New Toxicology for Old

Nervous system is in the most cases a likely target for the untoward effects of chemicals. The harmful consequences affect primarily the individual but may also considerably strain the whole society. The consumption of ethanol is a glaring example (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism 1978). As ethanol, many organic liquids have similar immediate effects on the nervous system. The rapidity of the response suggests the involvement of the neuronal communication. The nervous system is also vulnerable to the depletion of oxygen, another common cause for the rapid deterioration of the brain function. It is quite impossible to list all the effects produced by the very large number of the individual chemicals. It would be more fruitful to try to understand the characteristics of the nervous system and the biochemical toxic mechanisms in the evaluation of the neurotoxicity of chemicals. Transfer of Xenobiotics in the Brain The adult central nervous system displays a functional barrier toward the blood-borne chemicals so that water-soluble compounds with an approximate molecular weight above 100 are largely prevented from directly entering the brain (Bradbury 1979). The functional barrier has morphological features typical to it and has a very close association of adjacent capillary cells separated by clefts of 12 A wide (Jacobs 1978). The nervous system capillaries are enveloped by glial cell tongues, and these pericytes contain contractile elements (Le Beux and Willemot 1978a, b) so that the capillaries can be constricted.

InhaltsangabeYoung Scientists Award Lecture 1981: The Identification of an Accumulation System for Diamines and Polyamines Into the Lung and Its Relevance to Paraquat Toxicity.- Critical Evaluation of Protocols Used in Routine Toxicity Studies.- Assessment of Mammalian Toxicity of Pesticides and Other Industrial Chemicals - Flexible Guidelines or Rigid Protocols?.- Critical Evaluation of the Toxicological Documents Produced for the Authorization of Drugs According to the Commission of the European Communities Directives.- The EEC Policy in the Hazard Assessment of New Chemicals.- Protocols for Routine Toxicity Studies: A Statistician's View.- The Council of Europe Approach to Toxicity Testing and Toxicological Evaluation.- Behavioural Teratology: Post-Natal Consequences of Drug Exposure in Utero.- Toxicity Testing in Relation to Aging.- Perinatal Toxicology: Problems and Hazards.- Safety Evaluation of Cosmetic Ingredients (Abstract).- Can the Design of the 'Routine' 90 Day Rat Study be Improved? (Abstract).- Neurotoxicology.- Neurotoxicity of Industrial Chemicals and Contaminants: Aspects of Biochemical Mechanisms and Effects.- Task Dependent Neurobehavioral Effects of Lead in Rats.- Quantitative Morphological and Autoradiographical Studies of Neurotoxicological Changes (Abstract).- Short-Term Exposure of Human Subjects to m-Xylene and 1,1,1-Trichloroethane.- Impaired Nerve Function in Rats After Prolonged Exposure to Vinyltoluene.- Organic Glue Neuropathies: Epidemiology, Clinical Investigation, and Therapy of 100 Cases.- Toxicology of the Central Nervous System - Pathogenetical Aspects (Abstract).- The Toxicity of p-Benzoquinone on the Central Nervous System of the Cockroach.- A Possible Site of Action of Dieldrin in the Brain.- Mechanisms of Recovery of Brain Acetylcholinesterase in Rats During Chronic Intoxication by Isoflurophate.- Neurophysiological Effects of Long-Term Exposure to Hydrocarbon Mixtures.- Effect of Dithiocarbamate-Type Chemicals on the Nervous System of Rats.- Pertussis Antigens - Screening Models on Toxicity.- Effects of Physostigmine on Acute Toxicity of Tricyclic Antidepressants and Benzodiazepines in Mice and Rats.- Effect of Cadmium and Phenobarbital on Cerebral Aldehyde Reductase.- Non-Invasive and Invasive Techniques in Toxicology.- Newer Diagnostic Procedures in Chronic Toxicity Studies in Rats.- Animal Clinical Chemistry and Haematology for the Toxicologist.- In Vivo Evaluation of Hepatotoxicity by Invasive and Non-Invasive Techniques (Abstract).- Measurement of Urinary Metabolites of Xenobiotics as a Non-Invasive Technique in Toxicology.- Heart Rate- and ECG-Recording in the Rat by Biotelemetry.- Monitoring of the Oestrus Cycle in the Rat by Measurement of Vaginal Impedance.- The Effect of Pregnancy on the Pharmacokinetics of Caffeine.- Drugs in Obstetrics and Gynaecology.- Drug Toxicity in Obstetrics (Abstract).- The Embryotoxicity of a New Class of Antispermatogenic Agents: the 3-Indazole-Carboxylic Acids.- A Case of Acute Poisoning by Methyl Demeton in a Female 5 Months Pregnant.- Effects of Diet Substituted in Protein Components on the Fertility and on Postnatal Growth and Behaviour of Rats.- The Anti-Implantation Action of Tamoxifen in Mice.- Effects of Tranexamic Acid on the Coagulation and Fibrinolytic Systems in Pregnancy Complicated by Placental Bleeding.- Toxicity of the Progestagen STS 557 Compared to Levonorgestrel in Beagles After Oral Administration for 6 Months.- Organ/Tissue Disposition of Thallium in Pregnant Rats.- The Effect of the Progesterone-Releasing Intrauterine Device on Uterine Endometrium and Fallopian Tube Epithelium.- Statistics in Toxicology.- Statistical Analysis and Normality of Selected Hematologic and Clinical Chemistry Measurements Used in Toxicologic Studies.- Statistical Simplicity in Long-Term Animal Feeding Studies of Suspect Carcinogens (Abstract).- Statistical Analysis of Behavioral Toxicology Data and Studies.- Statistics and the LD50 Study.- Toxicology Reference Dat