Introduction: Cigarette smoking during pregnancy is the most significant modifiable risk factor for adverse fetal outcomes, such as low birth weight and premature birth. Efforts to obtain accurate estimate of smoking prevalence among pregnant woman have been hindered by high rates of misreporting. Cotinine is considered a gold standard measure of exposure to cigarette smoke, but its level in ur...

The effect of Cotinine, active metabolite of nicotine, on Aβ1-42 neurotoxicity was investigated. Cotinine possesses a longer plasma half-life, lower toxicity and it is a partial agonist of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR). Cotinine prolonged the survival of cortical neurons exposed to Aβ1-42. These results indicated that cotinine has a neuroprotective effect by inhibition of the fo...

In this preliminary study, we have investigated whether dermal uptake of nicotine directly from air or indirectly from clothing can be a meaningful exposure pathway. Two participants wearing only shorts and a third participant wearing clean cotton clothes were exposed to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), generated by mechanically "smoking" cigarettes, for three hours in a chamber while breathi...

Exposure of nonsmokers to environmental tobacco smoke results in increased risk for cancer and other diseases. In spite of this finding, some restaurants and bars continue to permit smoking. This study examined the uptake of nicotine and 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK), a potent lung carcinogen, in nonsmokers who work in restaurants and bars that permitted smoking. Urine sa...

Background: At present smoking is considered a great health-related problem. Smoking cigarettes and use of tobacco are on the rise in the Middle East countries; therefore, the number of people exposed to passive cigarette smoke is increasing, too. The aim of the present study was to determine and compare salivary cotinine levels in hookah smokers, individuals exposed to passive cigarette smoke ...

Various substances in cigarette smoke including nicotine have been shown to promote/induce cancer cell proliferation. Since cotinine has a longer half life and stability in the blood, it has become the preferred biomarker for cigarette smoking exposure. Seventy-three gastric cancer patients were included in this study. The tumor tissues were stained with H and E for pathological evaluation. The...

Various substances in cigarette smoke including nicotine have been shown to promote/induce cancer cell proliferation. Since cotinine has a longer half life and stability in the blood, it has become the preferred biomarker for cigarette smoking exposure. Seventy-three gastric cancer patients were included in this study. The tumor tissues were stained with H and E for pathological evaluation. The...

BACKGROUND Tobacco exposure is routinely assessed by quantifying nicotine metabolites in plasma or urine. On average, 80% of nicotine undergoes C-oxidation to cotinine. However, interindividual variation in nicotine glucuronidation is substantial, and glucuronidation accounts for from 0% to 40% of total nicotine metabolism. We report here the effect of a polymorphism in a UDP-glucuronsyltransfe...

Whether caffeine consumption during pregnancy represents a fetal hazard remains uncertain. The authors report on a large prospective study designed to examine this question. In 1996-2000, 2,291 mothers with singleton livebirths in Connecticut and Massachusetts were evaluated after their first prenatal visit and were questioned about caffeine consumption and important confounding factors. Urine ...

CONTEXT Breastfed infants rely on adequate maternal dietary iodine intake. OBJECTIVE Our objective was to measure breast milk iodine and perchlorate, an inhibitor of iodide transport into the thyroid and potentially into breast milk, in Boston-area women. PARTICIPANTS The study included 57 lactating healthy volunteers in the Boston area. MEASUREMENTS Breast milk iodine and perchlorate con...