Abstract
When the population parameters of drug pharmacokinetics in the human body system are known, the time-course of a certain drug in an individual can generally be estimated by pharmacokinetics. In the present two cases where methamphetamine abusers were suspected to have inflicted mortalities in traffic accidents, the time-elapse or duration immediately after methamphetamine injection to the time when the accidents occurred became points of contention. In each case, we estimated the time-course of blood methamphetamine after the self-administration in the suspects using a 2-compartment pharmacokinetic model with known pharmacokinetic parameters from the literatures. If the injected amount can be determined to a certain extent, it is easy to calculate the average time-elapse after injection by referring to reference values. However, there is considerable individual variability in the elimination rate based on genetic polymorphism and a considerably large error range in the estimated time-elapse results. To minimize estimation errors in such cases, we also analyzed genotype of . CYP2D6, which influenced methamphetamine metabolism. Estimation based on two time-point blood samples would usefully benefit legal authorities in passing ruling sentences in cases involving similar personalities and circumstances as those involved in the present study.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 191-196 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Legal Medicine |
Volume | 14 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jul 2012 |
Keywords
- Methamphetamine
- Pharmacokinetic model
- Traffic accident
- Vehicular homicide
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pathology and Forensic Medicine
- Issues, ethics and legal aspects