Nihon hōigaku zasshi = The Japanese journal of legal medicine
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Biological terrorism is intentionally to use infectious substances for developing diseases or death in animals or humans, leading to disaster and panic in our community. Bioterrorism-associated diseases are mostly rare or eradicated infectious diseases, and recently, we do not have experience to make a clinical and laboratory diagnosis. ⋯ The preparedness in general against bioterrorism and the bioterrorism-related diseases, such as anthrax, smallpox, viral hemorrhagic fever, tularemia, and botulinum toxin, important for us are described. Both medical knowledge of bioterrorism and the preparedness with training under simulation should be required in advance.
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Chemical Weapons are kind of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). They were used large quantities in WWI. Historically, large quantities usage like WWI was not recorded, but small usage has appeared now and then. ⋯ In 1997 the Chemical Weapons Convention has taken effect. It prohibits chemical weapons development/production, and Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) verification regime contributes to the chemical weapons disposal. But possibility of possession/use of weapons of mass destruction by terrorist group represented in one by Matsumoto and Tokyo Subway Sarin Attack, So new chemical terrorism countermeasures are necessary.
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Nihon Hoigaku Zasshi · Oct 2005
[Possible influence of psychotropic drugs detected in blood when determining the cause of death in medicolegal autopsy cases in the Tokyo Medical Examiner's Office].
We reviewed the records of 118 medicolegal autopsy cases, in which psychotropic drugs were detected in blood, in the Tokyo Medical Examiner's Office in 1997, to explore how the drug levels were considered in determining the cause of death. Names and doses of the drugs were clear in 70 of 118 cases, and in most cases of the 70 cases, multiple drugs (up to 13 drugs) were prescribed to a person. It was also evident that 75 of the 118 cases had demonstrated psychosis for several months to 38 years prior to death. ⋯ Thus, drug levels detected in the cadaver's blood are not always useful for determining the cause of death. This might be due to poor information on interactions between drugs (including alcohol), pathological changes or genetic variability of drug metabolism and excretion, and so on. Thus, further studies of these aspects are needed in order to make information on drugs detected in the cadaver more useful for determination of cause of death.