Validation of Armadillo officinalis Dumèril, 1816 (Crustacea, Isopoda, Oniscidea) as a bioindicator: in vivo study of air benzene exposure.

This study tests the potential for using Armadillo officinalis as a bioindicator of exposure to and activation of benzene metabolic pathways using an in vivo model. A. officinalis specimens collected in a natural reserve were divided into a control and three test groups exposed to 2.00, 5.32 or 9.09 µg/m(3) benzene for 24h. Three independent tests were performed to assess model reproducibility. Animals were dissected to obtain three pooled tissue samples per group: hepatopancreas (HEP), other organs and tissues (OOT), and exoskeleton (EXO). Muconic acid (MA), S-phenylmercapturic acid (S-PMA), two human metabolites of benzene, and changes in mtDNA copy number, a human biomarker of benzene exposure, were determined in each sample; benzene was determined only in EXO. MA was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with ultraviolet (UV) detection, S-PMA by triple quadrupole mass spectrometer liquid chromatography with electro spray ionization (LC-MS-ESI-TQD), mtDNA by real-time quantitative PCR and end-point PCR, and benzene by quadrupole mass spectrometer head-space gas chromatography (HSGC-MS). MA and S-PMA levels rose both in HEP and OOT; EXO exhibited increasing benzene concentrations; and mtDNA copy number rose in HEP but not in OOT samples. Overall, our findings demonstrate that A. officinalis is a sensitive bioindicator of air benzene exposure and show for the first time its ability to reproduce human metabolic dynamics.

[Neonatal buprenorphine withdrawal syndrome, what is the right therapy?]. / Sindrome di astinenza da buprenorfina in neonato, quale terapia?

Buprenorphine is a new substance now widely used in detoxification of heroin addicts. In this report we describe the case of a newborn baby who suffered from a neonatal withdrawal syndrome characterized by a severe and prolonged course. This syndrome was followed by marked symptoms of impaired neurological development and by epilepsy. The ineffectiveness of methadone in relieving withdrawal symptoms from buprenorphine and its potential dangerous effects in this case are also outlined, whereas the efficacy of therapy with phenobarbytal is stressed. We think that this case is noteworthy, since the widespread use of buprenorphine among drug addicts will probably provoke an increase in the number of cases of buprenorphine withdrawal syndrome in the next years.