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Frontiers in Pharmacology 2021The industrial activities of the last century have caused massive increases in human exposure to heavy metals. Mercury, lead, chromium, cadmium, and arsenic have been... (Review)
Review
The industrial activities of the last century have caused massive increases in human exposure to heavy metals. Mercury, lead, chromium, cadmium, and arsenic have been the most common heavy metals that induced human poisonings. Here, we reviewed the mechanistic action of these heavy metals according to the available animal and human studies. Acute or chronic poisonings may occur following exposure through water, air, and food. Bioaccumulation of these heavy metals leads to a diversity of toxic effects on a variety of body tissues and organs. Heavy metals disrupt cellular events including growth, proliferation, differentiation, damage-repairing processes, and apoptosis. Comparison of the mechanisms of action reveals similar pathways for these metals to induce toxicity including ROS generation, weakening of the antioxidant defense, enzyme inactivation, and oxidative stress. On the other hand, some of them have selective binding to specific macromolecules. The interaction of lead with aminolevulinic acid dehydratase and ferrochelatase is within this context. Reactions of other heavy metals with certain proteins were discussed as well. Some toxic metals including chromium, cadmium, and arsenic cause genomic instability. Defects in DNA repair following the induction of oxidative stress and DNA damage by the three metals have been considered as the cause of their carcinogenicity. Even with the current knowledge of hazards of heavy metals, the incidence of poisoning remains considerable and requires preventive and effective treatment. The application of chelation therapy for the management of metal poisoning could be another aspect of heavy metals to be reviewed in the future.
PubMed: 33927623
DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2021.643972 -
Annals of Agricultural and... 2015It has been recognized that environmental pollution can affect the quality of health of the human population. Heavy metals are among the group of highly emitted... (Review)
Review
INTRODUCTION
It has been recognized that environmental pollution can affect the quality of health of the human population. Heavy metals are among the group of highly emitted contaminants and their adverse effect of living organisms has been widely studied in recent decades. Lifestyle and quality of the ambient environment are among these factors which can mainly contribute to the heavy metals exposure in humans.
OBJECTIVE
A review of literature linking heavy metals and the female reproductive system and description of the possible associations with emission and exposure of heavy metals and impairments of female reproductive system according to current knowledge.
RESULTS
The potential health disorders caused by chronic or acute heavy metals toxicity include immunodeficiency, osteoporosis, neurodegeneration and organ failures. Potential linkages of heavy metals concentration found in different human organs and blood with oestrogen-dependent diseases such as breast cancer, endometrial cancer, endometriosis and spontaneous abortions, as well as pre-term deliveries, stillbirths and hypotrophy, have also been reported.
CONCLUSIONS
Environmental deterioration can lead to the elevated risk of human exposure to heavy metals, and consequently, health implications including disturbances in reproduction. It is therefore important to continue the investigations on metal-induced mechanisms of fertility impairment on the genetic, epigenetic and biochemical level.
Topics: Animals; Cadmium; Cricetinae; Environmental Pollutants; Female; Genitalia, Female; Heavy Metal Poisoning; Humans; Lead; Mercury; Metals, Heavy; Mice; Poisoning; Rats; Reproduction
PubMed: 26094520
DOI: 10.5604/12321966.1152077 -
Tropical Diseases, Travel Medicine and... 2020Intoxication syndromes may be travel acquired, and are related to intentional or accidental inhalational or percutaneous exposures or ingestions. Due to their myriad... (Review)
Review
Intoxication syndromes may be travel acquired, and are related to intentional or accidental inhalational or percutaneous exposures or ingestions. Due to their myriad clinical presentations, initial differential diagnosis of such intoxications in returned travelers is broad, and typically requires detailed history and laboratory investigations to disentangle. We herein use a case-based clinical problem solving approach to illumination of a mercury intoxication syndrome, which presented in a 48-year-old VFR traveler to Guyana. Common clinical presentations, differential diagnoses, laboratory investigations, and therapeutic interventions are discussed.
PubMed: 32099658
DOI: 10.1186/s40794-020-0103-y -
Metal Ions in Life Sciences Apr 2017Heavy metal exposure has long been associated with metallothionein (MT) regulation and its functions. MT is a ubiquitous, cysteine-rich protein that is involved in... (Review)
Review
Heavy metal exposure has long been associated with metallothionein (MT) regulation and its functions. MT is a ubiquitous, cysteine-rich protein that is involved in homeostatic metal response for the essential metals zinc and copper, as well as detoxification of heavy metals; the most commonly proposed being cadmium. MT binds in vivo to a number of metals in addition to zinc, cadmium and copper, such as bismuth. In vitro, metallation with a wide range of metals (especially mercury, arsenic, and lead) has been reported using a variety of analytical methods. To fully understand MT and its role with lead metabolism, we will describe how MT interacts with a wide variety of metals that bind in vitro. In general, affinity to the metal-binding cysteine residues of MT follows that of metal binding to thiols: Zn(II) < Pb(II) < Cd (II) < Cu(I) < Ag(I) < Hg(II) < Bi(III). To introduce the metal binding properties that we feel directly relate to the metallation of metallothionein by Pb(II), we will explore MT's interactions with metals long known as toxic, particularly, Cd(II), Hg(II), and As(III), along with xenobiotic metals, and how these metal-binding studies complement those of lead binding. Lead's effects on an organism's physiological functions are not fully understood, but it is known that chronic exposure inflicts amongst other factors pernicious anemia and developmental issues in the brain, especially in children who are more vulnerable to its toxic effects. Understanding the interaction of lead with metallothioneins throughout the biosphere, from bacteria, to algae, to fish, to humans, is important in determining pathways for lead to enter and damage physiologically significant protein function, and thereby its toxicity.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Lead; Lead Poisoning; Metallothionein; Protein Binding
PubMed: 28731302
DOI: 10.1515/9783110434330-009 -
La Medicina Del Lavoro Dec 2019.
UNLABELLED
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BACKGROUND:
The Clinica del Lavoro of Milan provided several contributions to industrial hygiene and occupational toxicology during the twentieth century.
OBJECTIVES:
Describe the first years of the laboratory of industrial hygiene of Milan through three figures who played a leading role: Enrico Carlo Vigliani, Nicola Zurlo and Gianmario Cavagna.
METHODS:
Scientific literature of the period 1948-1970 was investigated, also interviewing first-hand witnesses of that period.
RESULTS:
Enrico Vigliani was the first European scholar to understand the importance of a laboratory of industrial hygiene within his institution. Thanks to the support of private (Montecatini) and public (INAIL) institutions he succeeded in creating a laboratory in 1948. Nicola Zurlo, who directed this structure in the first thirty years, conducted innovative studies on chronic mercury intoxication, lead intoxication and silicosis, designing and creating instruments for capturing and analyzing atmospheric dust and protection devices. He conducted analysis of the health effects of organophosphorus insecticides and started to study the air pollution. Zurlo also provided an epistemological and methodological content to the discipline. Gianmario Cavagna, one of the first Italian toxicologists, contributed to the discovery of the origin of fevers caused by the inhalation of metal fumes and to the studies on the pathogenesis of byssinosis, hypothesizing a role of bacterial endotoxins in the genesis of this disease.
CONCLUSIONS:
The contributions provided by these three protagonists to industrial hygiene and occupational toxicology were relevant and made in those years the Clinica del Lavoro of Milan as a landmark, not only in Italy but also abroad.
Topics: History, 20th Century; Humans; Italy; Laboratories; Lead Poisoning; Occupational Health; Occupational Medicine
PubMed: 31846445
DOI: 10.23749/mdl.v110iS1.8875 -
Dental Research Journal 2022From the perspectives of longevity, mechanical performance, and economics, amalgam has long been considered the material of choice, especially for certain types of... (Review)
Review
From the perspectives of longevity, mechanical performance, and economics, amalgam has long been considered the material of choice, especially for certain types of restorations in posterior teeth, including replacement therapy for existing amalgam fillings. In spite of numerous advantages over other filling materials, its use has been decreasing in recent years and the alternative tooth-colored filling materials are increasingly used. There is a trend towards minimal interventional, adhesive, techniques in dentistry, which are based on adhesion to tooth structure by chemical interaction and/or micromechanical retention. At the same time, the quality and durability of alternative materials have improved. Mercury is the metallic element of concern used in dental amalgam. Mercury is a well-documented toxicant, with reasonably well-defined characteristics for the major forms of exposure, involving elemental mercury as well as organic and inorganic mercury compounds. Looking into the kind of practice and its popularity among dentists and the patients in India, even we have to comply with the use of amalgam by implementing the best possible ways to minimize the extent of damage to nature.
PubMed: 36407775
DOI: No ID Found -
Journal of Trace Elements in Medicine... Sep 2016The brain pathology in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) indicates marked and ongoing inflammatory reactivity with concomitant neuronal damage. These findings are... (Review)
Review
The brain pathology in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) indicates marked and ongoing inflammatory reactivity with concomitant neuronal damage. These findings are suggestive of neuronal insult as a result of external factors, rather than some type of developmental mishap. Various xenobiotics have been suggested as possible causes of this pathology. In a recent review, the top ten environmental compounds suspected of causing autism and learning disabilities were listed and they included: lead, methyl-mercury, polychorinated biphenyls, organophosphate pesticides, organochlorine pesticides, endocrine disruptors, automotive exhaust, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, and perfluorinated compounds. This current review, however, will focus specifically on mercury exposure and ASD by conducting a comprehensive literature search of original studies in humans that examine the potential relationship between mercury and ASD, categorizing, summarizing, and discussing the published research that addresses this topic. This review found 91 studies that examine the potential relationship between mercury and ASD from 1999 to February 2016. Of these studies, the vast majority (74%) suggest that mercury is a risk factor for ASD, revealing both direct and indirect effects. The preponderance of the evidence indicates that mercury exposure is causal and/or contributory in ASD.
Topics: Autistic Disorder; Environmental Exposure; Humans; Mercury; Mercury Poisoning; Risk Factors
PubMed: 27473827
DOI: 10.1016/j.jtemb.2016.06.002