively. The analysis of a 3-cm long hair strand, obtained from a young bodybuilder (27 year old) assuming to be a regular user of Winstrol (stanozolol, 2 mg), revealed the presence of stanozolol at the concentration of 15 pg/mg...

..Buprenorphine has been an important advance in care for drug abusers, but the toxic risk may be fatal. We report here two original series of buprenorphine poisoning in opiate abusers on substitution therapy...

..4-78.4 ng/mg (COC), 0.0-36.3 ng/mg (BZE), 0.0-1.6 ng/mg (EME), 0.0-2.1 ng/mg (CE), 0.0-84.3 ng/mg (6-MAM), 0.2-27.1 ng/mg (MOR) and 0.1-19.6 ng/mg (COD). An application in forensic sciences, involving multi-sectional analysis, is given...

..13 ng/mg), and from 0.1 to 0.29 ng/mg hair (mean, 0.15 ng/mg) for CBD, CBN, and THC, respectively. These results show that this new screening procedure is suitable for the detection of CBD and CBN in the hair of cannabis abusers...

..5 cm, corresponding to a growth period of 2 months. Concentrations were 1.09, 1.93 and 1.48 ng/mg from the root to the end, respectively. This is the first report on dextromoramide testing in human hair...

..02 ng/mg after decontamination). In all cases, THC was never detected. Extensive but unrealistic use of Cannabio shampoo can cause drug-free hair to test positive for CBD and CBN but not for the primary psychoactive drug THC...

..Meprobamate appeared in beard hair approximately 4-5 days after administration and peaked during the 7-9th day. Drug levels in beard hair appeared to be dose-related...

..2 mg/kg of the drug. The pattern of distribution was similar at 15, 30, 60 and 90 min, with the highest concentrations being found in the liver and the myocardium, while other organs were not able to concentrate dextromoramide...

..The results of this study support the concept that the Singlestep ELISA for buprenorphine determination in urine should be considered as a new, valided screening procedure...

..7%. The analysis of a segment of hair, obtained from an occasional consumer, revealed the presence of kavain at the concentration of 418 pg/mg. A higher concentration (1708 pg/mg) was detected in the corresponding pubic hair...

..The minimum detectable quantities are 0.6 and 0.4 ng ml-1, for zipeprol in plasma and urine, respectively. Relative standard deviations for within-run data are less than 6%...

..Nevertheless, knowledge of dioxin body burden in the French population would be of interest for an accurate interpretation of these results...

..The blood concentration of alimemazine was 6.52 micrograms/mL. The brain was the major site of drug deposition, and tissue distribution is discussed in light of the existing literature...

..Since drugs identified in maggots are always detectable in the cadaver too, we conclude that larvae analysis is of almost no interest for practical forensic casework...

..03 to 0.17 ng/mg for a signal-to-noise ratio of 2. The detection of prednisone and beclomethasone in three hair specimens obtained from forensic and clinical cases have documented corticosteroids incorporation into human hair...

..The whole blood dextromoramide concentrations were 984.3 ng/mL for case 1 and 871.1 ng/mL for case 2. No correlations could be established with the postmortem levels in blood and in bile...

..To our knowledge, this is the first report of a verapamil fatality documented by repeated plasma measurements of the drug during the antemortem period...

..4 and separation on a 5-mm Nucleosil C18 column. Blood concentrations were 43.0, 6.5, and 0.21 mg/L for embutramide, mebezonium, and tetracaine, respectively. No other drugs, including ethanol, were detected...

..The lower detection limits are 3 and 10 micrograms/l for mefloquine and chloroquine, respectively. Thus, this method appears to be simple, rapid, very sensitive and applicable in pharmaco-clinical, toxicological and forensic analyses...

..From the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of over-exposure to Seveso dioxin through hair analysis reported in the literature...

..The analysis of two hair samples from calves suspected of drug administration showed low clenbuterol concentrations at 3.6 and 4.8 pg/mg...

..Before an extensive review on the detection of anabolics, corticosteroids, and beta-adrenergic stimulants in hair, the place of this specimen in doping control is discussed, with a focus on the potential problems of this new technology...

..Hair analysis may be a useful adjunct to conventional drug testing in urine. Methods for evading urinalysis do not affect hair analysis. The aim of this review is to document toxicological applications of hair analysis in drug detection...

..These preliminary results obtained with the OraLine IV s.a.t. device indicate more encouraging data for the detection of THC using on-site tests than previous evaluations...

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..The analysis of hair, cut into four segments, obtained from an athlete, revealed the presence of metandienone at the concentrations of 78, 7, 10 and 108 pg/mg in each segment of hair (0-1, 1-2, 2-3 and 3 cm to the tip)...

..This technology should find interest in workplace drug testing or driving license regranting, especially when many samples have to be tested with a high rate of negative samples, as ELISA is an easy and high-throughput method...

..This approach may find useful applications, but the definition of legally defensible cutoff values would require much more data. MS/MS technologies appear as a prerequisite in drug-facilitated cases...

..These compounds were also detected in pubic and axillary hairs. Self-administration of midazolam and propofol without respiratory assistance and medical control certainly contributed to the death...

..Mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry technologies appear to be required for analyses in drug-facilitated cases. The experience of the authors is presented in cases involving the elderly and chemical poisoning...

..These results were found suitable to screen for 16 benzodiazepines in hair and detect them at very low concentrations, making this method suitable to monitor single dose...

..This can be explained by a codeine concentration which was too low to show positive with the Drugwipe, interfering substances may be present in saliva or the sampling procedure is inadequate...

..After a 20 mg/day dose, the hair concentration of a subject under glibenclamide therapy was 650 pg/mg...

..The present review aims to summarise the various applications that have been published...

..All the narcotic team tested negative, irrespective of the compound...

..The drug was analyzed in whole blood, bile, stomach contents, kidney, brain and liver. The whole blood concentration was 1526 ng/ml. The results are compared with the existing literature...

..The blood concentration was 9.77 mg/l and other drugs, including ethanol, were not detected...

..We have developed a new extraction, purification, and separation technique using liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry for the identification and quantification of two endogenous glucocorticoids: cortisol and cortisone...

..The procedure was linear from 1 to 200 mg/l for both blood and urine. Precisions were in the range 4 to 11%. The method appears simple, specific and rapid as an accurate result can be obtained within 1 h...

..Applications in forensic science, particularly for hair analysis, are presented...

..The blood concentration of endrin was 544.9 mg/l. Results are discussed in the light of the existing literature...

..e., atropine and scopolamine) is close to the level at which delirium occurs...

..Therefore, in cases of drug-facilitated crimes in which tetrazepam is involved, hair and beard analyses can be an important complement to urine analyses to document exposure, particularly if LC-MS/MS is used...

..Prevention is fundamental and is recognised as demonstrated by campaigns in various countries...

..2 to -50.2 per thousand. In contrast to the use of cut-off concentrations for positive postmortem blood GHB concentrations, this method should provide an unambiguous indication of the drug origin...

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..5 mg/L). Although the exact cause of death could not be determined because of the state of the corpse, meticulous examination of the scene and information obtained from the victim's relatives led to the conclusion of suicide...

..Creatine is not often analyzed in hospital laboratories. This paper documents how easily creatine can be determined and quantitated by 1H NMR spectroscopy...