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Scheme for Investigating Cases of Death due to Traumatic Injuries
Published in Paul T. Jayaprakash, Crime Scene Investigation and Reconstruction, 2023
An examination of the hair root, if present, may provide an answer to the question if the hair had been forcibly removed. If a hair pulled from the body forcefully was securely attached to the follicle (anagen stage), follicular tissue may still remain attached to the base of the hair. However, the absence of follicular tissue on a hair root is not necessarily a proof that the hair has naturally fallen out of the head. The presence of follicular sheath in a hair recovered at the crime scene can be ascertained by visualizing the proximal ends under suitable magnification for which stereomicroscope offers the best results. Examination using a good hand magnifier or close-up photography of the hair end using suitable lens or using the cameras in any of the modern cell phones would also enable recognizing the follicular sheath. Figure 5.49 illustrates a forcibly plucked scalp hair with the root end shown within a box, and Figure 5.50 is an enlargement of the root end with the arrow indicating the translucent follicular sheath. Figure 5.51 shows a fallen pubic hair with the root end shown within a box, while Figure 5.52 is an enlarged view of the root end of that pubic hair. All the figures illustrate photographs taken using iphone6s. The presence of adherent follicular sheath on the root depends on the root growth stage.
A Methodological Approach to the External Examination
Published in Cristoforo Pomara, Vittorio Fineschi, Forensic and Clinical Forensic Autopsy, 2020
Stefano D’Errico, Monica Salerno
The presence or absence of head hair, as well as its color and length, should be recorded. If the decedent is wearing a wig, the name of the manufacturer should also be noted. A generous hair sample should always be collected and preserved as natural hair can be used to establish race or for later toxicological analysis (e.g., drug-related death). No particular special procedures are required for the storage of hair samples (a sterile blood collection tube or even an envelope can be used), and the hair samples can be stored at room temperature for years without degradation. Although there is no particular need for hair toxicology as a routine component of every forensic examination, the retained sample may prove invaluable if the cause of death is disputed at some later date. Hair analysis may also be valuable in the diagnosis of drug-related deaths. If no drug is found in the hair root, then blood drug concentrations are substantial, which would indicate the decedent had no prior exposure to the drug. On the other hand, high concentrations in the hair would indicate regular use and suggest that the decedent may have been tolerant to the drug in question.
Skin
Published in Pritam S. Sahota, James A. Popp, Jerry F. Hardisty, Chirukandath Gopinath, Page R. Bouchard, Toxicologic Pathology, 2018
Zbigniew W. Wojcinski, Lydia Andrews-Jones, Daher Ibrahim Aibo, Rie Kikkawa, Robert Dunstan
The hair follicle is composed of the hair shaft, hair bulb, dermal papilla, matrix cells, and outer root sheath (Paus and Cotsarelis 1999). Hairs originate from invaginations of the epidermis into the dermis and hypodermis (subcutis) forming hair follicles. Hair follicles have a thickened basement membrane (glassy membrane) that separates the dermis from the epithelium of the hair follicle and are surrounded by dense bands of dermal connective tissue composed of collagen and elastic fibers. The base of the hair follicle is enlarged to form an indented hair root that contains the dermal papilla, sometimes also called the follicular papilla to distinguish it from the dermal papilla beneath the epidermis. Together, the hair root and dermal papilla form the hair bulb. The dermal papilla is highly innervated and vascularized and controls the physiological functions of the hair follicle (Cotsarelis 1997). The hair root is composed of proliferating hair matrix cells organized in an external root sheath (subtending the basement membrane) and an internal root sheath. Although hair matrix cells show some similarity to regular epidermal germinative cells in their capacity to proliferate, they do however differ in that they produce hard keratin (as opposed to the soft keratin of skin epidermis) and exhibit intermittent mitotic activity and keratinization in contrast to the continuous mitotic activity and keratinization of regular epidermal cells.
Forensic evaluation of mitochondrial DNA heteroplasmy in Gujarat population, India
Published in Annals of Human Biology, 2022
Mohammed H. M. Alqaisi, Molina Madhulika Ekka, Bhargav C. Patel
Heteroplasmy can be observed at a different frequency in both related and unrelated individuals as well as between and within tissues of the same individual (Calloway et al. 2000; Lutz et al. 2000; Asari et al. 2008; Li et al. 2015; Naue et al. 2015). Numerous previous studies have demonstrated that hair has a high frequency of heteroplasmy, which varies significantly even within the same individual with the same hair root (Bendall et al. 1997; Alonso et al. 2002). Therefore, the presence of heteroplasmy in the control region of mtDNA may make it difficult to interpret its variations during a forensic investigation (Greenberg et al. 1983; Salas et al. 2001; Amorim et al. 2019). However, recent studies have shown that heteroplasmy can increase discrimination among individuals. Hence, it can add evidentiary value to the forensic investigation (Gill et al. 1994; Ivanov et al. 1996; Parson et al. 2014; Amorim et al. 2019).
The Influence of Race and Sex on the Side Effect Profile of Methotrexate in the Treatment of Uveitis
Published in Ocular Immunology and Inflammation, 2019
Kara C. LaMattina, Sarah M. Escott, Julia F. Malalis, David Mai, Yosuke Harada, Debra A. Goldstein
Hair loss is also a well-known side effect of MTX; however, there are limited data looking at racial and sex differences in its development. The growing hair root possesses high metabolic and mitotic activity, and thus can be vulnerable to antimitotic and cytostatic agents.20 In our study, hair loss occurred in 9% of patients. This proportion is within the range previously reported in other studies (0.5–13%).1,9 We report alopecia twice as commonly in African Americans compared to Caucasians, however the data set was too small to draw statistically significant conclusions. Investigations into the genes involved in folate metabolism and transport have suggested that genetic variations may be important in defining an individual’s response to MTX, including the risks of toxicity.11,21,22 The majority of research to date has been in patients taking methotrexate for the treatment of RA, and has focused on mutations in the MTHFR and ATP-binding cassette transporter (ABC) genes.11,21–23
Did poisoning play a role in Napoleon’s death? A systematic review
Published in Clinical Toxicology, 2021
Daniela Marchetti, Francesca Cittadini, Nadia De Giovanni
Thus, the modern toxicological tests aimed to identify As in the hair primarily collected the day of Napoleon’s death or the day after, during the autopsy. According to Table 2, the hair was obtained by museum [4,11,16,19,26,32,37] or private collections [9,11,16,22,29,30,32]; they were equally defined as well-authenticated samples but no information on the sampled area, on length, on growing stages (only anagen stage can incorporate xenobiotics) nor about preservation condition and chain of custody were available. All the toxicological analysis confirmed that As levels vary from almost normal <5 ppm [9,11,19] to slightly higher than normal in the range of 5–10 ppm [11,29] to clearly high concentrations in the range of 10–50 ppm [4,11,16,22,26,30,32,37]. This range is elevated compared to what would accrue from the general population, even in the early nineteenth century. Three studies investigated As levels in hair of Napoleon’s contemporary people living in similar environmental conditions [7,12,38]: Leslie [7] reported as concentration up to 3.8 ppm; Hindmarsh [12] range was 6.4 ± 0.8 ppm and also referred 5 and 6 ppm in the hair of Napoleon’s sisters Elisa and Caroline, respectively; arsenic concentration of 13 ppm from hair cut from Pauline in 1825 [38]. Hindmarsh [12,46,47] described patterns suggestive of external contamination (usually uniform elevation in concentration, sometimes with extremely high values) up to 8000 ppm; chronic steady administration (often relatively uniform) > 10 ppm (>45 ppm compatible with death from chronic As poisoning); and acute or acute on chronic administration with elevated spikes, particularly near the hair root. Hindmarsh, also reported nowadays As normal levels <1 ppm (up to 3 ppm in polluted areas).