In order to appreciate more adequately chronic alcohol use by the deceased in the course of a medico-legal autopsy we studied the usefulness of a determination of gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) activity in cadaver serum. Some preliminary tests were performed to check the post-mortem stability of this enzyme, the influence of post-mortem haemolysis upon enzyme determination, the influence of the sampling site upon the enzyme activity and the suitability of vitreous humour as an alternative body fluid for GGT determination. Secondly, correlations between GGT activity and the degree of fatty liver degeneration and fibrosis (both possibly alcohol-induced tissue lesions) were searched for. Finally, a comparison was made between strictly selected groups of alcoholics and non-alcoholics.
We concluded that, keeping in mind the necessary precautions to avoid typical post-mortem fallacies, a GGT determination in cadaver serum provides a useful parameter for detecting chronic alcoholism at the forensic autopsy.
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