Dura mater and survival time determination in individuals who died after traumatic brain injury: a preliminary study.

BACKGROUND: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality among young people and is a matter of concern for forensic pathologists. Many authors have tried to estimate a person's survival time (ST) after TBI using different approaches. OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to present an innovative workflow to estimate the ST after TBI by observing the inflammatory reaction of the dura mater (DM). METHODS: The authors collected DM samples from 36 cadavers (20 with TBI and 16 with no history or signs of TBI). Each sample was labelled via immunohistochemistry with three different primary antibodies, CD15, CD68, and CD3, yielding 108 slides in total. The slides were digitalized and analysed using QuPath software. RESULTS: The DM is involved in the inflammatory response after TBI. CD15 immunoreactivity allowed us to distinguish between subjects who died immediately after TBI and those with an ST of minutes or hours. CD3 immunoreactivity can be used to differentiate subjects with an ST of days from those with other STs. Moreover, the DM samples showed an acceptable diagnostic yield even in samples with signs of putrefaction.

HIF-1α expression by immunohistochemistry and mRNA-210 levels by real time polymerase chain reaction in post-mortem cardiac tissues: A pilot study.

INTRODUCTION: The postmortem diagnosis of acute myocardial ischemia (AMI) represents a challenging issue in forensic practice. Immunohistochemical studies and gene expression studies are becoming a promising field of research in forensic pathology. The present study aims to evaluate HIF-1α expression through immunohistochemistry (IHC), and mRNA-210 level using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), in order to define if HIF-1α and mRNA-210 in post-mortem myocardium could be adopted in the diagnosis of AMI. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-five deceased individuals, who underwent forensic autopsy at the Legal Medicine Service of the University of Parma, between 2010 and 2018, were investigated. The cohort was divided into two groups according to the cause of death (sudden deaths caused by AMI vs control cases). Cardiac specimens were collected during autopsy, then samples were processed for morphological evaluation using haematoxylin-eosin staining, for IHC, and for RT-PCR. HIF-1α expression and mRNA-210 levels were investigated. RESULTS: Statistical evaluation demonstrated statistically significant differences in terms of number of IHC positive vessels, leukocytes, and cardiomyocytes between the two groups. Moreover, in the majority of cases, immunostaining positivity was observed only in myocardial and subendocardial samples. With reference to mRNA-210, the difference between the two groups proved to be statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: The present study indicates that HIF-1α and mRNA-210 in post-mortem cardiac specimens could represent appropriate biomarkers in the diagnosis of AMI. The current study was primarily limited by the scarcity of the cohort, so further research is required to confirm these preliminary observations.

Measuring the willingness to share personal health information: a systematic review.

Background: In the age of digitalization and big data, personal health information is a key resource for health care and clinical research. This study aimed to analyze the determinants and describe the measurement of the willingness to disclose personal health information. Methods: The study conducted a systematic review of articles assessing willingness to share personal health information as a primary or secondary outcome. The review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis protocol. English and Italian peer-reviewed research articles were included with no restrictions for publication years. Findings were narratively synthesized. Results: The search strategy found 1,087 papers, 89 of which passed the screening for title and abstract and the full-text assessment. Conclusion: No validated measurement tool has been developed for willingness to share personal health information. The reviewed papers measured it through surveys, interviews, and questionnaires, which were mutually incomparable. The secondary use of data was the most important determinant of willingness to share, whereas clinical and socioeconomic variables had a slight effect. The main concern discouraging data sharing was privacy, although good data anonymization and the high perceived benefits of sharing may overcome this issue.

Alcohol and Drug Consumption among Drivers before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Observational Study.

Restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic might have changed recreational habits. In this study, the results of toxicological tests for alcohol and drugs in blood were compared among drivers stopped at roadside checks in the periods before (1 January 2018 to 8 March 2020) and after the lockdown measures (9 March 2020 to 31 December 2021). A total of 123 (20.7%) subjects had a blood alcohol level above the legal limit for driving of 0.5 g/l, 21 (3.9%) subjects tested positive for cocaine, and 29 (5.4%) subjects positive for cannabis. In the COVID-19 period, the mean blood alcohol level was significantly higher than in the previous period. Cannabis use, which was more frequent among younger subjects, was statistically associated with cocaine use. There has also been a quantitative increase in alcohol levels in the population with values above the legal limits, indicative of greater use of alcohol in the population predisposed to its intake.