scholarly journals Medico-Legal Opinion Based on Autopsy Findings of a Victim of an Explosion Involving Mass Fatality

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 158-165
Author(s):  
Yalini Thivaharan ◽  
Indira Deepthi Gamage Kitulwatte
Keyword(s):  
Legal Issues ◽  
Temporal Region ◽  
Skull Fractures ◽  
Autopsy Findings ◽  
Parietal Lobes ◽  
Event Reconstruction ◽  
Police Personnel ◽  
Autopsy Examination ◽  
Mass Fatality ◽  
The Brain

Introduction: Investigation into explosions is one of the major areas in forensic medicine and pathology. Medico legal issues associated with these deaths are diverse and forensic experts are often expected to make clarifications. Assistance of a methodical scientific investigation of such a death in evaluation of unanswered medico legal issues, of an autopsy of one of the victims of Easter Sunday explosions is discussed. Case history: The deceased was a 15-year-old girl who was participating in the Easter mass at St. Sebastian’s Church - Kattuwapaitya, Negombo, Sri Lanka when a suicide bomber blew himself up. The mother of the deceased noticed the deceased being rushed to the hospital. However, she was pronounced dead on admission. Pre-autopsy radiology revealed spherical shrapnel in the temporal region. At autopsy, the fatal injury was found on the head and a detailed study revealed skull fractures associated with penetration by 3 shrapnels. There was a keyhole lesion among the penetrations. Internal examination revealed an extensive dural tear underlying the compound fracture. The brain was grossly edematous with lacerations on the frontal and parietal lobes associated with localized subarachnoid hemorrhage. There were multiple underlying contusions on bilateral frontal white matter. Small subarachnoid haemorrhage was noted on the basal aspect of the brain. Discussion: Careful evaluation of the autopsy findings assisted in formulating the opinion scientifically on event reconstruction including the proximity of the victim to the epicenter of explosion and nature of explosive device, period of survival, mechanism of causation of skull fractures and the mechanism of death in addition to the cause of death. Conclusion: A forensic pathologist following a meticulous autopsy examination, along with a team of ballistic experts and specially trained police personnel play a pivotal task in analyzing a scene of explosion and an autopsy of a victim, in concluding the case and in bringing justice to all the victims and survivors of the catastrophe.

Drusen in the Peripheral Retina of the Alzheimer’s Eye

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (8) ◽  
pp. 743-750 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kresimir Ukalovic ◽  
Sijia Cao ◽  
Sieun Lee ◽  
Qiaoyue Tang ◽  
Mirza Faisal Beg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Peripheral Retina ◽  
Amyloid Angiopathy ◽  
Temporal Region ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
Eye Tissues ◽  
Neuropathological Diagnosis ◽  
Ocular Imaging ◽  
Cerebral Amyloid ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Oil Red O

Background: Recent work on Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnosis focuses on neuroimaging modalities; however, these methods are expensive, invasive, and not available to all patients. Ocular imaging of biomarkers, such as drusen in the peripheral retina, could provide an alternative method to diagnose AD. Objective: This study compares macular and peripheral drusen load in control and AD eyes. Methods: Postmortem eye tissues were obtained from donors with a neuropathological diagnosis of AD. Retina from normal donors were processed and categorized into younger (<55 years) and older (>55 years) groups. After fixation and dissection, 3-6 mm punches of RPE/choroid were taken in macular and peripheral (temporal, superior, and inferior) retinal regions. Oil red O positive drusen were counted and grouped into two size categories: small (<63 μm) and intermediate (63-125 μm). Results: There was a significant increase in the total number of macular and peripheral hard drusen in older, compared to younger, normal eyes (p<0.05). Intermediate hard drusen were more commonly found in the temporal region of AD eyes compared to older normal eyes, even after controlling for age (p<0.05). Among the brain and eye tissues from AD donors, there was a significant relationship between cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) severity and number of temporal intermediate hard drusen (r=0.78, p<0.05). Conclusion: Imaging temporal drusen in the eye may have benefit for diagnosing and monitoring progression of AD. Our results on CAA severity and temporal intermediate drusen in the AD eye are novel. Future studies are needed to further understand the interactions among CAA and drusen formation.

Neurospect Findings in Patients Exposed to Neurotoxic Chemicals

1994 ◽  
Vol 10 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 561-571
Author(s):  
Gunnar Heuser ◽  
Ismael Mena ◽  
Francisca Alamos
Keyword(s):  
Elderly Patients ◽  
Qualitative Analysis ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Young Patients ◽  
Chronic Fatigue ◽  
Psychiatric Symptomatology ◽  
Elderly Individuals ◽  
Parietal Lobes ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Brain

Exposures to neurotoxic chemicals such as pesticides, glues, solvents, etc. are known to induce neurologic and psychiatric symptomatology. We report on 41 patients 16 young patients (6 males, 10 females, age 34 8 yrs.) and 25 elderly patients (9 males, 16 females, age 55 7 yrs). Fifteen of them were exposed to pesticides, and 29 to solvents. They were studied with quantitative and qualitative analysis of regional cerebral bood flow (rCBF), performed with 30 mCi of Xe-133 by inhalation, followed by 30 mCi of Tc-HMPAO given intravenously. Imaging was performed with a brain dedicated system, distribution of rCBF was assessed with automatic ROI definition, and HMPAO was normalized to maximal pixel activity in the brain. Results of Xe rCBF are expressed as mean and S.D. in ml/min/100g, and HMPAO as mean and S.D. uptake per ROI, and compared with age-matched controls 10 young and 20 elderly individuals. Neurotoxics HMPAO Uptake Young Elderly R. Orbital frontal R. Dorsal frontal .70 .66 p < 0.05 R. Temporal .64 p < 0.001 R. Parietal .66 .66 We conclude that patients exposed to chemicals present with diminished CBF, worse in the right hemisphere, with random presentation of areas of hypoperfusion, more prevalent in the dorsal frontal and parietal lobes. These findings are significantly different from observations in patients with chronic fatigue and depression, suggesting primary cortical effect, possibly due to a vasculitis process.

Neuroethics and Implanted Brain Machine Interfaces

2013 ◽  
pp. 351-365
Author(s):  
Ellen M. McGee
Keyword(s):  
Legal Issues ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Brain Machine Interfaces ◽  
Computer Interfaces ◽  
Scientific Organizations ◽  
Human Ability ◽  
Ethical And Legal Issues ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Radical Enhancement

Transformations of humans through advances in bioelectronics, nanotechnologies, and computer science are leading to hybrids of humans and machines. Future brain-machine interfaces will enable humans not only to be constantly linked to the Internet, and to cyber think, but will also enable technology to take information directly from the brain. Brain-computer interfaces, where a chip is implanted in the brain, will facilitate a tremendous augmentation of human capacities, including the radical enhancement of the human ability to remember and to reason, and to achieve immortality through cloning and brain downloading, or existence in virtual reality. The ethical and legal issues raised by these possibilities represent global challenges. The most pressing concerns are those raised by privacy and autonomy. The potential exists for control of persons, through global tracking, by actually “seeing” and “hearing” what the individual is experiencing, and by controlling and directing an individual’s thoughts, emotions, moods, and motivations. Public dialogue must be initiated. New principles, agencies, and regulations need to be formulated and scientific organizations, states, countries, and the United Nations must all be involved.

Psychosurgery

2002 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 443-448
Author(s):  
Marilyn Williams
Keyword(s):  
Surgical Procedures ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Legal Issues ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ethical And Legal Issues ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Brain

The use of surgical procedures to alter mental states raises many issues. Surgery on the brain has been known for thousands of years, but procedures developed in the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s, and the reasons for them, raised many ethical issues that remain with us today. The following article touches on the history of psychosurgery, the conditions treated, the literature on the subject, and the ethical and legal issues.

scholarly journals Alteration of the Intra- and Inter-Lobe Connectivity of the Brain Structural Network in Normal Aging

Entropy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. 826
Author(s):  
Chi-Wen Jao ◽  
Jiann-Horng Yeh ◽  
Yu-Te Wu ◽  
Li-Ming Lien ◽  
Yuh-Feng Tsai ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fractal Dimension ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Morphological Changes ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Elderly Group ◽  
Component Size ◽  
Parietal Lobes ◽  
Structural Network ◽  
Association Fibers ◽  
The Brain

The morphological changes in cortical parcellated regions during aging and whether these atrophies may cause brain structural network intra- and inter-lobe connectivity alterations are subjects that have been minimally explored. In this study, a novel fractal dimension-based structural network was proposed to measure atrophy of 68 parcellated cortical regions. Alterations of structural network parameters, including intra- and inter-lobe connectivity, were detected in a middle-aged group (30–45 years old) and an elderly group (50–65 years old). The elderly group exhibited significant lateralized atrophy in the left hemisphere, and most of these fractal dimension atrophied regions were included in the regions of the “last-in, first-out” model. Globally, the elderly group had lower modularity values, smaller component size modules, and fewer bilateral association fibers. They had lower intra-lobe connectivity in the frontal and parietal lobes, but higher intra-lobe connectivity in the temporal and occipital lobes. Both groups exhibited similar inter-lobe connecting pattern. The elderly group revealed separations, sparser long association fibers, commissural fibers, and lateral inter-lobe connectivity lost effect, mainly in the right hemisphere. New wiring and reconfiguring modules may have occurred within the brain structural network to compensate for connectivity, decreasing and preventing functional loss in cerebral intra- and inter-lobe connectivity.

scholarly journals Investigation of Delayed Response during Real-Time Cursor Control Using Electroencephalography

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Hyeonseok Kim ◽  
Natsue Yoshimura ◽  
Yasuharu Koike
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
High Accuracy ◽  
Delayed Response ◽  
Cursor Control ◽  
Parietal Lobes ◽  
Delay Times ◽  
Cortical Regions ◽  
Occipital Lobes ◽  
Response Classification ◽  
The Brain

Error-related brain activation has been investigated for advanced brain-machine interfaces (BMI). However, how a delayed response of cursor control in BMI systems should be handled is not clear. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate how participants responded to delayed cursor control. Six subjects participated in the experiment and performed a wrist-bending task. For three distinct delay intervals (an interval where participants could not perceive the delay, an interval where participants could not be sure whether there was a delay or not, and an interval where participants could perceive the delay), we assessed two types of binary classifications (“Yes + No” vs. “I don’t know” and “Yes” vs. “No”) based on participants’ responses and applied delay times (thus, four types of classification, overall). For most participants, the “Yes vs. No” classification had higher accuracy than “Yes + No” vs. “I don’t know” classification. For the “Yes + No” vs. “I don’t know” classification, most participants displayed higher accuracy based on response classification than delay classification. Our results demonstrate that a class only for “I don’t know” largely contributed to these differences. Many independent components (ICs) that exhibited high accuracy in “Yes + No” vs. “I don’t know” response classification were associated with activation of areas from the frontal to parietal lobes, while many ICs that showed high accuracy in the “Yes vs. No” classification were associated with activation of an area ranging from the parietal to the occipital lobes and were more broadly localized in cortical regions than was seen for the “Yes + No” vs. “I don’t know” classification. Our results suggest that small and large delays in real-time cursor control differ not only in the magnitude of the delay but should be handled as distinct information in different ways and might involve differential processing in the brain.

scholarly journals Mesenchymal Chondrosarcoma of the Brain with Metastasis: A Case Report with Literature Review

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (02) ◽  
pp. 344-348
Author(s):  
Sandeep Bhardwaj ◽  
Ashish Sharma ◽  
Akangsha Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Left Lung ◽  
Lumbar Vertebrae ◽  
Lateral Wall ◽  
Mesenchymal Chondrosarcoma ◽  
Radical Excision ◽  
Temporal Region ◽  
Ct Guided ◽  
Dismal Prognosis ◽  
Extraskeletal Mesenchymal Chondrosarcoma ◽  
The Brain

AbstractMesenchymal chondrosarcoma of the brain is one of the rarest tumors with dismal prognosis. A 26-year-old man presented with headache, vomiting, and diplopia. On evaluation, a moderately enhancing extra-axial lesion was seen in right temporal region involving right greater wing of sphenoid, adjacent right maxillary sinus, and lateral wall of right orbit. Patient underwent magnetic resonance imaging of the spine and computed tomography (CT) of the chest for possible metastasis which showed lesion in lumbar vertebrae and left lung. Patient was planned for CT-guided lung biopsy which proved inconclusive. The patient was further planned for craniotomy and underwent craniotomy with microscopic excision of the mass. Histoimmunochemistry was suggestive of extraskeletal mesenchymal chondrosarcoma. Mesenchymal chondrosarcoma of the brain is highly aggressive tumors which are difficult to differentiate radiologically. Radical excision followed by chemoradiotherapy is optimal treatment of choice.

scholarly journals A Case of Complex Partial Seizures Presenting as Acute and Transient Psychotic Disorder

2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Sadia Sultan ◽  
Ebtihaj Omar Fallata
Keyword(s):  
Psychotic Disorder ◽  
Aggressive Behaviour ◽  
Financial Constraints ◽  
Temporal Region ◽  
Partial Seizures ◽  
Impaired Consciousness ◽  
Complex Partial Seizures ◽  
High Clinical Suspicion ◽  
Oral Olanzapine ◽  
The Brain

Introduction. Complex partial seizures are focal (CPS) (i.e., start in one area of the brain) and associated with impairment in consciousness. Most of them arise in the temporal region and are characterized by aura, impaired consciousness, and automatisms. CPS that arise in temporal region are most often misdiagnosed as primary psychiatric illness. Case Report. A 25-year-old male presented with fluctuations in consciousness, aggressive behaviour, hallucination, and delusions of grandeur lasting a few hours. He was diagnosed with acute and transient psychotic disorder according to ICD10 criteria and was treated with intramuscular haloperidol 10mg BID followed by oral olanzapine 10mg. Computed tomography of brain and electroencephalogram were normal. After 15 days he presented again to the outpatient department with complaints of aggressive behaviour and sensory misinterpretations. Video electroencephalogram was recommended, which was not done due to financial constraints. The diagnosis was reconsidered and he was started on oral carbamazepine due to high clinical suspicion, of complex partial seizures, in spite of lack of EEG evidence. He responded well to antiepileptic and symptom remission has maintained well. Conclusion. Patients presenting with psychosis need careful diagnostic evaluation for other possibilities.

Music, Maestro, Please: Thalamic multisensory integration in music perception, processing and production

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 98
Author(s):  
Artur Jaschke
Keyword(s):  
Multisensory Integration ◽  
Music Perception ◽  
Initial Point ◽  
Initial Step ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Thalamic Nuclei ◽  
Brain Areas ◽  
Neural Connections ◽  
Parietal Lobes ◽  
The Brain

Music activates a wide array of brain areas involved in different functions such as   perception, processing and execution of music. Understanding musical processes in the brain has multiple implications in the neuro- and health sciences.  Challenging the brain with a multisensory stimulus such as music activates responses beyond the auditory cortex of the temporal lobe. Other areas that are involved include the frontal lobes, parietal lobes, areas of the limbic system such as the amygdala, hippocampus and thalamus, the cerebellum and the brainstem. Nonetheless, there has been no attempt to summarize all involved brain areas in music into one overall encompassing map. This may well be, as there has been no thorough theory introduced, which would allow an initial point of departure in creating such a mapTherefore, a thorough systematic review has been conducted to identify all mentioned neural connections involved in the perception, processing and execution of music.  Communication between the thalamic nuclei is the initial step in multisensory integration, which lies at the base of the neural networks as proposed in this paper. Against this background, this manuscript introduces the to our knowledge first map of all brain regions involved in the perception, processing and execution of music.Consequently, placing thalamic multisensory integration at the core of this atlas allowed us to create a preliminary theory to explain the complexity of music induced brain activation.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document