Ayahuasca as a Decoction Applied to Human: Analytical Methods, Pharmacology and Potential Toxic Effects.

Ahyahuasca is a term commonly used to describe a decoction prepared by cooking the bark or crushed stems of the liana Banisteriopsis caapi (contains ß-carbolines) alone or in combination with other plants, most commonly leaves of the shrub Psychotria viridis (contains N,N-dimethyltryptamine-DMT). More than 100 different plants can serve as sources of ß-carbolines and DMT, which are the active alkaloids of this decoction, and therefore it is important to know the most accurate composition of the decoction, especially when studying the pharmacology of this plant. The aim was to summarize the latest sensitive methods used in the analysis of the composition of the beverage itself and the analysis of various biological matrices. We compared pharmacokinetic parameters in all of the studies where decoction of ayahuasca was administered and where its composition was known, whereby minimal adverse effects were observed. The therapeutic benefit of this plant is still unclear in the scientific literature, and side effects occur probably on the basis of pre-existing psychiatric disorder. We also described toxicological risks and clinical benefits of ayahuasca intake, which meant that the concentrations of active alkaloids in the decoction or in the organism, often not determined in publications, were required for sufficient evaluation of its effect on the organism. We did not find any post-mortem study, in which the toxicological examination of biological materials together with the autopsy findings would suggest potential lethality of this plant.

The analysis of dyadic deaths.

In the work we analyze three cases of unusual dyadic deaths when the perpetrator of homicide committed suicide shortly after the murder. In the first case a man stabbed his girlfriend with a knife and subsequently committed a car crash suicide. In the second case an apparent simultaneous hanging of a married couple turned out to be homicide-suicide act. In the last case a man shot his ex-wife while she was on a walk with their dog and in a short time turned the gun against himself.

The quantified evaluation of the wounding potential of a ricochet projectile of a handgun cartridge calibre 9 mm (type 82) in a ballistic experiment.

UNLABELLED: The question of handgun use in a city or densely populated aglomerations requires a highly practical level of solution to this issue, though with the knowledge of theoretical presumptions of wound ballistics of ricochet projectiles. The application of wound ballistics into the practice of a forensic pathologist, as well as a surgeon or a traumatologist, enables a good understanding of the dynamics of projectile penetration through anatomic structures of the human body. In forensic assessment, gunshot wounds of limbs are relatively frequent cases. By the integration of wound ballistics principles into the research of gunshot wounds, it is also possible to establish, whether the projectile entered into the anatomic structures under direct trajectory steadily or whether through the course of its trajectory, before reaching the human body, it firstly contacted a particular object in the space, i. e. whether the injury could have been caused by a ricochet projectile. In connection with unclear gunshot wounds and their morphological image, it is necessary to consider the possibility of the effects of a ricochet projectile, especially when persons are injured accidentally. The daily practice of the officers of the Police Corps of the Slovak Republic essentially enhances the necessity of being informed about the behaviour of parametrically designated ricochet projectiles in a ballistic experiment with the use of a model of a built-up area in a town, with typical materials and surfaces of objects in between and a model of a human limb part as a potential target of an uncontrolled ricochet projectile. The proposed design of the situation is undoubtedly of an enormous significance, even when forensically evaluating the morphological consequences of ricochet projectiles. By the application of results of such experiments and their final comparison, when different types of projectiles are used, it is also possible to contribute to the experts groundwork in the process of rearmament of the official armed forces. The main aim of our work is to point out the high potential of the wounding effect of ricochet bullets of a particular calibre cartridge with focus on injuries of the femurs of the lower limbs. The carried out ballistic experiment was designed for the needs of the experimental part of a diploma thesis of a student from the Faculty of Medicine of Comenius University in Bratislava and his results point out at the possibilities for civilian safety strategies during the intervention of the armed forces as well. KEYWORDS: Terminal ballistics - Ballistic experiment - Ricochet projectile - Gunshot wounds.

The application of the RT-PCR method for the staging of the prostate cancer progression.

Molecular biology seems to bring more convincing markers for the detection of prostate cancer as well as the development of metastases than immunohistochemistry. The main goal of present work was to detect the expression of prostate specific antigen (PSA) and prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSM) genes in the micrometastases by the RT-PCR to assess the progression of prostate cancer. We analyzed 50 patients: 28 patients with clinically localized or locally advanced prostate cancer who underwent radical prostatectomy, 7 patients with clinically proven metastases, 8 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia, and 7 healthy young men. The results of RT-PCR in the first group of 28 patients varied, however, they were in good correlation with the health status of the patients. Positive results of PSA and notably for PSM were good predictors of beginning metastasing process. Seven patients with metastatic disease had positive RT-PCR results both for PSA and PSM. All of the patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia and healthy young men had negative RT-PCR results for PSA and PSM. The study showed that positive RT-PCR results for PSA and especially for PSM correlated well with the progression of the disease and negative results reflected good health status of the patients.