Toxicologic and immunologic effects of perinatal exposure to the brominated diphenyl ether (BDE) mixture DE-71 in the Sprague-Dawley rat.

Brominated diphenyl ethers (BDEs) are persistent environmental contaminants found in human blood, tissues, and milk. To assess the impact of the commercial BDE mixture DE-71 on the developing immune system in relation to hepatic and thyroid changes, adult (F0) rats were exposed to DE-71 by gavage at doses of 0, 0.5, 5, or 25 mg/kg body weight (bw)/d for 21 weeks. F0 rats were bred and exposure continued through gestation, lactation and postweaning. F1 pups were weaned and exposed to DE-71 by gavage from postnatal day (PND) 22 to 42. On PND 42, half of the F1 rats were assessed for toxicologic changes. The remaining F1 rats were challenged with the T-dependent antigen keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) and immune function was assessed on PND 56. Dose-dependent increases in total BDE concentrations were detected in the liver and adipose of all F0 and F1 rats. In F0 rats, increased liver weight, hepatocellular hypertrophy, and decreased serum thyroxine (T4) were characteristic of DE-71 exposure. In F1 rats perinatal DE-71 exposure caused a nondose-dependent increase in body weight and dose-dependent increases in liver weight and hepatocellular hypertrophy. Serum T3 and T4 levels were decreased. In spleen from DE-71 exposed rats the area occupied by B cells declined while the area occupied by T cells increased; however, cellular and humoral immune responses to KLH challenge were not altered. Thus hepatic and thyroid changes in rats exposed perinatally to DE-71 were associated with altered splenic lymphocyte populations, an effect which has been linked to hypothyroidism.

Quantitative magnetization transfer and myelin water imaging of the evolution of acute multiple sclerosis lesions.

Quantitative magnetization transfer imaging provides in vivo estimates of liquid and semisolid constituents of tissue, while estimates of the liquid subpopulations, including myelin water, can be obtained from multicomponent T(2) analysis. Both methods have been suggested to provide improved myelin specificity compared to conventional MRI. The goal of this study was to investigate the sensitivity of each technique to the progression of acute, gadolinium-enhancing regions of multiple sclerosis. Magnetization transfer and T(2) relaxometry data were acquired longitudinally over the course of 1 year in five relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients and in five healthy controls. Parametric maps were analyzed in enhancing lesions and normal-appearing white matter regions. Quantitative magnetization transfer parameters in lesions were most abnormal at the time of enhancement and followed a pattern of recovery over subsequent months. Lesion myelin water fraction was abnormal but did not show a significant trend over time. Quantitative magnetization transfer was able to track the degree and timing of the partial recovery in enhancing multiple sclerosis lesions in a small group of patients, while the recovery was not detected in myelin water estimates, possibly due to their large variability. Our data suggest the recovery is characterized by quick resolution of inflammation and a slower remyelination process.

Polybrominated diphenyl ether (DE-71) interferes with thyroid hormone action independent of effects on circulating levels of thyroid hormone in male rats.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are routinely found in human tissues including cord blood and breast milk. PBDEs may interfere with thyroid hormone (TH) during development, which could produce neurobehavioral deficits. An assumption in experimental and epidemiological studies is that PBDE effects on serum TH levels will reflect PBDE effects on TH action in tissues. To test whether this assumption is correct, we performed the following experiments. First, five concentrations of diphenyl ether (0-30 mg/kg) were fed daily to pregnant rats to postnatal day 21. PBDEs were measured in dam liver and heart to estimate internal dose. The results were compared with a separate study in which four concentrations of propylthiouracil (PTU; 0, 1, 2, and 3 ppm) was provided to pregnant rats in drinking water for the same duration as for diphenyl ether. PBDE exposure reduced serum T4 similar in magnitude to PTU, but serum TSH was not elevated by PBDE. PBDE treatment did not affect the expression of TH response genes in the liver or heart as did PTU treatment. PTU treatment reduced T4 in liver and heart, but PBDE treatment reduced T4 only in the heart. Tissue PBDEs were in the micrograms per gram lipid range, only slightly higher than observed in human fetal tissues. Thus, PBDE exposure reduces serum T4 but does not produce effects on tissues typical of low TH produced by PTU, demonstrating that the effects of chemical exposure on serum T4 levels may not always be a faithful proxy measure of chemical effects on the ability of thyroid hormone to regulate development and adult physiology.

White matter integrity and math performance in pediatric multiple sclerosis: a diffusion tensor imaging study.

Multiple sclerosis is associated with reduced white matter integrity and deficits in key cognitive processes important for arithmetic. This study examined the relationship between white matter microstructure and academic ability in 31 youths with multiple sclerosis (aged 11-19 years) and 34 demographically matched controls. Using diffusion tensor imaging, fractional anisotropy was calculated in corpus callosum and in lateralized hemispheric lobes. Difficulties with written arithmetic ability were observed in 26% of patients. Arithmetic ability correlated with fractional anisotropy values across all segments of the corpus callosum and in right frontal and parietal regions, controlling for age (r values >0.5, P<0.005). Findings highlight the functional impact of compromised white matter microstructure across diffuse regions of the brain on mathematical ability.