Saliva alcohol

A small test device, Q.E.D. Saliva Alcohol Test (OraSure Technologies, Bethlehem, Pa.), has been developed to measure ethanol in saliva. Saliva is absorbed onto a swab, which is then inserted into the test cartridge. Ethanol measurement is based on an ADH reaction coupled with a diaphorase-mediated color indicator reaction, which provides for visual end-point detection on a thermometer-like scale after a 2-minute incubation. 

On-site kits for measuring saliva ethanol are available from Chematics, Inc. (ALCO-SCREEN 02), Roche Diagnostic Systems (On-Site Alcohol) and STC Diagnostics Inc. (Q.E.D. A 150 or 350 Saliva Alcohol Test). All of these kits use the same methodology for detecting alcohol. NADH reacts with... 

Animal studies show that chlordecone can pass into your blood when you eat food contaminated with it. Animal data show that only a small amount of chlordecone can pass through the skin into the bloodstream. We do not know if or how much chlordecone can pass from your lungs into your blood when you breathe it in. Like mirex, once chlordecone is taken up by your body, it is carried by the blood throughout the body and is stored for a long time. Unlike mirex, chlordecone is found mainly in the liver. Chlordecone is broken down to chlordecone alcohol, which is a less harmful product. Chlordecone and its breakdown product slowly leave the body through the feces. This process can take from several weeks to months. Very little chlordecone leaves the body in the urine. Chlordecone has also been found in saliva and human milk. Refer to Chapter 2 for more information on this subject. 

There are medical tests to determine whether you have been exposed to chlordecone and/or its breakdown product, chlordecone alcohol. Levels of chlordecone and/or chlordecone alcohol can be measured in blood, saliva, feces, or bile. Chlordecone levels in blood are the best indicator of exposure to chlordecone. Since chlordecone remains in the blood for a long time, the test is useful for a long time after exposure has stopped. Chlordecone can be detected in saliva only within the first 24 hours after exposure therefore, this test has limited use. Blood levels of chlordecone are a good reflection of total body content of chlordecone. However, the test is an unsatisfactory indicator of the amount of chlordecone to which you have been exposed because you cannot be sure how much chlordecone left your body between the time you were exposed and the time the test is performed. These tests cannot predict how your health may be affected after exposure. The tests are not done in routine medical examinations, but doctors can collect body fluid samples and send them to a university medical center or a medical laboratory for analysis. Refer to Chapters 2 and 6 for more information. 

A. Ethambutol is associated with retrobulbar neuritis, resulting in loss of central vision and impaired red-green discrimination. Ethionamide (B) is an analogue of isonicotinic acid and is associated with GI intolerance and peripheral neuropathy, but not the optic neuritis or color vision discrimination problems. Aminosalicylic acid (C) can cause GI irritation and bleeding problems, so caution is required in peptic ulcer patients. It has no neurological side effects. Rifampin (D) is associated with red-orange discoloration of saliva, tears, and urine but not the color vision problems. Isoniazid (E) is associated with peripheral neuritis in chronic alcoholics and malnourished individuals and requires pyridoxine supplements. It is not associated with optic neuritis. 

Some toxic agents such as Pb, Hg, other heavy metals, and many organic substances are excreted in the bile as conjugates to the intestinal tract for elimination in the feces. Other common routes of elimination include the lungs for gaseous (e.g., NH3) and volatile toxicants (e.g., alcohol, sweat, tears, and saliva), as well as breast milk and eggs in females. 

Disposition in the Body. Readily absorbed from the stomach and small intestine after oral administration but absorption may be delayed by the presence of food rapidly distributed throughout the body fluids. Metabolised in the liver by alcohol dehydrogenase to acetaldehyde and then further oxidised to acetate and carbon dioxide. More than 90% is metabolised and is excreted by the lungs and in the urine, saliva, sweat, and other secretions together with unchanged alcohol. The body can metabolise about 10 to 15 ml per hour. The rate of metabolism may be accelerated following repeated excessive use. 

Natural sources of sugar available to primitive people were fruit and honey, both of which can be made into wine with a maximum alcohol content of about 12 percent. Starch is also a potential source of alcohol, but it must be converted to sugar by enzymes before yeast can digest it. There are enzymes in saliva that can accomplish this, and one of the earliest kinds of hecr was made by Indians in tropical America who learned to chew corn to a pulp, spit it into clay pots, mix it with water, and let it ferment. Sprouting grains also produce usable enzymeS in standard beermaking, sprouted barley (malt) is used to convert the starcli of... 

In 1937, Heidelberger and Menzel, published the results of an extension of their earlier investigations. The polysaccharide residue was isolated as before by prolonged extraction of fat-free bacilli (H37 strain) with acidulated water. Glycogen was removed with saliva and the remaining polysaccharide mixture was fractionated by various methods (methyl alcohol-water acetic acid-water). It was found that the crude polysaccharide was a mixture of serologically active and inac-... 

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