Human exposure blood serum

Manganese is normally found in human tissue, blood, serum, and urine. Oral exposure to manganese can result in manganese increases in all tissues. The major route of manganese excretion is via the bile although some excretion does occur in urine, milk, and sweat (EPA 1993b). Tissue distribution of manganese usually reflects chronic exposure, not acute exposure. 

Applicators, mixers, loaders, and others who mix, spray, or apply pesticides to crops face potential dermal and/or inhalation exposure when handling bulk quantities of the formulated active ingredients. Although the exposure periods are short and occur only a few times annually, an estimate of this exposure can be obtained by quantifying the excreted polar urinary metabolites. Atrazine is the most studied triazine for potential human exposure purposes, and, therefore, most of the reported methods address the determination of atrazine or atrazine and its metabolites in urine. To a lesser extent, methods are also reported for the analysis of atrazine in blood plasma and serum. 

Levels of cyanide and its metabolite thiocyanate in blood serum and plasma, urine, and saliva have been used as indicators of cyanide exposure in humans, particularly in workers at risk of occupational exposures, in smokers or nonsmokers exposed to sidestream or environmental tobacco smoke, in populations exposed to high dietary levels of cyanide, and in other populations with potentially high exposures (see Section 5.6). The correlation between increased cyanide exposure and urinary thiocyanate levels was demonstrated in workers exposed to 6.4-10.3 ppm cyanide in air (El Ghawabi et al. 1975). In another study, blood cyanide concentrations were found to vary from 0.54 to 28.4 pg/100 mL in workers exposed to approximately 0.2-0.8 ppm cyanide in air, and from 0.0 to 14.0 pg/100 mL in control workers... 

Detection of heptachlor epoxide may indicate either recent or past exposure. This compound has a long half-life, particularly in adipose tissue, because it is very lipophilic. Because of its highly lipophilic nature, heptachlor epoxide remains accumulated in adipose tissue for months to years. However, it is eventually mobilized into the serum and subsequently to the liver for further breakdown. Blood serum levels are often taken to indicate a recent exposure. Following long-term exposure, the level in the blood may be very low, but because of an equilibrium between fat and blood, it can be used to detect exposure to heptachlor epoxide. Thirty-five human adipose tissue samples were obtained during autopsy between 1987 and 1988 from residents of North Texas (Adeshina and Todd 1990). In 97% of these samples, there were measurable levels of heptachlor... 

Adverse reproductive effects have been observed in animals fed PCB in the diet. Fetal resorptions were common, and dose-related incidences of terata were found in pups and piglets when females were fed Arochlor 1254 at Img/kg/day or more. Long-term low-level maternal exposure of rats before breeding and throughout gestation and lactation caused permanent hearing deficits, decreased serum thyroid hormones, and reproductive effects. PCBs have been observed in human cord blood and in tissues of newborn humans and animals. ... 

The major action resulting from human exposure to diazinon is the inhibition of cholinesterase activity (refer to Section 2.4 for discussion). Two pools of cholinesterases are present in human blood acetylcholinesterase in erythrocytes and serum cholinesterase (sometimes referred to as pseudocholinesterase or butyrlcholinesterase) in plasma. Acetylcholinesterase, present in human erythrocytes, is identical to the enzyme present in neural tissue (the target of diazinon action) while serum cholinesterase has no known physiological function. Inhibition of both forms of cholinesterase have been associated with exposure to diazinon in humans and animals (Coye et al. 1987 Edson and Noakes 1960 Soliman et al. 1982). Inhibition of erythrocyte, serum, or whole blood cholinesterase may be used as a marker of exposure to diazinon. However, cholinesterase inhibition is a common action of anticholinesterase compounds such as organophosphates (which include diazinon) and carbamates. In addition, a wide variation in normal cholinesterase values exists in the general population, and there are no studies which report a quantitative... 

The quantitative determination of the concentrations of PBBs in blood, serum, adipose tissue, milk, and other body tissues or fluids is important in determining the human body burden of these chemicals. Fat is the largest repository of PBBs in the body, and concentrations in fat can provide an index of body burdens and exposure. It is simpler and less invasive to collect samples of serum or breast milk than body fat. However, the collection of milk and serum for the estimation of possible body burtfen has limitations. Breast milk can be obtained from limited segments of the population. Also the concentration of PBBs in breast milk can show considerable fluctuations because the breast is emptied only periodically (Brilliant et al. 1978 Willett et al. 1988). Serum, however, has lower PBB concentrations than body fat (see Section 3.5.1). 

Polybrominated Biphenyls. Body burden data indicate that low-level exposures to PBBs have occurred for people in the state of Michigan. No recent information about average daily intake of PBBs was located. The levels of PBBs in human tissue and body fluids, such as blood, serum, adipose tissue, breast milk, feces, cord blood, biliary fluid, and placenta, of people in the state of Michigan have been extensively studied (Brilliant et al. 1978 Cordle et al. 1978 Eyster et al. 1983 Humphrey and Hayner 1975 Lambert et al. 1990 Landrigan et al. 1979 Wolff et al. 1982). However, no recent data are available. Data on the levels of PBBs in tissues and body fluids of residents who live in the vicinity of sites of industrial discharge of PBB wastes were not located. Updated infonnation would be useful to understand current exposure levels of people in the state of Michigan to PBBs. This information is necessary for assessing the need to conduct health studies on these populations. 

The major form of vitamin D in both cows and human milk is 25(OH)D3. This compound is reported to be responsible for most of the vitamin D in the blood serum of exclusively breast-fed infants. Whole cows milk contains only about 0.03 pg vitamin D per 100 g and 1 litre of milk per day will supply only 10-20% of the RDA. Therefore, milk is often fortified (at the level of c. 1-10 fig 1 ) with vitamin D. Fortified milk, dairy products or margarine are important dietary sources of vitamin D. The concentration of vitamin D in unfortified dairy products is usually quite low. Vitamin D levels in milk vary with exposure to sunlight. 

It has been claimed that melatonin contributes significantly to blood serum TAC. Both melatonin and TAC in human serum were found to exhibit the same circadian pattern of changes, with nocturnal peak values at 01 00 hr. Exposure of volunteers to light at night decreased both TAC and melatonin. Removal of melatonin from sera collected at night decreased the TAC value of the samples to basal daytime... 

Another major exposure route for humans is via contaminated food. For example, North America s Great Lakes, which are the largest body of freshwater in the world, are polluted with about 362 contaminants that were found in quantifiable amounts in the water, sediment, and biota (IJC 1983 USEPA 1994). The critical pollutants were identified as PCBs, DDT, dieldrin, toxaphene, mirex, methyl mercury, benzofa) pyrene, hexachlorobenzene, polychlorinated dibenzodioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and alkylated lead. Some of these pollutants biomagnify in the aquatic food chain and can be detected in increased levels in cooked Great Lakes fish. Consequently, the blood serum levels of these chemicals are significantly increased in consumers of contaminated Great Lakes sport fish compared to people who do not eat such fish (Flumphrey 1983 Fiore et al. 1989 Sonzogni et al. 1991). 

The determination of the total platinum content in physiological fluids and tissues, both during clinical treatment or after environmental exposure, requires instrumental techniques of sufficient DLs and selectivities. ICP MS provides the most attractive DLs for platinum in biological samples, for example, 7.50 ng/L in human plasma ultrafiltrate after chemotherapy with cisplatin, carboplatin, and oxaliplatin [119] 0.1 pg/mL in blood, serum, and ultrafiltrate samples after chemotherapy with oxaliplatin and 5-fluorouracyl [120] 26 pg/g in DNA isolated from cancer ovarian cells after different exposure times and concentrations of cisplatin [121] and 0.75 pg in DNA extracts from peripheral blood mononuclear cells and tissues from patients treated with cisplatin [122] and 1.0 pg/L in serum, 0.1 pg/L in ultrafiltrate, and 2 pg/L in urine [123]. The ICP MS technique allowed detection of physiological levels of ft in the tmexposed human body 0.3-1.3 ng/L in blood (DL of 0.3 ng/L) [46] 0.48-7.7 ng/L in urine (DL of 0.24 ng/L) [47] and 0.778 ng/g... 

Procedures for identification and quantitative assessment of O-isobutyl MPA (a marker of exposure to RVX) in urine and blood plasma have been developed, and toxicokinetic experiments conducted to measure O-alkyl MPA in rat plasma after intramuscular injection of RVX at a dose of 0.8 X LD50. In addition, we have obtained a mass spectrum of human albumin after in vitro incubation of blood serum with RVX. Incubation of commercially available human albumin with RVX with subsequent trypsinolysis and MS/ MS analysis has revealed two sites of binding RVX to human albumin, Tyr 411 and Tyr 150. These data could contribute to development of sensitive and specific diagnostic methods. 

Letkeman P. (1996) Computer-modelling of metal speciation in human blood serum. J. Chem. Educat. 73, 165—170. Lioy P. J. (1990) Assessing total human exposure to contaminants. Environ. Sci. Technol. 24, 938—945. 

As discussed earlier in this section, OSHA has mandated that all U.S. laboratories have an exposure control plan. In addition, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), a functional unit of the GDC, has prepared and widely distributed a document entitled Universal Pre-cautions that specifies how U.S. clinical laboratories handle infectious agents. In general it mandates that clinical laboratories treat aU human blood and other potentially infectious materials as if they were known to contain infectious agents, such as HBV, HIV, and other blood-borne pathogens. These requirements apply to all specimens of blood, serum, plasma, blood products, vaginal secretions, semen, cerebrospinal fluid, synovial fluid, and concentrated HBV or HIV viruses. In addition, any specimen of any type that contains visible traces of blood should be bandied using tliese Universal Precautions. 

Information on immunological effects in humans after dermal exposure to 2,4-DNP is limited. Three methods of skin testing were performed on 157 people, 117 of whom were patients with hay fever, asthma, or urticaria (Matzger 1934). For the patch test, 10 mg of sodium 2,4-DNP was applied to the forearm or back under waxed paper. For the scratch test, 2 mg sodium 2,4-DNP in saline or 2 drops of a 2% aqueous solution was rubbed on a scarification. For the intradermal test, 0.01-0.02 ml of 0.001%, 0.01%, 0.1%, or 1% sodium 2,4-DNP was introduced in the upper arm. In the indirect or passive transfer test, blood serum from a patient with a violent clinical reaction to DNP was introduced intradermally in nonallergic subjects. After 24 hours, the sites of passive transfer were tested intradermally with 2,4-DNP. The direct tests and the passive transfer test were negative. 

Vanadium concentrations in blood, serum or urine are used as a biological indicator of exposure to vanadium. Urine and serum are the specimens with widest application and greatest practicability for monitoring human exposure to vanadium compounds, but urine is preferred as an indicator medium. Blood vanadium appears to be a less sensitive indicator than urinary vanadium, partly because the differences in concentrations are hardly appreciable at low levels of exposure with the analytical methods available (Alessio et al., 1988). 

Although exposure by injection routes in humans is not likely, data from distribution studies in laboratory animals provides insight into the toxicokinetics of plutonium in the body. In dogs, once plutonium entered the blood stream, it was bound to transferrin, a serum transport protein (Stevens et al. 1968). Plutonium competed with iron for the transferrin in the blood. If transferrin was saturated with iron, then more plutonium would deposit in the liver and not in the bone (Ragan 1977). Similar binding of plutonium to transferrin was observed in human blood serum (Stover et al. 

Exposure Levels in Humans. Estimates have been made for the human intake of chlordane from food, air, and water. Chlordane has been measured in adipose tissue, blood, serum, sebum, and seminal fluid. Only data in adipose tissue is of recent origin. 

Blood and hair samples are often analyzed in order to estimate exposure of humans to mercvny and its compounds. Blood should be taken by venipuncture. Since some commercial containers may contain mercury compounds added as preservatives it is advisable to check each commercial batch before use. The samples should be refrigerated but not frozen, as it is sometimes useful to measure mercvny in plasma and red blood cells separately. The separation of plasma and red blood cells should be performed as soon as possible to avoid hemolysis of the sample. If extensive hemolysis has occurred, the sample should be homogenized before an aliquot is taken for analysis. Blood samples may also be heparinized for total blood, serum, and red blood cell analyses. If unavoidable, samples may be stored deep frozen. However, repeatedly frozen and unfrozen blood samples showed a remarkable decrease in methylmercury concentrations. There is some evidence that methyl-mercvny may be destroyed during lyophilization of blood samples. 

As DEHP metabolism in human blood is accelerated by blood enzymes, such as esterase, its metabolites are frequently measured. In the study where the metabolites of deuterium-substituted DEHP in urine and in blood serum were compared after oral administration of DEHP, MEHP was found to be the main metabolite in blood serum, existing in greater quantities than MEHHP and MEOHP detected in urine. Therefore, we decided to measure DEHP and MEHP in blood serum. Four healthy volunteers were asked to consume food in containers that were made in part of plastic, and DEHP and MEHP concentrations in blood sera were measured. The concentration of DEHP was equal to or less than the quantitative lower limit (trace level) in all the volunteers. The concentration of MEHP was trace in three of the four volunteers and was lower than the quantitative lower limit in one volunteer. In addition, we measured DEHP and MEHP in human blood plasma samples using LC-MC with the column-switching system as pretreatment. DEHP and MEHP concentrations in blood plasma sampled from six healthy volunteers were equal to or less than the quantitative limit (DEHP <25 ng/ml, MEHP <5 ng/ml). " The results prove that DEHP is rapidly metabolized so that the blood concentration is low and quantification is difficult at normal exposure levels. Urine samples are more suitable for the evaluation of the exposure index of PEs than blood samples. 

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