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      Neurotoxicity of Acrylamide in Exposed Workers

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          Abstract

          Acrylamide (ACR) is a water-soluble chemical used in different industrial and laboratory processes. ACR monomer is neurotoxic in humans and laboratory animals. Subchronic exposure to this chemical causes neuropathies, hands and feet numbness, gait abnormalities, muscle weakness, ataxia, skin and in some cases, cerebellar alterations. ACR neurotoxicity involves mostly the peripheral but also the central nervous system, because of damage to the nerve terminal through membrane fusion mechanisms and tubulovescicular alterations. Nevertheless, the exact action mechanism is not completely elucidated. In this paper we have reviewed the current literature on its neurotoxicity connected to work-related ACR exposure. We have analyzed not only the different pathogenetic hypotheses focusing on possible neuropathological targets, but also the critical behavior of ACR poisoning. In addition we have evaluated the ACR-exposed workers case studies. Despite all the amount of work which have being carried out on this topic more studies are necessary to fully understand the pathogenetic mechanisms, in order to propose suitable therapies.

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          Most cited references77

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          Acrylamide: a cooking carcinogen?

          Exposure to acrylamide (AA) has been monitored by mass spectrometric detection of the adduct, N-(2-carbamoylethyl)valine (CEV), to the N-termini of hemoglobin (Hb), according to the N-alkyl Edman method. In these studies, a conspicuous background level, about 40 pmol/g of globin, of apparently the same adduct was regularly observed in Hb from persons without known exposure to AA. For testing of the hypothesis that this adduct originates from AA formed in cooking, rats were fed fried animal standard diet for 1 or 2 months. These animals exhibited a strong increase of the level of the studied Hb adduct, compared to control rats fed unfried diet. By gas chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry, the identity with CEV was confirmed by the concordance of the product ion spectrum of the studied adduct with that of a verified standard and by interpretation of the fragment ions. Further support of the chemical structure, at the same time pinpointing AA as the causative reactive factor, was obtained through the demonstration that AA is formed in the heating of the feed and that the level of AA in the fried feed is compatible with the measured levels of the CEV adduct. The raised CEV adduct levels observed in experimental animals are of a magnitude that is similar to the background level in nonsmoking humans. These data render it likely that cooking of food is a major source of the background dose of AA also in humans. An evaluation of cancer tests of AA and available data for its metabolism leads to the estimation that the background dose of AA is associated with a considerable cancer risk.
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            Chronic toxicity and oncogenicity study on acrylamide incorporated in the drinking water of Fischer 344 rats.

            K JOHNSON (1986)
            Male and female Fischer 344 rats were maintained on treated drinking water providing dosages of 0 (controls), 0.01, 0.1, 0.5, or 2.0 mg acrylamide/kg body wt/day for 2 years to assess the chronic toxicity and oncogenic potential of the chemical. The mean body weights of male and female rats receiving 2.0 mg/kg/day and of male rats receiving 0.5 mg/kg/day were minimally decreased when compared with controls. During the last 4 months of the study, there was an increase in mortality among male and female rats receiving 2.0 mg/kg/day. A target organ effect, characterized by degeneration of peripheral nerves, was observed in rats receiving 2.0 mg/kg/day. The incidence of several tumor types was increased in the rats receiving 2.0 mg/kg/day when compared with controls. In females, increased tumor incidences were observed in the mammary gland, central nervous system, thyroid gland-follicular epithelium, oral tissues, uterus, and clitoral gland. In males the incidence of tumors of the thyroid gland-follicular epithelium and scrotal mesothelium was increased. Male rats receiving 2.0 mg/kg/day also had increased incidence of central nervous system tumors when compared to historical controls but not when compared to concurrent controls. The only tumor incidence which was significantly increased at the 0.5 mg/kg/day level was scrotal mesothelioma. There was no statistically significant increase of any tumor type at the 0.1 or 0.01 mg/kg/day dose levels. However, the incidence of scrotal mesothelioma at the 0.1 mg/kg/day level was greater than that observed in the control group or historically reported in this laboratory.
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              Acrylamide: review of toxicity data and dose-response analyses for cancer and noncancer effects.

              Acrylamide (ACR) is used in the manufacture of polyacrylamides and has recently been shown to form when foods, typically containing certain nutrients, are cooked at normal cooking temperatures (e.g., frying, grilling or baking). The toxicity of ACR has been extensively investigated. The major findings of these studies indicate that ACR is neurotoxic in animals and humans, and it has been shown to be a reproductive toxicant in animal models and a rodent carcinogen. Several reviews of ACR toxicity have been conducted and ACR has been categorized as to its potential to be a human carcinogen in these reviews. Allowable levels based on the toxicity data concurrently available had been developed by the U.S. EPA. New data have been published since the U.S. EPA review in 1991. The purpose of this investigation was to review the toxicity data, identify any new relevant data, and select those data to be used in dose-response modeling. Proposed revised cancer and noncancer toxicity values were estimated using the newest U.S. EPA guidelines for cancer risk assessment and noncancer hazard assessment. Assessment of noncancer endpoints using benchmark models resulted in a reference dose (RfD) of 0.83 microg/kg/day based on reproductive effects, and 1.2 microg/kg/day based on neurotoxicity. Thyroid tumors in male and female rats were the only endpoint relevant to human health and were selected to estimate the point of departure (POD) using the multistage model. Because the mode of action of acrylamide in thyroid tumor formation is not known with certainty, both linear and nonlinear low-dose extrapolations were conducted under the assumption that glycidamide or ACR, respectively, were the active agent. Under the U.S. EPA guidelines (2005), when a chemical produces rodent tumors by a nonlinear or threshold mode of action, an RfD is calculated using the most relevant POD and application of uncertainty factors. The RfD was estimated to be 1.5 microg/kg/day based on the use of the area under the curve (AUC) for ACR hemoglobin adducts under the assumption that the parent, ACR, is the proximate carcinogen in rodents by a nonlinear mode of action. When the mode of action in assumed to be linear in the low-dose region, a risk-specific dose corresponding to a specified level of risk (e.g., 1 x 10-5) is estimated, and, in the case of ACR, was 9.5 x 10-2 microg ACR/kg/day based on the use of the AUC for glycidamide adduct data. However, it should be noted that although this review was intended to be comprehensive, it is not exhaustive, as new data are being published continuously.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Int J Environ Res Public Health
                Int J Environ Res Public Health
                ijerph
                International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
                MDPI
                1661-7827
                1660-4601
                27 August 2013
                September 2013
                : 10
                : 9
                : 3843-3854
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Department of Chemistry, University of Catania, Catania 95123, Italy; E-Mail: manuelapennisi@ 123456libero.it
                [2 ]International Ph.D. Programme in Neuropharmacology, University of Catania, Catania 95123, Italy
                [3 ]Department of Neurosciences, University of Catania, Catania 95123, Italy; E-Mails: valentinapuglisi@ 123456hotmail.com (V.P.); luisavinciguerra@ 123456hotmail.it (L.V.)
                [4 ]Department of Senescence, Urological, and Neurological Sciences, University of Catania, Catania 95126, Italy; E-Mails: marcovacante@ 123456yahoo.it (M.V.); malaguar@ 123456unict.it (M.M.)
                Author notes
                [* ] Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: giulia.malaguarnera@ 123456live.it .
                Article
                ijerph-10-03843
                10.3390/ijerph10093843
                3799507
                23985770
                8ae7fe4d-5ee7-4b4e-a834-5aadca818ecf
                © 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

                This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).

                History
                : 08 July 2013
                : 05 August 2013
                : 12 August 2013
                Categories
                Article

                Public health
                acrylamide,workers,neurotoxicity,neuropathy
                Public health
                acrylamide, workers, neurotoxicity, neuropathy

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