Wendy A. Lavezzi

Office of Chief Medical Examiner

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Barbara C. Wolf

Dade County Medical Examiner Department

Tiffany L. A. Person

SUNY Plattsburgh

Paul Der’Ohannesian

American Academy of Forensic Sciences

Sheila M. Muldoon

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

Raina Patel

Albany Stratton VA Medical Center Albany

Kristina M. Keough

University at Albany, State University of New York

Deanna Steele

Magee-Womens Hospital

B.T.H.M. de Wolf

American Academy of Forensic Sciences

Mohammed Rafii‐El‐Idrissi Benhnia

Universidad de Sevilla

Lisa M. Flannagan

Dade County Medical Examiner Department

Cooperative Institutions

Albany Medical Center Hospital

University at Albany, State University of New York

SUNY Plattsburgh

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

University of Rochester Medical Center

University of Pittsburgh

American Academy of Forensic Sciences

National Institutes of Health

Marymount University

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Pulmonary Interstitial Emphysema and Live Birth

American Journal of Forensic Medicine & Pathology (2008)

Barbara C. Wolf Wendy A. Lavezzi

Office of the District 21 Medical Examiner Fort Myers, FL (Wolf) Cook County Medical Examiner's Office Chicago, IL (Lavezzi)

Medical examiner

Pulmonary emphysema

10.1097/paf.0b013e3181847dc1

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Citations (0)

The Use of Pulmonary Interstitial Emphysema as an Indicator of Live Birth

American Journal of Forensic Medicine & Pathology (2003)

Wendy A. Lavezzi Kristina M. Keough Paul Der’Ohannesian Tiffany L. A. Person Barbara C. Wolf

Making the determination of live birth versus stillbirth in a discarded newborn infant based on gross and microscopic autopsy findings can be a challenging task for the forensic pathologist. The traditional criteria for live birth determination are frequently challenged in court, and indisputable evidence of live birth remains elusive. The histologic finding of pulmonary interstitial emphysema has not been considered as a useful determinant of live birth. The authors report two cases of discarded newborn infants in which the finding of pulmonary interstitial emphysema was used as an indicator of live birth.

Live birth

Pulmonary emphysema

10.1097/01.paf.0000052108.20359.c8

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Citations (18)

Signaling through CD14 Attenuates the Inflammatory Response toBorrelia burgdorferi, the Agent of Lyme Disease

The Journal of Immunology (2005)

Mohammed Rafii‐El‐Idrissi Benhnia Danielle Wroblewski Muhammad Naveed Akhtar Raina Patel Wendy A. Lavezzi

Abstract Lyme disease is a chronic inflammatory disorder caused by the spirochetal bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi. In vitro evidence suggests that binding of spirochetal lipoproteins to CD14, a pattern recognition receptor expressed on monocytes/macrophages and polymorphonuclear cells, is a critical requirement for cellular activation and the subsequent release of proinflammatory cytokines that most likely contribute to symptomatology and clinical manifestations. To test the validity of this notion, we assessed the impact of CD14 deficiency on Lyme disease in C3H/HeN mice. Contrary to an anticipated diminution in pathology, CD14−/− mice exhibited more severe and persistent inflammation than did CD14+/+ mice. This disparity reflects altered gene regulation within immune cells that may engender the higher bacterial burden and serum cytokine levels observed in CD14−/− mice. Comparing their in vitro stimulatory activity, live spirochetes, but not lysed organisms, were a potent CD14-independent stimulus of cytokine production, triggering an exaggerated response by CD14−/− macrophages. Collectively, our in vivo and in vitro findings support the provocative notion that: 1) pattern recognition by CD14 is entirely dispensable for elaboration of an inflammatory response to B. burgdorferi, and 2) CD14-independent signaling pathways are inherently more destructive than CD14-dependent pathways. Continued study of CD14-independent signaling pathways may provide mechanistic insight into the inflammatory processes that underlie development of chronic inflammation.

Proinflammatory cytokine

10.4049/jimmunol.174.3.1539

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Citations (56)

American Journal of Forensic Medicine & Pathology (2003)

Wendy A. Lavezzi Kristina Keough Paul Der’Ohannesian Tiffany L. A. Person B.T.H.M. de Wolf

Live birth

10.1097/00000433-200303000-00017

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Citations (2)

Paths to Destruction: The Lives and Crimes of Two Serial Killers^*

Journal of Forensic Sciences (2006)

Barbara C. Wolf Wendy A. Lavezzi

Although research into the phenomenon of serial murder has revealed that serial killers frequently do not fit the initially described paradigm in terms of their physical and psychological profiles, backgrounds, and motives to kill, the media continues to sensationalize the figures of such killers and the investigators who attempt to analyze them on the basis of aspects of their crimes. Although the so-called "typical" profile of the serial murderer has proven accurate in some instances, in many other cases the demographics and behaviors of these killers have deviated widely from the generalized assumptions. This report details two unusual cases in which five and eight murders were committed in upstate New York. The lives and crimes of these offenders illustrate the wide spectrum of variations in the backgrounds, demographics, motivations, and actions witnessed among serial murderers, and highlight the limitations and dangers of profiling based on generalities.

Demographics

Offender profiling

Phenomenon

Profiling (computer programming)

10.1111/j.1556-4029.2006.00319.x

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Citations (9)

Cosleeping and sudden unexpected death in infancy.

Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine (2002)

Tiffany L. A. Person Wendy A. Lavezzi Barbara C. Wolf

Sudden Death

10.1043/0003-9985(2002)126<0343:casudi>2.0.co;2

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Citations (21)

Death in the Emergency Department

Anesthesia & Analgesia (2012)

Wendy A. Lavezzi John F. Capacchione Sheila M. Muldoon Nyamkhishig Sambuughin Saiid Bina

A healthy 6-year-old boy developed lower extremity rigidity, trismus, and fever after playing in a splash pool. On arrival in the emergency department, he appeared to be seizing. An endotracheal tube was emergently placed using succinylcholine. Cardiac arrest followed. He could not be resuscitated. Postmortem genetic analysis found a novel RYR1 variant. Family testing revealed the same variant in his father who also had muscle contracture testing diagnostic for susceptibility to malignant hyperthermia and central core disease diagnosed histologically. Because there was no exposure to volatile anesthetics before the onset of symptoms, this is a case of "awake" malignant hyperthermia worsened by succinylcholine.

Malignant hyperthermia

Muscle Rigidity

Trismus

10.1213/ane.0b013e3182768f99

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Citations (38)

Cosleeping and Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy

Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine (2002)

Tiffany L. A. Person Wendy A. Lavezzi Barbara C. Wolf

Abstract Context.—The practice of infants cosleeping with adults has long been the subject of controversy. Autopsy findings in cases of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) are usually indistinguishable from those found with unintentional or intentional suffocation, and the determination of the cause of death in cases of sudden unexpected death in infancy is often based on investigative findings and the exclusion of natural or traumatic causes. Objective.—To further elucidate the risk of cosleeping. Methods.—We reviewed 58 cases of sudden unexpected infant deaths. Cases were excluded if there was any significant medical history or evidence of trauma or abuse. Results.—Twenty-seven of the infants were cosleeping. Eleven of these cases had been previously diagnosed as SIDS, and in 7 cases parental intoxication was documented. Conclusion.—Our findings support recent studies that suggest that cosleeping or placing an infant in an adult bed is a potentially dangerous practice. The frequency of cosleeping among cases diagnosed as SIDS in our study suggests that some of these deaths may actually be caused by mechanical asphyxia due to unintentional suffocation by the cosleeping adult and/or compressible bedding materials.

Sudden Death

10.5858/2002-126-0343-casudi

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Citations (22)

American Journal of Forensic Medicine & Pathology (2005)

Barbara C. Wolf Wendy A. Lavezzi Lisa Sullivan Robert A. Middleberg Lisa M. Flannagan

Alprazolam is a commonly prescribed benzodiazepine. The abuse of benzodiazepines is most frequently seen in conjunction with the abuse of other drugs. Only rare fatalities have been attributed to alprazolam alone. We undertook a retrospective review of cases investigated by the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner's Office in which postmortem toxicologic studies indicated the presence of alprazolam, to further study the pattern of alprazolam abuse. Our review consisted of 178 cases, including 87 in which death was attributed to combined drug toxicity, 2 to alprazolam toxicity alone, 44 to trauma, 12 to natural causes, and 33 to another drug or drugs. Cocaine and methadone were the most common cointoxicants in the cases of combined drug toxicity, while heroin was less frequently detected. There was considerable overlap in the postmortem blood alprazolam concentrations among the groups. The overlapping ranges of concentrations of alprazolam detected indicate that it may be difficult to define a lethal alprazolam range, and that it may not be possible to determine the actual role of alprazolam as a causal factor in cases of combined drug toxicity. This study confirms that alprazolam alone is rarely a cause of death, and that alprazolam abuse usually occurs within a polydrug use pattern. The high incidence of cocaine as a cointoxicant has not been previously reported.

Alprazolam

Forensic Toxicology

10.1097/01.paf.0000153994.95642.c1

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Citations (36)