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      Possible linkages between lignite aquifers, pathogenic microbes, and renal pelvic cancer in northwestern Louisiana, USA

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          Abstract

          In May and September, 2002, 14 private residential drinking water wells, one dewatering well at a lignite mine, eight surface water sites, and lignite from an active coal mine were sampled in five Parishes of northwestern Louisiana, USA. Using a geographic information system (GIS), wells were selected that were likely to draw water that had been in contact with lignite; control wells were located in areas devoid of lignite deposits. Well water samples were analyzed for pH, conductivity, organic compounds, and nutrient and anion concentrations. All samples were further tested for presence of fungi (cultures maintained for up to 28 days and colonies counted and identified microscopically) and for metal and trace element concentration by inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry and atomic emission spectrometry. Surface water samples were tested for dissolved oxygen and presence of pathogenic leptospiral bacteria. The Spearman correlation method was used to assess the association between the endpoints for these field/laboratory analyses and incidence of cancer of the renal pelvis (RPC) based on data obtained from the Louisiana Tumor Registry for the five Parishes included in the study. Significant associations were revealed between the cancer rate and the presence in drinking water of organic compounds, the fungi Zygomycetes, the nutrients PO 4 and NH 3, and 13 chemical elements. Presence of human pathogenic leptospires was detected in four out of eight (50%) of the surface water sites sampled. The present study of a stable rural population examined possible linkages between aquifers containing chemically reactive lignite deposits, hydrologic conditions favorable to the␣leaching and transport of toxic organic compounds from the lignite into the groundwater, possible microbial contamination, and RPC risk.

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          Most cited references31

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          Detection of seven species of pathogenic leptospires by PCR using two sets of primers.

          Two sets of primers derived from genomic DNA libraries of Leptospira serovars icterohaemorrhagiae (strain RGA) and bim (strain 1051) enabled the amplification by PCR of target DNA fragments from leptospiral reference strains belonging to all presently described pathogenic Leptospira species. The icterohaemorrhagiae-derived primers (G1/G2) enabled amplification of DNA from L. interrogans, L. borgpetersenii, L. weilii, L. noguchii, L. santarosai and L. meyeri, whereas the bim-derived primers (B64-I/B64-II) enabled the amplification of L. kirschneri. Southern blot and DNA sequence analysis revealed inter-species DNA polymorphism within the region spanned by primers G1 and G2 between L. interrogans and various other Leptospira species. Using a mixture of primer sets G1/G2 and B64-I/B64-II, leptospires of serovars icterohaemorrhagiae, copenhageni, hardjo, pomona, grippotyphosa and bim were detected in serum samples collected from patients during the first 10 days after the onset of illness.
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            Balkan endemic nephropathy and associated urinary tract tumours: a review on aetiological causes and the potential role of mycotoxins.

            A series of publications in the 1950s described a kidney disease in Bulgaria, the former Yugoslavia and Romania that became known as Balkan endemic nephropathy (BEN). The disease was qualified by World Health Organisation (WHO) experts as 'progressive and very gradually developing renal failure with insidious onset.... The last stage shows marked fibrosis...'. BEN is characterized by tubular degeneration, interstitial fibrosis and hyalinization of glomeruli accompanied by enzymuria and impaired renal function without nephrotic syndrome. Later, an association between BEN and tumours of the kidney pelvis and ureter was recognized, so that the problem of BEN became not only nephrological, but also oncological. There may also be an association with increased urinary bladder cancer incidence, although many confounding factors may interfere in the analysis of data for this organ. In view of the very intimate association between BEN and the urinary tract tumours (UTT), the term 'endemic uropathy' has been proposed. Several hypothesis concerning the aetiology of these diseases has been investigated, which include: predisposing genes factors, environmental factors (heavy metals, minerals, bacteria, leptospira, viruses, fungal toxins and, most recently, pliocene lignites). This paper reviews the different hypotheses about the aetiology of endemic uropathy and pays particular attention to the role of fungal toxins.
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              Acetaminophen, aspirin, and chronic renal failure.

              Several epidemiologic studies have demonstrated an association between heavy consumption of nonnarcotic analgesics and the occurrence of chronic renal failure, but it is unclear which is the cause and which is the effect In a nationwide, population-based, case-control study of early-stage chronic renal failure in Sweden, face-to-face interviews were conducted with 926 patients with newly diagnosed renal failure and 998 control subjects, of whom 918 and 980, respectively, had complete data. We used logistic-regression models to estimate the relative risks of disease-specific types of chronic renal failure associated with the use of various analgesics Aspirin and acetaminophen were used regularly by 37 percent and 25 percent, respectively, of the patients with renal failure and by 19 percent and 12 percent, respectively, of the controls. Regular use of either drug in the absence of the other was associated with an increase by a factor of 2.5 in the risk of chronic renal failure from any cause. The relative risks rose with increasing cumulative lifetime doses, rose more consistently with acetaminophen use than with aspirin use, and were increased for most disease-specific types of chronic renal failure. When we disregarded the recent use of analgesics, which could have occurred in response to antecedents of renal disease, the associations were only slightly attenuated Our results are consistent with the existence of exacerbating effects of acetaminophen and aspirin on chronic renal failure. However, we cannot rule out the possibility of bias due to the triggering of analgesic consumption by predisposing conditions.
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                +1-703-648-6497 , +1-703-648-6419 , jbunnell@usgs.gov
                Journal
                Environ Geochem Health
                Environ Geochem Health
                Environmental Geochemistry and Health
                Kluwer Academic Publishers (Dordrecht )
                0269-4042
                1573-2983
                21 November 2006
                2006
                : 28
                : 6
                : 577-587
                Affiliations
                [1 ]GRID grid.239134.e, ISNI 0000000106623477, Eastern Energy Resources Team, USGS, , US Department of the Interior, ; Reston, VA USA
                [2 ]GRID grid.22248.3e, ISNI 0000000105044027, Department of Immunology, , University of Medicine and Pharmacy, ; Timisoara, Romania
                [3 ]GRID grid.2865.9, ISNI 0000000121546924, Water Resources Discipline, , USGS, Ohio District Microbiology Laboratory, ; Columbus, OH USA
                [4 ]Water Resources Discipline, USGS, Louisiana District, Ruston, LA USA
                [5 ]Louisiana Geological Survey, Baton Rouge, LA USA
                [6 ]GRID grid.279863.1, ISNI 0000000089541233, Louisiana State University School of Medicine, ; Shreveport, LA USA
                [7 ]GRID grid.2865.9, ISNI 0000000121546924, USGS, ; 956 National Center, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, VA 20192 USA
                Article
                9056
                10.1007/s10653-006-9056-y
                7088375
                17120101
                32f8d7dd-7f26-4d3a-82b8-57e8d20a4247
                © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2006

                This article is made available via the PMC Open Access Subset for unrestricted research re-use and secondary analysis in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for the duration of the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic.

                History
                : 4 October 2005
                : 20 June 2006
                Categories
                Original Paper
                Custom metadata
                © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2006

                leptospires,lignite aquifers,medical geology,natural water contamination,renal pelvic cancer

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