Hebe Greizerstein

Parental consumption of contaminated sport fish from Lake Ontario and predicted fecundability.

Wildlife studies suggest that consumption of contaminated fish from the Great Lakes may expose humans to polychlorinated biphenyls and persistent chlorinated pesticides. To assess whether time to pregnancy or fecundability is affected, we conducted a telephone survey in 1993 with female members of the New York State Angler Cohort Study who were considering pregnancy between 1991 and 1994 (N = 2,445). Among the 1,234 (50%) women who became pregnant, 895 (73%) had a known time to pregnancy. Upon enrollment into the cohort in 1991, both partners reported duration and frequency of Lake Ontario sport fish consumption. We estimated lifetime exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls from recent consumption and used a discrete-time analog of Cox proportional hazards analysis to estimate conditional fecundability ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for fish consumption among couples with complete exposure data who discontinued birth control to become pregnant (N = 575). Maternal consumption of fish for 3-6 years was associated with reduced fecundability (fecundability ratio = 0.75; 95% CI = 0.59-0.91), as was more than a monthly fish meal in 1991 (fecundability ratio = 0.73; 95% CI = 0.54-0.98). Our findings suggest that maternal but not paternal consumption of contaminated fish may reduce fecundability among couples attempting pregnancy.

The New York Angler Cohort Study: Exposure Characterization and Reproductive and Developmental Health

The New York State Angler Study will evaluate the association between past and current consumption of contaminated fish from Lake Ontario and both short- and long-term health effects in a population-based cohort. It will measure fish consumption and reproductive and developmental health among 10,518 male anglers and 6,651 of their wives or partners, as well as among 913 female anglers. To characterize exposure among subgroups of the cohort, further analytical methods were developed and implemented to measure specific polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) congeners, methylmercury, and other substances in biological samples. Exposure assessment has been completed for a stratified random sample of 321 anglers. In addition, analyses for 79 congeners of PCBs are complete for 177 anglers. A special study of duck andturtle consumers currently is underway. Telephone interviews have been completed with 2,454 of the 2,999 women who planned a pregnancy between 1991 and 1994. The entire cohort of male anglers, partners of male anglers, and female anglers has been submitted for matching with the New York State live birth and fetal death registries to obtain lifetime reproductive histories. A medical record abstraction study will assess perinatal and developmental outcomes among the 3,442 births that occurred between 1986 and 1991. Finally, a study of breast milk from currently lactating women is underway, and 215 breast milk samples have been collected from the planned pregnancy subcohort. Progress on each of the study components is discussed herein.

An evaluation of proposed frameworks for grouping polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congener data into meaningful analytic units

BACKGROUND Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been associated with a variety of health outcomes. Enhanced laboratory techniques can provide a relatively large number of individual PCB congeners for investigation. However, to date there are no established frameworks for grouping a large number of PCB congeners into meaningful analytic units. METHODS In a case-control study of serum PCB levels on breast cancer risk, measured levels of 56 PCB congener peaks were available for analysis. We considered several approaches for grouping these compounds based on 1) chlorination, 2) factor analysis, 3) enzyme induction, 4) enzyme induction and occurrence, and 5) enzyme induction, occurrence, and other toxicological aspects. The utility of a framework was based on the mechanism of biologic actions within each framework, lack of collinearity among congener groups, and frequency of detection of PCB congener groups in measured serum levels of 192 healthy postmenopausal women. RESULTS Most participants had detectable levels for the proposed PCB congeners groups, using degree of chlorination as a grouping framework. In addition, the previously proposed grouping approach based on enzyme induction, occurrence, and other toxicological aspects was an applicable alternative to the crude approach of grouping by degree of chlorination. Grouping these congeners with respect to P450 enzyme induction activity, and the previously proposed framework based on enzyme induction and occurrence, did not fit these data as well, because only a small proportion of participants had detectable levels for the congener groups with the greatest toxicological potential. Statistical grouping did not result in an interpretable and meaningful clustering of these exposures. CONCLUSIONS In these data, grouping with respect to degree of chlorination and the previously proposed framework based on enzyme induction, occurrence, and other toxicological aspects were the most useful approaches to reducing a large number of PCB congeners into meaningful analytic units. Factors affecting the utility of the proposed grouping frameworks are discussed.

Degradation of starch modified polyethylene bags in a compost field study

Abstract The degradation of commercially available leaf bags made of polyethylene compounded with ECOSTAR PLUS®, a starch based additive, was determined after exposure to a passive composting environment during the summer of 1990. The bags were filled with partially composted leaves and yard waste. Half of the bags were buried inside and half on the surface of the pile. One bag from each group plus a control was removed at 14, 28, 42 and 49 days of exposure. The tensile properties, FTIR and UV-vis spectra, differential scanning calorimetry and light microscopy determinations were performed on these samples. The surface bags showed oxidation, loss of starch, lower melting point and embrittleness after 14 days. The buried bags had lower melting points at 14 days and showed oxidation at 28 and 49 days. These results indicate that exposure to daylight had a marked effect in the degradation of the surface bags while the degradation of buried bags may involve other processes.

PCB congeners and pesticides and female fecundity, New York State Angler Prospective Pregnancy Study

Consumption of PCB-contaminated sport fish from Lake Ontario has been reported to be associated with diminished female fecundity. To identify Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners and other pesticides that might be associated with reduced fecundity, we followed 102 women aged 20-34 years attempting pregnancy who completed daily diaries for 12 at risk menstrual cycles. Fecundity referred to time-to-pregnancy (TTP) or the number of at risk menstrual cycles required for pregnancy. Blood specimens were obtained for 88 (86%) women and were analyzed using gas chromatography and electron capture for 66 PCB congeners and seven pesticides. Laboratory values were recovery, background and fat corrected prior to natural log transformation. Using stepwise discriminant analysis, congeners IUPAC #205 and #206 and hexaclorobenzene were significantly and positively associated with increasing TTP when women were categorized as becoming pregnant in the first or first three at risk menstrual cycles, respectively. Congeners #205 and #206 are reported to have (anti) estrogenic structural activity.

Extracorporeal Regional Complexing Haemodialysis Treatment of Acute Inorganic Mercury Intoxication

A 70-year-old white female presented approximately 24 h after ingesting three 475 mg tablets (1.425 g) of mercuric chloride in a suicide attempt. Acute renal failure necessitated the initiation of haemodialysis approximately 4 d after the ingestion. Treatment with BAL (2,3-dimercaptopropanol) resulted in only small increases in mercury output into dialysate. A new procedure involving the extracorporeal infusion of the chelating agent dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) into the arterial blood line during haemodialysis was initiated. This procedure of Extracorporeal Regional Complexing Haemodialysis (ERCH) had been effective in increasing methylmercury removal in patients poisoned by contaminated grain. The first DMSA-ERCH procedure was performed 6 d after poisoning. There was a dramatic increase in mercury output into the dialysate. During three treatment sessions of 80 min each, 1189 μg of mercury were removed from the patient. The dialysed mercury represented the only mercury output since the patient was anuric and not producing faeces. DMSA-ERCH appears to be much more effective than BAL and haemodialysis in the treatment of acute inorganic mercury poisoning. The long interval between poisoning and initiation of treatment probably contributed to the patients ultimate demise, 28 d after poisoning. Efficacy of the DMSA-ERCH procedure for inorganic mercury poisoning is likely to be improved as the interval between exposure and treatment is reduced.

Renal pressor effect of ethanol in the isolated perfused rat kidney

These experiments were performed to detect changes in renal function produced by acute infusions of small amounts of ethanol into the isolated kidney of the rat. Ethanol was infused for 10 min beginning at 40 min to reach a final concentration of approximately 80 mg/100 ml in the recirculating perfusate. Control kidneys were perfused for 90 min without the addition of ethanol. Control and ethanol infused kidneys were compared with respect to the following measurements: glomerular filtration rate, urine volume, urine protein concentration, pressure and fractional excretion of sodium, chloride, potassium, calcium and magnesium. Ethanol concentration in the perfusate was measured by gas chromatography. The only parameter affected by these concentrations of ethanol was pressure. During the ten min ethanol infusion, the pressure in the system rose significantly (P less than 0.01) from 110 +/- 0.3 to 120 +/- 2.8 mmHg. After the ethanol infusion, the pressure decreased towards pre-ethanol levels at a faster rate than the decrease in ethanol concentration in the perfusate.

Factors influencing the development of tolerance to ethanol.

Abstract The influence of three parameters on the degree of acquired tolerance to ethanol was studied using goldfish as the animal model. These factors were: a) the rate of ethanol administration; b) the repeated performance of the behavioral test, and c) the prior presence of tolerance to a low dose of ethanol. Tolerance, as indicated by the increase in the ethanol brain levels associated with the loss of righting reflex (overturn test), was observed in fish exposed to 0.2, 0.4, or 0.6% (w/v) ethanol for 1 to 24 hours independently of the rate of ethanol administration. Fish exposed to 0.8% (w/v) ethanol developed tolerance only when this ethanol concentration was reached slowly (circa 3 hours). The increase in functional demand by the repeated testing of the fish and the presence of tolerance to a low dose of ethanol (0.4%) did not affect the degree of the observed tolerance in fish left to equilibrate with a 0.8% ethanol dose. The data support the suggestion that motor functions controlled by the central nervous system can adapt to a high concentration of ethanol if an adequate amount of time is allowed for this compensation to occur or if this concentration is reached slowly. Furthermore, in goldfish the degree of acquired tolerance is directly proportional to the concentration of the ethanol during the time of exposure and independent of the previous experience in alcohol solution.