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Biomedical subjects

G Kazantzis

Publications and source records attributed to G Kazantzis.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Birth weight of children and cadmium accumulation in placentas of female nickel-cadmium (long-life) battery workers.

In a retrospective epidemiological study on the birth weight of 266 children of 137 female workers in a nickel-cadmium battery factory, 157 children of workers occupationally exposed to cadmium were compared with 109 born to non-occupationally exposed workers. No effect of cadmium exposure on birth weight was detected, but a statistically significant effect on birth weight of smoking during pregnancy was observed. In a prospective study on the same population of female battery workers, 27 placentas were collected and the cadmium distribution and concentration in tissue subsamples determined. Placental cadmium concentrations were positively correlated with maternal blood cadmium. The cadmium concentration in placentas ranged from < 0.002 to 0.095 microgram/g (wet weight), the mean concentration +/- SD was 0.021 +/- 0.022 microgram/g (wet weight). Morphological and ultrastructural studies of placental tissues did not reveal any effect of cadmium. This study did not provide any evidence in support of the hypothesis that the placenta may be the critical organ in exposure to cadmium.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Is cadmium a human carcinogen?

Continuing observations on cadmium-exposed workers have failed to yield evidence of an increased mortality from prostatic cancer, as initially suspected. There is, however, evidence of an increased mortality from lung cancer and, in at least two of the studies, of a dose-response relationship, but interpretation of these studies with regard to the role of cadmium is complicated by concurrent exposure to other known or suspected carcinogens, including arsenic, nickel, beryllium, chromium and heated mineral oils. An update of a long-term cohort mortality study from 17 plants in England employing a wide range of cadmium processes, while confirming an increased lung cancer risk related to intensity of cadmium exposure, shows some evidence of this risk also being associated with exposure to arsenic. It is thus not possible at present to attribute the excess mortality from lung cancer to cadmium owing to the presence of multiple confounding factors in the populations studied. Their role in the 17-plant study is currently being further investigated.

Animals↗
PubMed1979

Cadmium nephropathy.

Cadmium is an inessential trace metal which accumulates in human tissues from contamination of food, water or air. The kidney is the critical organ following long-term, low-level absorption either by inhalation or ingestion; accumulation occurring in tubular epithelium in the form of a cadmium-metallothionein complex, giving rise to tubular dysfunction. In a group of 12 cadmium workers some of whom were followed for up to 16 years, tubular proteinuria, renal glycosuria, aminoaciduria, hypercalciuria and defects of concentration and acidification have been observed. Two men became recurrent renal stone formers and 1 man, who had nephrocalcinosis when first seen, later developed vitamin D-resistant osteomalacia. Renal tubular dysfunction following cadmium exposure may continue symptom-free for long intervals, but in a proportion of cases serious clinical effects may eventually develop.

Aged↗
PubMed1979

Renal tubular dysfunction and abnormalities of calcium metabolism in cadmium workers.

Tubular proteinuria is generally accepted as the critical effect following long-term, low-level exposure to cadmium as seen in an industrial environment. This effect may not be of immediate importance to the health of the individual, but the significance, in terms of long-term morbidity and mortality, of the renal tubular defect of which it is an indicator is not fully understood, and certain sequelae may have remained unrecognized due to inadequate follow-up.Follow-up studies have been performed in nine of 12 workers who were initially investigated in 1962. In six of the men exposures ranged from 28 to 45 years to cadmium sulfide dust and for shorter periods in the earlier years to cadmium oxide fume and dust. These six men had tubular proteinuria when first seen, and this has persisted in the five survivors. All six men had hypercalciuria, and two of them became recurrent stone formers. One man whose urinary calcium excretion later fell to a low level more recently developed vitamin D resistant osteomalacia. In addition, each of the six men had exhibited some, but not all, of a variety of biochemical abnormalities related to other proximal renal tubular defects, and the worker who developed osteomalacia had additional evidence of a distal tubular defect. The five survivors also have evidence of slowly progressive deterioration in glomerular function.Follow-up of this small group has shown that renal tubular dysfunction in cadmium workers may continue symptom-free for long intervals, but in a proportion of cases serious clinical effects may develop after a number of years.

Aged↗
PubMed1978

The role of hypersensitivity and the immune response in influencing susceptibility to metal toxicity.

The immune status of the individual is an additional variable which has to be taken into account in any consideration of factors which influence the metabolism and toxicity of metals. The commonly occurring phenomena are described resulting from increased cellular reactivity to platinum, mercury, gold, nickel, chromium, and beryllium, and an attempt has attempt has been made to classify these into the four types of immune response. The clinical effects can be very varied, giving rise to conjunctivitis, rhinitis, asthma, urticaria, contact dermatitis, proteinuria, nephrotic syndrome or blood dyscrasia. Of these effects, cutaneous hypersensitivity is the most common, affecting both industrial and general population groups. Metal compounds used in therapeutics and metals used in prostheses have also been responsible for hypersensitive reactions.

Anaphylaxis↗
PubMed1977

Attendance at a London casualty department.

Patients who attended the casualty department of the Middlesex Hospital during one week in 1973 were interviewed. A predominantly young and working population used the department. Relatively few patients lived close to the hospital but many worked nearby. One third of all attendances were by patients who had been asked to return by casualty doctors. About half the new patients came of their own accord; the next largest group had been sent directly from work by an employer or occupational health service. Half the patients came with injuries, many of them superficial, although there were also serious accident cases. One fifth of the patients had no general practitioner whom they could consult. Age and geographical mobility were related to whether or not patients were registered with a general practitioner. The main reasons for not consulting a general practitioner were that patients felt they needed hospital treatment or that it was more convenient to attend the casualty department. It is suggested that the view that casual attenders with relatively trivial complaints should be encouraged to go to a general practitioner is not always applicable since social as well as medical circumstances determine whether or not patients decide to visit casualty.

Emergency Service, Hospital↗
PubMed1976

Epidemiology of organomercury poisoning in Iraq. I. Incidence in a defined area and relationship to the eating of contaminated bread.

A survey was carried out in a defined area in rural Iraq where there had been many cases of organomercury poisoning following the consumption of bread contaminated by mercury, in order to determine the true incidence of the disorder. The results were compared with those obtained from a similar rural area from which few cases had been reported. A questionnaire was used to determine the amount of contaminated bread eaten and the frequency of symptoms; a simple clinical examination was performed and blood and hair samples were collected for estimation of total mercury concentration. Of 700 people over the age of 5 years in the high-exposure area, 66% admitted to having eaten contaminated bread, while none of the 864 persons in the low exposure area had done so. The mean period during which contaminated bread was eaten was 32 days, but some people had eaten it for as long as 3 months. A mean of 121 loaves was eaten, the maximum being 480 loaves. For the mean number of loaves the intake of methylmercury was likely to have been between 80 mg and 250 mg, but the people who had consumed the largest amount of contaminated bread may have ingested up to 1 000 mg of methylmercury over a 3-month period. Of those with signs of alkylmercury poisoning at the time of the survey, 80% had eaten more than 100 loaves, and 53 (71%) out of 75 persons who had eaten more than 200 loaves showed some evidence of poisoning.The incidence rate for poisoning was estimated at 271 per 1 000; this figure includes a mortality rate of 59 per 1 000, 32 per 1 000 cases with severe disability, 41 per 1 000 cases with mild or moderate disability and 138 per 1 000 cases with only subjective evidence of poisoning at the time of the study.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Epidemiology of organomercury poisoning in Iraq. II. Relationship of mercury levels in blood and hair to exposure and to clinical findings.

In the survey described by Al-Mufti et al. (see page 23) blood and hair samples were analysed for total mercury by modified atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The hair samples were divided into 2.5-cm segments and analysed consecutively. The mean blood levels were 34 ng/ml and 7 ng/ml, respectively in those who had and those who had not eaten contaminated bread.Corresponding mean maximum hair mercury values were 136 mug/g and 5 mug/g, respectively. Hair mercury values provided a better discrimination between different categories of exposure than blood mercury values at the time the survey was performed, some months after the end of the outbreak. Those persons who had not eaten contaminated bread but who lived in the area of high exposure had hair mercury values between the values of those who had eaten and those who had not eaten contaminated bread and who lived in the area of low exposure. Sequential estimation of mercury in 2.5-cm segments of hair in women gave information on the period of accumulation of mercury more than 1 year before the time of collection of the samples. It was possible to show an approximate relationship between the maximum hair mercury value and the amount of contaminated bread eaten. The match between the blood mercury level and the severity of poisoning was poor, owing to the length of time that had elapsed between the onset of poisoning and the sampling. With hair mercury, while the group results showed a good relation to the severity of poisoning, in individual cases the match was less good, especially in those persons where an insufficient length of hair was available for analysis. Biological variation in sensitivity to methylmercury was also likely to have been an important factor.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Epidemiology of organomercury poisoning in Iraq. III. Clinical features and their changes with time.

Three categories of mercury poisoning were defined in the survey described by Al-Mufti et al. (see page 23) and the age-specific incidence rates for these are given. Persons with physical signs consistent with a diagnosis of organomercury poisoning were allocated to categories of severe disability or mild/moderate disability. However, the largest category consisted of persons who had symptoms but no readily elicitable physical signs at the time of the survey. These symptoms followed a consistent pattern with paraesthesia involving the lips and/or circumoral region or trunk and difficulty with walking, described as weakness or unsteadiness of the legs, and in some cases repeated falls, forming the most commonly occurring symptom complex. Mean maximum hair mercury levels differentiated this group very clearly from the group with no symptoms of mercury poisoning. Very few people in the area of low exposure complained of such symptoms; where they did occur they were less well related to the time of the outbreak and showed little tendency to improve. Most people reported improvement in their symptoms by the time of the survey, with more improvement in some symptoms than in others. However, it is not known whether those people with symptoms only at the time of the survey had had at an earlier stage mild signs which had cleared. It was thought unlikely that further substantial improvement would occur in those persons with disability at the time of the survey.

Adolescent↗