Postmortem study of adrenomedullin and cortisol in femoral serum and pericardial fluid related to acute pulmonary edema

Abstract

Currently, various tools aid in determining the cause of death and the circumstances surrounding it. Thanatochemistry is one such method that provides insights into the physiopathological mechanisms of death and the behavior of specific biomarkers in different body fluids postmortem. Certain biomarkers, characterized by their stability and specificity to vital tissues like the lungs, are associated with mechanisms contributing to death, such as acute pulmonary edema (APE). This study aims to analyze the behavior of midregional pro-adrenomedullin (MR-proADM) and cortisol levels, measured in pericardial fluid and femoral serum, in relation to the severity of APE, categorized according to specific criteria. Samples were collected from a total of 92 corpses (77 males, 15 females) with a mean age of 56.7 ± 15.2 years. The severity of APE associated with the deaths was classified into three groups: slight or absent (n = 7; 8.6%), medium or moderate (n = 16; 19.8%), and intense (n = 58;71.6%).The determination of MR-proADM and cortisol levels was conducted using ELISA kits and an Immunoassay Analyzer, respectively. Our results reveal a significant increase in MR-proADM concentration with the severity of APE. Furthermore, a correlation was established between cortisol and MR-proADM concentrations in both pericardial fluid and femoral serum samples. This indicates that the severity of APE influences the production of ADM, regardless of the specific underlying pathophysiological mechanisms. Cortisol values were also found to be higher in the intense APE group compared to the moderate group.This study contributes to our understanding of the relationship between MR-proADM and cortisol, and the severity of APE, shedding light on potential applications in postmortem investigations.