scholarly journals Significance of Metabolite Ratios in the Interpretation of Segmental Hair Testing Results—Differentiation of Single from Chronic Morphine Use in a Case Series

Metabolites ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 557
Author(s):  
Milena M. Madry ◽  
Sandra N. Poetzsch ◽  
Andrea E. Steuer ◽  
Thomas Kraemer ◽  
Markus R. Baumgartner
Keyword(s):  
Hair Analysis ◽  
Case Series ◽  
Wash Water ◽  
Fatal Intoxication ◽  
Short Hair ◽  
Chronic Morphine ◽  
Hair Samples ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Hair Testing ◽  
Chronic Use

In morphine intoxication cases, forensic toxicologists are frequently confronted with the question of if the individual was opioid-tolerant or opioid-naïve, which can be investigated by hair analysis. However, interpretation of results can be challenging. Here, we report on hair testing for morphine and its metabolite hydromorphone following morphine intoxication without tolerance and upon chronic use. Two consecutive hair samples were collected after a non-fatal intoxication. Analysis comprised short hair segments and their initial wash water solutions. In the intoxications, morphine and hydromorphone levels were 3.3 to 56 pg/mg and at maximum 9.8 pg/mg, respectively. Both levels and hydromorphone to morphine ratios were significantly lower compared to chronic morphine use. In the non-fatal intoxication, the highest hydromorphone to morphine ratio was obtained in the segment corresponding to the time of intoxication. Morphine ratios of wash to hair were significantly higher in the intoxications compared to chronic use, being indicative of sweat/sebum contamination. We recommend including the analysis of hydromorphone and the initial wash solution in cases of morphine intoxications. Our study demonstrates that hydromorphone to morphine ratios can help in distinguishing single from chronic morphine use and in estimating the period of exposure when a consecutive hair sample can be collected in survived intoxications.

scholarly journals Hair testing for 3-fluorofentanyl, furanylfentanyl, methoxyacetylfentanyl, carfentanil, acetylfentanyl and fentanyl by LC–MS/MS after unintentional overdose

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 277-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Islam Amine Larabi ◽  
Marie Martin ◽  
Nicolas Fabresse ◽  
Isabelle Etting ◽  
Yve Edel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drugs Of Abuse ◽  
Hair Analysis ◽  
Methadone Treatment ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Repetitive Exposure ◽  
Hair Samples ◽  
Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass ◽  
Exposure Pattern ◽  
Hair Testing ◽  
Urine Testing

Abstract Purpose To demonstrate the usefulness of hair testing to determine exposure pattern to fentanyls. Methods A 43-year-old male was found unconscious with respiratory depression 15 min after snorting 3 mg of a powder labeled as butyrylfentanyl. He was discharged from hospital within 2 days without blood or urine testing. Two locks of hair were sampled 1 month (M1 A: 0–2 cm (overdose time frame); B: 2–4 cm; C: 4–6 cm) and 1 year (Y1: A: 0–2 cm; B: 2–4 cm) later to monitor his exposure to drugs of abuse by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry after liquid-liquid extraction. Results Hair analysis at M1 showed a repetitive exposure to 3-fluorofentanyl (A/B/C: 150/80/60 pg/mg) with higher concentration in segment A reflecting the overdose period. The non-detection of butyrylfentanyl was consistent with the analysis of the recovered powder identified as 3-fluorofentanyl. Furanylfentanyl (40/20/15 pg/mg) and fentanyl (37/25/3 pg/mg) were also detected in hair. The second hair analysis at Y1 showed the use of three new fentanyls, with probably repetitive exposures to methoxyacetylfentanyl (A/B: 500/600 pg/mg), and single or few exposures to carfentanil (2.5/3 pg/mg) and acetyl fentanyl (1/1 pg/mg). A decreasing exposure to 3-fluorofentanyl (25/80 pg/mg), and increasing consumption of furanylfentanyl (310/500 pg/mg) and fentanyl (620/760 pg/mg) were also observed despite methadone treatment initiation. The patient claimed not consuming three out of the six detected fentanyls. Conclusions We report single or repetitive exposure to several fentanyls using hair testing. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of 3-fluorofentanyl and methoxyacetylfentanyl in hair samples collected from an authentic abuser.

Hair as a Biological Indicator of Drug Use, Drug Abuse or Chronic Exposure to Environmental Toxicants

2006 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 143-163 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vassiliki A. Boumba ◽  
Kallirroe S. Ziavrou ◽  
Theodore Vougiouklakis
Keyword(s):  
Drug Use ◽  
Chronic Exposure ◽  
Drug Testing ◽  
Drugs Of Abuse ◽  
Hair Analysis ◽  
Clinical Chemistry ◽  
Biological Indicator ◽  
Environmental Toxicants ◽  
Hair Samples ◽  
Hair Testing

In recent years hair has become a fundamental biological specimen, alternative to the usual samples blood and urine, for drug testing in the fields of forensic toxicology, clinical toxicology and clinical chemistry. Moreover, hair-testing is now extensively used in workplace testing, as well as, on legal cases, historical research etc. This article reviews methodological and practical issues related to the application of hair as a biological indicator of drug use/abuse or of chronic exposure to environmental toxicants. Hair structure and the mechanisms of drug incorporation into it are commented. The usual preparation and extraction methods as well as the analytical techniques of hair samples are presented and commented on. The outcomes of hair analysis have been reviewed for the following categories: drugs of abuse (opiates, cocaine and related, amphetamines, cannabinoids), benzodiazepines, prescribed drugs, pesticides and organic pollutants, doping agents and other drugs or substances. Finally, the specific purpose of the hair testing is discussed along with the interpretation of hair analysis results regarding the limitations of the applied procedures.

Testing for Drugs: Bathrooms or Barbershops?

1995 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 467-474
Author(s):  
Jerry G. Stevenson ◽  
Roger Williamson
Keyword(s):  
Drug Use ◽  
Hair Analysis ◽  
State Governments ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Bodily Fluids ◽  
Fortune 500 Companies ◽  
Private Organizations ◽  
Hair Samples ◽  
Hair Testing

In an attempt to establish drug free work environments, an increasing number of public and private organizations are using some form of drug test. The most common method is urinalysis. However, in recent years, the chemical analysis of hair samples has emerged as an alternative. Hair analysis is more effective than urinalysis in identifying long-term drug use, and is less intrusive than the testing of bodily fluids. But there are disadvantages associated with hair testing: it is expensive, and cannot detect immediate impairment from drug use or recent drug use. Nor do researchers know whether environmental exposure to drugs will affect hair analysis tests. Only five percent of Fortune 500 companies and less than one percent of state governments currently allow the use of hair analysis to screen for drugs.

scholarly journals Cheating on forensic hair testing? Detection of potential biomarkers for cosmetically altered hair samples using untargeted hair metabolomics

The Analyst ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 145 (20) ◽  
pp. 6586-6599 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Eisenbeiss ◽  
Tina M. Binz ◽  
Markus R. Baumgartner ◽  
Thomas Kraemer ◽  
Andrea E. Steuer
Keyword(s):  
Hair Analysis ◽  
Alcohol Abstinence ◽  
Hair Samples ◽  
Hair Testing ◽  
Potential Biomarkers

Hair analysis has become an integral part in forensic toxicological laboratories for e.g. assessment of drug or alcohol abstinence.

Human-hair analysis

1992 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 886-887
Author(s):  
Brenda E. Lambert ◽  
Ernest C. Hammond
Keyword(s):  
Human Hair ◽  
Hair Analysis ◽  
Hair Shaft ◽  
White Female ◽  
Chemical Processing ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Hair Samples ◽  
Wave Technique ◽  
Permanent Wave ◽  
Scanning Electron

The purpose of this study was to examine the external structure of four human hair shaft samples with the scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and to obtain information regarding the chemical composition of hair by using the attached x ray microanalysis unit.The hair samples were obtained from two female subjects. Sample A was taken from a black female and had not undergone any type of chemical processing. Sample B, C, D were taken from a white female, and were natural, processed, and unpigmented, i.e. “gray”, respectively. Sample C had been bleached, tinted, and chemically altered using a permanent wave technique.

Pediatric Visual Snow Syndrome (VSS): A Case Series

2019 ◽  
pp. 249-254
Author(s):  
Kenneth J. Ciuffreda ◽  
MH Esther Han ◽  
Barry Tannen
Keyword(s):  
Visual Field ◽  
Case Series ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Visual Condition ◽  
Visual Phenomena ◽  
Entire Visual Field ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Vision Therapy ◽  
Abnormal Visual

Visual snow syndrome (VSS) is a relatively rare, unusual, and disturbing abnormal visual condition. The individual perceives “visual snow” (VS) throughout the entire visual field, as well as other abnormal visual phenomena (e.g., photopsia). Only relatively recently has treatment been proposed (e.g., chromatic filters) in adults with VSS, but rarely in the pediatric VSS population (i.e., medications). In this paper, we present three well-documented cases of VSS in children, including their successful neuro-optometric therapeutic interventions (i.e., chromatic filters and saccadic-based vision therapy)

scholarly journals Symptom Cluster-Matching Antidepressant Treatment: A Case Series Pilot Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 526
Author(s):  
Sławomir Murawiec ◽  
Marek Krzystanek
Keyword(s):  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Antidepressant Treatment ◽  
Case Series ◽  
Symptom Cluster ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Cluster Matching ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Meta Analyses ◽  
Effectiveness Studies

Despite treating depression with antidepressants, their effectiveness is often insufficient. Comparative effectiveness studies and meta-analyses show the effectiveness of antidepressants; however, they do not provide clear indications as to the choice of a specific antidepressant. The rational choice of antidepressants may be based on matching their mechanisms of action to the symptomatic profiles of depression, reflecting the heterogeneity of symptoms in different patients. The authors presented a series of cases of patients diagnosed with depression in whom at least one previous antidepressant treatment was shown to be ineffective before drug targeted symptom cluster-matching treatment (SCMT). The presented pilot study shows for the first time the effectiveness of SCMT in the different clusters of depressive symptoms. All the described patients obtained recovery from depressive symptoms after introducing drug-targeted SCMT. Once validated in clinical trials, SCMT might become an effective and rational method of selecting an antidepressant according to the individual profile of depressive symptoms, the mechanism of their formation, and the mechanism of drug action. Although the study results are preliminary, SCMT can be a way to personalize treatment, increasing the likelihood of improvement even in patients who meet criteria for treatment-resistant depression.

scholarly journals Do facial first impressions reflect a shared social reality?

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clare Sutherland ◽  
Gillian Rhodes ◽  
Nichola Burton ◽  
Andrew Young
Keyword(s):  
Case Series ◽  
Social Reality ◽  
Observer Agreement ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
First Impressions ◽  
Dimensional Approach ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Common Structure ◽  
The Stability ◽  
The Individual

Influential facial impression models have repeatedly shown that trustworthiness, youthful-attractiveness and dominance dimensions subserve a wide variety of first impressions formed from strangers’ faces, suggestive of a shared social reality. However, these models are built from impressions aggregated across observers. Critically, recent work has now shown that inter-observer agreement in facial impressions is less than perfect, raising the important question of whether these dimensional models are meaningful at the individual-observer level. We addressed this question using a novel case series approach, building individual models of facial impressions for different observers. Strikingly, three dimensions of trustworthiness, youthful/attractiveness and competence/dominance appeared across the majority of individual observer models, demonstrating that the dimensional approach is indeed meaningful at the individual level. Nonetheless, we also found striking differences in the stability of the competence/dominance dimension across observers. Taken together, results suggest that individual differences in impressions arise in the context of a largely common structure that supports a shared social reality.

scholarly journals Analysis of Aflatoxin Biomarkers in the Hair of Experimental Animals

Toxins ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 570
Author(s):  
Innocent Mupunga ◽  
Ilse Janse van Rensburg ◽  
Nokuthula Luthuli ◽  
Ovokeroye A. Abafe ◽  
Leshweni J. Shai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Guinea Pigs ◽  
Hair Analysis ◽  
Historical Record ◽  
Body Fluids ◽  
Urine Samples ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Experimental Animals ◽  
Explorative Study ◽  
Hair Samples

Analysis of body fluids and tissues of aflatoxin exposed individuals for the presence of aflatoxins and aflatoxin metabolites has emerged as a reliable indicator of exposure and metabolism of aflatoxins. However, current aflatoxin biomarkers are not appropriate for investigating the long-term effects of aflatoxin exposure. In this explorative study, we investigated the analysis of hair as a complementary or alternative matrix for the assessment of biomarkers of long-term aflatoxin exposure. Three groups of guinea pigs were orally dosed with 5 ugkg−1bw−1, 50 ugkg−1bw−1, and 100 ugkg−1bw−1 of AFB1. Urine and hair samples were collected on days 0, 1, 2, 3, 7, 30, 60, and 90 and analysed for AFB1 and AFM1 using UHPLC-MS/MS. AFB1 and AFM1 were detected in 75% and 13.6%, respectively, of the day 1 to day 7 urine samples. AFB1 was detected in hair samples collected from day 3 up to day 60. This is the first report to confirm the deposition of AFB1 in the hair of experimental animals. These findings indicate that hair analysis has the potential to provide an accurate long-term historical record of aflatoxin exposure with potentially important implications for the field of aflatoxin biomarkers.

VENTRICULO PERITONEAL SHUNT WITH ABDOMINAL PSEUDOCYST – MANAGEMENT, A CASE SERIES STUDY.

2021 ◽  
pp. 26-28
Author(s):  
Geo Jerosh J. R. ◽  
Sivakumar K. ◽  
Srisaravanan Jeevarajan
Keyword(s):  
Treatment Option ◽  
Case Series ◽  
Management Option ◽  
Case Series Study ◽  
Abdominal Pseudocyst ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Series Study ◽  
Ventriculo Peritoneal Shunt

Hydrocephalus is the excess accumulation of cerebral spinal uid. The appropriate management option for an individual still remains a dilemma in many situations. We discuss a case series of 10 patients with who presented with abdominal pseudocyst, to arrive at a conclusion which treatment option will be best for the individual

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