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Shang Y, Wang Y, Guo Y, Ren L, Zhang X, Wang S, Zhang C, Cai J. Analysis of the risk of traumatic brain injury and evaluation neurogranin and myelin basic protein as potential biomarkers of traumatic brain injury in postmortem examination. Forensic Sci Med Pathol 2022; 18:288-298. [PMID: 35201602 DOI: 10.1007/s12024-022-00459-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
In forensic pathology, traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a frequently encountered cause of death. Unfortunately, the statistic autopsy data, risk investigation about injury patterns, and circumstances of TBI are still sparse. Estimates of survival time post-TBI and postmortem diagnosis of TBI are especially important implications in forensic medicine. Neurogranin (Ng) and myelin basic protein (MBP) represent potential biomarkers of TBI. The present study analyzed retrospectively the forensic autopsy records of TBI cases at a university center of medico-legal investigation from 2008 to 2020. Immunohistochemistry and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) were used to investigate the expression changes of Ng and MBP in the cortical brain injury adjacent tissues and serum, respectively, from cases of TBI at autopsy with different survival times post-TBI. The results show that the major mechanism of death of TBI is assault, and accident was the major manner of death. Ng and MBP are mainly expressed in the cortical nerve cells and the myelin sheath, respectively. The serum levels of Ng and MBP in each TBI group were higher compared with those in the controls. The brain cortical levels of Ng and MBP decreased at first and then steadily increased with extended survival time post-TBI. The immunopositive ratios and serum concentration of Ng and MBP have shown significant differences among control group and all TBI group (p < 0.001). Collectively, the immunohistochemical analyses of Ng and MBP in human brain tissues may be useful to determine the survival time after TBI, and Ng and MBP level in the human blood specimens could be considered as a postmortem diagnostic tools of TBI in forensic practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanjie Shang
- Department of Forensic Science, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, 410013, Hunan, China
| | - Yuxin Wang
- Xiangya School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, 410013, Hunan, China
| | - Yadong Guo
- Department of Forensic Science, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, 410013, Hunan, China
| | - Lipin Ren
- Department of Forensic Science, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, 410013, Hunan, China
| | - Xiangyan Zhang
- Department of Forensic Science, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, 410013, Hunan, China
| | - Shujuan Wang
- Department of Forensic Science, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, 410013, Hunan, China
| | - Changquan Zhang
- Department of Forensic Science, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, 410013, Hunan, China.
| | - Jifeng Cai
- Department of Forensic Science, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, 410013, Hunan, China.
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Li N, Du Q, Bai R, Sun J. Vitality and wound-age estimation in forensic pathology: review and future prospects. Forensic Sci Res 2018; 5:15-24. [PMID: 32490306 PMCID: PMC7241561 DOI: 10.1080/20961790.2018.1445441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2017] [Accepted: 02/12/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Determining the age of a wound is challenging in forensic pathology, but it can contribute to the reconstruction of crime scenes and lead to arrest of suspects. Forensic scholars have tended to focus on evaluating wound vitality and determining the time elapsed since the wound was sustained. Recent progress in forensic techniques, particularly high-throughput analyses, has enabled evaluation of materials at the cellular and molecular levels, as well as simultaneous assessment of multiple markers. This paper provides an update on wound-age estimation in forensic pathology, summarizes the recent literature, and considers useful additional information provided by each marker. Finally, the future prospects for estimating wound age in forensic practise are discussed with the hope of providing something useful for further study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Na Li
- Department of Forensic Pathology, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China.,Key Laboratory of Forensic Science, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China
| | - Qiuxiang Du
- Department of Forensic Pathology, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China.,Key Laboratory of Forensic Science, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China
| | - Rufeng Bai
- Key Laboratory of Evidence Science, China University of Political Science and Law, Beijing, China.,Collaborative Innovation Centre of Judicial Civilization, Beijing, China
| | - Junhong Sun
- Department of Forensic Pathology, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China.,Key Laboratory of Forensic Science, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China
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