Forensic Neurobiochemical Studies on Schizophrenia

本文试图对尸检人脑额叶皮层组织进行神经生化研究，以期为法医尸检案件的判决提供实际应用。在科比大学医学院法律的医学系和兵库县医学检查官办公室进行的大脑尸检包括45例急性死亡病例，其中包括5例对照病例、6例精神分裂症病例、5例抑郁症病例和29例自杀病例。至于精神分裂症和抑郁症患者，他们一生中在一些医疗机构接受过临床诊断。在每次尸检时，称量全脑重量，右侧半球立即冷冻在-80 ℃冰箱中，左侧半球冠状切片，5 - 10 mm厚，在4%多聚甲醛0.01 M缓冲液（pH7.4）中固定数天后，用15%蔗糖0.01 M缓冲液（pH7.4）固定。取两侧大脑半球海马、背外侧前额叶皮层（上级回）和枕叶视联合皮层作为组织块和标本。左侧各例标本分别用经典方法和淀粉样蛋白染色法进行染色，并用GFAP、乳转铁蛋白（LF）和HLA-DR进行免疫组化染色，以排除病理性疾病。同时，我们尝试制备多巴胺能神经元D2受体和谷氨酰胺能神经元NMDA受体的抗体用于受体检测。然而，这些抗体对受体检测的特异性不够。因此，我们对与自杀有关的5-羟色胺转运体基因多态性进行了研究。而精神障碍病例、自杀病例与对照组之间无显著性差异，提示本研究中需要进一步对脑组织进行检查，以使法医尸检案件的判决具有实际应用价值。

We tried to perform neurobiochemical research to frontal cortex tissues of autopsied human brains for the purpose of practical application of the judgments of forensic sutopsy cases. The brains, autopsied at the Department of Legal Medicine, Kobe University School of Medicine and the Medical Examiner's Office of Hyogo Prefecture, included 45 cases of acute death consisting of 5 cases of controls, 6 cases of schizophrenia, 5 cases of depression and 29 cases of suicide. As for patients of schizophrenia and depression, they were clinically diagnosed at some medical facilities in their life time. At the time of each autopsy, whole brain was weighed and right side hemisphere was frozen in -80ﾟC freezer instantly, and left side hemisphere was sliced with 5 to 10 mm thickness in coronal sections and after fixation for several days in 4% paraformaldehyde 0.01M buffer solution (pH7.4), fixed by 15% sucrose 0.01M buffer solution (pH7.4). From each side of hemisphere, hippocampus and dorsolateralprefrontal cortex (superior frontal gyrus) and occipital visual association cortex were obtained as tissue blocks and specimens. Each specimen from left side was stained by classical methods and amyloid staining methods, immunohisto-chemically with GFAP,lactotransferrin (LF) and HLA-DR for the purpose of excluding of pathological disoders. While, we tried to refine antibodies for D2 reeptor for dopaminergic neuron and NMDA receptor for gultaminergic neuron for receptor assay. However, these antibodies weren't enough specific of receptor assay. So, we researched for polymorphism in serotonin transporter gene, which was said to be concerned with suicide. However, no significant difference between psychiatric disordre cases, suicide cases and control cases was found. It was suggested that for the purpose of practical application of the judgments of forensic autopsy cases, further examinations of brain tissues in this research were needed.