Absinthe: attention performance and mood under the influence of thujone.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine whether the impacts of absinthe on attention performance and mood were different from those experienced with beverages that contain only alcohol. The ingredient causing absinthe's toxicity is believed to be thujone. METHOD: A total of 25 healthy subjects participated in the study. An attention performance test and two questionnaires testing different mood dimensions were used. Three drinks with an identical amount of alcohol but with different amounts of thujone were offered. RESULTS: The results of the present study showed that the simultaneous administration of alcohol containing a high concentration of thujone had a negative effect on attention performance. Under this condition, the subjects tended to direct their attention to signals in the central field of attention and to neglect peripheral signals; the number of correct reactions decreased significantly in the peripheral field of attention, and reaction time and the number of "false alarm" reactions increased significantly. The effects were most prominent at the time of the first measurement. When the subjects were under the influence of alcohol or were administered both alcohol and a low thujone concentration, these effects were not observed. The assessment of mood state dimensions showed that the anxiolytic effect of alcohol was temporarily counteracted by a high thujone concentration. CONCLUSIONS: As they are apparently opposed to the effect of alcohol, the reactions observed here can be explained by the antagonistic effect of thujone on the gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor. Similar alterations were observed for the other mood state dimensions examined.

[Intramuscular application of diclofenac--case report and critical consideration of a therapeutic measure]. / Die intramuskuläre Applikation von Diclofenac -- Fallbericht und kritische Betrachtung einer therapeutischen Massnahme.

Diclofenac is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug of the phenylacetic class. It is frequently given as an intramuscular injection. However several, sometimes severe, side effects have been described after an i.m. administration. Based on a short case report about a fatal complication in the context of the i.m. administration of diclofenac, the arguments for and against the intramuscular injection of the drug are critically discussed. As a result, the administration of diclofenac as an intramuscular injection should be critically reviewed and alternatives -- as suppositories are available -- should be taken into account.

Concentration dependency of the BAC/BrAC (blood alcohol concentration/breath alcohol concentration) conversion factor during the linear elimination phase.

According to the theoretical pharmacokinetical considerations put forward by Wehner et al. the BAC(ven)/BrAC conversion factor Q is not a constant value and varies depending on the pharmacokinetic phase deduced from the alcohol concentration curve. Based on these considerations we propose that Q must be inversely proportional to the BrAC during the postabsorptive linear elimination phase, expressed as the hyperbola Q=1/kappa+(CT)/BrAC. The constants kappa or 1/kappa and (CT)--where (CT) consists of different parameters which remain constant during the linear elimination phase--can be experimentally determined from the linear relationship BrAC = kappaBAC(ven)-kappa(CT). To test this hypothesis 12 human volunteers received parenteral doses of ethanol. During the elimination phase, BAC and BrAC of each volunteer were measured between 18 and 34 times in a BrAC range between 0.65 mg/l and 0.12 mg/l. The conversion factor Q was either expressed in the form of the hyperbola Q=1/kappa+(CT)/BrAC or directly calculated from the ratio BAC(ven)/BrAC and the results obtained using both methods were found to be very similar. The values of 1/kappa of the hyperbolic functions varied between 1.808 and 2.165 and those of (CT) between 0.004 and 0.127. For a BrAC of 0.25 mg/l, an average value of 2.308+/-0.080 could be calculated for the conversion factor Q(0.25). On average, the value of Q(0.40) amounted to 2.207+/-0.048 and that of Q(0.55) to 2.160+/-0.056.

[Techno-festival mit fatal outcome]. / Techno-Festival mit tödlichem Ausgang.

The authors report on a 21-year old female who died suddenly during a techno-festival. The autopsy findings and the results of chemical-toxicological analyses were not able to clear up the cause of death. Pathophysiological and toxicological considerations demonstrate that only a combination of facts are sufficient to explain the sudden death of this young woman.

[Routine case of "auto-erotic accident"--surprising turn in evaluation of cause of death after chemical-toxicologic analysis]. / Routinefall "autoerotischer Unfall"--überraschende Wendung in der Bewertung der Todesursache nach chem.-tox. Analyse.

A man with indications of autoerotic manipulations was found dead in his flat and a homicide had to be excluded. Diverse material found in the flat suggested that the man was a consumer of cocaine. But the analyses of blood, urine and organs showed high concentrations of amphetamine and it was thought about an unintentionally mix-up with cocaine. A hair analysis was made and only amphetamine was detected. Therefore the utensils (mirror, razor-blade and sniff-pipe) belong to a rare nasal consumption of amphetamine.

Correlation of cocarcinogenic activity among n-alkanes with their physical effects on phospholipid micelles.

N-alkanes from C12 to C28 were tested for their cocarcinogenic or promoting activities to evaluate a correlation of their biologic activity with their effects on transport properties of phospholipid micelles. On this basis, we had predicted that the C18 and C20 homologues would be more active than the better known dodecane. The C12, C16, C18, and C20 n-alkanes, at various dilutions from 6 to 40% by volume in decahydronaphthalene (Decalin), were tested for their relative activity in a cocarcinogenic relationship to benzo[a]pyrene. At a 20% alkane concentration level, the solutions containing octadecane and eicosane induced tumors most rapidly. A 40% dodecane concentration was required to produce this level of cocarcinogenic activity. The activity of octadecane paralleled its physical effects on transport kinetics closely in the 6-40% (by volume) concentration. The C18, C20, and C28 n-alkanes and the C30 olefin squalene at dilutions from 10 to 40% in Decalin (by volume) were tested for their relative promoting activity after a single application of 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene in benzene. At comparable mole fractions in Decalin, the three n-alkanes had essentially the same promoting activity; squalene, at 20%, showed only borderline activity. Thus the high biologic activity of the C18, C20, and C28 n-alkanes correlated well with their physical effects on the structure of phospholipid micelles (chain-chain interactions of the alkanes with the acyl chains of the lipid). This correlation was interpreted as a strong indication that the liquid crystalline region of the phospholipid assembly (adjacent to the aqueous interface) in the membranes of latent (initiated) cancer cells was the site of action of hydrocarbon cocarcinogens. Application of a modified physical model to pristane, a branched-chain C19 alkane from coal and Colorado shale, indicated higher cocarcinogenic activity than that of n-C18H38. Applied to purified samples of docosane and tetracosane, activity comparable to that of octadecane was indicated.