{"doi":"10.1007/s00414-017-1607-5","title":"Medico-legal assessment of methamphetamine and amphetamine serum concentrations—what can we learn from survived intoxications?","abstract":null,"journal":"International Journal of Legal Medicine","year":2017,"id":605417,"datarank":0.3453877639491069,"base_score":2.302585092994046,"endowment":2.302585092994046,"self_citation_contribution":0.3453877639491069,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.3453877639491069,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":9,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":null,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":false,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":null,"fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":1553733,"name":"Rüdiger Lessig","orcid":null,"position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1553734,"name":"Carolin Richter","orcid":null,"position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1553735,"name":"Axel P. Ritter","orcid":null,"position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1553736,"name":"Ilona Weiß","orcid":null,"position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1553732,"name":"Marco Weber","orcid":"0000-0002-6666-0592","position":0,"is_corresponding":false}],"reference_count":0,"raw_metadata":{"has_enrichment":true,"resolved":true,"title":"Medico-legal assessment of methamphetamine and amphetamine serum concentrations—what can we learn from survived intoxications?","abstract":"Medico-legal experts are increasingly enlisted to assess the methamphetamine and amphetamine serum concentrations after a criminal offense. However, since criminal users rarely provide useful information to medico-legal experts regarding the substances abused, when the substance(s) was/were used, dose of ingestion tools are needed to interpret the analytical data, which can be used as objective evidence in such cases. A comparative series of methamphetamine and amphetamine serum concentrations were used to analyze the frequency of concentrations, to determine methamphetamine/amphetamine concentration ratios, and prove them as a tool to distinguish pure methamphetamine from mixed amphetamine/methamphetamine ingestion. Additionally, two cases of survived accidental methamphetamine intoxication, resulting from ingestion smuggling which was longitudinally monitored, and pharmacokinetic parameters were assessed. In a series of 628 samples where the most frequent concentration of methamphetamine exceeded the therapeutic level, there was a strong correlation suggesting pure methamphetamine consumption, when the ratios of methamphetamine/amphetamine concentrations were within the range between 3 and 10. In the two cases of methamphetamine bodypacking, the relevant serum concentrations of methamphetamine and amphetamine, which could be measured up to 9 days after ingestion, indicated a decrease of the methamphetamine/amphetamine ratios in an exponential manner. However, the ratios were not always within the range between 3 and 10. Lastly, the course of the serum concentrations suggested an increase of the apparent elimination half-life of methamphetamine. In terms of the objective evidence required in criminal law, calculating methamphetamine/amphetamine concentration ratio is not a suitable to means to distinguish pure methamphetamine intake and that of mixed amphetamine/methamphetamine abuse in an individual case. Instead, methamphetamine high serum concentrations and the possible increase in apparent elimination half-life suggest that an extended detection period may be used to distinguish between \"illicit use\" as compared to \"therapeutic use\" of methamphetamine.","is_dataset_classified":null,"base_score":2.302585092994046,"endowment":2.302585092994046,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"views":0,"has_version_chain":false,"is_dataset":false,"is_oa":false,"pmid":"28509940","pmcid":null,"openalex_id":"https://openalex.org/W2616427490","authors":[],"funders":[],"total_grants":0,"fwci":0.585,"citation_percentile":0.59369144,"influential_citations":0,"citation_trend":[{"year":2018,"count":3},{"year":2020,"count":1},{"year":2022,"count":1},{"year":2023,"count":1},{"year":2024,"count":2},{"year":2025,"count":1}],"oa_status":"closed","license":"http://www.springer.com/tdm","oa_locations":[{"url":"http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00414-017-1607-5/fulltext.html","host_type":"publisher"},{"url":"http://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00414-017-1607-5.pdf","host_type":"publisher"},{"url":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00414-017-1607-5","host_type":"journal"},{"url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28509940","host_type":"repository"}],"fields_of_study":["Forensic Toxicology and Drug Analysis","Psychedelics and Drug Studies","Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior"],"mesh_terms":["Driving Under the Influence","Body Packing","Adult","Amphetamine","Half-Life","Humans","Male","Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry","Methamphetamine","Middle Aged","Narcotics","Substance Abuse Detection","Drug Overdose"],"keywords":["Methamphetamine","Amphetamine","Ingestion","Forensic toxicology","Pharmacology","Poison control","Medicine","Chemistry","Internal medicine","Medical emergency","Chromatography","Legal Medicine","Crystal Meth","Bodypacker","Interpretation Of Toxicological Analysis"],"sdg_mappings":[{"sdg_number":0,"sdg_label":"Good health and well-being"}],"linked_datasets":[],"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"database_accessions":[],"source":"live","citation_network_status":"fetched"},"created_at":"2026-07-30T02:23:24.719970Z","pmid":null,"pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}