RESUMO
Aconitum species are commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine, and they have a narrow therapy window due to the possibility of aconitine poisoning. Aconitine poisoning deaths appear infrequently in forensic practice. It is important to collect valuable body samples in time due to the rapid absorption and excretion of aconitine. However, it is unknown whether postmortem samples have value for toxicological analysis if the deceased has experienced long-term treatment before death. Herein, we present a case of a woman who died after 12 days of failed active treatment for aconitine poisoning. Aconitine was detected in the liver tissue. To our knowledge, this is the first case report describing the detection of aconitine in a decedent after long-term active treatment. The findings indicated that the aconitine concentration in liver tissue can be maintained after long-term treatment; this information may therefore serve as a reference in forensic practice.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Our previous research has shown that prenatal methcathinone exposure affects the neurodevelopment and neurobehavior of adolescent offspring, but the study on whether these findings continue into adulthood is limited. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to explore the effects of prenatal methcathinone exposure on anxiety-like behavior, learning and memory abilities, as well as serum 5-hydroxytryptamine and dopamine concentrations in adult offspring. METHODS: Pregnant rats were injected daily with methcathinone between the 7th and 20th days of gestation. The neurobehavioral performance of both male and female adult offspring rats was evaluated by neurobehavioral tests, including open-field tests, Morris water maze (MWM) tests, and novel object recognition (NOR) tests. The levels of 5-hydroxytryptamine and dopamine concentration in rat serum were detected by ELISA. RESULTS: Significant differences were found in the length of center distance and time of center duration in the open-field test, as well as the times of crossing the platform in the MWM test, between the prenatal methcathinone exposure group and the control group. Results of the NOR test showed that adult offspring rats exposed to methcathinone need more time to discriminate the novel object. No gender differences were detected in the neurobehavioral tests. The serum concentrations of 5-hydroxytryptamine and dopamine in rats exposed to methcathinone prenatally were lower than that in the control group, and the serum dopamine concentration was independent of gender in each group. CONCLUSION: Prenatal methcathinone exposure affects the neurological behavior in adult offspring, and 5-hydroxytryptamine and dopamine might be involved in the process.
RESUMO
This study aimed to investigate the effects of prenatal and lactational methcathinone exposure on the development and the learning and memory abilities of rat offspring using a Sprague-Dawley rat model. Pregnant and lactating rats were administered a consecutive daily dose of methcathinone (0.37 mg/kg) or an equivalent volume of saline by injection on gestational days 7-20 and postnatal days 2-15, respectively. The physical development and neurobehavioral test results of rat pups were recorded throughout the lactation period. Morris water maze (MWM) and novel object recognition (NOR) tests were performed from postnatal day 35 to day 42 to assess the learning and memory abilities of rat offspring in adolescence. The occurrence of hair growth and developments in neurological reflexes, such as improvements in limb grasp, righting reflex, and gait, were delayed in pups after perinatal methcathinone exposure compared with that in the control. Results from MWM and NOR tests indicate that perinatal methcathinone exposure induced deficits in spatial memory, learning ability, and novel object exploration in the adolescent offspring compared with that in the control. The impairment of spatial learning and memory was greater in the prenatal exposure group, while the impairment of novel object exploration was greater in the lactational exposure group. These data show that the prenatal and lactational methcathinone exposure induced the delay of physical and neurological reflex development and impaired learning and memory in rat offspring.