title: Estimation of the duration after methamphetamine injection using a pharmacokinetic model in suspects who caused fatal traffic accidents.
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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hospital Pharmacy & Pharmacology, Asahikawa Medical University, Asahikawa 078-8510, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsubara
authors.forename: Masaru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Asari
authors.forename: Manabu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Suno
authors.forename: Toshio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Awaya
authors.forename: Mitsuru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sugawara
authors.forename: Tomohiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Omura
authors.forename: Joe
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Chikatoshi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Maseda
authors.forename: Yoshikazu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tasaki
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shiono
authors.forename: Keiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shimizu
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D019389:Cytochrome P-450 CYP2D6 / Q000235:genetics; D053593:Forensic Toxicology; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007267:Injections; D008297:Male; D008694:Methamphetamine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D008954:Models, Biological; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D008694:Methamphetamine; D019389:Cytochrome P-450 CYP2D6