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- Edston, Erik
(författare)
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Accumulation of eosinophils, mast cells, and basophils in the spleen in anaphylactic deaths
- 2013
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Ingår i: Forensic Science, Medicine, and Pathology. - : HUMANA PRESS INC, 999 RIVERVIEW DRIVE SUITE 208, TOTOWA, NJ 07512 USA. - 1547-769X .- 1556-2891. ; 9:4, s. 496-500
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Death in anaphylactic shock cannot be diagnosed by autopsy alone. Morphological diagnosis of anaphylactic death by counting mast cells in the lung and airways have failed to give consistent results. Previously it has been observed that eosinophils seem to accumulate in the spleen in anaphylaxis. The purpose of this study was to investigate if it is possible to safely diagnose anaphylactic deaths by counting eosinophils, mast cells, and basophils in the spleen. In 43 forensic autopsy cases specific antibodies to mast cells, eosinophil-, and basophil granulocytes were used on sections from lung and splenic tissue. The cells were counted in 20 x 40 fields in a Leica photo-microscope. Presumed deaths in anaphylaxis were compared with sudden deaths after intravenous injection of opiates, and sudden cardiac deaths (control group). The main result was that significant (p andlt; 0.05)increases of both eosinophil granulocytes (mean 26.6 +/- A 17.8/SD/)and mast cells (3.2 +/- A 2.0/SD/) versus controls (eosinophils mean 7.0 +/- A 10.5 and mast cells mean 0.9 +/- A 1.1) were seen in splenic tissue in anaphylactic deaths. Comparing cases with high and low concentrations of mast cell tryptase in serum showed a similar increase in eosinophils and mast cells in the spleen in cases with elevated tryptase, but not in the lung. The numbers of pulmonary mast cells and eosinophils were not different in anaphylactic deaths compared with controls. It is concluded that by quantifying eosinophil granulocytes and mast cells in the spleen in combination with tryptase measurements in serum it is possible to diagnose anaphylaxis with a high degree of certainty.
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| 2. |
- Edston, Erik, 1948-, et al.
(författare)
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Death in anaphylaxis in a man with house dust mite allergy
- 2003
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Ingår i: International journal of legal medicine. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0937-9827 .- 1437-1596. ; 117:5, s. 299-301
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Up to recently the post-mortem diagnosis of anaphylaxis has been based solely on circumstantial evidence. With the development of assays for mast cell tryptase it is now possible to verify cases of suspected anaphylaxis. Here we present one such case, which initially appeared to be due to sudden death of unknown cause. A 47-year-old farmer was found dead in his bathroom around midnight. Hospital records revealed that he had previously been diagnosed with an allergy to house dust mites. He had also had infrequent episodes of airway symptoms, nausea, hypotension and diarrhoea usually after going to bed. The forensic autopsy did not give any clue to the cause of death. Serum tryptase in post-mortem blood was found to be substantially elevated in two samples (170 and >200 ╡g/L). Analysis of allergen-specific IgE showed high values for Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and farinae. High mite allergen levels were found in dust obtained from the patient's mattress. The results of the immunological tests support the assumption that he died of anaphylactic shock. The circumstances and the patient's history of previous attacks after going to bed point to the fact that exposure to mite contaminated food and/or exposure to mite allergens in bed might have caused his death.
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| 3. |
- Edston, Erik, et al.
(författare)
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Female victims of torture
- 2007
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Ingår i: Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine. - : Elsevier BV. - 1752-928X. ; 14:6, s. 368-373
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Torture is common today and is practised in over 100 countries according to Amnesty International. A substantial number of refugees coming to Europe have been tortured including females. Documentation of physical injuries due to torture is done by forensic pathologists often in collaboration with psychiatrists. In Sweden, the majority of torture documentations is done by an organization (KTC) which have specialized in documenting torture, and in short-term therapy of refugees and other crime victims suffering from post-traumatic stress. From the KTC archives of 500 documented alleged torture victims, the records of 63 females were studied separately. Age, nationality, asylum motive, social situation, torture methods, number of injuries, and sequels to torture were among the variables studied. Female torture victims differed from their male counterparts studied previously in the following: (i) The most common reason for seeking asylum was persecution because of the political activity of their husbands or some other close relative. (ii) Rape often both anal and vaginal, several times, and by different persons, was reported by 76% of the women. Physical abuse by use of blunt force was alleged by 95% but (iii) other types of force and specific torture methods was reported infrequently. (iv) A high frequency of PTSD - 87% was diagnosed. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd and FFLM.
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| 4. |
- Edston, Erik, et al.
(författare)
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Histiocytoid cardiomyopathy and ventricular non-compaction in a case of sudden death in a female infant
- 2009
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Ingår i: International journal of legal medicine. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0937-9827 .- 1437-1596. ; 123:1, s. 47-53
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A case of sudden infant death with histiocytoid cardiomyopathy and ventricular non-compaction was investigated with immunohistochemical methods. Histiocytoid cardiomyopathy is thought to be a developmental defect of the cardiomyocytes of the conduction system. In contrast to mature cardiomyocytes, the histiocytoid cells showed only weak reactions to desmin and myosin antibodies. They lacked cross-striation but reacted strongly to enolase and myoglobin antibodies. The protein Pax-7, seen only in cells undergoing differentiation, and the proliferation marker Ki-67 were not expressed in the histiocytoid cells. In areas of altered myocardium, clusters of CD4-, CD8-, and CD68-positive inflammatory cells were seen as well an abundance of mast cells. With the TUNEL method, it was found that many of the histiocytoid cells were undergoing apoptosis. Our results confirm that the histiocytoid cells are defective cardiomyocytes. The apoptotic and inflammatory changes point to a degenerative process rather than defective maturation of cardiomyocytes as has been suggested in some earlier studies. Ventricular non-compaction is a developmental defect of the subendocardial tissue with hypertrabeculation and weak development of the papillary muscles. Only one case combined with histiocytoid cardiomyopathy has been described previously. A causal connection between the two conditions cannot be established until more cases have been analyzed.
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| 5. |
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| 6. |
- Edston, Erik, 1948-, et al.
(författare)
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Mast cell tryptase and hemolysis after trauma
- 2003
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Ingår i: Forensic Science International. - 0379-0738 .- 1872-6283. ; 131:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: We have previously found increased mast cell tryptase in accidental deaths due to trauma, indicating that mast cell degranulation had occurred. The present study was designed to confirm the previous observation and to determine if tryptase release after trauma is acute or delayed. Furthermore, the importance of hemolysis and direct trauma to the mast cells was investigated. Materials and methods: Mast cell tryptase was measured in post-mortem blood from the femoral vein in 27 cases of death from trauma and in 27 control cases by means of a commercially available immunoassay. The trauma cases were further classified into groups with single versus multiple trauma, and groups with short survival time (i.e. death at the scene of the accident) versus longer survival time (death in hospital). In five multi-trauma deaths, blood was sampled locally from the sites of crush injury. Results: The mean value of tryptase in femoral vein blood was 35.6▒34.6╡g/l in the entire trauma group and 14.7▒6.5╡g/l in the controls (P<0.005). In bloody liquid sampled from crush injuries, tryptase was substantially elevated in all cases, with a mean of 227▒146╡g/l. In cases with short survival time, tryptase was significantly higher than in those who died after several hours or days in hospital (P<0.001). No statistically significant difference was seen between multi- and single-trauma cases. A correlation between hemolysis in the samples and elevated tryptase was found only in the trauma cases (P<0.05), but experimentally induced hemolysis in vitro was not found to influence the measurements. Conclusion: Mast cell tryptase becomes elevated in trauma deaths and this seems to be ascribable either to direct mechanical injury to tissue mast cells and/or to cell lysis. In patients initially surviving severe injuries, the effects of massive release of histamine and other mast cell mediators might be of importance for treatment strategies and prognosis.
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| 7. |
- Edston, Erik, et al.
(författare)
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Mast cell tryptase in postmortem serum - Reference values and confounders
- 2007
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Ingår i: International journal of legal medicine. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0937-9827 .- 1437-1596. ; 121:4, s. 275-280
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We have investigated the effects of some factors suspected of inducing spuriously increased tryptase concentrations, specifically sampling site, conjunctival petechial bleeding and prone position at the time of death as indicators of premortem asphyxia, and resuscitation efforts by external cardiac massage. Tryptase was measured in blood from the femoral vein in 60 deaths: 39 control cases who died rapidly (within minutes) from natural causes (sudden cardiac death and acute aortic dissection), 16 with death caused by prolonged asphyxia (traumatic compression of the chest and suffocation due to body position or smothering), and five anaphylactic deaths. In 44 of these cases, tryptase was measured in both heart and femoral blood. Mast cell tryptase was analyzed with a commercial FEIA method (Pharmacia Diagnostics AB, Uppsala, Sweden) measuring both a- and ß-tryptase. Assuming that tryptase values in the control group were gamma distributed, we calculated the upper normal limits for tryptase concentrations in femoral blood. It was found that 95% of the controls had values below 44.3 µg/l (femoral blood), SD 5.27 µg/l. All but one of the anaphylactic deaths had tryptase concentrations exceeding that limit. Tryptase was significantly elevated in femoral blood from anaphylactic deaths (p<0.007), compared with the controls. Also, in the cases where death had occurred due to asphyxia tryptase was elevated in femoral blood (p<0.04). A significant difference in tryptase concentrations was seen between blood from the heart and the femoral vessels (p<0.02) in the whole material (n=44). Tryptase concentrations in femoral blood were not influenced by prone position at death, or resuscitation efforts. It is concluded that asphyxia premortem seems to affect tryptase concentrations, that postmortem tryptase measurements should be done in serum from femoral blood, and that the normal upper limit, covering 95%, is 44.3 µg/l. © 2006 Springer-Verlag.
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| 8. |
- Edston, Erik, 1948-, et al.
(författare)
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Postmortem measurements of thyroid hormones in blood and vitreous humor combined with histology
- 2001
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Ingår i: American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology. - : Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). - 0195-7910 .- 1533-404X. ; 22:1, s. 78-83
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The aim of this study was to investigate whether clinical reference premortem values can be used to assess postmortem concentrations of thyroxine, triiodothyronine, and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), to compare the postmortem concentrations in blood and vitreous humor, and to study the possibility of diagnosing hyperthyroidism by comparing thyroid histologic appearance and postmortem hormone values. Biochemical analyses of free thyroxine (FT4), free triiodothyronine (FT3), and TSH in femoral blood and vitreous humor were made in 38 cases. In 40 cases, the hormones and thyroid histologic appearance were studied, 22 had no significant pathologic changes, and 18 showed focal hyperplasia of the follicular epithelium. A positive correlation was seen between the femoral blood and vitreous humor concentrations of FT4 (R = 0.66) but not between the corresponding concentrations of FT3 and TSH. A positive correlation was also seen between FT3 and FT4 in femoral blood (R = 0.74). In cases with normal thyroid histologic appearance, 58% were found to have FT4 values >24 pmol/L (clinical reference interval 9-24 pmol/L), mean value 27.5 ▒ 9.4 pmol/L), which did not differ from the FT4 values in the cases with hyperplasia, 31.6 ▒ 15 pmol/L. Only 5% of the T3 measurements in the group with normal histologic appearance were >9 pmol/L (clinical reference interval 3-9 pmol/L). The mean value of FT3 in cases with normal histologic appearance was 3.4 ▒ 1.3 pmol/L, and in the group with hyperplasia 8.6 ▒ 6.1 pmol/L. The difference was statistically significant P < .005). It is concluded that postmortem values of FT3 and FT4 in femoral blood are fairly comparable to premortem clinical reference values, but the upper normal limit, especially for T4. has to be adjusted upward. Analysis of vitreous humor cannot be used post mortem to assess thyroid function. Histologically, hyperplastic changes correlate well with elevated FT3 in femoral blood.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Edston, Erik
(författare)
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The earlobe crease, coronary artery disease, and sudden cardiac death : An autopsy study of 520 individuals
- 2006
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Ingår i: American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology. - : Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health). - 0195-7910 .- 1533-404X. ; 27:2, s. 129-133
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The majority of previous studies have demonstrated a correlation between diagonal earlobe creases (ELC) and coronary artery disease (CAD).In this study of 520 forensic autopsy cases, the earlobes were studied and photographed before autopsy, and the existence of a diagonal ELC was noted in 55%. The cause of death, the degree of coronary atherosclerosis, aortosclerosis, and cerebrosclerosis, as well as heart, kidney, and spleen weights, were noted in each case. The body mass index (BMI), thickness of abdominal fat, baldness, and excessive hair in the meatus externa of the external ears were also assessed. Nonparametric methods were used in the statistical calculations.It was found that ELC was strongly correlated with CAD in both men and women (P < 0.0001) but with sudden cardiac death (SCD) only in men (P < 0.04). The sensitivity of the ELC sign was 75% and the positive predictive value (ppv) was 68%. In individuals below 40 years, the ppv was as high as 80%. Using multiple logistic regression analysis, ELC was found to be the strongest independent risk factor for CAD and SCD apart from age and BMI (both genders), as well as baldness and hair in the meatus externa (in males).It is concluded that in a patient population similar to that in the present study the ELC sign could be especially useful in screening for premature CAD in younger individuals. Copyright © 2006 by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
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