Sources Give Partial Results of Autopsy

Autopsy results of Loyola Marymount basketball star Hank Gathers do not indicate the presence of any illegal substances, according to knowledgeable sources at the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office.

The findings are expected to be released this afternoon if final toxicological and tissue tests are completed early today. A complete report is expected Friday. Insiders at the coroner’s office said the autopsy has prompted media interest greater than that of actress Natalie Wood, who drowned off Catalina Island in November, 1981.

Sources said Wednesday that test results for stimulants such as cocaine and amphetamines were negative, giving further credence to the implication that Gathers died from a defective heart.

Gathers, 23, died March 4 after collapsing at midcourt during Loyola Marymount’s West Coast Conference tournament game at Gersten Pavilion in Westchester.

Gathers fainted in a game against UC Santa Barbara almost three months before he died. He was hospitalized and later found to have an irregular heartbeat.

After extensive medical tests, Gathers was given medical clearance Dec. 21. He returned to the lineup Dec. 30 after missing two games.

Although he had written clearance, Gathers continued to undergo tests. He wore a halter monitor during practices to determine the dosage of heart medication he needed to take. Gathers was prescribed Inderal, a beta-blocker that can control heart rhythms.

Gathers’ last halter monitor test was Feb. 20, according to Bruce Fagel, an attorney who announced last week that he plans to file a suit on behalf of Gathers’ family in Los Angeles Superior Court. Fagel said medical records show Gathers reduced his dosage three times--from 240 milligrams to 40 milligrams.

Gathers reportedly asked to reduce the dosage because the drug left him listless and sluggish, side effects commonly associated with Inderal.

The sophisticated tissue tests for Inderal will not be ready until today, the coroner’s office reported. Sources said they are trying to link the cause of death with the medication.

Expert pharmacologists, however, say such determination could prove difficult.

Dr. Donald Catlin of the UCLA School of Pharmacology said toxicologists will have trouble determining when Gathers last took the drug. “It is always difficult to know how many hours ago it was taken,” he said.

“The best one can do is some armchair guessing. We are more or less stuck with saying it’s in the system or it isn’t. To say it’s one or two days old is far more difficult.”