ABSTRACT
Cases involving acute fatalities due to ingestion of organophosphorus pesticides (OPs), such as chlorpyrifos, diazinon, malathion and parathion, are presented. Solid-phase extraction (SPE) and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) were used for the analysis of OPs in postmortem blood. After extraction with an Oasis HLB cartridge, the eluent was evaporated to dryness under a nitrogen stream at 35 degrees C, reconstituted with ethanol, and then analyzed by GC/MS. Terbufos was used as an internal standard. Verification procedures, such as the limit of detection, limit of quantification, linearity of the calibration, precision and recovery were performed. Validation data were adequate for analyzing OPs in blood. Chlorpyrifos, diazinon, malathion and parathion were detected in 31 postmortem blood samples. Parathion was the most frequently detected compound among the four pesticides. The mean concentrations of chlorpyrifos, diazinon, malathion and parathion were 0.72, 1.03, 0.82 and 2.90 mg/L, respectively.
Subject(s)
Insecticides/blood , Organophosphorus Compounds/blood , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Female , Forensic Toxicology , Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Postmortem ChangesABSTRACT
The abuse of methamphetamine (MA) is an increasingly growing problem globally and produces serious side effects. In the present study, the immunomodulating effects of MA were examined on the immune system after MA (5 mg/kg body weight) was administered daily orally for 14 d. The immune system was evaluated by the antibody response to sheep red blood cells (SRBC; plaque assay and serum immunoglobulin [Ig] G), natural killer (NK) activity, lymphocyte subpopulations in the spleen and thymus, and concanavalin A (Con A)- and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated lymphocyte proliferation using splenocytes. Body weight, spleen weight, and thymus weight generally decreased in MA-treated mice. MA treatment induced an increase in the percentage of CD4(+) cells with simultaneous decrease in the percentages of CD8(+) and double-positive CD4(+)CD8(+) in thymus. MA inhibited the IgM plaque-forming cell number, and lowered the level of IgG, the proliferation of mitogen-stimulated B and T cells, and the growth of granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming units (CFU-GM). Exposure to MA also decreased interleukin-2 production by splenocytes. In contrast, splenic NK activity in exposed mice was significantly enhanced. Taken together, data indicate that the immune system was suppressed by oral MA exposure.
Subject(s)
Methamphetamine/toxicity , Spleen/drug effects , Thymus Gland/drug effects , Animals , Antibody-Producing Cells/drug effects , Antibody-Producing Cells/immunology , Bone Marrow Cells/drug effects , Bone Marrow Cells/immunology , CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes/drug effects , CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes/immunology , CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes/drug effects , CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes/immunology , Cell Line, Tumor , Colony-Forming Units Assay , Erythrocytes/immunology , Granulocytes , Immunoglobulin G/immunology , Interleukin-2/immunology , Killer Cells, Natural/drug effects , Killer Cells, Natural/immunology , Macrophages , Male , Mice , Mice, Inbred Strains , Sheep , Spleen/cytology , Spleen/immunology , T-Lymphocyte Subsets/drug effects , T-Lymphocyte Subsets/immunology , Thymus Gland/cytology , Thymus Gland/immunologyABSTRACT
The abuse of methamphetamine (MA) is an increasingly growing problem globally and produces serious side effects. In the present study, the immunomodulating effects of MA were examined on murine peritoneal macrophages after MA (5 mg/kg body weight) was administered daily orally for 2 wk. When purified macrophages were stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), the tumoricidal activity induced by LPS was significantly suppressed by MA. MA also inhibited poly I:C-induced antiviral activity in macrophages and decreased the number of peritoneal macrophages. FACS analysis showed that the expression of CD14 was markedly decreased by MA in LPS-stimulated macrophages. The production of nitric oxide (NO) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha: which are known to be major effector molecules in macrophage-mediated cytotoxicity, was decreased by MA. MA produced a significant effect on phagocytosis and interleukin-1 (IL-1) and IL-6 at 14 d. In addition, the level of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) was not altered by MA. Taken together, these data indicate that MA has a differential immunomodulating effect on macrophage secretory and cellular activities.
Subject(s)
Central Nervous System Stimulants/toxicity , Macrophages/drug effects , Macrophages/physiology , Methamphetamine/toxicity , Animals , Hydrogen Peroxide/analysis , Lipopolysaccharide Receptors/biosynthesis , Male , Mice , Oxidants/analysis , PeritoneumABSTRACT
We present two fatal cases, a 41-year-old male (case 1) and his 8-year-old daughter (case 2), resulting from acute lidocaine poisoning. Lidocaine was quantified by gas chromatography (GC) analysis using nitrogen-phosphorus detection. The lidocaine concentrations of cases 1 and 2 were: liver, 27.7 microg/g and 24.9 microg/g; spleen, 70.1 microg/g and 29.9 microg/g; and gastric contents, 23.6 microg/g and 42.8 microg/g, respectively.
