Suchergebnisse

Background: The main anthropic sources of exposure to airborne benzene include vehicular traffic, cigarette smoke, and industrial emissions. Methods: To detect early genotoxic effects of environmental exposure to benzene, we monitored environmental, personal, and indoor airborne benzene in children living in an urban area and an area near a petrochemical plant. We also used urinary benzene and S-phenylmercapturic acid (S-PMA) as biomarkers of benzene exposure and urinary 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) as a biomarker of early genotoxic effects. Results: Although always below the European Union limit of 5 μg/m(3), airborne benzene levels were more elevated in the indoor, outdoor, and personal samples from the industrial surroundings compared to the urban area (p = 0.026, p = 0.005, and p = 0.001, respectively). Children living in the surroundings of the petrochemical plant had urinary benzene values significantly higher than those from the urban area in both the morning and evening samples (p = 0.01 and p = 0.02, respectively). Results of multiple regression modelling showed that age was a significant predictor of 8-OHdG excretion, independent of the sampling hour. Moreover, at the low exposure level experienced by the children participating in this study, neither personal or indoor airborne benzene level, nor personal monitoring data, affected 8-OHdG excretion. Conclusions: Our results suggest the importance of biological monitoring of low-level environmental exposure and its relation to risk of genotoxic effects among children.

In the recent decade, numerous new psychoactive substances (NPSs) have been added to the illicit drug market. These are synthetized to mimic the effects of classic drugs of abuse (i.e., cannabis, cocaine, etc.), with the purpose of bypassing substance legislations and increasing the pharmacotoxicological effects. To date, research into the acute pharmacological effects of new NPSs is ongoing and necessary in order to provide an appropriate contribution to public health. In fact, multiple examples of NPS-related acute intoxication and mortality have been recorded in the literature. Accordingly, several in vitro and in vivo studies have investigated the pharmacotoxicological profiles of these compounds, revealing that they can cause adverse effects involving various organ systems (i.e., cardiovascular, respiratory effects) and highlighting their potential increased consumption risks. In this sense, NPSs should be regarded as a complex issue that requires continuous monitoring. Moreover, knowledge of long-term NPS effects is lacking. Because genetic and environmental variables may impact NPS responses, epigenetics may aid in understanding the processes behind the harmful events induced by long-term NPS usage. Taken together, "pharmacoepigenomics" may provide a new field of combined study on genetic differences and epigenetic changes in drug reactions that might be predictive in forensic implications.

BACKGROUND: Following the development of the COVID-19 pandemic, a rigid public health strategy of reduced social contact and shelter-in-place has been adopted by the Italian Government to reduce the spread of the virus. In this paper, we aim at evaluating the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic, and the relative containment measures, have had on a real-life sample of patients suffering from substance use disorders (SUDs) and/or behavioral addictions. METHODS: An anonymous questionnaire was filled out by 153 addicted patients, both outpatients and residential inpatients, recruited across Italy and highly representative of the current Italian population suffering from addictions. Psychopathological burden (anxiety and depressive symptomatology, somatization, irritability, and post-traumatic symptoms), quality of life, and craving changes in daily habits were assessed. RESULTS: In our sample, we found moderate rates of depression (22.9%), anxiety (30.1%), irritability (31.6%), and post-traumatic stress (5.4%) symptoms. Psychopathological burden was globally higher among residential patients. Reported levels of craving were generally low. DISCUSSION: This study is the first attempt to collect Italian data regarding the effects of the rigid quarantine period, during the COVID-19 pandemic, on patients suffering from a SUD and/or behavioral addictions. The presence of a moderate psychopathological burden correlated to poor quality of life and low craving scores represented the main outcomes. Long-term studies, with follow-up after the end of the restrictive measures, should be considered to implement our findings.