Hair for a long-term biological indicator tissue for assessing the strontium nutritional status of men and women.

Strontium (Sr) is a trace element that closely resembles calcium metabolism. At the present time there is no available long-term biological indicator tissue for assessing the human Sr nutritional status. Here we have presented a novel concept on how to assess the Sr nutritional status by studying the frequency distribution properties of hair Sr (SrH) concentration. In this prospective, observational, cross-sectional, and exploratory epidemiological study, we analyzed SrH in 311 apparently healthy adult Croatians (123 men, 188 women). Hair strontium was analyzed by the ICP-MS. The natural frequency distribution of SrH followed the Power law, so that the data were analyzed by fitting the logistic bioassay sigmoid curve (ogive) of median derivatives. Women tend to accumulate three and a half time more SrH than men (median men 867ngg-1 vs. median women 3120ngg-1). The normal (adequate) linear physiological response range of the sigmoid curve was 351-3489ngg-1 for men and 846-8457ngg-1 for women. Values below that linear range are considered to indicate deficient Sr nutritional status, whereas values above that linear range indicate excessive strontium exposure. Hair, as a long-term, and whole blood as a short-term biological indicator tissues were not commensurable entities. Similarly, SrH accumulation was not age dependent in either men or women. Hair strontium is a reliable long-term biological indicator tissue for assessing the strontium nutritional status.

High hair selenium mother to fetus transfer after the Brazil nuts consumption.

Lactating mother and her two month old healthy daughter (APGAR 10) gave their scalp hair for a multielement profile analysis; 25 elements were analyzed with the ICP MS. Mother's hair was divided into 5cm long segment proximal to the scull (Young), and the distal segment further up to the hair tip (Old). One centimeter of hair records one month of the metabolic activity of the bioelements in the body. Mother's Young hair and daughters hair have 2.70 and 9.74µgg(-1)Se, a distinctly higher Se concentrations than the Old hair of 0.87µgg(-1). The adequate hair Se concentrations in Croatia women population vary from 0.08 to 0.63µgg(-1); values below or above that range indicate deficiency or excess, respectively. Dietary recall revealed that during the last trimester of pregnancy and over a period of a week, the mother has consumed 135g of Brazil nuts (Bertholletia excelsa) (BN); BN is an exceptionally rich Se dietary source. The amount of Se in BN varies and one week consumption of 135g of BN may result in Se daily intake of 367 to 492µgg(-1)day(-1) over a period of seven consecutive days, and what is about or exceeds the Upper Limit of daily selenium intake of 400µg(-1)g(-1). The excessively high infant hair Se mirrored a natural high mother to fetus transplacental transfer of bio elements in the last trimester of pregnancy. The potential toxicological risks of such a high Se transfer remains to be elucidated.

Zinc and copper in the serum of diabetic patients.

The Zn/Cu ratio was examined in the serum of three groups of persons: healthy volunteers, diabetic patients on diabetic diet (NIDDM), and diabetic patients on diabetic diet and insulin (IDDM). Zinc, copper, the Zn/Cu serum ratio, and the blood glucose level were determined during fasting and 2 h after breakfast. Zn and Cu serum levels in NIDDM and IDDM patients were decreased. The Zn/Cu ratio was higher in both groups of diabetic patients. These changes in the Zn and Cu levels as well as in the Zn/Cu ratio were not related to chronic diabetic complications.

The effect of maternal dose on lead retention in suckling rats.

Lead (Pb) transfer from mother to litter was investigated at the late stage of lactation after a single intrapitoneal injection of 2.0 microgram Pb/ml marked with 203Pb. After 48 hr almost 20% of the maternal dose of 203 Pb was found in the litter, and about 0.6 and 0.2 of the injected dose was found in the liver and kidneys of suckling rats, respectively. Similar whole-body retention was observed earlier in suckling rats after a 20 times lower dose of stable lead was injected intravenously into their mothers.

[Megamin, faith, hope and placebos---a critical review]. / Megamin, vjera, nada i placebo--znanstveni osvrt.

Megamin is a registered nutriceutical in Croatia. Allegedly, it consists mostly of a naturally occurring zeolite (aluminum silicate) ion-exchange material tagged with vitamins and minerals. Mass-media claimed that Megamin possessed strong anticancer properties although it had not been tested through an appropriate, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover clinical trial. The paper uses Megamin as a paradigmatic model to discuss how higher neurocognitive functions like hope and faith may be related to the placebo effect and give an illusion of symptomatic well being without supporting evidence in the objective signs of the disease. The only plausible role of Megamin is that it reduces gastrointestinal toxic burden by affecting the anaerobic fermenting processes after digestion of food and by removing harmful metabolites after medical treatment of cancer and/or liver and kidney organ failure. The psychological effect of unwarranted mass-media claims about the beneficial role of Megamin in cancer treatment is scrutinized.

A case report of acute human molybdenum toxicity from a dietary molybdenum supplement--a new member of the "Lucor metallicum" family.

The paper gives a brief review of human molybdenum metabolism and toxicity and presents the first known case of acute clinical poisoning with molybdenum from the dietary molybdenum (Mo) supplement in a male patient in late thirties. In over 18 days, the patient had consumed a cumulative dose of 13.5 mg Mo (300-800 micrograms Mo/day). Followed the development of acute psychosis with visual and auditory hallucinations, a series of petit mal seizures, and one life threatening grand mal attack. The symptoms remitted several hours after the start of chelation therapy with calcium ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (CaEDTA). A battery of neuropsychological tests and Spectral Emission Computer Tomography demonstrated evident frontal cortical damage of the brain. One year after the Mo poisoning, the patient was diagnosed toxic encephalopathy with executive deficiencies, learning disability, major depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The paper strongly advocates issuance of and strict adherence to written warnings on the instruction labels not to mix potentially harmful neurotoxic substances, such as molybdenum, with other nutriceuticals and to instructions stating maximal single and cumulative doses. Molybdenum is a new and unwelcome member of the "metal madness" family.

[Late changes in renal function after lead poisoning and chelation therapy]. / Odgodene promjene funkcije bubrega nakon otrovanja olovom i lijecenja kelatima.

Glomerular filtration rate was examined by determination of creatinine clearance in 22 adult males with a past history of lead poisoning. Eighteen subjects had been poisoned after many years of occupational exposure to lead and four had been poisoned by ingestion of alcohol beverage kept in lead-glazed pots. Seventeen subjects were treated with the chelating agent calcium-disodium-edetate (CaNa2EDTA), the remaining five received no treatment. The aim of the study was to examine the delayed effects of lead poisoning on kidney function and the possible difference in functional impairment between the treated and the non-treated subjects. The results obtained demonstrated a significantly reduced glomerular filtration rate, adjusted for age, in subjects poisoned by lead in the past who failed to receive specific treatment (P < 0.01). This indicates the possibility of marked, delayed adverse effect of lead on the kidneys in cases when lead body burden has not been reduced by treatment.

Delayed effects of lead on the kidney--factor analysis.

A late, i.e. delayed, effect of lead on kidney function and blood pressure was studied in 23 workers with a history of occupational lead poisoning. Twenty lead exposed workers with no known history of lead poisoning were a positive control. Four important factors out of 11 combined variables derived from 22 single variables were identified by factor analysis. The first factor comprised the variables kidney function, blood pressure, age, duration of lead exposure and the number of previous lead poisonings. The second factor comprised the variables duration of lead exposure and biological indicators of lead exposure. The third factor correlated the frequency of previous lead poisonings with the renal blood flow, erythrocytic protoporphyrin and age. The fourth factor comprised the variables length of work service, creatinine clearance and erythrocytic protoporphyrin. The results confirm the presence of the adverse late effect of previous occupational lead poisoning on kidney function regardless of treatment. The phenomenon is not a single event but a complex interplay of past lead poisoning, duration of exposure to lead, "normal" age effect on an increase in systolic and diastolic blood pressure and blood creatinine and a decrease in renal function as revealed by decreased creatinine clearance and a slow down in renal flow time. The complexity of dealing with the confounding variable of age and lack of appropriate classification of renal function impairment may account for the conflicting results of chronic lead effect upon kidney function in the past. The kidney appears to be a critical target organ, reflecting the total lead body burden in chronic lead exposure and poisoning. Therefore monitoring of kidney function in lead exposed workers needs to be mandatory.

Contribution of lead poisoning to renal impairment.

The late effects of lead on kidney function and blood pressure were studied in 38 persons occupationally poisoned in the past and in 23 workers exposed to lead. Parameters evaluated in all subjects were: creatinine clearance, hippuran renal flow, blood lead, erythrocyte protoporphyrin, aminolevulinic acid dehydratase, and blood pressure. Out of 11 combined variables, four significant factors were identified by factor analysis. The results showed the presence of the delayed adverse effect of previous occupational lead poisoning on kidney function and blood pressure. This phenomenon is a complex interplay of lead poisoning in the past, overall duration of lead exposure, and age as a major confounding variable related to aging process of the kidneys.

Chronic lead poisoning, renal function and immune response.

The aim of this study was to investigate possible correlations between chronic, recurrent lead poisoning, renal function and immune response. The study involved 74 patients with a history of at least one lead poisoning. Fifty-three patients were occupationally poisoned, and 21 were poisoned accidentally after consumption of alcohol beverages or food from lead glazed pottery. In all patients glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was determined by measuring creatinine and DTPA clearances, and T- and B-lymphocytes were assessed as indicators of cellular and humoral immunity. A significant negative correlation was found between the number of past lead poisonings indicating increased lead body burden, and both creatinine and DTPA clearances. There was a significant positive correlation between the number of poisonings and the percentage of B-lymphocytes (r = 0.31; P < 0.05), and no correlation at all with the T-lymphocyte count. Our results show that chronic, recurrent lead poisoning with a consequently increasing lead body burden can cause an impairment in renal function and a concomitant stimulation of humoral immunity.

["More is not better"--evaluation of toxicologic risks of the heavy metals, lead and cadmium, and the herbicides, linuron, fluazifop-P-butyl and cycloxydim in dried Chamomile flowers (Chamomilla recutita L. Rauschert)]. / "Vise nije bolje"--prilog procjeni toksikoloskog rizika teskih metala olova i kadmija te herbicida linuron, fluazifop-P-butyl i cycloxydim u osusenom cvijetu kamilice (Chamomilla recutita L. Rauschert).

Cadmium and all three enumerated herbicide residues in dried samples of industrially grown true chamomile were found to be above the suggested and accepted tolerance values. The results are discussed with regard to the current Croatian regulation and FAO/WHO recommendations on herbicides and to human toxicology risk assessment. The paper gives a critical evaluation of the herbicide overuse in agricultural practice and strongly discouraged such practice. The authors advocate prospective use of plants as natural indicators of environmental contamination and toxicological burden of the human food chain.

Environmental radon daughters reveal pathognomonic changes in the brain proteins and lipids in patients with Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, and cigarette smokers.

This paper presents an investigation of the retention of environmental radon daughters, 210Po (alpha particle emitting radio-nuclide) and 210Bi (beta particle emitting radio-nuclide), in lipid and protein fractions of the cortical grey and subcortical white matter from the frontal and temporal brain lobes of patients who had suffered from Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease, of cigarette smokers, and of control subjects. 210Po and 210Bi radioactivity increased tenfold in the cortical grey and subcortical white protein fraction in patients with Alzheimer's disease and smokers, and tenfold in the cortical grey and subcortical white lipid fraction in patients with Parkinson's disease. Free radicals generated by radon daughters may add to the severity of the radio-chemical injury to the brain astrocytes. The pathognomonic distribution of radon daughters to lipids in patients with Parkinson's disease and to proteins in patients with Alzheimer's disease was attributed to high chlorine affinity of radon daughters. The changes in the membrane protein pores, channels, and gates in patients with Alzheimer's disease and in the lipid bilayer in patients with Parkinson's disease are at the core of what the authors think are two systemic brain diseases.

RETRACTED: A novel concept to derive iodine status of human populations from frequency distribution properties of a hair iodine concentration.

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/our-business/policies/article-withdrawal). This article has been retracted at the request of the Editor-in-Chief. The article is a duplicate of a paper that has already been published in JOM, volume 28 (2013), 175­185, https://bib.irb.hr/datoteka/684767.Iodine_Orthomolecular_Momcilovic.pdf. One of the conditions of submission of a paper for publication is that authors declare explicitly that the paper has not been previously published and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. As such this article represents a misuse of the scientific publishing system. The scientific community takes a very strong view on this matter and apologies are offered to readers of the journal that this was not detected during the submission process.