Citation

Ma S, You S, Hao L, Zhang D, Quan L. Leg. Med. (Elsevier) 2015; 17(4): 239-244.

Affiliation

Department of Forensic Pathology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University, 74 Zhongshan 2 Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province 510080, PR China; Department of Legal Medicine, Osaka City University Medical School, Osaka 545-8585, Japan. Electronic address: quanli2@mail.sysu.edu.cn.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Japanese Society of Legal Medicine, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.legalmed.2015.02.002

PMID

25725531

Abstract

PURPOSE: This study was designed to evaluate changes in brain glucose metabolism in rats following ligature strangulation.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirteen male Wistar rats were used in the present study, divided into control (n=7) and asphyxia groups (n=6, ligature strangulation). Positron emission tomography (PET) with 2-deoxy-2-[(18)F]fluoro-d-glucose ((18)F-FDG) was used to evaluate brain glucose metabolism. Rats were scanned for PET-CT, and image data co-registered with a T2WI MRI template using SPM8 software. Image J was employed to draw regions of interest (ROIs) from the MRI template and acquire ROI activity information from the PET images.

RESULTS: In the asphyxia group vs. controls, (18)F-FDG uptake (FU) was decreased in the substantia nigra (25.26%, p<0.001), rhombencephalon (pons/medulla oblongata, 13.92%, p<0.01), hypothalamus (22.06%, p<0.01), ventral tegmentum (10.12%, p<0.05) and amygdala (12.74%, p<0.05); however, FU was increased in motor (18.21%, p<0.05) and visual cortices (19.2%, p<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: The glucose metabolism distribution map in the asphyxiated rat brains were substantially changed versus controls. PET with (18)F-FDG can demonstrate excitement and inhibition of different brain areas even in cases of ligature strangulation.

Language: en