We analyzed the manner and cause of death in 1,193 forensic autopsies from the Jungbu province (central part of South Korea) conducted by the National Forensic Service Daejeon Institute in 2022. Analysis of the manner of deaths revealed that 43.1% (514/1,193 cases) were natural deaths; 42.8% (511/1,193 cases) were unnatural deaths; and 14.1% (168/1,193 cases) were unknown. Among the unnatural deaths, the major manner of death was 44.6% (228/511 cases) by accidents, 34.1% (174/511 cases) by suicide, 13.5% (69/511 cases) undetermined, and 7.8% (40/511 cases) by homicide. Among the unnatural deaths, the major causes of death was 38.4% (196/511 cases) by trauma, 20.4% (104/511 cases) by poisoning, and 17.6% (90/511 cases) by asphyxia. Falling was the major cause of death by trauma (58.7%, 115/196 cases), and strangulation was the major cause of death by asphyxia (75.6%, 68/90 cases). Among the natural deaths, heart disease was the major cause (46.7%, 240/514 cases), followed by endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (14.0%, 72/514 cases). A time-series statistical analysis and comparison of the manner and cause of deaths in this province may facilitate more advanced interpretations relating to both public safety and healthcare in the future.

We analyzed the manner and cause of death in 1,193 forensic autopsies from the Jungbu province (central part of South Korea) conducted by the National Forensic Service Daejeon Institute in 2022. Analysis of the manner of deaths revealed that 43.1% (514/1,193 cases) were natural deaths; 42.8% (511/1,193 cases) were unnatural deaths; and 14.1% (168/1,193 cases) were unknown. Among the unnatural deaths, the major manner of death was 44.6% (228/511 cases) by accidents, 34.1% (174/511 cases) by suicide, 13.5% (69/511 cases) undetermined, and 7.8% (40/511 cases) by homicide. Among the unnatural deaths, the major causes of death was 38.4% (196/511 cases) by trauma, 20.4% (104/511 cases) by poisoning, and 17.6% (90/511 cases) by asphyxia. Falling was the major cause of death by trauma (58.7%, 115/196 cases), and strangulation was the major cause of death by asphyxia (75.6%, 68/90 cases). Among the natural deaths, heart disease was the major cause (46.7%, 240/514 cases), followed by endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (14.0%, 72/514 cases). A time-series statistical analysis and comparison of the manner and cause of deaths in this province may facilitate more advanced interpretations relating to both public safety and healthcare in the future.

We analyzed the manner and cause of death in 1,193 forensic autopsies from the Jungbu province (central part of South Korea) conducted by the National Forensic Service Daejeon Institute in 2022. Analysis of the manner of deaths revealed that 43.1% (514/1,193 cases) were natural deaths; 42.8% (511/1,193 cases) were unnatural deaths; and 14.1% (168/1,193 cases) were unknown. Among the unnatural deaths, the major manner of death was 44.6% (228/511 cases) by accidents, 34.1% (174/511 cases) by suicide, 13.5% (69/511 cases) undetermined, and 7.8% (40/511 cases) by homicide. Among the unnatural deaths, the major causes of death was 38.4% (196/511 cases) by trauma, 20.4% (104/511 cases) by poisoning, and 17.6% (90/511 cases) by asphyxia. Falling was the major cause of death by trauma (58.7%, 115/196 cases), and strangulation was the major cause of death by asphyxia (75.6%, 68/90 cases). Among the natural deaths, heart disease was the major cause (46.7%, 240/514 cases), followed by endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (14.0%, 72/514 cases). A time-series statistical analysis and comparison of the manner and cause of deaths in this province may facilitate more advanced interpretations relating to both public safety and healthcare in the future.

We analyzed the manner and cause of death in 1,193 forensic autopsies from the Jungbu province (central part of South Korea) conducted by the National Forensic Service Daejeon Institute in 2022. Analysis of the manner of deaths revealed that 43.1% (514/1,193 cases) were natural deaths; 42.8% (511/1,193 cases) were unnatural deaths; and 14.1% (168/1,193 cases) were unknown. Among the unnatural deaths, the major manner of death was 44.6% (228/511 cases) by accidents, 34.1% (174/511 cases) by suicide, 13.5% (69/511 cases) undetermined, and 7.8% (40/511 cases) by homicide. Among the unnatural deaths, the major causes of death was 38.4% (196/511 cases) by trauma, 20.4% (104/511 cases) by poisoning, and 17.6% (90/511 cases) by asphyxia. Falling was the major cause of death by trauma (58.7%, 115/196 cases), and strangulation was the major cause of death by asphyxia (75.6%, 68/90 cases). Among the natural deaths, heart disease was the major cause (46.7%, 240/514 cases), followed by endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (14.0%, 72/514 cases). A time-series statistical analysis and comparison of the manner and cause of deaths in this province may facilitate more advanced interpretations relating to both public safety and healthcare in the future.

Infants who are born between 24 hours and 1 year of age require extreme caution in their care due to their fragility. However, if there are multiple risk factors associated with the infant, caretaker, household, and surrounding circumstances, providing proper and appropriate care becomes problematic. This difficulty in caring for infants can contribute to abuse, neglect, or even death. This study investigates unexplained infant deaths that occur in the presence of multiple psychosocial risk factors. This study aimed to explore the relationship between various psychosocial risk factors and sudden, unexplained infant deaths. We examined nine cases from the autopsy archive of the National Forensic Service using a statistical approach. Among these cases, three were subject to legal action, while six were closed without further legal process. Although it was difficult to establish a clear relationship between death and abuse or neglect in the six cases, all were found to have experienced a harsh environment that was similar to abuse or neglect. We discuss the implications of our findings for understanding infant deaths and legal outcomes and propose a new framework to understand the deaths of infants.

To determine chronic alcoholism (or alcohol abuse) in postmortem cases, investigating the evidence in incident (or medical) reports is important, but it may not be certain. The indicator of alcohol abuse over long time periods was analyzed from hair as ethyl glucuronide (EtG). Beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) was analyzed from blood as a representative indicator of ketosis. Moreover, the blood was analyzed for ethanol (ethyl alcohol, EtOH) and EtG before death to determine drinking. Case 1 had chronic alcoholism and a history of diabetic disease. EtG concentration was 1,244 pg/mg in hair, and BHB in the blood was 276 mg/L. EtOH was less than 0.010% in the blood, however EtG was 0.38 mg/ L as drinking positive. Case 2 had a habit of drinking well, with EtG in hair of 54 pg/mg, BHB in the blood of 371 mg/L, EtOH of < 0.010%, and EtG of 0.81 mg/L.Although the EtOH was not detected in the blood, it was evaluated that alcohol was consumed before death, due to the EtG detected. In conclusion, forensic information from simultaneous analysis of EtG and BHB in biological samples (hair or blood) could be more cause of death effective assistant in chronic alcoholism (or alcohol abuse).

Adequate organ growth is an important aspect of growth evaluation in children. Renal size is an important indicator of adequate renal growth; computed tomography (CT) can closely estimate actual kidney size. However, insufficient data are available on normal renal size as measured by CT. This study aimed to evaluate the relationships of anthropometric indices with renal length and volume measured by CT in Korean pediatric patients. Renal length and volume were measured using CT images in 272 pediatric patients (age < 18 years) without renal disease. Data for anthropometric indices—including height, weight, and body surface area (BSA)—were obtained using medical records. Using the equation for an ellipsoid, renal volume was calculated in cubic centimeters. Height showed greatest correlation with renal length on stepwise multiple linear regression analysis; BSA showed the strongest significant correlation with renal volume. The mean renal size for each age group and height group was determined; it showed a tendency to increase with age and height. This is the first Korean study to report the relationship between body indices and renal size measured by CT. These results can serve as normative standards for assessing adequate renal growth.
Body Surface Area ; Child* ; Humans ; Kidney ; Linear Models ; Medical Records ; Regression Analysis

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and adenocarcinoma (AC) are the major histological types of non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). Although both SCCs and ACs have been characterized histologically and clinically, the precise mechanisms underlying their migration and invasion are not yet known. Here, we address the involvement in NSCLC of the p21-associated kinase1 (Pak1)/LIM kinase1 (LIMK1)/cofilin pathway, which recently has been reported to play a critical role in tumor migration and invasion. The Pak1/LIMK1/cofilin pathway was evaluated in tumors from SCC (n=35) and AC (n=35) patients and in SCC- and AC-type cell lines by western blotting, immunohistochemistry, and in vitro migration and invasion assays. The levels of phosphorylated Pak1, LIMK1, and cofilin in lung tumor tissues from SCC patients were increased as compared to normal tissues. In addition, immunohistochemistry showed greater expression of phosphorylated cofilin in SCC tissues. Expression of phosphorylated Pak1 and LIMK1 proteins was also significantly higher in SCC-type cells than in AC-type cells. Moreover, migration and invasion assays revealed that a higher percentage of SCC type cells exhibited migration and invasion compared to AC type cells. Migration was also decreased in LIMK1 knockdown SK-MES-1 cells. These findings suggest that the activation of the Pak1/LIMK1/cofilin pathway could preferentially contribute to greater tumor migration and invasion in SCC, relative to that in AC.
Adenocarcinoma ; Blotting, Western ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Cell Line ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Lung ; Lung Neoplasms ; Proteins

Hyponatremia which is a very common electrolyte abnormality in hospitalized patients is defined as a plasma sodium concentration less than 135 mEq/L. Hyponatremia is generally caused by intravascular volume depletion, excessive salt loss and hypotonic fluid overload. It also can be caused by intravascular osmotic agent. Although most cases are mild and asymptomatic, acute severe hyponatremia can cause severe neurologic symptoms, such as seizures and coma. We report a rare case of severe hyponatremia induced by radiographic contrast agent.
Coma ; Humans ; Hyponatremia ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Plasma ; Seizures ; Sodium

PURPOSE: Thyroid cancer is the most common malignancy affecting the endocrine glands. The incidence of his malady has conspicuously increased during the recent years. Thyroid diseases affect women approximately 3 times more often than men, and this incidence decreases after menopause. This gender difference has suggested that the female sex steroids stimulate the growth of the thyroid, the same as for the breast. In the present study, we investigated the expressions of estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) in thyroid lesions. METHODS: The tissues from 193 human thyroid glands (136 thyroid cancers and 57 adenomatous hyperplasias) were used for the present immunohistochemical assessment of the ER and PR expressions. RESULTS: The incidences of the estrogen and progesterone receptor positive cases were 19.7 and 41.5%, respectively. The incidence of the progesterone receptor positive cases was higher for females (46.5%) than for males (19.4%) however, the expression of estrogen receptor was not different significantly between the females and males. Higher expressions of estrogen and progesterone receptors were detected in the thyroid cancers than in the adenomatous hyperplasias. The PR expression seemed to correlate with the tumor size: a higher PR expression was found in the T3 cancers than in the T2 cancers. CONCLUSION: Our findings provide new insight that the ER and PR expressions may be related to the pathogenesis and progression of thyroid cancer.
Breast ; Endocrine Glands ; Estrogens* ; Female ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Incidence ; Male ; Menopause ; Progesterone* ; Receptors, Progesterone* ; Steroids ; Thyroid Diseases ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Thyroid Nodule*