Comparison of chromosome aberrations and micronuclei in testing genotoxicity in humans.

Chromosome-type aberrations (CsA) and micronuclei (Mn) rates were compared in conventional 2-day lymphocyte cultures. In 67 healthy controls the mean rate of CsA was 0.54%, and that of Mn 2.

[The contribution of science to health promotion in the workplace].

An imposing amount of knowledge has been produced during the course of three hundred years of research in the field of occupational medicine and in other specialisations that in the last fifty years developed as branches of this discipline (industrial hygiene, industrial toxicology, respiratory physiopathology, etc). Part of this scientific heritage has been used to the full to plan and carry out prevention measures that have led to improved working conditions in many sectors of industry. Examples are the successes obtained in the prevention of pneumoconioses, aplastic anaemia and leukemia due to benzene, cancer caused by aromatic amines, and diseases occurring in pesticide users and consumers of agricultural products treated with such products.

Reference values for chromosome aberrations in human lymphocytes as indicators of genotoxic effects.

Increased chromosome aberrations (CA) in human cultured lymphocytes are an accepted indicator of early biological effects of exposure to genotoxic agents, which has also been investigated, with conflicting results, in several groups of subjects occupationally exposed to metals known or suspected to be carcinogenic. One of the problems with this indicator is the lack of universally accepted reference values. Difficulty in establishing absolute reference values for CA depends on individual variability in the reference groups (due to several environmental and genetic confounding factors) and on methodological variants at the different stages of the test (culture methods, scoring, classification and reporting of CA).

[Medicina del Lavoro. 90 years of a publishing history].

The following piece is meant to widen general knowledge about La Medicina del Lavoro. This is not an analytical history with interpretations and conclusions; it is simply a narration of facts, anecdotes, and details that are often overlooked, and which taken on importance only in retrospect. It is also a pleasurable satisfaction of the author's curiosity, and above all, a tribute to those who ideated and created the journal, people, associations, and printers, thanks to whom the journal, especially during the difficult first years, was able to grow and develop into a specialized tool with a privileged position both in the history of Occupational Medicine in Italy and in the international scientific community.

Chromosomal effects of cadmium exposure in humans.

Cytogenetic studies on subjects occupationally or environmentally exposed to cadmium are reviewed and discussed. After a first report of increased chromosome aberrations in lymphocytes of itai-itai patients from Japan, several studies on workers occupationally exposed to cadmium gave conflicting results. These differences may perhaps be explained by the action of co-factors (e.

[Dermatitis in VDT operators: a review of the literature].

The paper reports studies on the relationship between work with VDT's and dermatitis in the operators. From the first observation in 1979, numerous studies have been carried out to try and explain the reason why some forms of dermatitis like rosacea, eczema seborrhoeic and erythematitis appeared more frequently in VDT operators compared to the general population. The various authors at present consider low indoor air humidity associated with a strong electrostatic field to be essential factors in the occurrence of dermatitis.

[Sensitivity, precision and resolution of the optical microscope in the study of environmental pollution by asbestos fibers].

The authors comment on the methods and equipment used in two Italian laboratories for sampling and microscopic phase contrast analysis of asbestos and other respirable fibres in the air of the general environment, i.e., the Dust Analysis Laboratory, Industrial Hygiene and Toxicology Department of the Institute of Occupational Health (Clinica del Lavoro), University of Milan and the Technical Microscopy Laboratory, Ground Resources and Land Control (Georisorse e Territorio) Department of Turin Polytechnic, which use identical methods.

[Health risks for waste disposal industry workers].

Waste disposal currently constitutes a major public health problem in Italy and other industrialized countries. In view of the increasing volume of waste accumulated and disposed of without control, there is now an ever pressing need for regulated disposal that involves minimum risk for the environment and the community. Hence a new industrial sector has emerged that is highly specialized and varied, on account of the wide field of activity and technology, from collection and storage of refuse, processing and definitive disposal, to reclamation and improvement of illegal dumps.

[Asthenopia and objective ophthalmological findings in a population of 2058 VDT operators in Lombardy].

A large population of 2058 VDT operators from all compartments in Lombardia of a large national company was studied. An "ergophthalmological" questionnaire was administered to all subjects, followed by an ophthalmological-orthoptic examination. Ametropias showed a prevalence of 51.

Biological indicators of neurotoxicity in central and peripheral toxic neuropathies.

This article reviews the biological indicators available for monitoring human neurotoxicity by exogenous chemicals with reference to the phases in which the neurotoxic process takes place, namely delivery, receptor-linkage, and toxicodynamic phase. Among the delivery phase tests, indicators are available for metals (lead, mercury) and some organic substances (CS2, n-hexane, DDT, etc.), but a correlation between neurotoxic effects and these indices is rather loose or not yet proved.

[Creatinine as an adjustment parameter in urinary excretion of vanadium and nickel].

Urinary creatinine is used as an adjustment factor of the concentration of metabolites excreted in urinary random samples. The usefulness of this practice is longtime disputed. The aim of this study, made in 94 workers, is to estimate if the creatinine-adjustment of V and Ni urinary concentrations brings a true advantage in his capacity to predict the amount of metal excreted in 24 hours.

Epidemiology in protection and prevention against environmental mutagens/carcinogens. Examples from occupational medicine.

Subjects occupationally exposed to potential mutagens/carcinogens represent the most suitable groups for epidemiological studies aimed at assessing the risk for the individual or the offspring. Several cancer risks to humans have been detected by epidemiological studies performed in occupational settings. Cancer epidemiology studies have been able (a) to identify specific occupations or agents associated with the risk; (b) to verify the results of experimental studies; (c) to test the effectiveness of changes in production or preventive measures in decreasing risks.

[Dermatopathies in the domestic worker: the Lombard experience].

In order to identify the etiopathogenesis of cutaneous diseases in housewives, a questionnaire was made, and the gathered data are here described. 1,824 people have answered this questionnaire: 1,007 have reported lesions with a suspicious immunological pathogenesis. The commercial products which were reported as a cause of the dermatitis have been 834.