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A fatal case of 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone poisoning: coexistence of α-pyrrolidinobutiophenone and α-pyrrolidinovalerophenone in blood and/or hair

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Abstract

We report a fatal case of 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) poisoning. A 35-year-old woman was taken to a nearby hospital after she was found unconscious. MDPV (1,200 ng/ml) and α-pyrrolidinobutiophenone (α-PBP; 200 ng/ml) were detected in her cardiac blood. Hair segments from the victim were also analyzed to confirm chronic drug use. MDPV and α-pyrrolidinovalerophenone (α-PVP) were found in many of the segments tested with the highest MDPV concentration at 22 ng/10-mm hair. We concluded that the woman died of acute MDPV poisoning, and that she had abused MDPV and α-PVP for a long time. To our knowledge, this is the first report dealing with MDPV in human hair segments, and with α-PBP in human specimens.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forensic Medicine, Institute of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, 1-2-3 Kasumi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima, 734-8553, Japan

    Akira Namera, Shumari Urabe, Aiko Torikoshi-Hatano, Hiroaki Shiraishi, Yousuke Arima & Masataka Nagao

  2. Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Tokai University School of Medicine, Isehara, Japan

    Takeshi Saito

Authors
  1. Akira Namera
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  2. Shumari Urabe
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  3. Takeshi Saito
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  4. Aiko Torikoshi-Hatano
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  5. Hiroaki Shiraishi
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  6. Yousuke Arima
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  7. Masataka Nagao
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Correspondence to Akira Namera.

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Namera, A., Urabe, S., Saito, T. et al. A fatal case of 3,4-methylenedioxypyrovalerone poisoning: coexistence of α-pyrrolidinobutiophenone and α-pyrrolidinovalerophenone in blood and/or hair. Forensic Toxicol 31, 338–343 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11419-013-0192-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11419-013-0192-7

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