Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0018681 (headache)
 56,091 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Major findings from our work on exposures and effects from organophosphate-containing pesticides in selected occupational and community patients and groups in Israel are reviewed as a basis for recommending control measures. The worker groups were pilots, ground-crews, and field workers; exposed nonworkers were adults and children living in kibbutzim with drift exposures, and household residents in houses treated by pest exterminators. In all groups, evidence of exposure-illness associations was found even though persons with acute poisoning were not seen. Complaints (headache, dizziness, fatigue, nausea, breathing problems, abdominal cramps, and tingling in extremities) were associated with within-normal depressions in cholinesterase activity. Whole blood and plasma cholinesterase activity were slightly more sensitive indicators of mixed exposure than red blood cell cholinesterase activity. High alkyl phosphate levels and symptoms were seen in individuals with within-normal limit depressions in cholinesterase activity. Complaints of weakness and tingling in hands and feet, together with low-grade changes in nerve conduction, suggest the possible influence of agents with a neurotoxic esterase-type activity independent of cholinesterase activity. Transient in-season neuropsychological changes in tests of mood status and performance were associated with exposure. Recommendations for exposure reduction include: accelerating the already declining use of pesticides in general, and organophosphates in particular; promoting the shift from more to less toxic organophosphates and other pesticides; and introducing rigid performance specifications for closed systems in loading and mixing at end-user sites. Dermal protection remains a problem. Cholinesterase activity levels and symptom interviews are useful for monitoring workers at risk, but alkyl phosphate levels are the definitive measure of exposure, surveys, investigations and surveillance.
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PMID:Health effects from exposure to organophosphate pesticides in workers and residents in Israel. 133 Sep 77

Carbofuran belongs to the group of N-methylcarbamate insecticides used for the control of soil-dwelling and foliar-feeding insects in various crops; its consumption totals approximately 20,000 tonnes per year. Although the neurological effects on human beings have been well documented, little is known on its impact on the genome. A 38-year-old, healthy male worker employed in a carbofuran production facility accidentally inhaled the dust of the active ingredient carbofuran. Thirty minutes later, he experienced weakness, fatigue, perspiration, breathing difficulties, cephalalgia, disorientation, abdominal pain and vomiting. Blood samples were taken to measure cholinesterase activity, and to perform the alkaline comet assay and micronucleus assay combined with pancentromeric probes. Analyses were repeated 72 hr after intoxication and compared with the results obtained from regular monitoring conducted 10 days prior to the accident. Cholinesterase activity showed the highest correlation with the number of apoptotic cells, comet assay tail length, and number of long-tailed nuclei, suggesting that these are the genomic end-points primarily affected by carbofuran intake. Only a weak correlation was detected for the total number of micronuclei, centromere-containing micronuclei and nuclear buds. Since those end-points increased significantly 72 hr after the accident, they could be considered as late biomarkers of the effects of carbofuran intoxication. The results of this report suggest that, in the interests of higher standards in risk assessment and health hazard protection, periodical medical examination of carbamate-exposed populations should include genotoxicity testing in addition to the assessment of cholinesterase activity.
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PMID:Cholinesterase-inhibiting and genotoxic effects of acute carbofuran intoxication in man: a case report. 1869 99

A survey was undertaken to establish the extent of pesticide exposure in a farming community. Cholinesterase (ChE) activity in whole blood was used as a marker for assessing exposure to pesticides. Complete data were gathered for 63 farmers at Akumadan (exposed) and 58 control subjects at Tono, both prominent vegetable-farming communities in Ghana, by means of a questionnaire and blood cholinesterase analyses (acetylcholine assay). Although whole-blood ChE was significantly lower in the exposed than the control participants, it was not significantly correlated with either confounders of age, sex, body weight, and height or high-risks practices. The high-risks practices revealed during the survey included lack of use of personal protective clothing, short reentry intervals, and wrong direction of spraying of pesticides by hand or knapsack sprayer. About 97% of exposed participants had experienced symptoms attributable to pesticide exposure. The frequent symptoms were reported as weakness and headache. There is the need to review safety precautions in the use and application of pesticides in Ghana.
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PMID:Occupational exposure to pesticides: blood cholinesterase activity in a farming community in Ghana. 1911 62