Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP)

EHP is a monthly journal of peer-reviewed research and news on the impact of the environment on human health. EHP is published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and its content is free online.

http://www.ehponline.org/

Entries

Displaying all 19 entries

  1. Generalized Concentration Addition Predicts Joint Effects of Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Agonists with Partial Agonists and Competitive Antagonists

    Background: Predicting the expected outcome of a combination exposure is critical to risk assessment. The Toxic Equivalency Factor (TEF) approach used for analyzing joint effects of dioxin-like chemicals is a special case of the method of concentration addition. However, the TEF method assumes that individual agents are full aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) agonists with parallel dose-response curves, whereas many mixtures include partial agonists.

    from Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) on 07 January 2010 | Direct link | Comment on this

  2. Ecological Niche Modeling of Cryptococcus gattii in British Columbia, Canada

    Cryptococcus gattii emerged on Vancouver Island, British Columbia (BC), Canada in 1999 causing human and animal illness. Environmental sampling for C. gattii in southwestern BC has isolated the fungal organism from native vegetation, soil, air and water.

    from Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) on 07 January 2010 | Direct link | Comment on this

  3. Critical Confluence: Gene Variants, Insecticide Exposure May Increase Childhood Brain Tumor Risk

    Epidemiologic data have suggested a link between pesticide exposures and childhood brain tumors. The link may be specific to insecticides such as organophosphorus and carbamate compounds, which are known to target the nervous system. Previously published work [EHP 113:909–913] investigated the role of individual genetic variation with a focus on paraoxonase (PON1), a key enzyme in the metabolism of organophosphorus insecticides commonly used in homes at the time but now banned for residential use. This work showed that children with brain tumors were more likely to carry a common single-nucelotide polymorphism (SNP) gene variant in the promoter region of the PON1 gene (PON1C-108T) than other children, and that the association between this SNP and brain tumors was stronger in children with a history of home insecticide exposure. Research in an expanded study population now provides additional evidence that exposure to insecticides, paired with specific metabolism gene variants, may increase the risk of childhood brain tumors.

    from Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) on 07 January 2010 | Direct link | Comment on this

  4. Genetic Effects on Toxic and Essential Elements in Humans: Arsenic, Cadmium, Copper, Lead, Mercury, Selenium and Zinc in Erythrocytes

    Excess of toxic trace elements or deficiency of essential ones has been implicated in many common diseases or public health problems, but little is known about causes of variation between people living within similar environments. We have examined effects of personal and socioeconomic characteristics on concentrations of As, Cd, Cu, Hg, Pb, Se and Zn in erythrocytes, and tested for genetic effects using data from twin pairs.

    from Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) on 06 January 2010 | Direct link | Comment on this

  5. When to Warn? Comparing Heat Indices to Evaluate Public Health Risks

    Summer heat waves can be deadly, particularly for vulnerable populations such as the elderly. Prior to a heat wave’s arrival many cities warn their residents to take precautions such as making sure they drink enough water. But what are the best criteria for issuing a warning of an impending heat wave? A team of scientists from the New York City Department of Health and New York University Medical School compared different metrics used to predict these potentially lethal events. They found that New York City’s current method of basing advisories on the maximum heat index provided a realistic prediction of mortality risk during hot weather.

    from Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) on 07 January 2010 | Direct link | Comment on this

  6. Formaldehyde Exposure and Asthma in Children: A Systematic Review

    Despite multiple published studies regarding the association between formaldehyde exposure and childhood asthma, a consistent association has not been identified. This study reports the results of a systematic review of published literature in order to provide a more comprehensive picture of this relationship. From McGwin Jr. G, Lienert J, Kennedy Jr. JI. 2009. Environ Health Perspect: doi:10.1289/ehp.0901143.

    from Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) on 12 November 2009 | Direct link | Comment on this

  7. Effect of Early Life Exposure to Air Pollution on Development of Childhood Asthma

    There is increasing recognition of the importance of early environmental exposures in childhood asthma development. Outdoor air pollution is a recognized asthma trigger, but it is unclear whether exposure influences incident disease. We investigated the effect of in utero and first year of life exposure to ambient air pollution on risk of subsequent asthma diagnosis in a population-based nested case-control study. From Clark NA, Demers P, Karr C, Koehoorn M, Lencar C, Tamburic L, Brauer M. 2009. Environ Health Perspect: doi:10.1289/ehp.0900916.

    from Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) on 12 November 2009 | Direct link | Comment on this

  8. Epidemiology, Public Health, and the Rehetoric of False Positives

    Blair A, Saracci R, Vineis P, Cocco P, Forastiere F, Grandjean P, Kogevinas M, Kriebel D, McMichael A, Pearce NE, Porta M, Samet JM, Sandler D, Costantini AS, Vainio H. 2009. Environ Health Perspect: doi:10.1289/ehp.0901194.

    from Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) on 20 October 2009 | Download | Comment on this

  9. Cadmium, Environmental Exposure and Health Outcomes

    Bioavailability of ingested cadmium has been confirmed in studies on subjects with elevated dietary exposure and it is strengthened by the substantial amounts of cadmium accumulation in kidneys, eyes and other tissues and organs of environmentally exposed individuals. It is hypothesized that such accumulation results from the efficient absorption and systemic transport of cadmium, employing multiple transporters that are used for the body’s acquisition of calcium, iron, zinc and manganese. Adverse effects of cadmium on kidney and bone have been observed in environmentally exposed populations at the frequencies higher than those predicted from models of exposure. There is increasing evidence implicating cadmium in the risk of diseases that involve other tissues and organ systems at cadmium concentrations not producing effects on bone or renal function.

    from Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) on 04 November 2009 | Direct link | Comment on this

  10. Sources of Mercury Exposure for U.S. Seafood Consumers: Implications for Policy

    Selin NE, Sunderland EM, Knightes CD, Mason RP. 2009. Environ Health Perspect: doi:10.1289/ehp.0900811.

    from Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) on 12 November 2009 | Direct link | Comment on this

  11. Coumaphos Exposure and Incident Cancer among Male Participants in the Agricultural Health Study (AHS)

    Christensen CH, Platz EA, Adreotti G, Blair A, Hoppin JA, Koutros S, Lynch CF, Sandler DP, Alavanja MCR. 2009. Environ Health Perspect: doi:10.1289/ehp.0800446.

    from Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) on 22 January 2010 | Direct link | Comment on this

  12. Summer Heat and Mortality in New York City: How Hot is Too Hot?

    Metzger KB, Ito K, Matte T. 2009. Environ Health Perspect: doi:10.1289/ehp.0900906.

    from Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) on 11 September 2009 | Direct link | Comment on this

  13. Arsenic Exposure Transforms Human Epithelial Stem/progenitor Cells into a Cancer Stem-like Phenotype

    Tokar EJ, Diwan BA, Waalkes M. 2009. Environ Health Perspect: doi:10.1289/ehp.0901059.

    from Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) on 11 September 2009 | Direct link | Comment on this

  14. Associations of Serum Concentrations of Organochlorine (OC) Pesticides with Breast Cancer and Prostate Cancer in U.S. Adults

    Xu X, Dailey AB, Talbott E, Ilacqua VA, Kearney G, Asal NR. 2009. Environ Health Perspect: doi:10.1289/ehp.0900919.

    from Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) on 11 September 2009 | Direct link | Comment on this

  15. Prenatal Exposure to Organohalogens, including Brominated Flame Retardants, influences Motor, Cognitive, and Behavioral Performance at School Age

    Roze E, Meijer L, Bakker A, Van Braeckel KNJA, Sauer PJJ, Bos AF. 2009. Environ Health Perspect: doi:10.1289/ehp.0901015.

    from Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) on 11 September 2009 | Direct link | Comment on this

  16. Modulation of Cytokine Expression in Human Myeloid Dendritic Cells by Environmental Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals Involves Epigenetic Regulation

    Hung CH, Yang SN, Chu YT, Kuo PL, Change HW, Wei WJ, Huang SK, Jong YJ. 2009. Environ Health Perspect: doi:10.1289/ehp.0901011.

    from Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) on 11 September 2009 | Direct link | Comment on this

  17. Residential Exposure to Traffic and Spontaneous Abortion

    Green S, Malig B, Windham GC, Fenster L, Ostro B, Swan SH. 2009. Environ Health Perspect: doi:10.1289/ehp.0900943.

    from Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) on 11 September 2009 | Direct link | Comment on this

  18. Integrating Omic Technologies into Aquatic Ecological Risk Assessment and Environmental Monitoring: Hurdles, Achievements and Future Outlook.

    Van Aggelen G, Ankley GT, Baldwin WS, Bearden DW, Benson WH, Chipman JK, Collette TW, Craft JA, Denslow ND, Embry MR, Falciani F, George SG, Helbing CC, Hoekstra PF, Iguchi T, Kagami Y, Katsiadaki I, Kille P, Liu L, Lord PG, McIntyre T, O Neill A, Osachoff H, Perkins EJ, Santos EM, Skirrow RC, Snape JR, Tyler CR, Versteeg D, Viant MR, Volz DC, Williams TD, Yu L. 2009. Environ Health Perspect: doi:10.1289/ehp.0900985.

    from Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) on 11 September 2009 | Direct link | Comment on this

  19. Cadmium Malignantly Transforms Normal Human Breast Epithelial Cells Into a Basal-like Phenotype

    Benbrahim-Tallaa L, Tokar EJ, Diwan BA, Dill AL, Coppin JF, Waalkes M. 2009. Environ Health Perspect: doi:10.1289/ehp.0900999.

    from Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) on 11 September 2009 | Direct link | Comment on this