A novel preclinical model of environment-like combined benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX) exposure: Behavioral and neurochemical findings.

Environmental exposure to toxicants is a major health issue and a leading risk factor for premature mortality worldwide, including environmental exposures to volatile organic compounds (VOCs), specifically Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene, and Xylene (BTEX). While exposure to these compounds individually has shown behavioral and neurochemical effects, this investigation examined the impact of exposure to combined BTEX using a preclinical model. Male Swiss Webster mice were exposed to BTEX vapors designed to approximate environmental levels in urban communities.

Acute exposure to abuse-like concentrations of toluene induces inflammation in mouse lungs and brain.

Toluene is an aromatic hydrocarbon commonly abused by young adolescents for its central nervous system depressant effects. Although toluene's pharmacological effects at high concentrations are relatively well-known, few studies have assessed toluene's effects on lung and brain tissues. The present study characterized the pathological effects of acute inhaled toluene exposure in the lungs and brains of male Swiss-Webster mice (N = 68).