Characteristics, Circumstances and Toxicology of Sudden or Unnatural Deaths Involving Very High Range Alcohol Concentrations.
Characteristics, circumstances and toxicology of sudden or unnatural deaths involving very high range alcohol concentrations.
Addiction. 2013 Apr 8;
Darke S, Duflou J, Torok M, Prolov T
AIMS: To characterise sudden or unnatural deaths with very high range blood alcohol concentrations (BACs) presenting to the Department of Forensic Medicine (DOFM) in Sydney between 1/1/1997-31/12/2011. DESIGN: Case series. SETTING: Sydney, Australia. CASES: 263 cases of sudden or unnatural death with a BAC of ?0.300g/100ml. MEASUREMENTS: Case characteristics, circumstances of death, quantitative toxicology, major autopsy findings and serology. FINDINGS: The mean age of decedents was 46.7 yrs and 74.5% were male. Pre-existing alcohol problems were noted in 78.7%. Deaths were due to alcohol toxicity/chronic alcoholism (34.6%), combined alcohol/other drug toxicity (14.8%), accidents (18.7%), natural disease (13.4%), suicide (11.0%), homicide (6.9%) and one case was undetermined. Alcohol was a direct, or contributory, cause of death in 84.4% of cases. The overwhelming majority (81.4%) occurred in a home environment, and deaths did not vary by day or month. The mean BAC was 0.371g/100ml (range 0.300-0.820g/100ml), being highest in alcohol toxicity/chronic alcoholism cases (0.410g/100ml). The most frequently detected substances, other than alcohol, were benzodiazepines (31.9%) and opioids (12.9%). Alcohol-related disease was diagnosed in 62.9% of cases. Alcohol-related pathology was prevalent across all categories of death: severe steatosis (35.3%), cirrhosis (22.5%), chronic pancreatitis (15.3%), cardiomyopathy (9.4%), cerebellar atrophy (9.0%). CONCLUSIONS: Unnatural deaths with very high range alcohol concentrations extend well beyond direct toxicity, and alcohol is causal in most cases. Those at greatest risk are middle aged males, with long histories of alcohol problems. HubMed – addiction
Oncogene and non-oncogene addiction in inflammation-associated cancers.
Future Oncol. 2013 Apr; 9(4): 561-73
Zheng M, Jiang J, Tang YL, Liang XH
Many cancers originate in tissues that are chronically inflamed, and the inflammatory microenvironment is considered to promote the progression of malignancy, including initiation, growth, angiogenesis, invasion and metastasis. The molecular mechanism of inflammation-induced progression of cancers has been widely discussed. Oncogene and non-oncogene addiction have been proposed as two distinct but complementary theories to explain the initiation and development of cancers. Furthermore, they also play a role in cancer-associated inflammation. A solid understanding of oncogene and non-oncogene addiction in cancer-associated inflammatory microenvironments will help to exploit cancer drug targets for cancer prevention and clinical treatment. HubMed – addiction