Industrial toxicology of metals of the platinum group

Metals of the platinum group have found important application in technology and industry. Compounds of these metals display a broad spectrum of toxic effects on the organism. In persons dealing with them in the production, they induce allergic occupational diseases of the respiratory passages, dermatoses, affections of the eyes. Their resorptive chronic effect in experiment is characterized by reduction in the body mass of the animals and the content of haemoglobin in the blood, by disturbances of the protein-synthesizing function of the liver, decreased cholinesterase activity in the blood, impaired carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, reduced concentrating capacity of the liver, development of glomerulonephritis. Platinum and platinoids irritate mucous membranes and skin. They penetrate the organism through intact skin. Data on the distribution of the metals in the organs and on their elimination from the organism are reported. Toxicity of the metals of the platinum group is correlated with valence of the compounds and with electron structure. MAC for milling and condensation aerosols of poorly soluble compounds (metal and its oxides) are recommended at 0.1 mg/m3. For aerosols of all soluble compounds of platinum and platinoids, MAC of 0.001 mg/m3 are recommended.     

Nonspecific and antigen-specific adhesiveness of circulating lymphocytes in dysentery patients undergoing combined therapy using thymalin and indomethacin

Nonspecific adhesiveness of lymphocytes to polyacrylonitrile fiber and the antigen-specific adhesiveness of T-lymphocytes to Shigella flexneri pellicular immunosorbent have been studied in dysentery patients. Short courses of treatment with indomethacin, but not with thymalin (the preparation of thymic hormones), used for immunomodulation, have accelerated the normalization of nonspecific lymphocyte adhesiveness during regression of the disease, while indomethacin, in contrast to thymalin, inhibits antigen-specific T-lymphocyte adhesiveness which increases with the development of immune response.     

Frequency of the fragile X syndrome in institutionalized mentally retarded females in Japan

Summary The fragile X [fra(X)] syndrome was screened on 190 Japanese institutionalized females with moderate to severe mental retardation. Two inmates with severe mental retardation (IQ 20) had the fra(X) chromosome in 26% and 15% of the cells examined, indicating that the prevalence of the fra(X) syndrome was about 1% in all female inmates and was about 3.27% in severely mentally retarded females with known causes. However, no female with fra(X) syndrome was found in 35 moderately retarded females. Both had brothers with the fra(X) syndrome and the prevalence was 10% in females with a family history of mental retardation. In addition, the replication study of the fra(X) chromosome in the patients supported the proposal that an excess of the early replicated fra(X) chromosome is related to the mental capacity in heterozygous females. Therefore, the fra(X) syndrome should not be ignored even in severely mentally retarded females with a family history, though the heterozygotes are commonly normal to subnormal in their mental development. in addition, the replication study of the fra(X) chromosome may help to estimate mental development in the carrier children.