Journal of Bioanalysis & Biomedicine

Background/Aim: The long term study of the adverse effects of pesticides on child neuro development requires monitoring not only of initial, but ongoing pesticide exposure. Our aim was to compare house dust and children’s hair as environmental and biological markers of ongoing pesticide exposure in children.

Design/Methods: In a continuing NIH study on the adverse effects of prenatal pesticide exposure on child neurodevelopment, ongoing pesticide exposure after birth was measured in swept house dust and hair in the children at 4 years of age for propoxur and pyrethroids (transfluthrin, bioallethrin, cyfluthrin and cypermethrin) by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. The prevalence and concentration of pesticides in the two matrices were compared.

Results: Prevalence of propoxur was higher in hair compared to house dust (p<0.001) whereas prevalence of the pyrethroids was higher (p<0.001) in house dust. The overall concentrations of the pyrethroids were also higher (p<0.007) in house dust compared to hair. There was a significant (p<0.001) correlation between dust and hair for bioallethrin and cypermethrin.

Conclusions: Ongoing exposure of children to environmental pesticides is sensitively detected by analysis of children’s hair and house dust. However, prevalence of propoxur was higher in hair compared to swept house dust, but the opposite was found for the pyrethroids. Thus, both matrices should be analyzed. There was a significant (p<0.001) correlation between house dust and hair for bioallethrin and cypermethrin.

The aim of this work was to evaluate the correlation between the serum levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and magnesium (Mg) alone or in report Ca/Mg, among patients with diagnosed malignant diseases who were admitted to the oncology department of a county hospital.

Results:Among the patients in this study, 55 patients (73%) exhibited normal serum levels of Mg (normal range value = 1.60-2.3 mg/dL; mean value = 2.2 mg/dL; SD = 0.2; p = 0.02), normal values for Ca (range 9.1 -10.8 mg/100 m, mean value = 9.90, SD = 2.5, P = 0.05) and normal report Ca/Mg (range 4.5-7), following cancer therapy with good results, in the stage of remission tumor.

A number of 12 patients (16%), which was discovered in onset of cancer diseases, displayed high levels of serum Mg (range =2.6-3.27 mg/dL; mean value = 2.89 mg/dL), high values of Ca, (mean value = 11.2 mg/dl), and low values of report Ca/Mg ( range = 1.7- 3.8).

Six patients (8%), with bad prognostic, unfavorable cancer therapy and frequent relapses, exhibited low levels of Mg (range = 0.60-1.50 mg/dl; mean value = 1.05 mg/dL), low values of Ca (8.2-8.8 mg/dl) but high report Ca/Mg (range = 8.3-23.5). High Ca/Mg ratio was also significantly associated with high-grade cancer.

The levels of serum lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) were also evaluated in patients newly diagnosed with cancer and in patients with unfavorable responses to the cancer therapy (range = 240-1330 U/L; mean value = 787 U/L; SD =1.33; p = 0.002; normal values 135-225 U/L).

Conclusion: The total serum LDH, Mg and report Ca/Mg levels can be used as markers for the onset of malignant diseases and for monitoring the response to cancer therapy.