Disinfection of drinking water is regarded as one of the major public health achievements of the twentieth century, resulting in drastic reductions in diseases such as cholera and typhoid fever. However, potentially hazardous disinfection by-products (DBPs) can form when water treatment chemicals interact with other compounds in the water. In this issue of EHP, investigators assess the reproduc...

that ubiquitous biologically active lipids called prostaglandins play in these developmental processes, although studies have found that prostaglandins help initiate male genital development. In this issue of EHP, researchers show that several structurally different endocrine-active pesticides suppress prostaglandin synthesis and signaling in mouse cells. “The research provides support for a ne...

In 2013 and 2014, more than 700 deaths were attributed to fentanyl and fentanyl analogues in the United States. Of recent concern is the cluster of unintentional fentanyl overdoses because of tablets thought to be "Norco" purchased on the street in Northern California. U-47700 (trans-3,4-dichloro-N-[2-(dimethyl-amino)cyclohexyl]-N-methylbenz-amide) is a nonfentanyl-based synthetic opioid with 7...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES Pre-clinical toxicology evaluation of biotechnology products is a challenge to the toxicologist. The present investigation is an attempt to evaluate the safety profile of the first indigenously developed recombinant DNA anti-rabies vaccine [DRV (100 μg)] and combination rabies vaccine [CRV (100 μg DRV and 1.25 IU of cell culture-derived inactivated rabies virus vaccine)]...

A replacement alternative to the rabbit eye irritation test has been sought for many years. First published in 1944 by FDA toxicologist J. H. Draize, the test, now known as the Draize Eye Test, has been used extensively to assess eye safety. It has also been a focal point for concern regarding its animal use. In 1992, Molecular Devices developed the Cytosensor Microphysiometer (CM) technology, ...

Biological markers (biomarkers) are used to recognize, characterize and monitor treatment-related responses following exposure to xenobiotics. Biomarkers serve three primary applications in toxicology: 1) to confirm exposure to a deleterious agent, 2) to provide a system for monitoring individual susceptibility to a toxicant, and 3) to quantitatively assess deleterious effects of a toxicant to ...

An unidentified peak in a drug substance or drug product chromatogram raises many questions. What is the impurity? What is the source of the impurity? How much impurity is there? Can the impurity level be reduced or eliminated? Is the impurity toxic? What do we do now? The answers to these questions are typically provided by scientists in chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC) and nonclini...

A convergence of issues suggests that protecting child health is not so much a matter of research, but rather a matter of policy and advocacy. First, we have well-articulated views of a vision for child health. Second, we have experience and toxicological research findings demonstrating the adverse health effects of hazardous chemicals on children and recognize that children are more sensitive ...

Abou-Donia et al. (in Toxicologist, Vol. 30, 1996) have reported that repeated oral administration of the organo-phosphorus compound triphenyl phosphine (TPPn) to the domestic chicken results in neuropathological changes in the spinal cord and peripheral nerves, accompanied by ataxia and paralysis. This study also noted that single doses of TPPn resulted in no inhibition of the enzymes neuropat...

A 6-month-old child presented to a local pediatrician with an elevated blood lead level (BLL) of 41 microg/dL. The child was treated as an outpatient for chelation therapy by a toxicologist. Subsequent BLLs obtained at 8 and 13 months of age were 40 microg/dL and 42 microg/dL, respectively. Siblings and family members had BLLs < 5 microg/dL except for the mother, who had a BLL of 14 microg/dL w...