Organ toxicity? renal-failure effects

Exposures to chemical substances such as carbon tetrachloride, 1,1-dichloroeth-ylene, paradichlorobenzene, ethylbenzene, monochlorobenzene, tetrachloroethyl-ene, toluene, 1,1,2-trichloroethane, xylenes, cadmium, and lead are known to canse adverse effects on the kidney. The kidney is unusually susceptible because of its role in filtering harmful substances from the blood. Some of these toxicants canse acnte injury to the kidney, while others produce chronic changes that can lead to end-stage renal failure or cancer. Furthermore, evaluation of the nephrotoxicity of complex industrial waste mixtures with organic chemicals and metals reqnires more stndies. 

Trace metal disturbances may be due to the uremia per se. Indeed, as the urinary excretion route is an important pathway of elimination of many trace elements, i.e. silicon, strontium, aluminum,... impairment of the kidney will be an important determinant of their accumulation, whilst in the presence of a reabsorptive defect a number of trace elements, especially those that are reabsorbed because of their essential role, be lost resulting in a deficient state. The presence of proteinuria may reasonably result in losses of protein bound elements. It has also been shown also that residual renal funchon may importantly alter the accumulation and hence toxic effects of aluminum [2]. In uremia translocation of a particular metal from one tissue to another may also occur. As an example, under normal circumstances the kidney is an important target organ for cadmium. In chronic renal failure however, possibly as a consequence of a reduction in binding proteins (e.g. metallothionein), the concentrahon of cadmium in this tissue decreases to extremely low levels which... 

Renal Effects. The available data suggest that the renal system is not a major target organ of toxicity for formaldehyde. Renal failure/anuria was noted in three case reports involving people ingesting various large or unknown amounts formaldehyde (Eells et al. 1981 Freestone and Bentley 1989 Koppel et al. 

A woman who had been taking lovastatin for 7 years developed multiple organ toxicity (rhabdomyolysis, acute renal failure, pancreatitis, livedo reticularis and raised aminotransferase levels) when erythromycin was added. Four other cases of rhabdomyolysis attributed to an interaction between lovastatin and erythromycin have been reported, " although it should be noted that one of these patients was also taking ciclosporin, which may have contributed to the effects seen. 

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