Milosevic Watcher: 'rifampicin' confirmed
Yesterday the BBC and NYT reported that Milosevic died of a heart attack. I think the New York Times article was the first to say the word "rifampicin," but I don't remember seeing it the first time I read that article. In any case, the BBC and many other news sites now report that a toxicologist found rifampicin in Milosevic's blood and believes Milosevic deliberately took it unprescribed in order to get transferred from the Hague to Moscow. So far, all the talk about the rifampicin's liver effects is consistent with induction of cytochrome P450. I see no word yet on the names of the specific blood pressure medications or other "heart drugs" that he may have been taking, but I still bet on calcium channel blockers. As for the toxicologist whom everyone quotes, his story checks out as far as I can tell.
Confession: in the mid '90s, I got all my news about Serbia and Bosnia from NPR, and whenever I heard them say "Ratko Mladic," I thought they were saying "Rat Kumladic" or something similar.
