Suicidal poisoning with mercaptodimethur-morphological findings and toxicological analysis.

Abstract

In the western countries, the number of fatal intoxications with plant protecting agents has decreased to some extent due to laws restricting the use of highly toxic pesticides like halogenated hydrocarbons. Nevertheless, in consideration of the easy availability of most plant protectants, the small fraction of such fatalities among suicides and intoxications is astonishing. An 80-year-old woman died of an intoxication with methiocarb (mercaptodimethur), a carbamate type pesticide and as such a reversible inhibitor of the acetylcholinesterase. The case is presented because it is the first explicit report on a fatal poisoning of a human with methiocarb. The methiocarb concentrations detected were 6,100 microg/g in stomach content, 4.0 microg/ml in heart blood, 11 microg/g in kidney, 1.9 microg/ml in urine, 25 microg/g in liver, 2 microg/g in bile and 2.5 microg/g in brain tissue.

• Authors: A Thierauf, H Gnann, M Bohnert, B Vennemann, V Auwärter, W Weinmann
• Journal: International journal of legal medicine (Int J Legal Med) Vol. 123 Issue 4 Pg. 327-31 (Jul 2009) ISSN: 1437-1596 [Electronic] Germany
• PMID: 19148665 (Publication Type: Case Reports, Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Insecticides
• Methiocarb

Topics

• Aged, 80 and over
• Bile (chemistry)
• Brain Chemistry
• Female
• Forensic Toxicology
• Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
• Gastrointestinal Contents (chemistry)
• Humans
• Insecticides (analysis, chemistry, poisoning)
• Kidney (chemistry)
• Liver (chemistry)
• Methiocarb (analysis, chemistry, poisoning)
• Molecular Structure
• Suicide