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Background: Computed Tomography (CT) has become a widely used supplement to medico legal autopsies at several forensic institutes. Amongst other things, it has proven to be very valuable in visualising fractures of the cranium. Also CT scan data are being used to create head models for biochemicall trauma analysis by Finite Element Analysis. If CT scan data are to be used for creating individual head models for retrograde trauma analysis in the future we need to ascertain how well cranial fractures are captured by CT scan. The purpose of this study was to compare the diagnostic agreement between CT and autopsy regarding cranial fractures and especially the precision with which cranial fractures are recorded. Methods: The autopsy fracture diagnosis was compared to the diagnosis of two CT readings (reconstructed with Multiplanar and Maximum Intensity Projection reconstructions) by registering the fractures on schematic drawings. The extent of the fractures was quantified by merging 3 dimensional datasets from both the autopsy as input by 3D digitizer tracing and CT scan. Results: The results showed a good diagnostic agreement regarding fractures localised in the posterior fossa, while the fracture diagnosis in the medial and anterior fossa was difficult at the first CT scan reading. The fracture diagnosis improved during the second CT scan reading. Thus using two different CT reconstructions improved diagnosis in the medial fossa and at the impact points in the cranial vault- However, fracture diagnosis in the anterior and medial fossa and of hairline fractures in general still remained difficult. Conclusion: The study showed that the forensically important fracture systems to a large extent were diagnosed on CT images using Mutiplanar and Maximum Intensity Projection reconstructions. Difficulties remained in the minute diagnosis of hairline fractures. These inconsistencies need to be resolved in order to use CT scan data of victims for individual head modelling and trauma analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Breast and prostate cancer patients often develop lesions of locally high bone turnover, when the primary tumor metastasizes to the bone causing an abnormal high bone resorption at this site. The objective of the present study was to determine whether local increased bone turnover in breast and prostate cancer patients is associated with an increase in cartilage degradation and to test in vitro whether osteoclasts or cathepsin K alone generate CTXII from human bone. Methods: The study included 132 breast and prostate cancer patient, where presence of bone metastases was graded according to the Soloway score. Total bone resorption (CTXItotal) and cartilage degradation (CTXII) were determined. Results: Breast and prostate cancer patients with bone metastases revealed significant increased levels of CTXItotal at Soloway scores 1 and higher compared to patients without bone metastases (p < 0.001). CTXII was statistically elevated at score 3 and 4 (p < 0.01). CTXII/CTXItotal significantly decreased at score 3 and 4 (p < 0.001). Levels of CTXItotal, CTXII and CTXII/CTXItotal changed +900%, +130%, and -90%, respectively at Soloway score 4 compared to score 0. The in vitro experiments revealed that osteoclasts released CTXI fragments but not CTXII from bone specimens. The same was observed for cathepsin K. Conclusion: Data suggest that an uncoupling between bone resorption and cartilage degradation occurs in breast and lung cancer patient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Earlier studies have addressed the human total cranial vault thickness and generally found no correlation with sex, age or body weight. However, the thickness of the diploe has not been investigated. Our study has determined the diploeic thickness of the human cranial vault using modern autopsy material. Methods: The diploeic bone thickness was measured in 64 individuals (43 males, 21 females) autopsied at our institute. The thickness was measured by X-raying biopsies trephined at four specific locations on the skull. Complete medical records and pathologic autopsy results were available. Results: There was a statistically significant difference in diploeic thickness between males and females in the frontal region only. Diploeic thickness was highly correlated with total cranial vault bone thickness, except for the left euryon in females. Subsequent analyses failed to reveal any correlations between the diploeic thickness and age and height and weight of the individual. Conclusion: Males overall have a thicker diploe, albeit this difference is statistically significant only in the frontal region. We could not discern any trends as pertains to diploeic thickness versus age, height or weight. Since the thickness of the diploe may be an important parameter in biomechanical modelling of the cranial vault, this means that the diploe can be built into such models based on the total cranial thickness, except for the frontal region where the sexual dimorphism must be taken into account. Our findings are consistent with previous studies relating the total cranial thickness to the same parameters, in that we found a high correlation between diploeic and total cranial thickness (except at the left euryon for females). Finally, we recommend that future studies try to incorporate CT or MR scan imaging, rather than point sampling, in order to achieve a total assessment of the dimensionalities of the diploe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]