Perspective on prenatal polychlorinated biphenyl exposure and the development of the progeny nervous system (Review).

The developmental origins of health and disease concept illustrates that exposure in early life to various factors may affect the offspring's long­term susceptibility to disease. During development, the nervous system is sensitive and vulnerable to the environmental insults. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which are divided into dioxin­like (DL­PCBs) and non­dioxin­like PCBs (NDL­PCBs), are synthetic persistent environmental endocrine­disrupting chemicals. The toxicological mechanisms of DL­PCBs have been associated with the activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor and NDL­PCBs have been associated with ryanodine receptor­mediated calcium ion channels, which affect neuronal migration, promote dendritic growth and alter neuronal connectivity. In addition, PCB accumulation in the placenta destroys the fetal placental unit and affects endocrine function, particularly thyroid hormones and the dopaminergic system, leading to neuroendocrine disorders. However, epidemiological investigations have not achieved a consistent result in different study cohorts. The present review summarizes the epidemiological differences and possible mechanisms of the effects of intrauterine PCB exposure on neurological development.

Association of In Utero Persistent Organic Pollutant Exposure With Placental Thyroid Hormones.

In utero exposure to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) can result in thyroid function disorder, leading to concerns about their impact on fetal and neonatal development. The associations between placental levels of various POPs and thyroid hormones (THs) were investigated. In a prospective Danish study initially established for assessing congenital cryptorchidism, 58 placenta samples were collected from mothers of boys born with (n = 28) and without (n = 30) cryptorchidism. The concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans (PCDD/Fs), organotin chemicals (OTCs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), T4, T3, and rT3 were measured. The associations between placental THs and various POPs were analyzed using multiple linear regression. Five PBDEs, 35 PCBs, 14 PCDD/Fs, 3 OTCs, 25 OCPs, T4, T3, and rT3 were measured. No correlation between THs and the odds of cryptorchidism was found. Several POPs were significantly associated with THs: (1) T4 was inversely associated with BDEs 99, 100, ΣPBDE, and 2378-TeCDD, and positively associated with 1234678-HpCDF; (2) T3 was positively associated with 2378-TeCDF and 12378-PeCDF; and (3) rT3 was positively associated with PCB 81, 12378-PeCDF, and 234678-HxCDF, and inversely associated with tributyltin, ΣOTC, and methoxychlor. These results revealed that POP exposures were associated with TH levels in placenta, which may be a possible mechanism for the impacts of POP exposures on children's growth and development. This study provides new insight into the complexity of thyroid-disrupting properties of POPs. More research is needed to elucidate the biological consequences of POP exposures.

Ecological risk assessment for mink and short-tailed shrew exposed to PCBs, dioxins, and furans in the Housatonic River area.

A probabilistic risk assessment was conducted to characterize risks to a representative piscivorous mammal (mink, Mustela vison) and a representative carnivorous mammal (short-tailed shrew, Blarina brevicauda) exposed to PCBs, dioxins, and furans in the Housatonic River area downstream of the General Electric (GE) facility in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Contaminant exposure was estimated using a probabilistic total daily intake model and parameterized using life history information of each species and concentrations of PCBs, dioxins, and furans in prey collected in the Housatonic River study area. The effects assessment preferentially relied on dose-response curves but defaulted to benchmarks or other estimates of effect when there were insufficient toxicity data. The risk characterization used a weight of evidence approach. Up to 3 lines of evidence were used to estimate risks to the selected mammal species: 1) probabilistic exposure and effects modeling, 2) field surveys, and 3) species-specific feeding or field studies. The weight of evidence assessment indicated a high risk for mink and an intermediate risk for short-tailed shrew.

Current skin symptoms of Yusho patients exposed to high levels of 2,3,4,7,8-pentachlorinated dibenzofuran and polychlorinated biphenyls in 1968.

Yusho was a mass food poisoning event due to the ingestion of rice oil contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and various dioxins and dioxin-like compounds. At its outbreak in 1968, Yusho patients suffered severe skin symptoms. Although the blood concentrations of PCBs and dioxins, especially highly toxic 2,3,4,7,8-pentachlorinated dibenzofuran (2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF) remain high in these patients, extensive analysis has not been performed on their current skin symptoms. We categorized and evaluated the specific skin symptoms in Yusho in 2012 by grading their severity using an arbitrary scoring system, and analyzed their correlations with the blood concentrations of 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF and PCBs. A total of 352 Yusho patients underwent annual dermatological check-ups, in which five skin symptoms: black comedones, acneiform eruptions, scar formation, pigmentation and nail deformity, were evaluated for their distribution and severity. Approximately one-third of Yusho patients still presented with black comedones, acneiform eruptions and scar formation; the distributions of these symptoms were similar to those at the time of the Yusho outbreak. The mean blood concentrations of 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF and total PCBs in Yusho patients were still higher than those in controls. The prevalence and severity of black comedones were correlated with age. Severity scores of black comedones and scar formation were positively correlated with 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF blood level, and those of black comedones, scar formation, and pigmentation were positively correlated with total PCBs blood level. This study suggests that 2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF and PCBs remaining in Yusho patients still play crucial roles in the development of skin symptoms in Yusho.

Mortality after exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated dibenzofurans: a meta-analysis of two highly exposed cohorts.

Both Yucheng and Yusho were events of accidental exposure to highly doses of polychlorinated biphenyls and dibenzofurans in Asian people. Mortality experiences caused by various diseases were reported in both cohorts with similar and dissimilar findings. We thus conducted a meta-analysis of two cohorts to reevaluate the effects of PCBs and PCDFs on major causes of mortalities. Two recently updated Yucheng and Yusho mortality studies were included. For selected diseases, standardized mortality ratios (SMR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were extracted. Meta-analyses were conducted using a random-effects model only when heterogeneity (I(2) > 50% and/or p value <0.10 by the Q test) was not found. A total of 1,803 Yucheng subjects (male, N = 830; female, N = 973) with 48,751 person-years of follow-up and 1,664 Yusho subjects (male, N = 860; female, N = 804) with 50,773 person-years are included. An increase in all-cause mortality (pooled SMR=1.2, 95% CI: 1.1-1.3, I(2) = 0.0%), all cancers (pooled SMR=1.3, 95% CI: 1.1-1.6, I(2) = 0.0%), lung cancer (pooled SMR=1.7, 95% CI: 1.2-2.3, I(2) =0.0%), heart disease (pooled SMR=1.3, 95% CI: 1.0-1.7, I(2) = 43.4%) and hepatic disease (pooled SMR=1.9, 95% CI: 1.3-2.8, I(2) = 0.0%) were found in pooled males. Significant elevation from liver cancer was found in pooled females (pooled SMR=2.0, 95% CI: 1.1-3.6, I(2) = 0.0%). This meta-analysis of Yucheng and Yusho cohorts showed similar elevation from all cancer, lung cancer, heart disease and hepatic disease mortalities in exposed men. Furthermore, a new finding of elevated liver cancer mortality in exposed women was identified.

Dietary exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls and risk of myocardial infarction - a population-based prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Fish consumption may promote cardiovascular health. The role of major food contaminants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) common in fatty fish, is unclear. We assessed the association between dietary PCB exposure and risk of myocardial infarction taking into account the intake of long-chain omega-3 fish fatty acids. METHODS: In the prospective population-based Swedish Mammography Cohort, 33,446 middle-aged and elderly women, free from cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes at baseline (1997) were followed-up for 12 years. Validated estimates of dietary PCB exposure and intake of fish fatty acids (eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid; EPA-DHA) were obtained via a food frequency questionnaire at baseline. RESULTS: During follow-up 1386 incident cases of myocardial infarction were ascertained through register-linkage. Women in the highest quartile of dietary PCB exposure (median 286 ng/day) had a multivariable-adjusted RR of myocardial infarction of 1.21 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01-1.45) compared to the lowest quartile (median 101 ng/day) before, and 1.58 (95% CI, 1.10-2.25) after adjusting for EPA-DHA. Stratification by low and high EPA-DHA intake, resulted in RRs 2.20 (95% CI, 1.18-4.12) and 1.73 (95% CI, 0.81-3.69), respectively comparing highest PCB tertile with lowest. The intake of dietary EPA-DHA was inversely associated with risk of myocardial infarction after but not before adjusting for dietary PCB. CONCLUSION: Exposure to PCBs was associated with increased risk of myocardial infarction, while some beneficial effect was associated with increasing EPA and DHA intake. To increase the net benefits of fish consumption, PCB contamination should be reduced to a minimum.

Cancer and non-cancer excess mortality resulting from mixed exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated dibenzofurans from contaminated rice oil: "Yusho".

PURPOSE: In 1968, rice oil contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls and polychlorinated dibenzofurans caused a severe outbreak of food poisoning in Japan and was termed locally as "Yusho" (oil disease). In our previous study, we found that area-based standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) of some diseases were elevated shortly after the incident. This previous study, however, was unable to determine whether these elevated SMRs were a result of other area-specific factors. To overcome this limitation, we obtained mortality data from the 5 years before the incident and conducted an area-based study using vital statistics records dating from 1963 to 2002. METHODS: The population of Nagasaki Prefecture was set as the reference population for calculating SMRs. We also included data on cause-specific mortality attributable to cancer and expanded the population to encompass two severely exposed areas where contaminated rice oil was distributed (namely Tamanoura and Naru). We also calculated SMRs in the remainder of the Shimo-Goto region, excluding the exposed area, which was used as a comparison area. RESULTS: Even after considering the time trends in mortality before the incident, mortality due to diabetes mellitus and heart disease, as well as all-cause mortality, was found to be elevated shortly afterward. Additionally, mortalities due to uterine cancer in Tamanoura and leukemia were also elevated at 30-34 and 10-59 years after the event in both exposed areas, respectively. SMRs for leukemia in Tamanoura were as high as 3.0 (95% confidence interval 1.4-6.2) and 2.4 (1.2-4.8) 10-19 years later. In this period, SMRs for leukemia in the comparison area were not elevated. CONCLUSIONS: Further epidemiological studies are needed regarding this rice-oil, "Yusho" outbreak, especially with regard to cancer and non-cancer mortality.

A Critical Review about Human Exposure to Polychlorinated Dibenzo-p-Dioxins (PCDDs), Polychlorinated Dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) through Foods.

Dioxins include polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and part of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Only the compounds that are chlorinated at the 2,3,7, and 8 positions have characteristic dioxin toxicity. PCDDs, PCDFs and PCBs accumulate in the food chain due to their high lipophilicity, high stability, and low vapor pressure. They are not metabolized easily; however their hydroxylated metabolites are detected in feces. They cause a wide range of endocrine disrupting effects in experimental animals, wildlife, and humans. Endocrine related effects of PCDDs, PCDFs and PCBs on thyroid hormones, neurodevelopment and reproductive development were referenced. In addition, some studies of contamination of foods, bioaccumulation, dietary exposure assessment, as well as challenges of scientific research in these compounds were reviewed.

Fish consumption and risk of rheumatoid arthritis: a dose-response meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: The association between fish consumption and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is unclear. The aim of this paper was to summarize the available evidence on the association between fish consumption and risk of RA using a dose-response meta-analysis. METHODS: Relevant studies were identified by a search of MEDLINE and EMBASE through December 2013, with no restrictions. A random-effects dose-response meta-analysis was conducted to combine study specific relative risks. Potential non-linear relation was investigated using restricted cubic splines. A stratified analysis was conducted by study design. RESULTS: Seven studies (four case-controls and three prospective cohorts) involving a total of 174 701 participants and 3346 cases were included in the meta-analysis. For each one serving per week increment in fish consumption, the relative risk (RR) of RA was 0.96 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.91 to 1.01). Results did not change when stratifying by study design. No heterogeneity or publication bias was observed. When fish consumption was modeled using restricted cubic splines, the risk of RA was 20 to 24% lower for 1 up to 3 servings per week of fish (RR =0.76, 95% CI: 0.57 to 1.02) as compared to never consumption. CONCLUSIONS: Results from this dose-response meta-analysis showed a non-statistically significant inverse association between fish consumption and RA.

Impacts of prenatal exposures to polychlorinated biphenyls, methylmercury, and lead on intellectual ability of 42-month-old children in Japan.

BACKGROUND: The age-specific impacts of perinatal exposures to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), methylmercury (MeHg), and lead on child neurodevelopment remain controversial. Since we have already reported the prenatal effects of these chemicals on neurodevelopment in 3-day-old and 30-month-old children of a birth cohort, the following effects were analyzed in the 42-month-old children in the same cohort. METHODS: The Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC), comprised of four scales, was used to assess their intelligence and achievement. The relationships between the chemicals and K-ABC scores were analyzed using multivariate analyses. RESULTS: The median values of chemicals in cord blood of 387 children were 46.5 (5th and 95th percentiles, 16.7-115.7)ng/g-lipid for total PCB, 10.1 (4.3-22.2)ng/g for total mercury (THg), and 1.0 (0.5-1.8) µg/dL for lead. Of the highly chlorinated PCB homologs, 9 CBs was negatively correlated with the sequential and mental processing score of the K-ABC (p<0.05). There were no significant correlations between any K-ABC score and either THg or lead. The negative effect of 9 CBs remained even after adjusting for THg, lead, and other confounders. The K-ABC scores were significantly lower in the boys than in the girls, and the standardized ß of 9 CBs for the sequential and mental processing scores in multiple regression analysis was statistically significant in boys. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that intellectual ability in the developmental stage may be impaired by prenatal exposures to highly chlorinated PCB homologs, especially in Japanese boys.

Regional impact of exposure to a polychlorinated biphenyl and polychlorinated dibenzofuran mixture from contaminated rice oil on stillbirth rate and secondary sex ratio.

Yusho disease, a polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and polychlorinated dibenzofuran (PCDF) mixed poisoning caused by contaminated rice oil, occurred in Japan in 1968. The evidence on reproductive outcome is limited. We therefore evaluated the regional impact of the exposure to the PCB and PCDF mixture on stillbirth rate and secondary sex ratio among the residents in two severely affected areas. We selected the regionally-affected towns of Tamanoura (n=4390 in 1970) and Naru (n=6569) in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, for study. We obtained data on stillbirths (spontaneous/artificial) and live-born births (total/male/female) from 1958 to 1994. For a decade and a half after the exposure, an increase in the rate of spontaneous stillbirths coincided with a decrease in the male sex ratio. Compared with the years 1958-1967, the ratios for spontaneous stillbirth rates were 2.16 (95% confidence interval: 1.58 to 2.97) for 1968-1977 and 1.80 (95% confidence interval: 1.25 to 2.60) for 1978-1987. The sex ratio (male proportion) was 0.483 (95% confidence interval: 0.457 to 0.508) in the first 10years after exposure. Exposure to a mixture of PCBs and PCDFs affected stillbirth and sex ratio for a decade and a half after the exposure.

Mortality after exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls and dibenzofurans: 30 years after the "Yucheng accident".

BACKGROUND: In 1979, approximately 2,000 people in central Taiwan were accidentally exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls and dibenzofurans due to ingestion of contaminated cooking oil. This event was called Yucheng, "oil-syndrome" in Chinese. We followed the exposed persons and compared their cause-specific mortality with that of neighborhood referents 30 years after the accident. METHODS: We obtained age- and gender-matched referents from the 1979 neighborhoods of the exposed people. Cause-specific mortality was compared between exposed subjects (N=1803) and their neighborhood referents (N=5170) using standardized mortality ratios (SMR). Total person-years for the Yucheng subjects and neighborhood referents were 48,751 and 141,774, respectively. RESULTS: The SMR for all causes (SMR=1.2, 95% CI: 1.1-1.3), diseases of the circulatory system (SMR=1.3, 95% CI: 1.0-1.6), and diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue (SMR=6.4, 95% CI: 2.8-12.7) were elevated in Yucheng subjects. Among Yucheng males, the SMRs for diseases of the digestive system (SMR=1.9, 95% CI: 1.2-2.8), malignant neoplasm of stomach (SMR=3.5, 95% CI: 1.5-7.0), and malignant neoplasm of lymphatic and hematopoietic tissue (SMR=3.0, 95% CI: 1.1-6.6) were increased. The SMR for total neoplasms was increased (SMR=1.3, 95% CI: 0.9-1.7). CONCLUSION: We conclude that exposure to PCBs/PCDFs at levels that produced symptoms in many affects mortality patterns 3 decades after exposure.

[Associations of exposure to dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls with diabetes: based on epidemiological findings].

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are a group of chemical substances that have the common properties of resistance to biodegradation, wide-range transportation, high lipophilicity, bioaccumulation in fat, and biomagnification in the food chain. POPs are persistent in the environment worldwide and have potential adverse impacts on human health and the environment. Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are well known chemicals that are considered as POPs. The association between high-level exposure to dioxins and type 2 diabetes among U.S. Air Force veterans who had been exposed to Agent Orange contaminated with 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) during the Vietnam War was reported in the late 1990s. This association has been supported by similar epidemiologic studies, whose subjects were exposed to high doses of dioxins in their places of work involving phenoxyacid herbicide production and spraying, and in the industrial accident in Seveso, Italy. Recently, low-level exposure to dioxins and PCBs has been reported to be linked to type 2 diabetes. Cross-sectional studies in the U.S. general population and Japanese general population showed that body burden levels of some dioxins and PCBs were strongly associated with the prevalence of type 2 diabetes. Very recently, following these cross-sectional studies, several prospective studies have suggested that low-level exposure to some PCBs predicted the future risk of type 2 diabetes in the general population. Environmental exposure to some dioxins and PCBs, which mainly accumulate in adipose tissue, may play a role in the development of type 2 diabetes.

Mixed effect regression analysis for a cluster-based two-stage outcome-auxiliary-dependent sampling design with a continuous outcome.

Two-stage design is a well-known cost-effective way for conducting biomedical studies when the exposure variable is expensive or difficult to measure. Recent research development further allowed one or both stages of the two-stage design to be outcome dependent on a continuous outcome variable. This outcome-dependent sampling feature enables further efficiency gain in parameter estimation and overall cost reduction of the study (e.g. Wang, X. and Zhou, H., 2010. Design and inference for cancer biomarker study with an outcome and auxiliary-dependent subsampling. Biometrics 66, 502-511; Zhou, H., Song, R., Wu, Y. and Qin, J., 2011. Statistical inference for a two-stage outcome-dependent sampling design with a continuous outcome. Biometrics 67, 194-202). In this paper, we develop a semiparametric mixed effect regression model for data from a two-stage design where the second-stage data are sampled with an outcome-auxiliary-dependent sample (OADS) scheme. Our method allows the cluster- or center-effects of the study subjects to be accounted for. We propose an estimated likelihood function to estimate the regression parameters. Simulation study indicates that greater study efficiency gains can be achieved under the proposed two-stage OADS design with center-effects when compared with other alternative sampling schemes. We illustrate the proposed method by analyzing a dataset from the Collaborative Perinatal Project.

Lactational transfer of mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls in polar bears.

We examined concentrations of total mercury (tHg, inorganic and methylated forms) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in blood and milk from free-ranging Southern Beaufort-Chukchi Sea polar bears (Ursus maritimus) to assess maternal transfer of contaminants during lactation and the potential health risk to nursing young. Concentrations of contaminants in the blood of dependent and juvenile animals (ages 1-5 years) ranged from 35.9 to 52.2 µg kg(-1) ww for tHg and 13.9 to 52.2 µg kg(-1) ww (3255.81-11067.79 µg kg(-1) lw) for ΣPCB(7)s, similar to those of adult females, but greater than adult males. Contaminant concentrations in milk ranged from 5.7 to 71.8 µg tHg kg(-1)ww and 160 to 690 µg ΣPCB(11)s kg(-1) ww (547-5190 µg kg(-1) lw). The daily intake levels for tHg by milk consumption estimated for dependent young were below the tolerable daily intake level (TDIL) of tHg established for adult humans. Although the daily intake levels of PCBs through milk consumption for cubs of the year exceeded the TDIL thresholds, calculated dioxin equivalents for PCBs in milk were below adverse physiological thresholds for aquatic mammals. Relatively high concentrations of non-dioxin like PCBs in polar bear milk and blood could impact endocrine function of Southern Beaufort-Chukchi Sea polar bears, but this is uncertain. Transfer of contaminants during mid to late lactation likely limits bioaccumulation of dietary contaminants in female polar bears during spring. As polar bears respond to changes in their arctic sea ice habitat, the adverse health impacts associated with nutritional stress may be exacerbated by tHg and PCBs exposure, especially in ecologically and toxicologically sensitive polar bear cohorts such as reproductive females and young.

Alpha-fetoprotein, carcinoembryonic antigen and beta2-microglobulin in adult population highly exposed to organochlorinated pollutants (PCB, DDE and HCB).

OBJECTIVE: It is aimed to obtain some general information about the prevalence of certain biomarkers in highly exposed population and on the interrelations between their serum level as related to that of some major organochlorines (OCs). METHODS: The level of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and beta2-microglobulin (beta2-MG) as well as that of polychlorinated biphenyls (Σ15PCBs), dichlorodiphenyl-dichloroethylene (DDE) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) was estimated in 2046 adults (834 males and 1212 females) from highly polluted Eastern Slovakia. RESULTS: Great majority of blood levels was lower than two specific units used for individual markers, while the prevalence of values higher than two specific units of appropriate markers. At the same time, the prevalence of all markers level higher than 2 specific units was highly significantly increasing with of stratified PCBs level quintiles which were also positively related to these of DDE and HCB. Some significant correlations between biomarkers level and age were also observed. CONCLUSIONS: Although from the data obtained within this multipurpose field survey any notable interrelations between AFP, CEA and beta2-MG and some specific diseases and/or malignant processes could not be retrospectively specified, from the data obtained it appears that some of such interrelations cannot be definitely excluded.

Developmental aspects of environmental neurotoxicology: lessons from lead and polychlorinated biphenyls.

The particular vulnerability of the developing nervous system for low-level exposure to chemicals is well established. It has been argued that some degree of developmental neurotoxicity was found for a large number of industrial chemicals. However, for only few of these, namely inorganic lead, arsenic, organic mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), human evidence is available to suggest that these may cause neurodevelopmental adversity and may, thus, be involved in contributing to neurodevelopmental disorders like autism, attention-deficit disorder, mental retardation or cerebral palsy. The focus of this overview is on PCBs and inorganic lead as developmental neurotoxicants at environmental levels of exposure. The adverse effects of inorganic lead on the developing brain have long been studied, and much emphasis has been on subtle degrees of mental retardation in terms of intelligence (IQ). The evidence is consistent, but the effect sizes are typically small. Research interest has also been devoted to studying aspects of "attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder" (ADHD) in children in relation to environmental exposure to lead in both cross-sectional and case-control studies. More recently, we have also studied core elements of ADHD according to ICD-10 and DSM-IV in relation to environmental exposure to lead, mercury and aluminum in asymptomatic school children in Romania. Both, performance measures (several attention tasks) and questionnaire-based behavior ratings from parents and teachers showed that lead, but not Hg or Al, was consistently and adversely associated with core elements of ADHD. These findings in asymptomatic children nicely fit into the overall pattern of observations and suggest that, apart from genetic influences, low-level exposure to lead contributes to this neurodevelopmental disorder. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent organic pollutants with lipophilic properties. Due to their persistence, they are still present in environmental media at potentially harmful concentrations, although production and use of PCBs was already banned in the early 1980s. Several prospective cohort studies-including our Düsseldorf study-have demonstrated that pre- and early postnatal exposure to PCBs is associated with deficit or retardation of mental and/or motor development, even after adjusting for maternal intelligence and developmental effects of the quality of the home environment. The pathophysiology is still unclear, although interference with thyroid metabolism during brain development is being discussed. Based on these reviews, three aspects, namely pre- vs. postnatal impact, effect scaling for comparative purposes, and integration of neurobehavioral findings into clinical and neuroscience contexts, are outlined as lessons learned from neurodevelopmental observations in children environmentally exposed to lead or PCBs.

Measurement method for hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyls in the blood of Yusho patients by liquid chromatography-electrospray tandem mass spectrometry.

Hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyls (OH-PCBs) are formed as major metabolites of PCBs by cytochrome P450 enzyme-mediated oxidation. It has been reported that their total concentration in serum samples of Yusho patients ranged from 390 to 1300 pg/g. We developed a measurement method for OH-PCBs in blood samples by LC/MS/MS. This method is effective at determining the concentrations of PCDDs, PCDFs, Co-PCBs and OH-PCBs from the same sample without special treatment of the sample. The concentration of OH-PCBs in the blood of Yusho patients was examined using this method. The major OH-PCB metabolites were 4-OH-CB187 (54-906 pg/g-wet), 4-OH-CB146 + 3-OH-CB153 (32-527 pg/g-wet), 4-OH-CB109 (ND-229 pg/g-wet) and 4'-OH-CB172 (ND-143 pg/g-wet). The total OH-PCBs ranged from 95 to 1740 pg/g-wet.