Jitsufuchi N, Kudo K, Imamura T, Nagata T
Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
Nihon Hoigaku Zasshi. 1996 Apr;50(2):72-7.
Caffeine concentrations in human tissues of 6 brain death cases as well as 5 non-brain death cases were examined in order to assess the possibility of diagnosing brain death based on an analysis of this compound. Concentrations of caffeine in human tissues were determined using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The tissue-to-blood concentration ratios were used to evaluate the distribution pattern in each case. In non-brain death cases, the ratios in all examined tissues were similar, and the values were close to 1 in all tissues except adipose, of which the value was near 0.3. In brain death cases, the ratios in all tissues except brain and adipose were similar to those in non-brain death cases. The ratios in the brain were higher than those of non-brain death cases, in 5 brain death cases, and lower in 1 brain death case to whom blood transfusion was done in a hospital. The ratios in the adipose were slightly higher in brain death cases than those in non-brain death cases. The discorded distribution of caffeine in brain death cases was presumably related to cessation of cerebral blood circulation at the time of brain death. Therefore, comparing caffeine concentrations in the brain with those in the other tissues can be useful for a forensic diagnosis of brain death.
检测了6例脑死亡病例以及5例非脑死亡病例人体组织中的咖啡因浓度，以评估基于该化合物分析诊断脑死亡的可能性。采用气相色谱/质谱法测定人体组织中的咖啡因浓度。用组织与血液浓度比来评估每种情况下的分布模式。在非脑死亡病例中，所有检测组织中的比值相似，除脂肪组织外，所有组织中的值均接近1，脂肪组织中的值接近0.3。在脑死亡病例中，除脑和脂肪组织外，所有组织中的比值与非脑死亡病例中的相似。在5例脑死亡病例中，脑中的比值高于非脑死亡病例，在1例在医院接受输血的脑死亡病例中则较低。脑死亡病例中脂肪组织中的比值略高于非脑死亡病例。脑死亡病例中咖啡因分布不一致可能与脑死亡时脑血液循环停止有关。因此，比较脑中与其他组织中的咖啡因浓度可能有助于脑死亡的法医学诊断。
