Prevalence of Elevated Blood Lead Levels and Risk Factors Among Residents Younger Than 6 Years, Puerto Rico--2010.

Context: Limited data exist about blood lead levels (BLLs) and potential exposures among children living in Puerto Rico. The Puerto Rico Department of Health has no formal blood lead surveillance program.

Objectives: We assessed the prevalence of elevated BLLs (≥5 micrograms of lead per deciliter of blood), evaluated household environmental lead levels, and risk factors for BLL among children younger than 6 years of age living in Puerto Rico in 2010.

Raman spectral signatures of human liver perfusates correlate with oxidation reduction potential.

Biomarkers for the early detection of liver toxicity are crucial in drug development for assessing the safety of a new drug. Oxidation reduction potential (ORP) is an overall measure of the oxidative stress to which a biological component is subjected and correlates with organ dysfunction. Raman spectroscopy is a non-invasive method that we employed to analyze the perfusates of five normothermic human livers perfused with the known toxin α-naphthylisothiocyanate.

Vascular perfused segments of human intestine as a tool for drug absorption.

Blood-based vascular perfusion of isolated segments of human jejunum was developed as a tool for drug absorption studies before clinical trials. Acceptance criteria for viable human gut preparations included stable blood flow, arterial pressure, glucose utilization, active peristalsis, oxygen uptake, less than 3% absorption of a 70,000 mol. wt.

Ex Vivo Metrics, a preclinical tool in new drug development.

Among the challenges facing translational medicine today is the need for greater productivity and safety during the drug development process. To meet this need, practitioners of translational medicine are developing new technologies that can facilitate decision making during the early stages of drug discovery and clinical development. Ex Vivo Metrics is an emerging technology that addresses this need by using intact human organs ethically donated for research.

The cobalt-albumin binding assay: insights into its mode of action.

Background: We previously hypothesized that the N-terminus of human serum albumin (HSA) is altered during ischemic events, thus establishing the foundation for the cobalt-HSA binding assay phenomenon. In this investigation, we attempt to clarify the mode of action of the cobalt-HSA binding assay by direct observations of cobalt binding to HSA.

Methods: High pressure liquid chromatography coupled to positive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS) was used to study cobalt binding to HSA in the plasma of patients with and without evidence of myocardial ischemia.

Combined cupric- and cuprous-binding peptides are effective in preventing IL-8 release from endothelial cells and redox reactions.

Copper mobilization and subsequent redox reactions have been implicated in the pathogenesis of numerous inflammation-based diseases. Reduction of the cupric ion (Cu(2+)) to the cuprous ion (Cu(+)) is necessary for the production of copper-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS). Peptides, designed to bind both Cu(2+) and Cu(+) and have the ability to prevent copper redox reactions, were studied.

Effects of danazol on endothelial cell function and angiogenesis.

Objective: To determine the effects of the androgen-like synthetic steroid, danazol, on endothelial cell function and angiogenesis.

Design: In vitro cell culture models were designed to investigate three critical steps involved in angiogenesis: endothelial cell proliferation, invasion, and tube formation.

Setting: Research laboratory at a level one trauma center.

Identifying housing that poisons: a critical step in eliminating childhood lead poisoning.

The purpose of our study was to develop a method to identify and prioritize "high-risk" buildings in Chicago that could be targeted for childhood lead poisoning prevention activities. We defined "high-risk" buildings as those where multiple children younger than 6 years with elevated blood lead levels (BLLs) had lived and where lead hazards were previously identified on environmental inspection. By linking 1997-2003 Chicago elevated blood lead surveillance, environmental inspection, and building footprint data, we found that 49,362 children younger than 6 years with elevated BLLs lived at 30,742 buildings.

Lipid peroxidation and the thiobarbituric acid assay: standardization of the assay when using saturated and unsaturated fatty acids.

Saturated fatty acids are less vulnerable to lipid peroxidation than their unsaturated counterparts. In this investigation, individual fatty acids of the C(16), C(18) and (20) families were subjected to the thiobarbituric (TBA) assay. These fatty acids were chosen based on their degree of saturation and configuration of double bonds.

Plasma albumin cysteinylation is regulated by cystathionine beta-synthase.

High homocysteine (Hcy) levels are a well-known independent risk factor for endothelial damage in atherosclerosis. We examined whether a rat intestinal model of ischemia-reperfusion was associated with high Hcy and with the modification of plasma albumin into cysteinylated species (CysAlb). The three treatment groups were as follows: midline abdominal incision (group A, n=10), followed by ligation of the superior mesenteric artery for a period of 2h (group B, n=3), and followed by reperfusion for 1h (group C, n=10).

Copper stimulates the synthesis and release of interleukin-8 in human endothelial cells: a possible early role in systemic inflammatory responses.

Endogenous copper can play an important role in postischemic reperfusion injury, a condition associated with endothelial cell activation and increased interleukin 8 (IL-8) production. Excessive endothelial IL-8 secreted during trauma, major surgery, and sepsis may contribute to the development of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and multiple organ failure (MOF). No previous reports have indicated that copper has a direct role in stimulating human endothelial IL-8 secretion.

Using geographic information systems to assess risk for elevated blood lead levels in children.

Objectives: Targeted screening for childhood lead poisoning depends on assessment of risk factors including housing age. Using a geographic information system (GIS), we aim to determine high-risk regions in Charleston County, South Carolina, to assist public health officials in developing targeted lead-screening.

Methods: Properties built before 1978 were geocoded (assigned latitude and longitude coordinates) from tax assessor data.

Blood lead levels and risk factors for lead poisoning among children in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The phase-out of leaded gasoline began in Jakarta, Indonesia on July 1, 2001. We evaluated mean blood lead levels (BLLs) and the prevalence of elevated BLLs of Jakarta school children and assessed risk factors for lead exposure in these children before the beginning of the phase-out activities. The study involved a population-based, cross-sectional blood lead survey that included capillary blood lead sampling and a brief questionnaire on risk factors for lead poisoning.

Organ perfusion and mass spectrometry: a timely merger for drug development.

Organ perfusion techniques bridge the methodological gap between in vivo studies on the one hand and in vitro studies on the other. In drug candidate selection and subsequent development the differences between these systems should be considered carefully in study design, as one approach may be more suitable than the other depending on the question(s) being asked and, in particular, how the data will be used. This article is not concerned with the mechanics, the surgery or composition of perfusates as there are numerous reviews/books covering these aspects.