Critical Reviews in Toxicology最新文献

Between August 1 and December 3, 2020, a 124-day outbreak of nonviral hepatitis occurred in geographically limited regions of Nevada and California, resulting in 21 hospitalized cases (18 in Nevada, 3 in California), including 18 intensive care unit admissions and one fatality in an adult female with preexisting conditions. In March 2021, a multi-agency investigation led by the Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and others identified consumption of Real Water, an alkalinized bottled water product, as the likely cause. On March 24, 2021, a recall was issued and the company ceased production of Real Water. Despite extensive investigation, no definitive causative agent was identified. However, trace concentrations of hydrazine, a known hepatotoxin, were detected in select product batches, prompting concerns regarding its potential role in the outbreak. This study presents a quantitative risk assessment of hydrazine exposure from daily consumption of retail bottled Real Water products during the outbreak period. Estimated intake was calculated based on age-, sex-, and body weight-specific water consumption patterns and measured hydrazine concentrations (mean: 0.0505 mg/L; maximum: 0.3 mg/L). Sub-chronic acceptable daily intakes (ADIs) of 0.09 mg/kg-day for adults and 0.04 mg/kg-day for children were developed based on toxicological data from isoniazid (INH) studies. Hydrazine and INH share similar profiles regarding hepatotoxicity, with hydrazine acting as a major mediator of INH-induced liver injury. Calculated hazard quotients for all demographic groups were <1.0, with the highest estimated intake (0.005 mg/kg-day) resulting in an HQ of 0.12. These findings indicate that hydrazine exposure via retail Real Water consumption could not have caused the observed hepatic injuries, supporting the conclusion of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that the etiologic agent remains unidentified.

According to the World Health Organization, climate change is associated with detrimental health effects through air pollution, increased risk of infectious diseases, as well as extreme heat and drought. The rise in wildfires, exacerbated by climate change, plays a fundamental role in air pollution by emitting diverse pollutants responsible for adverse health effects, environmental and economic damage, directly impacting the health of populations, especially the most vulnerable. This study aimed to evaluate the effects on human health stemming from exposure to wildfire smoke in the Amazon region. For this purpose, a literature review following the PRISMA methodology was conducted in the Web of Science, PubMed, LILACS, and Scopus databases, with no restrictions for biological sex or time frame using descriptors such as "Exposure", "Health effect*", "Wildfire*", and "Air pollution". Articles in English, Spanish, and Portuguese were included. A total of 302 articles were identified, of which 30 met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Studies were identified only in the Brazilian Amazon, and the groups most susceptible to smoke effects were children up to 5 years old and the elderly aged 60 and above, in addition to individuals with preexisting comorbidities. Only one article conducted a biomonitoring study in the region; the others worked with hospital admission data. Coordinated health actions are necessary to protect the health of exposed populations, especially those in conditions of social vulnerability, to ensure health protection and adequate environmental safety.

Food contamination has been a major health issue since the beginning of human existence. Some food contaminants trigger important psychological manifestations, such as delirium, hallucinations, and psychosis, which may cause distress, aggravate pre-existing conditions, and dangerously interact with certain medications. Exposure to psychoactive food contaminants can ultimately lead to severe health problems or even death. As such, it is important to further study these substances to prevent contamination and identify and treat intoxications. Among these substances, three classes of food contaminants are addressed herein due to their toxicological relevance: (i) ergot alkaloids (ergotamine and ergometrine), (ii) tropane alkaloids (atropine, hyoscyamine, and scopolamine), and (iii) opium alkaloids (codeine and morphine). An historical perspective relative to each contaminant is briefly described in this review, as well as the dietary sources and key chemical properties. Guidance values and analytical methods that allow the detection and quantification of these toxic agents are also provided. In addition, relevant toxicokinetic and toxicodynamic aspects are summarized. Finally, for each xenobiotic, registered intoxication cases, from epidemics and outbreaks to case reports, are described, as well as the detection of contaminants in screening procedures. Overall, this review reinforces that dietary exposure to psychoactive contaminants constitutes a toxicological issue that should be duly considered.

For the past 50 years, there has been an ongoing interest in understanding the potential health hazards, if any, to vehicle mechanics who worked with asbestos-containing brakes in the 1950s-early 2000s era. Two reviews have been published on this topic, one by Langer (2003) ("Reduction of the biological potential of chrysotile asbestos arising from conditions of service on brake pads") and another by Paustenbach, et al. (2004) ("Environmental and occupational health hazards associated with the presence of asbestos in brake linings and pads (1900 to present): a 'state-of-the-art' review"). This analysis is an update on those papers since a considerable amount of research has been published over the past 20 years on this topic. The following important aspects are addressed in this review: new information on the toxicology of chrysotile, toxicology studies of brake dust associated with grinding, additional epidemiology studies and meta-analyses published on auto mechanics of the era, previously unfound data on how brakes (during the era when chrysotile was used) were manufactured, and new work describing the transformation of chrysotile to various degradation products during vehicle braking. This update also addresses questions about the health hazards associated with asbestos in vehicle clutches, transmissions, and gaskets. The exposure data indicate that the airborne concentrations of chrysotile fibers associated with vehicle mechanic work when asbestos was in auto brakes were, on average, less than 0.04 f/cm³ (8-h TWA) and the average lifetime cumulative dose was in the vicinity of 0.5-3 f/cm³-year for mechanics of that era. Although many of these fibers may have no toxicity due to thermal degradation and the conversion to degradation products, 31 epidemiology studies have evaluated the risks of mesothelioma for vehicle mechanics of this era and all but one indicate that there was no increased incidence of this disease in these workers. The weight of evidence continues to indicate that the asbestos-related health risks to vehicle mechanics from asbestos-containing components were de minimis. The risks associated with take-home and bystander exposure of a mechanic were also addressed and they were found to pose a de minimis or zero health risk to those potentially exposed. Based on our evaluation, there is no indication that asbestos from asbestiform tremolite was present at detectable concentrations in bulk samples of brakes or in the air during brake work. The recent U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) risk assessment of 2024 on chrysotile and their views of the hazards of asbestos-containing brakes were discussed. Their analyses did not alter our views that exposures to mechanics posed no increased risk of asbestos related disease. The latest knowledge about the role of genetic susceptibility on the development of mesothelioma is also addressed.

The original motivation for the aerosol inhalability convention was to account for the fact that the inhalation efficiency of particles can cause the composition of the particle-containing air that is inhaled into the mouth and nose to differ significantly from the composition of the ambient air. Therefore, without appropriate adjustments for the inhalation efficiency of particles, air samples could over- or underestimate the actual exposures of inhaled materials, possibly compromising some workplace air standards. Subsequently, the concepts and applications of inhalability and inhalability sampling have been expanded to inhalation exposures outside of the workplace, including general human populations, medical patients, cell cultures, and animal research subjects. As described in this commentary, some of these applications have occurred in ways that could misrepresent actual exposures. Scientific advances in the understanding and applications of inhalability-related concepts are needed. Such advances will best be achieved through multidisciplinary collaborations involving modeling, wind tunnel mannequin and human subject studies, and health effects studies involving input from aerosol scientists, engineers, physiologists, anatomists, physicians, veterinarians, mathematical modelers, and regulators.