Undetected patricide: Inaccuracy of cause of death determination without an autopsy

Patricide (killing the father) is uncommon form of homicide. Usually the assaults occur at home in the absence of witnesses and adult sons are frequently involved. Homicides in a domestic context usually do not tend to recurrence, because the motivation for the crime ends with the death of the parent. However, this is not what was observed in the present case study dealing with the death of a 70 years old white man originally misclassified as accident and discovered three years later only after an additional homicide in a family context of a 60 years old white lady. Multiple stab wounds to the neck and thorax were misinterpreted at the external male body examination as blunt trauma falling down stairs. No forensic autopsy was requested and no comparison of medical findings with the results from the death scene, such as a bloodstain analysis was performed by the police officers nor required by the judicial authority. This was quite surprising because an additional but preliminary post-mortem external examination performed by a general practitioner on the male body already raised the suspicion that the external lesions were stab wounds thus requiring a forensic autopsy. Only the exhumation of the elderly body, performed years later, confirmed the diagnostic hypothesis raised by the first physician. The present case is quite representative of a death investigation not run professionally and performed by individuals with no specific training where most of the medico-legal investigations (especially for traumatic and violent deaths) are restricted to an external body examination without subsequent autopsy. Although misinterpretation of external lesions is inevitable and significant discrepancies between external body examination and forensic autopsy are not rare, in the case of contradictory results of postmortem external examination or unclear/suspicious cause and manner of death, investigation should proceed necessarily with a forensic autopsy

Penetrance of the V203I variant of the PRNP gene: report of a patient with stroke-like onset of Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease and review of published cases

open6noCreutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is usually sporadic, but 10-15% of cases are caused by autosomal-dominant pathogenic variants in the prion protein gene (PRNP). A few PRNP variants show low penetrance. We report the case of a 64-year-old man, admitted to the ward with acute onset of aphasia; death occurred 6 weeks later. Brain MRI, EEG pattern and brain pathology were consistent with CJD diagnosis. Genetic analysis revealed a heterozygous V203I variant. We summarized the key clinical findings in patients carrying the V203I variant who were described to date. We also discuss the hypothesis as to whether V203I is a risk factor for CJD rather than a Mendelian disease-associated variant, as well as the possible implications of such hypothesis in the clinical scenario.openGandoglia I.; Strada L.; Poleggi A.; Castaldi A.; Del Sette M.; Di Maria E.Gandoglia, I.; Strada, L.; Poleggi, A.; Castaldi, A.; Del Sette, M.; Di Maria, E

Multianalytical approach to characterize composition and degradation processes of synthetic high-fashion textiles from the Nanni Strada Design Studio archives

Synthetic textiles are constituents of heritage objects and garments often displayed in museum collections or preserved in archives, presenting unprecedented and specific conservation challenges. These issues need to be addressed assessing degradation processes, and developing targeted restoration and preventive conservation practices. The present work aims at characterizing the composition of high fashion garments and design textiles by Nanni Strada conserved in the archives of Nanni Strada Design Studio (Milan). To identify the chemical composition of the fibers used for the manufacturing, and to investigate the degradation processes affecting the objects, the materials were investigated by Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), Evolved Gas Analysis coupled to Mass Spectrometry (EGA-MS), and multi-shot Pyrolysis coupled to Gas Chromatography and Mass Spectrometry (Py-GC/MS). The results will contribute to a better knowledge of the chemical properties of the textiles produced in the 1970s, and to plan conservation and exhibition strategies