Heath Ledger really did have a smorgasbord of drugs in his bodily fluids when he died just over two weeks ago in a New York apartment.

Shortly after the news broke, several science bloggers launched into rather macabre speculation about how the young actor died.

Kyle Finchsigmate's assessment was spot on:

So, this is The Chem Blog and not Variety and I don’t care too much about Ledger’s death, but it’s curious that people jumped to drug overdose without asking anyone if it was really easy to OD on any of these drugs. The answer is that no, it’s painfully difficult to have a fatal OD on any of those drugs.

According to a story by the Associated Press:

The cause of death was “acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diazepam, temazepam, alprazolam and doxylamine,” spokeswoman Ellen Borakove said in a statement.

Continue reading "Chem Lab: Heath Ledger Toxicology Results" »

When Heath Ledger died last Tuesday, possibly from a drug overdose, he became fodder for some macabre speculation.

At Slate, Michelle Tsai asked, "Did Heath Ledger Dream Before He Died?"

She called upon at least three medical experts to get an answer: probably not.

Meanwhile, at The Chem Blog, Kyle Finchsigmate seemed happy to comment on all six prescription drugs that were found in the dead actor's New York apartment.

So, this is The Chem Blog and not Variety and I don’t care too much about Ledger’s death, but it’s curious that people jumped to drug overdose without asking anyone if it was really easy to OD on any of these drugs. The answer is that no, it’s painfully difficult to have a fatal OD on any of those drugs.

Drug Monkey, of the Seed Science Blogs, took the opportunity to nerd out about the pharmacology of insomnia and anxiety medication. Ledger had at least two categories of tranquilizers: benzodiazepines including alprazolam (Xanax) and other sleep aids like zolpidem (Ambien). The blogger also posted some pretty technical information about the dangerous interactions that zolpidem can have with other drugs.

Continue reading "Chem Lab: Heath Ledger is Fodder for Macabre Science Blogs" »