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Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Archives of... May 2024Trauma and toxic substances are connected in several aspects. On the one hand, toxic substances can be the reason for traumatic injuries in the context of accidental or... (Review)
Review
Trauma and toxic substances are connected in several aspects. On the one hand, toxic substances can be the reason for traumatic injuries in the context of accidental or violent and criminal circumstances. Examples for the first scenario is the release of toxic gases, chemicals, and particles during house fires, and for the second scenario, the use of chemical or biological weapons in the context of terroristic activities. Toxic substances can cause or enhance severe, life-threatening trauma, as described in this review for various chemical warfare, by inducing a tissue trauma accompanied by break down of important barriers in the body, such as the blood-air or the blood-gut barriers. This in turn initiates a "vicious circle" as the contribution of inflammatory responses to the traumatic damage enhances the macro- and micro-barrier breakdown and often results in fatal outcome. The development of sophisticated methods for detection and identification of toxic substances as well as the special treatment of the intoxicated trauma patient is summarized in this review. Moreover, some highly toxic substances, such as the protein toxins from the pathogenic bacterium Clostridioides (C.) difficile, cause severe post-traumatic complications which significantly worsens the outcome of hospitalized patients, in particular in multiply injured trauma patients. Therefore, novel pharmacological options for the treatment of such patients are necessarily needed and one promising strategy might be the neutralization of the toxins that cause the disease. This review summarizes recent findings on the molecular and cellular mechanisms of toxic chemicals and bacterial toxins that contribute to barrier breakdown in the human body as wells pharmacological options for treatment, in particular in the context of intoxicated trauma patients. "trauma-toxicology" comprises concepts regrading basic research, development of novel pharmacological/therapeutic options and clinical aspects in the complex interplay and "vicious circle" of severe tissue trauma, barrier breakdown, pathogen and toxin exposure, tissue damage, and subsequent clinical complications.
Topics: Humans; Animals; Wounds and Injuries
PubMed: 37999755
DOI: 10.1007/s00210-023-02845-3 -
Biomolecules Sep 2021Cannabis (), popularly known as marijuana, is the most commonly used psychoactive substance and is considered illicit in most countries worldwide. However, a growing... (Review)
Review
Cannabis (), popularly known as marijuana, is the most commonly used psychoactive substance and is considered illicit in most countries worldwide. However, a growing body of research has provided evidence of the therapeutic properties of chemical components of cannabis known as cannabinoids against several diseases including Alzheimer's disease (AD), multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia and glaucoma; these have prompted changes in medicinal cannabis legislation. The relaxation of legal restrictions and increased socio-cultural acceptance has led to its increase in both medicinal and recreational usage. Several biochemically active components of cannabis have a range of effects on the biological system. There is an urgent need for more research to better understand the molecular and biochemical effects of cannabis at a cellular level, to understand fully its implications as a pharmaceutical drug. Proteomics technology is an efficient tool to rigorously elucidate the mechanistic effects of cannabis on the human body in a cell and tissue-specific manner, drawing conclusions associated with its toxicity as well as therapeutic benefits, safety and efficacy profiles. This review provides a comprehensive overview of both in vitro and in vivo proteomic studies involving the cellular and molecular effects of cannabis and cannabis-derived compounds.
Topics: Alzheimer Disease; Analgesics; Cannabinoid Receptor Agonists; Cannabinoids; Cannabis; Glaucoma; Humans; Multiple Sclerosis; Parkinson Disease; Proteome; Proteomics; Schizophrenia
PubMed: 34680044
DOI: 10.3390/biom11101411 -
International Journal of Environmental... Jan 2021Osteoporosis is a disease having adverse effects on bone health and causing fragility fractures. Osteoporosis affects approximately 200 million people worldwide, and... (Review)
Review
INTRODUCTION
Osteoporosis is a disease having adverse effects on bone health and causing fragility fractures. Osteoporosis affects approximately 200 million people worldwide, and nearly 9 million fractures occur annually. Evidence exists that, in addition to traditional risk factors, certain environmental substances may increase the risk of osteoporosis.
METHODS
The European Human Biomonitoring Initiative (HBM4EU) is a joint program coordinating and advancing human biomonitoring in Europe. HBM4EU investigates citizens' exposure to several environmental substances and their plausible health effects aiming to contribute to policymaking. In HBM4EU, 18 priority substances or substance groups were selected. For each, a scoping document was prepared summarizing existing knowledge and health effects. This scoping review is based on these chemical-specific scoping documents and complementary literature review.
RESULTS
A possible link between osteoporosis and the body burden of heavy metals, such as cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb), and industrial chemicals such as phthalates and per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) was identified.
CONCLUSIONS
Evidence shows that environmental substances may be related to osteoporosis as an adverse health effect. Nevertheless, more epidemiological research on the relationship between health effects and exposure to these chemicals is needed. Study results are incoherent, and pervasive epidemiological studies regarding the chemical exposure are lacking.
Topics: Biological Monitoring; Body Burden; Environmental Exposure; Environmental Monitoring; Environmental Pollutants; Europe; Humans; Metals, Heavy; Osteoporosis
PubMed: 33467108
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18020738 -
Genes Jun 2021Formaldehyde (FA) is a highly reactive substance that is ubiquitous in the environment and is usually considered as a pollutant. In the human body, FA is a product of... (Review)
Review
Formaldehyde (FA) is a highly reactive substance that is ubiquitous in the environment and is usually considered as a pollutant. In the human body, FA is a product of various metabolic pathways and participates in one-carbon cycle, which provides carbon for the synthesis and modification of bio-compounds, such as DNA, RNA, and amino acids. Endogenous FA plays a role in epigenetic regulation, especially in the methylation and demethylation of DNA, histones, and RNA. Recently, epigenetic alterations associated with FA dysmetabolism have been considered as one of the important features in age-related cognitive impairment (ARCI), suggesting the potential of using FA as a diagnostic biomarker of ARCI. Notably, FA plays multifaceted roles, and, at certain concentrations, it promotes cell proliferation, enhances memory formation, and elongates life span, effects that could also be involved in the aetiology of ARCI. Further investigation of and the regulation of the epigenetics landscape may provide new insights about the aetiology of ARCI and provide novel therapeutic targets.
Topics: Animals; Cognitive Dysfunction; DNA Methylation; Formaldehyde; Histone Code; Humans; Memory Disorders; Mutagens
PubMed: 34199279
DOI: 10.3390/genes12060913 -
Journal of Anatomy Nov 2019Human cadavers constitute very useful educational tools to teach anatomy in medical scholarship and related disciplines such as physiology, for example. However, as... (Review)
Review
Human cadavers constitute very useful educational tools to teach anatomy in medical scholarship and related disciplines such as physiology, for example. However, as biological material, human body is subjected to decay. Thanatopraxy cares such as embalming have been developed to slow down and inhibit this decay, but the formula used for the preservation fluids are mainly formaldehyde (FA)-based. Very recently, other formulas were developed in order to replace FA, and to avoid its toxicity leading to important environmental and professional exposure concerns. However, these alternative FA-free fluids are still not validated or commercialized, and their efficiency is still under discussion. In this context, the use of FA-releasing substances, already used in the cosmetics industry, may offer interesting alternatives in order to reduce professional exposures to FA. Simultaneously, the preservation of the body is still guaranteed by FA generated over time from FA-releasers. The aim of this review is to revaluate the use of FA in thanatopraxy cares, to present its benefits and disadvantages, and finally to propose an alternative to reduce FA professional exposure during thanatopraxy cares thanks to FA-releasers use.
Topics: Cadaver; Embalming; Formaldehyde; Humans; Respiratory Hypersensitivity
PubMed: 31297814
DOI: 10.1111/joa.13047 -
Lipids in Health and Disease May 2017Vegetable oils are obtained by mechanical extraction or cold pressing of various parts of plants, most often: seeds, fruits, and drupels. Chemically, these oils are... (Review)
Review
Vegetable oils are obtained by mechanical extraction or cold pressing of various parts of plants, most often: seeds, fruits, and drupels. Chemically, these oils are compounds of the ester-linked glycerol and higher fatty acids with long aliphatic chain hydrocarbons (min. C14:0). Vegetable oils have a variety of properties, depending on their percentage of saturation. This article describes sea-buckthorn oil, which is extracted from the well characterized fruit and seeds of sea buckthorn. The plant has a large number of active ingredients the properties of which are successfully used in the cosmetic industry and in medicine. Valuable substances contained in sea-buckthorn oil play an important role in the proper functioning of the human body and give skin a beautiful and healthy appearance. A balanced composition of fatty acids give the number of vitamins or their range in this oil and explains its frequent use in cosmetic products for the care of dry, flaky or rapidly aging skin. Moreover, its unique unsaturated fatty acids, such as palmitooleic acid (omega-7) and gamma-linolenic acid (omega-6), give sea-buckthorn oil skin regeneration and repair properties. Sea-buckthorn oil also improves blood circulation, facilitates oxygenation of the skin, removes excess toxins from the body and easily penetrates through the epidermis. Because inside the skin the gamma-linolenic acid is converted to prostaglandins, sea-buckthorn oil protects against infections, prevents allergies, eliminates inflammation and inhibits the aging process. With close to 200 properties, sea-buckthorn oil is a valuable addition to health and beauty products.
Topics: Fatty Acids; Hippophae; Plant Oils; gamma-Linolenic Acid
PubMed: 28526097
DOI: 10.1186/s12944-017-0469-7 -
International Journal of Molecular... Mar 2013The skin is the largest organ of the human body and builds a barrier to protect us from the harmful environment and also from unregulated loss of water. Keratinocytes... (Review)
Review
The skin is the largest organ of the human body and builds a barrier to protect us from the harmful environment and also from unregulated loss of water. Keratinocytes form the skin barrier by undergoing a highly complex differentiation process that involves changing their morphology and structural integrity, a process referred to as cornification. Alterations in the epidermal cornification process affect the formation of the skin barrier. Typically, this results in a disturbed barrier, which allows the entry of substances into the skin that are immunologically reactive. This contributes to and promotes inflammatory processes in the skin but also affects other organs. In many common skin diseases, including atopic dermatitis and psoriasis, a defect in the formation of the skin barrier is observed. In these diseases the cytokine composition within the skin is different compared to normal human skin. This is the result of resident skin cells that produce cytokines, but also because additional immune cells are recruited. Many of the cytokines found in defective skin are able to influence various processes of differentiation and cornification. Here we summarize the current knowledge on cytokines and their functions in healthy skin and their contributions to inflammatory skin diseases.
Topics: Animals; Cytokines; Epidermis; Humans; Models, Biological; Skin
PubMed: 23531535
DOI: 10.3390/ijms14046720 -
World Journal of Emergency Medicine 2012Rhabdomyolysis may cause severe damage to the human body because of acute renal failure, fatal heart rhythm disturbances, hypovolemic shock, disturbances of electrolyte... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Rhabdomyolysis may cause severe damage to the human body because of acute renal failure, fatal heart rhythm disturbances, hypovolemic shock, disturbances of electrolyte balance, metabolic acidosis, hyperthermia, disseminated intravascular coagulation, etc. Drugs and toxins are the most common factors for the disease. This article aimed to review the prognosis of rhabdomyolysis.
DATA SOURCES
Based on the reported studies of cell and molecular biology, we reviewed the clinical presentations, laboratory findings, and mechanisms of rhabdomyolysis in the Pubmed.
RESULTS
The clinical symptoms of rhabdomyolysis were dependent on the severity of the condition and whether kidney failure develops. Since the necrosis and dissolution of muscle cells, entocytes such as myoglobin, creatine phosphokinase (CPK), electrolytes, proteins and non-protein substances were released into the plasma, the detection of the entocytes may contribute to the early diagnosis of rhabdomyolysis.
CONCLUSION
Despite the etiology of the disease is multifactorial, the potential causes of rhabdomyolysis share the same pathophysiological pathway involving an increase in intracellular calcium.
PubMed: 25215032
DOI: 10.5847/wjem.j.issn.1920-8642.2012.01.002 -
Ayu 2017The human body defends itself from harmful agents such as microorganisms present in the environment, which otherwise damage the individual's health. This defensive... (Review)
Review
The human body defends itself from harmful agents such as microorganisms present in the environment, which otherwise damage the individual's health. This defensive mechanism is the immune response mediated by the activation of T-cell and B-cell antibody production. The body recognizes and destroys these antigenic harmful agents. The defensive response is altered sometimes in the presence of allergens, causing hypersensitive reactions. The allergens are antigens. The hapten-carrier adduct often behaves as an allergen-producing hypersensitivity with a manifestation of sign and symptoms those are at times lethal. is an artificial type of poison formed by combination of two nonpoisonous substances as depicted in the treaties of Ayurveda. It has identical characteristics to that of hapten-carrier adduct. In the present article, is substantiated with conceptual reference to hapten-carrier adduct and hypersensitivity.
PubMed: 29861584
DOI: 10.4103/ayu.AYU_85_16