Forensic science international
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A new group of recreational drugs, popularly known as "bath salts", "plant feeders" or "plant food", has recently emerged in numerous countries. Although various products are labeled with warnings "not for human consumption" or "not tested for hazards or toxicity", they are intended to produce a high similar to that obtained with illegal stimulants, such as MDMA, methamphetamine or cocaine. The active compounds in "bath salts" are cathinone derivatives continuously developed and modified by drug designers to avoid detection or legal scrutiny. ⋯ This review surveys the current state of knowledge regarding the pharmacotoxicological properties of synthetic cathinones, the prevalence and pattern of their use. Special emphasis is given to the negative consequences of using these products including, among others, cardiovascular, psychiatric and neurologic symptoms, dehydration, rhambdomyolysis, renal and liver failure. Case reports on synthetic cathinones-related fatalities are also presented.
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In the discovery of human remains from water environments, manner of death may not be immediately obvious to medicolegal investigators due to several factors, including lack of associated material evidence, nondescript contextual environment, or possible poor preservation of remains due to delayed recovery. The determination of patterns of skeletal trauma in suicidal bridge jumpers assists investigators in determining whether the manner of death was suicide versus non-suicide. This study reports on the patterns of skeletal trauma sustained in individuals who jumped from one of four large bridges in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, and explores victim demographics, bridge height, position of the body upon impact, and velocity at impact on skeletal trauma for this suicide population. ⋯ Skeletal trauma is more heavily focused in the thorax/ribs (63%) and craniofacial (30%) regions. Fifty-six percent of jumpers sustained polytrauma. Comparative data on drowning victims, bodies recovered from boating/airplane accidents, and individuals who died by other suicidal means all show patterns of injury different than bridge jumpers.