Food Addit Contam Part B Surveill
January 2025
This study provides occurrence data for acrylamide in various foodstuffs, including those covered by Recommendation (EU) 2019/1888, from 210 samples purchased on the Belgian market. Detection frequencies exceeded 84% in potato-based products other than fries, vegetable crisps, black olives, cocoa powders, coffee substitutes and cereals and snacks. Large variations in acrylamide levels were found in cereals and snacks, with no correlation between cereal type or processing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPer- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are industrial chemicals encompassing thousands of compounds. Due to their persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic character, PFAS have become environmental contaminants, and exposure to these chemicals may lead to adverse health effects. This study aimed to provide a sensitive analytical method for the quantification of 25 PFAS in food including food for the young population and beverages, and to gather the missing occurrence data for the dietary exposure evaluation for the Belgian population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Arterial stiffening likely plays a role in Alzheimer disease (AD) pathogenesis. The current study investigated whether inter-individual variations in arterial stiffness and pressure wave parameters were associated with 18 F-FDG positron emission tomography (PET) metabolism in AD-associated brain areas throughout adulthood, independently of age and before the onset of any neuropsychological disorders.
Methods: A prospective, large age-range population of 67 patients (17 young, 16 middle-aged, and 34 older adults; 37 women) underwent a: brain 18 F-FDG PET, blood pressure recording, and carotid/femoral pulse wave-based measurements, including the time-to-peak of the reflected backward carotid pulse wave (bT), on the same day.
Pesticide residues in tea and herbal tea often exceed EU maximum residue limits. Consideration of the transfer of pesticides from the leaves (called transfer factors) to the brew is essential to assess the associated risk. This study identified infusion parameters influencing the transfer behaviour of 61 pesticides and elaborated a predictive model for pesticides with unknown transfer factors in black, green, herbal and flavoured teas.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) and computed tomography (CT) features of the proximal and more elastic half of the thoracic aorta are known to correlate with aorta stiffness in older populations. This prospective study aimed to analyze the changes in these FDG-PET/CT features between young, middle-aged, and older adults, and investigate associations with arterial stiffness and blood pressure (BP).
Methods: Young (< 40 years), middle-aged (40-to-60 years), and older (> 60 years) adults, who underwent an FDG-PET/CT, were prospectively recruited.
Over the last decade, the consumption of tea and herbal tea has gained more and more popularity across the globe, but the potential presence of chemical contaminants (e.g. pesticides, trace elements, synthetic drugs) may raise health concerns.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFood Addit Contam Part B Surveill
December 2022
A total of 120 spices and herbs bought on the Belgian market have been analysed for occurrence of the four EU regulated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (ΣPAH4). Samples were sorted in three groups according to their use: traditional spices, exotic spices, and herbs. Benzo[a]pyrene has been detected in 56% of samples, while ΣPAH4 were found in 96% of samples.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBrain F-FDG PET imaging is useful to characterize accelerated brain aging at a pre-symptomatic stage. This study aims to examine the interactions between brain glycolytic metabolism and hemodynamic parameters in different age groups. : A total of 72 patients (from 23 to 88 years of age, 38 women) without any cerebral diseases but with available cardiac, arterial peripheral, and central blood pressure measurements as well as arterial stiffness parameters obtained from brachial pressure and applanation tonometry and a brain F-FDG PET scan were prospectively included into this study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study reports on concentrations of short- and medium-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs and MCCPs, respectively) in a wide range of food samples (n = 211) purchased in Belgium during 2020. Samples were analysed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and quantified using chlorine content calibration. ∑SCCPs were present above LOQ in 25% of samples with an overall range of
The effects of elevated arterial stiffness on cardiovascular outcomes are widely studied, whereas the relation to noncardiovascular outcomes relevant to older persons, such as the effect on bones and muscles, is less well established. Arterial stiffness, bone demineralization, and muscle loss are all age-related processes with common risk factors, however, whether these are just parallel age-related alterations or whether these processes share common pathways is not yet understood. In this review, we outline previous literature using different assessments of arterial stiffness in various populations across the world to produce a comprehensive overview.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's dementia involve a grey matter disease, quantifiable by F-Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET), but also white matter damage, evidenced by diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging (DTI), which may play an additional pathogenic role. This study aimed to determine whether such DTI and PET variations are also interrelated in a high-risk population of older hypertensive patients with only subjective memory complaints (SMC). Sixty older hypertensive patients (75 ± 5 years) with SMC were referred to DTI and FDG-PET brain imaging, executive and memory tests, as well as peripheral and central blood pressure (BP) measurements.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMonitoring human exposure to pesticides and pesticide residues (PRs) remains crucial for informing public health policies, despite strict regulation of plant protection product and biocide use. We used 72 low-cost silicone wristbands as noninvasive passive samplers to assess cumulative 5-day exposure of 30 individuals to polar PRs. Ethyl acetate extraction and LC-MS/MS analysis were used for the identification of PRs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Environ Res Public Health
May 2017
Flowers are frequently treated with pesticides and, as a result, florists handling daily a large number of flowers can be exposed to pesticide residues. A study was conducted among twenty volunteer florists located in Namur Province and in the Brussels Capital Region of Belgium in order to assess their potential dermal exposure to dislodgeable pesticide residues transferred from flowers to hands. Two pairs of cotton gloves were worn during two consecutive half days while handling flowers and preparing bouquets (from min 2 h to max 3 h/day).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: The longitudinal ADELAHYDE-2 study aims to identify the factors associated with cognitive impairment/decline and white matter hyperintensities burden.
Methods: Longitudinal single-center study comprising two visits separated by approximately 7 years. A total of 131 patients completed the two visits.
Arterial stiffness is an independent predictor of morbidity (infarction, fatal stroke) and cardiovascular mortality, especially in elderly, hypertensive patients with pre-terminal renal insufficiency and in coronary disease patients. The gold standard of its measurement is the pulse wave velocity assessment. The important increase in arterial stiffness that occurs during midlife is associated with the occurrence of severe cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events and also cognitive decline.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: This study aimed at assessing the changes in brain metabolism related to white-matter magnetic resonance (MR) hyperintensities of presumed vascular origin, with a voxel-based quantitative analysis of (18F)-fluorodesoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) imaging.
Methods: Sixty older hypertensive patients with subjective memory complaints (75 ± 5 years, 34 women) were prospectively referred to FDG-PET and MRI brain imaging. The Statistical Parametric Mapping software was used to assess the correlation between brain distribution of FDG and white-matter hyperintensities assessed by the Fazekas score on MRI images.
Objectives: Blood pressure (BP) and its changes with antihypertensive therapy are key parameters when monitoring left ventricular (LV) remodeling. This dual cross-sectional and longitudinal MRI study aimed to determine whether this monitoring is enhanced by aortic stroke volume (SV) values provided by a phase-contrast sequence.
Methods: The study involved 334 MRI examinations from 247 study participants who had no significant cardiac disease (18-85 years old, 40% with hypertension) and among whom 48 had a 2-4-year MRI follow-up.
Importance: Hypertension treatment is beneficial for most hypertensive patients. The benefits for patients who are very old and frail, especially those taking numerous medications, are less certain.
Objective: To provide recommendations for the evaluation and treatment of hypertension among patients aged 80 years and older.
This paper reports a novel approach to screening multi-class pesticides by ion mobility time-of-flight mass spectrometry detection. Nitrogen was selected as mobility gas. After optimization of the different ion mobility parameters, determination of matrix effect on the drift times was conducted using different matrix extracts.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The sustained elevation of blood pressure (BP) and especially of central pulse pressure (cPP) leads to heart and brain damage. This pilot study was aimed to precise the relationships between peripheral and central BP levels, and the remodeling of heart and brain as objectively quantified by cardiac MRI and brain F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET imaging in the elderly.
Methods: Twenty-eight apparently healthy elderly individuals (66-85 years old, 14 women) were prospectively recruited and allocated into two half groups, one with and one without hypertension, and all were referred for the quantitative determinations of peripheral and central BP using applanation tonometry, indexed left ventricular mass (per m of body surface area) using cardiac MRI, and brain metabolism with a voxel-based analysis of FDG-PET images adjusted for age and sex.