Determination of Cr, Cd, As, Tl and Pb in blood by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry / 法医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To establish an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) method for determination of Cr, Cd, As, Tl and Pb in blood.@*METHODS@#The samples were digested by microwave digestion instrument. ICP-MS was applied to determine Cr, Cd, As, Tl and Pb in blood by using 115In as an internal standard.@*RESULTS@#The limits of detection were in the range of 0.00001-0.00249 microg/L. The accuracy of the method ranged from 90.1% to 110.7% and the precision ranged from 4.0% to 7.9%.@*CONCLUSION@#The method is accurate and rapid with superior sensitivity and linear range. It could be used in the poisoning cases caused by Cr, Cd, As, Tl and Pb.

Association between anemia and grading of arsenicosis

Chronic arsenic toxicity has been recognized as a typical form of arsenicosis which is defined by the experts of International Health Organization as a chronic health condition arising from prolonged ingestion of arsenic above the safe dose for at least six months, usually manifested by characteristic skin lesions of melanosis and keratosis, occurring alone or in combination, with or without the involvement of internal organs The present study evidences that the occurrence of skin manifestation varies form pigmentary changes, progressing to keratosis and even may lead to malignancy. The findings obtained obviously illustrate interlink between dynamics of severity of anemia and the promotion of the viable development of dermatological grading of arsenicosis

Amelioration of arsenic toxicity by L-Ascorbic acid in laboratory rat.

A study so as to confirm the protective effects of L-ascorbic acid against inorganic arsenic (As23) toxicity was made in male Wistar rats. Multiphase observations made on iAs concentration in target organs viz. liver and kidney, liver function, histopathological changes, ultrastructural alterations, lipid peroxidation, oxidative stress and iAs-DNA interaction strongly favoured its ameliorative effects. These effects could mainly be attributed to its antioxidative property. It offers help in regeneration of GSH and alpha-tocopherol. The chelaticn of iAs by ascorbic acid has also been hypothesized. Inhibition of DNA damage by ascorbic acid in liver and kidney appears to be the most significant part of this study On the basis of these results, we conclude that administration of L-ascorbic acid to arsenic affected population may prevent the occurrence of fatal human diseases.

Daño al ADN asociado al contenido de arsénico urinario en una población de jóvenes expuesta al arsénico por el agua de bebida / DNA damage associated to urinary arsenic content in a children population exposed to arsenic by drinking water

El arsénico es un contaminante ampliamente distribuido en el mundo. En Argentina se estima que cerca de un millón y medio de personas están expuestas a sus efectos deletéreos por ingesta de agua con altos tenores de este metaloide. El presente trabajotuvo como objetivo establecer si existe correlación entre la exposición a arsénico inorgánico (AsI) a través del consumo de aguas y el nivel de daño al ADN. Muestras de orina y sangre fueron recolectadas de una población de la provincia de Santiago del Estero. Sobre éstas se evaluó el contenido de arsénico urinario (Asu) como marcador de exposición reciente y el daño producidoal ADN mediante el ensayo de electroforesis de células únicas (test del cometa) en sangre como índice de genotoxicidad. De la población total estudiada (n=65), el 41,54% fueron niños. El 57% de la población infantil presentó valores de Asu superiores al valor máximo referencial (hasta 40μgAs/g creatinina) en un rango comprendido entre 41,78 y 3918,10 μgAs/g creatinina. La evaluación genotóxica en sangre reveló que los niños expuestos a elevados niveles de arsénico presentaron un porcentajede células con alto daño al ADN significativamente mayor al compararlo con aquellos con Asu menor al valor de referencia (32,79% ± 3,32 vs 9,77% ± 6,59; p<0,001). A pesar del bajo número de muestras analizadas en este estudio preliminar, existe una buena correlación entre el contenido de arsénico urinario en la población general y el daño al ADN (r=0,6509; p=0,0117). Los resultados obtenidos muestran que la población estudiada expuesta a altos niveles de arsénico, representa un grupo de riesgo para el desarrollo de patologías relacionadas con este tóxico.

Arsenic is an environmental pollutantwidely distributed in the world. In Argentine about a million and a half of inhabitants are exposed to its deleterious effect by drinking water with high levels of this metalloid. In this work the correlation between the exposure to inorganic arsenic and thelevel of DNA damage in blood cells was assessed. Urine and blood samples were taken from a population of Santiago del Estero province. Urinary total arsenic (Asu) content (a recent exposure biomarker) and single cell gel electrophoresis (Comet assay) wereperformed. Children represented the 41.54% of the sampled population (n=65) and 57% of them had Asu levels between 41.78 and 3918.10 μgAs/g creatinine (reference value: less than 40μgAs/g creatinine). Comet assay showed that children with high levelof Asu presented a percentage of cells with high DNA damage increased respect to those with Asu below the reference value (32.79% ± 3.32 vs 9.77% ± 6.59, p< 0.001). Despite the small number of samples analyzed in this preliminary study, there is a clear tendency of correlation between total arsenic content in urine and DNA damage (r=0.6509, p=0.0117). The data obtained showed that the children population exposed to high levels of arsenic represent a group of risk for developing pathologies related with this toxic.

Chronic arsenic poisoning

In response to a report in the press that the people of village Badarpur were having some mysterious disease which manifested as gastro-intestinal complaints, weakness, dew drop hypo and hyper- pigmentation of the skin and hyperkeratosis of the palms and soles, the village was surveyed and investigated for suspected chronic arsenic poisoning. Out of 57 members of 8 families, 28 [16 males and 12 females] had the above mentioned complaints. The duration of the symptoms was 1 to 4 years [mean 2.75 years]. Hair and nails of a few patients, the soil, fruits, vegetables and source of drinking water was tested for the arsenic contents and arsenic was found to be present in the hair and nails of all the patients in the water source of the families. All tests i.e. blood complete examination, urine complete examination, liver function tests, chest X-ray, electro cardiogram, total serum proteins, albumin globulin ratio and Mantoux test were normal except the heamoglobin level was low in all the subjects