Expression of guanylate cyclase C in human prefrontal cortex depends on sex and feeding status.

Introduction: Guanylate cyclase C (GC-C) has been detected in the rodent brain in neurons of the cerebral cortex, amygdala, midbrain, hypothalamus, and cerebellum. Methods: In this study we determined GC-C protein expression in Brodmann areas (BA) 9, BA10, BA11, and BA32 of the human prefrontal cortex involved in regulation of feeding behavior, as well as in the cerebellar cortex, arcuate nucleus of hypothalamus and substantia nigra in brain samples of human 21 male and 13 female brains by ELISA with postmortem delay < 24 h. Results: GC-C was found in all tested brain areas and it was expressed in neurons of the third cortical layer of BA9. The regulation of GC-C expression by feeding was found in male BA11 and BA10-M, where GC-C expression was in negative correlation to the volume of stomach content during autopsy. In female BA11 there was no correlation detected, while in BA10-M there was even positive correlation. This suggests sex differences in GC-C expression regulation in BA11 and BA10-M. The amount of GC-C was higher in female BA9 only when the death occurred shortly after a meal, while expression of GC-C was higher in BA10-O only when the stomach was empty. The expression of GC-C in female hypothalamus was lower when compared to male hypothalamus only when the stomach was full, suggesting possibly lower satiety effects of GC-C agonists in women. Discussion: These results point toward the possible role of GC-C in regulation of feeding behavior. Since, this is first study of GC-C regulation and its possible function in prefrontal cortex, to determine exact role of GC-C in different region of prefrontal cortex, especially in humans, need further studies.

Postmortem injury quantification for the fatally injured cyclists in the Osijek-Baranja county over a 21-year period.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to quantify injuries in fatal cyclists' traffic crashes by performing injury analysis and determine injury trends as well as main epidemiological data of the cyclists' fatalities. METHODS: The study was organized as a cross-sectional retrospective study, which included 125 cyclists' fatalities autopsied at the Clinical Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine, Clinical Hospital Center Osijek from 1998 to 2018. We applied The Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS©) classification for all fatally injured cyclists in traffic crashes and determined the severity of injuries by body region from the description of injuries reported in the autopsy report. RESULTS: The majority of victims in our study (80%) were male and older than 45 (80.8%). A significant majority of cyclists (78.4%) were not wearing a helmet at the time of the fatal crash. For the rest of the cyclists (21.6%) we were not able to establish if they were wearing a helmet at the time of the crash based on the traffic police reports. Most of those who died on the spot or during transport had severe injuries to three or more ISS body regions (26/46 = 54%) and the majority of deceased cyclist had severe injuries to the head and brain, regardless of the time of death. Older cyclists died on the spot with lower injury severity scores (ISS). CONCLUSIONS: Measures against dangerous cycling behavior such as driving under the influence of alcohol and driving without the helmet could lead to reduction of fatal, and probably, non-fatal bicycle crashes. We believe that policy change regarding mandatory helmet usage is of upmost importance. Injury analysis can provide us with valuable information regarding where the focus of treatment should be among severely injured cyclists as well as where the prevention should be targeted. Further injury analysis studies are needed, with studies including both fatal and non-fatal crashes. The Abbreviated Injury Scale represents a valuable system for describing (coding) and quantifying the severity of injuries during autopsies.

Fatal motorcycle crashes in wide urban area of Zagreb, Croatia-A 10-year review.

Objective: The objective of our study was to determine the prevalence of alcohol and drug intoxication among fatally injured motorcyclists in a wide urban area of Zagreb, Croatia. Methods: We conducted a single-center observational retrospective study over a 10-year period (2007-2016) in 3 counties covering an area including 1.2 million residents. We reviewed the records on fatally injured motorcyclists, collecting information relating to sex, age, cause of death, time of death in relation to the time of the crash, and the circumstances of the crash (time of day, day of the week, season). Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) and toxicology analysis results were collected and analyzed. Results: We identified 163 deaths (95.7% males, 4.3% females). Overall, 64.2% of the victims were 20 to 39 years old. The majority (50.9%) of those fatally injured were responsible for causing the traffic crash; the rest were determined not to be responsible or the responsibility could not be determined. The most frequent causes of death were multiple injuries (55.8%) and isolated head trauma (23.3%). The rider's BAC was above the legal limit for driving (>0.50 g/kg) in 53.8% of cases, with a mean BAC of 1.91 g/kg. There was no difference in riding a motorcycle with a BAC above the legal limit between groups defined as younger (≤39 years of age) and older (≥40 years of age). The number of people with an illegal BAC was significantly higher during weekends than during the work week. The BAC of riders who were responsible for the crash was significantly higher than that of those who were not responsible or whose responsibility could not be determined. Use of illegal drugs or nontherapeutic use of legal drugs was not common and was detected in 10.4% of fatally injured riders. Conclusions: Alcohol intoxication has a major role in motorcycle crash-related mortality. A significant difference in BAC between fatally injured riders responsible for the accident and those who were not responsible implies that measures directed toward prevention of drinking and driving behavior could lower the number of fatal motorcycle crashes. Weekend measures, especially during spring and summer, could have particularly significant effects.