Data di Pubblicazione:
2014
Citazione:
Unexpected Variation of the Codeine/Morphine Ratio Following Fatal Heroin Overdose / V. Gambaro, A. Argo, M. Cippitelli, L. Dell'Acqua, F. Fare, R. Froldi, K. Guerrini, G. Roda, C. Rusconi, P. Procaccianti. - In: JOURNAL OF ANALYTICAL TOXICOLOGY. - ISSN 0146-4760. - 38:5(2014), pp. 289-294. [10.1093/jat/bku016]
Abstract:
Postmortem samples from 14 cases of suspected heroin overdose
were subjected to a preliminary systematic toxicological analysis in
order to highlight the presence of unknown exogenous compounds
(e.g., drugs of abuse, alcohol) that may have played a role in the
mechanism of death. This analysis unveiled histories of poly-drug
use in seven of the cases under investigation. Moreover, the concentrations
of morphine and codeine in the brain were also investigated,
and the results were compared with the data obtained from the blood
specimens. The concentration of morphine in blood ranged from 33 to
688 ng/mL, while the concentration of codeine ranged from 0 to
193 ng/mL. However, in the brain, the concentration of morphine
was found to be between 85 and 396 ng/g, while the levels of codeine
ranged from 11 to 160 ng/g. The codeine/morphine ratio in
the blood ranged from 0.043 to 0.619; however, in the brain, the
same ratio was found to be between 0.129 and 0.552. In most
cases, a significantly higher codeine/morphine ratio was found in
the brain, suggesting the accumulation of codeine in brain tissue
due its high lipophilicity as compared with morphine.
Tipologia IRIS:
01 - Articolo su periodico
Elenco autori:
V. Gambaro, A. Argo, M. Cippitelli, L. Dell'Acqua, F. Fare, R. Froldi, K. Guerrini, G. Roda, C. Rusconi, P. Procaccianti
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