Human toxicology最新文献

1. Aluminium concentrations were measured in hair, plasma and bone samples from different groups of chronic renal insufficient patients and from a control group (75 healthy volunteers plus 21 deceased subjects). A cross-sectional study with 40 haemodialysis patients and two longitudinal studies were undertaken, the first comprising of 12 home haemodialysis patients and the second 16 patients undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). 2. Before introduction of water treatment by reverse osmosis, the hair aluminium levels of home haemodialysis patients were elevated compared to controls. Aluminium in the hair of all other groups were within the normal range. Hair aluminium levels were not related to the daily aluminium intake, nor to the cumulative aluminium intake, nor to bone and plasma aluminium concentrations. 3. Plasma aluminium concentrations in all patients were higher than in the controls. Dialysis without reverse osmosis water treatment increased aluminium plasma levels. After installation of reverse osmosis units there was a decrease in the aluminium concentrations in plasma. In CAPD patients insignificant increases in the aluminium levels in plasma were observed. When low contaminated dialysis fluid was available the plasma aluminium concentrations returned to the initial level. 4. Aluminium concentrations in bone were increased in renal insufficient patients compared with controls. Aluminium bone content increased with increasing cumulative aluminium intake by phosphate binding therapy. 5. Hair analysis is of very limited value for the diagnosis of aluminium exposure. Bone analysis is suitable for the assessment of the individual body burden.

A 24-year-old Caucasian male was found dead from unknown causes at his farm home. At the scene, partially filled bottles of ORTHO Malathion 50 Insect Spray and CLOROX bleach were found. At the time of autopsy, a strong odour of a petroleum based product was prominent in the small intestine and in the liquid stool. A similar odour was also present in the liquids of both bottles. Generalized visceral and vascular congestion with oedema in various tissues was markedly present. Toxicological analysis of the gastric contents, intestinal contents, bile and liquid samples from the malathion and bleach bottles revealed the presence of malathion in the concentrations of 2.1 g/kg, 98 g/kg, 570 mg/l, 54% and 11%, respectively. In the blood and urine, malathion was not detected. Xylenes and other common volatile components of the spray were detected in the liquids from the bottles and in the gastric and intestinal contents. The ability of the blood and bile samples to inhibit, in vitro, rat serum cholinesterase and electric eel acetylcholinesterase was consistent with their malathion concentrations as the bile inhibited both enzymes, while the blood did not. These findings conclude that the death was associated with the ingestion of a commercial malathion insect spray.

The inhibitory effect of gossypol acetic acid on human sperm motility was studied with a transmembrane migration method. Gossypol decreased sperm motility after it had been incubated with semen for more than 15 min. However, when sperm motility was evaluated immediately after semen had been mixed with gossypol, no inhibitory effect could be found. We consider that the sperm immobilizing potency of gossypol is much less than our previously studied sperm immobilizing agents. It is unlikely that gossypol can be developed as a vaginal spermicide. The importance of time course in the pharmacological study of sperm motility is emphasized in this study.

1. To elucidate the importance of lung damage in the prognosis of paraquat poisoning, the respiratory index (RI: A-aDO2/PO2) was analysed in 51 patients with paraquat poisoning. 2. Progressive deterioration of the RI was observed in 43 non-survivors, but not in 8 survivors. In addition, the RI of non-survivors became greater than 1.5 in the course of their poisoning, while that of the survivors remained less than 1.5. 3. The level of the RI (i.e. whether it became greater than 1.5 or not) was found to be a good indicator for the prognosis for life. 4. The RI-time, defined as the time taken from ingestion for the RI to be greater than 1.5, was found to be a good indicator for predicting the survival period in fatal cases. 5. As a result, we conclude that it is important and useful to examine a series of RI and the RI-time in poisoned patients not only to provide proper respiratory care, but also to predict outcome and survival period.

1. The metabolic oxidation of metoprolol has been studied in a group of 98 San Bushmen. 2. The amounts of metoprolol and alpha-hydroxy metoprolol excreted in 0-8 h urine collection, after dosing with 100 mg metoprolol, were measured and the metabolic ratio (% dose excreted as metoprolol/% dose excreted as alpha-hydroxy metoprolol) calculated. 3. Frequency distribution and probit plots of the metabolic rate data showed a bimodal distribution with 4.1% of the population exhibiting slow metabolism with an MR greater than 10. 4. These results are much less than found in Caucasians (8.4%) but very different from the unimodal distribution found for Nigerians. 5. A previous study in the same group of Bushmen had revealed that 18 of 96 subjects were poor or non-metabolizers of debrisoquine to 4-hydroxy debrisoquine, but only one of the poor metoprolol metabolizers was a poor metabolizer of debrisoquine. 6. On the basis of these results, the claim of debrisoquine type of polymorphism for beta-adrenoceptor antagonists found in Caucasians cannot be extrapolated to the San Bushmen, and one must query the use of debrisoquine as measure of oxidative status in any group other than Caucasians.

1. A hospitalized patient with renal failure receiving oral aluminium hydroxide was found to have a blood aluminium level of 3124 micrograms/l (116 mumol/l). 2. The extremely high aluminium concentration was attributed to the concurrent use of an oral citrate solution which converted the aluminium to a more soluble and absorbable form. 3. The combination of oral aluminium and citrate should be avoided in patients with poor renal function.

1. The excretion of thioethers was determined in the urine of nurses handling cytotoxic drugs (n = 10) and cancer patients under chemotherapy (n = 32). 2. An occupational non-exposed group served as control (n = 28). 3. We found no association between the handling of cytotoxic drugs and occupational exposure of nurses. Cancer patients under chemotherapy showed abnormally high values of thioethers, while urinary thioether concentration was, consistently, rather low in some individuals under intensive chemotherapy. 4. We conclude that periodical urinary thioether determinations should be made available to hospital staff as well as cancer patients to minimize the risks of the cytotoxic drugs.