Laboratory animal studies, function

A third approach would be to measure some indicator of functional output of dopamine and/or serotonin neurons. As mentioned previously, studies in laboratory animals can be invaluable in defining parameters that change in correlation with directly measurable neurotoxic effects in the brain. 

Consumption of fish oil in excess can generate immunotoxic effects in laboratory animals. Rats fed a 17% fish oil diet had reduced wound-healing responses when compared to com oil [59], In a mouse model of bacterial resistance to S. typhimurium, lower survival rates were reported for those animals that ingested a 20% fish oil diet over 15 days [59], Similar fish oil-induced effects in guinea pigs were noted in a study of experimental tuberculosis leading the authors to conclude that this treatment resulted in decreased resistance to infectious disease. The consumption of fish oil has also been reported to result in alterations of hemostatic parameters such as platelet production and function. However, there is no indication that at doses normally consumed by humans, immunotoxicity will occur. 

Awareness of immunotoxicology was stimulated by a comprehensive review by Vos in 1977, in which he provided evidence that a broad spectrum of xenobiotics alter immune responses in laboratory animals and subsequently may affect the health of exposed individuals. Several additional reviews, as well as national and international scientific meetings, have reinforced these early observations. In several studies, alteration of immune function was accompanied by increased susceptibility to challenge with infectious agents or transplantable tumor cells, indicating the resulting immune dysfunction in altered host resistance. Clinical studies in humans exposed to xenobiotics have confirmed the parallelism with immune dysfunction observed in rodents. The latter sections in this volume describe studies with xenobiotics that resulted in immune modulation in rodents and man. 

Many studies carried out in laboratory animals have demonstrated that developmental exposure to high doses of cannabinoids may induce morphological and functional abnormalities in the offspring (Dalterio, 1986 Trezza et al., 2008b). However, the neurofunctional consequences of developmental exposure to low/ moderate doses of cannabinoids have not completely clarified yet. 

---