Advances in Molecular Forensic Pathology and Toxicology: An Update

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, the role of molecular markers had a significant increase in the forensic field. Biochemical markers are analyzed in blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, or other biological samples. They may provide information about the cause of death and the post-mortem interval (PMI). The forensic molecular pathology procedure can be integrated into routine work, to improve and to reinforce morphological evidence. It can be applied in medical sciences to investigate the pathophysiology of diseases and trauma that led to death. For example, the immunohistochemical characteristics of vitality in hanging and the identification of the most significant vitality markers on ligature marks could be useful to determine whether the hanging was committed as suicide or as a simulated hanging.

For tissue identification in a forensic context, it is possible to employ many molecular markers, such as mRNA, miRNA, DNA methylation and microbial markers. In the context of molecular pathology, the subjects include the following: time, date, cause, manner, and place of death. The objective of this Special Issue is to collect original and review articles to provide at forensic pathologist several markers as elements of scientific evidence for forensic research and justice.

Dr. Angelo Montana
Guest Editor

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