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International Journal of Basic Science and Technology

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Archive | ISSUE: , Volume: Oct-Dec-2024

Potentials of selected vitreous biochemical parameters as biomarkers in postmortem determination and discrimination of deaths by hanging using animal models.


Author:Ikimi, C.G. Ezekwesili-Ofili, J.O. and Igwilo, I.O

published date:2024-Mar-21

FULL TEXT in - | page 204 - 211

Abstract

This study is an exploration of selected postmortem vitreous parameters for the identification of analytes that can serve as biomarkers for distinguishing between death disguised as hanging and death by actual hanging. Completely randomized block design (CRBD) was used for this study. 96 male rabbits were used for this research and were structured into four groups of twenty-four rabbits each: two treatment (test) groups and two control groups. In one test group, the death of the experimental subjects was caused by hanging. In the second test group, the death of the experimental subjects was caused by strangulation, thereafter, the dead subjects were hanged as a cover up of the actual cause of death. The remaining two groups are the baseline controls. After a postmortem interval of twenty-four hours, vitreous samples were obtained and analyzed for the levels of total protein, albumin, globulin, total cholesterol, triacylglycerol, uric acid, creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase using standard methods. Results obtained were then analyzed with SPSS (version 18-21) and one-way ANOVA. The results show that postmortem vitreous levels of uric acid, creatine kinase and lactate dehydrogenase differed significantly (P≤0.05) between samples from deaths by means of hanging and deaths by means of strangulation but disguised as hanging. The identified significant variations in the quantities of these discovered vitreous metabolites amongst the study groups makes them potential biomarkers for effectively determining and clarifying hanging associated cause of deaths when utilized either separately or as a combination of biomarkers, which is advocated.

Keywords: Postmortem, Vitreous, Biomarker, Strangulation, Crime

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