RESUMEN
PURPOSE: To investigate the current status of exposure to mercury (Hg) among dental health workers in Turkey. METHODS: A total of 115 persons working in the same hospital were included in the study and were divided into three groups. Group 1 consisted of 67 dentists; group 2 consisted of 21 dental personnel who work with amalgam, and group 3 consisted of 27 control subjects who work in the same hospital but are non-dental personnel. The number of amalgam fillings that have been made by the dentists and the number of own fillings of the subjects were recorded. RESULTS: Plasma Hg levels were found to be 3.76 ± 1.84, 3.54 ± 1.83, and 2.69 ± 0.97 µg/L in groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Hg concentrations in group 1 were significantly higher than the control group. There was no significant difference between groups 1 and 2. The number of amalgam fillings made by the dentists in the previous year correlated significantly with plasma Hg levels (r = 0.378, p < 0.01). There was no significant correlation between the own amalgam fillings in the teeth of the subjects and Hg levels. CONCLUSION: Preventive measures for protection from exposure to Hg are necessary for occupational health in dentistry and proper industrial hygiene rules should be emphasized to avoid contamination during work.
Asunto(s)
Amalgama Dental , Restauración Dental Permanente/estadística & datos numéricos , Odontólogos , Mercurio/toxicidad , Exposición Profesional/análisis , Adulto , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Mercurio/sangre , Persona de Mediana EdadRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: The study aim was to compare the performance of three different methods used for determining urinary glycosaminoglycans (GAG) levels in spot and 24-h urine samples. METHODS: Performance characteristics were studied for cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC), and manual and automated dimethylmethylene blue (DMB) methods. RESULTS: For automated DMB method, within-run precisions were 9.10% and 1.98%, and between-day precisions were 13.0% and 5.81% in low- and high-urine pools, respectively. The method was linear up to 100 mg/L of GAG concentration. The detection limit of the method was 0.71 mg/L. Mean recovery was 95.7%. CONCLUSIONS: The automated DMB method was found to give better performance characteristics than cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) and manual DMB methods. It is a fast, cheap, simple and reliable method and can be applied in many diseases in which GAG is used as a screening test.
Asunto(s)
Glicosaminoglicanos/orina , Urinálisis/métodos , Artritis Reumatoide/orina , Cetilpiridinio/química , Colorimetría/métodos , Humanos , Azul de Metileno/análogos & derivados , Azul de Metileno/química , Nefelometría y Turbidimetría/métodos , Osteoartritis/orinaRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: To investigate the biochemical changes on the oxidant/antioxidant balance in corneal and lens tissues in rabbits, and to determine the relative corneal endothelial toxicities following the injection of intracameral anaesthetic agents: levobupivacaine 0.5% or lidocaine 2%. METHODS: The experiment was conducted using New Zealand rabbits. The rabbits were randomly divided into three experimental groups. Twenty eyes received injections of 0.2 ml of one of the two anaesthetic preparations and 10 control eyes received injections of 0.2 ml balanced salt solution. Corneal thickness and clarity were measured before and 3 and 6 h after surgery. Anterior chamber reaction was evaluated 1, 3 and 6 h after surgery. In corneal and lens tissues, malondialdehyde and total thiol levels were measured using spectrophotometric methods. RESULTS: Levobupivacaine 0.5% caused corneal thickening, oedema and anterior chamber reaction (p<0.001). There were no biochemical changes in the levobupivacaine group (p>0.05). No change was observed in the corneal thickness, oedema and anterior chamber reactions, whereas the level of malondialdehyde significantly increased in corneal and lens tissues (p<0.001, p=0.015, respectively), and the level of total thiol significantly decreased in the lens tissue in the lidocaine 2% group (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that levobupivacaine 0.5% has an immediate toxicity on corneal endothelium. Lidocaine 2% causes oxidative damage on corneal and lens tissues. Surgeons should not use repetitive and high doses of intracameral lidocaine in the presence of corneal pathology during cataract surgery.
Asunto(s)
Anestésicos Locales/farmacología , Córnea/efectos de los fármacos , Lidocaína/farmacología , Estrés Oxidativo/efectos de los fármacos , Anestésicos Locales/toxicidad , Animales , Cámara Anterior/efectos de los fármacos , Bupivacaína/análogos & derivados , Bupivacaína/farmacología , Bupivacaína/toxicidad , Córnea/metabolismo , Córnea/patología , Opacidad de la Córnea/inducido químicamente , Modelos Animales de Enfermedad , Cristalino/efectos de los fármacos , Cristalino/metabolismo , Cristalino/patología , Levobupivacaína , Lidocaína/toxicidad , Malondialdehído/metabolismo , Conejos , Compuestos de Sulfhidrilo/metabolismoRESUMEN
PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of N-acetylcysteine on selenite-induced cataract formation in a rat model. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-four Sprague-Dawley rat pups were divided into three groups. Eight pups received only selenite on postpartum day 10 (group 1), 14 pups received selenite on day 10 and additional acetylcysteine on postnatal days 9 to 15 (group 2), and 12 pups received only saline (group 3, control). All pups were daily examined for the presence of cataract under the microscope, starting from the day their eyes opened. Glutathione and malondialdehyde levels were evaluated in both serum and lenticular samples while protein carbonyl level was studied only in lenticular samples. RESULTS: In group 1, 50% of the rats developed dense nuclear opacities and 50% developed slight nuclear opacities, while in group 2 only 14.3% developed dense nuclear opacities and 21.4% developed slight nuclear opacities (p < 0.05). None of the rats in group 3 developed any lens opacity. In lenticular samples, mean glutathione level was statistically lower in group 1 compared to groups 2 and 3 (p < 0.05), while malondialdehyde and protein carbonyl levels were both statistically higher in group 1 compared to groups 2 and 3 (p < 0.05). Serum level of glutathione was statistically lower in group 1 compared to groups 2 and 3 (p < 0.05), while serum malondialdehyde level was statistically lower in group 3 compared to groups 1 and 2. CONCLUSIONS: N-acetylcysteine appears to inhibit selenite-induced cataractogenesis in the rat model, and this seems to be caused by the prevention of oxidative damage.