Title:Personalized Medicine Applied to Forensic Sciences: New Advances and Perspectives for a Tailored Forensic Approach
VOLUME: 18 ISSUE: 3
Author(s):Alessandro Santurro, Anna Maria Vullo, Marina Borro, Giovanna Gentile, Raffaele La Russa, Maurizio Simmaco, Paola Frati* and Vittorio Fineschi
Affiliation:Department of Anatomical, Histological, Forensic and Orthopaedic Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale Regina Elena 336, 00185 Rome, Department of Anatomical, Histological, Forensic and Orthopaedic Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale Regina Elena 336, 00185 Rome, Department of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Organs, Sapienza University of Rome, Via di Grottarossa 1035, 00189 Rome, Department of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Organs, Sapienza University of Rome, Via di Grottarossa 1035, 00189 Rome, Malzoni Clinical-Scientific Institute (MaCSI), Via Carmelo Errico 2, 83100 Avellino, Department of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Organs, Sapienza University of Rome, Via di Grottarossa 1035, 00189 Rome, Department of Anatomical, Histological, Forensic and Orthopaedic Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale Regina Elena 336, 00185 Rome, IRCCS Neuromed, Via Atinense 18, 86077 Pozzilli
Keywords:Personalized medicine, forensic sciences, theragnostic, molecular autopsy, genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics,
pharmacogenomics, metabolomics, sudden death.
Abstract:Personalized medicine (PM), included in P5 medicine (Personalized, Predictive, Preventive,
Participative and Precision medicine) is an innovative approach to the patient, emerging from the need
to tailor and to fit the profile of each individual. PM promises to dramatically impact also on forensic
sciences and justice system in ways we are only beginning to understand. The application of omics
(genomic, transcriptomics, epigenetics/imprintomics, proteomic and metabolomics) is ever more fundamental
in the so called “molecular autopsy”. Emerging fields of interest in forensic pathology are
represented by diagnosis and detection of predisposing conditions to fatal thromboembolic and hypertensive
events, determination of genetic variants related to sudden death, such as congenital long QT
syndromes, demonstration of lesions vitality, identification of biological matrices and species diagnosis
of a forensic trace on crime scenes without destruction of the DNA. The aim of this paper is to describe
the state-of-art in the application of personalized medicine in forensic sciences, to understand the possibilities
of integration in routine investigation of these procedures with classical post-mortem studies
and to underline the importance of these new updates in medical examiners’ armamentarium in determining
cause of death or contributing factors to death.
