Document 7Lxpw0qd6GVkaY569jwXxv2B

FILE NAME: Drywall Spackling Compounds (DWSC) DATE: 1975 Nov DOC#: DWSC039 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION: Journal Article - Occupational and Community Asbestos Exposure from Wallboard Finishing Compounds I I8O CAREER SCIENTISTS -- HEALTH RESEARCH COUNCIL New Evidence for a Steroid Hormone Capable of Producing Hypertension in Man M. I. N e w , M.D., P. H. Saencer, .M.D.,* L. S. L ev in e, M.D. and R. E. P eterson, M.D.* Department of Pediatrics and Medicine Cornell Univcr>ity Medical Collette New York. X.Y. The hypothesis that a steroid can pro ever, Xa-f retention and K + loss was duce hypertension in man was tested in an observed during infusion of A and DOC. 18-ycar-old male with dexamcthasonc-sup- Hypertension was produced within five prcssible hypertension. Reinvestigation days during infusion of adrenocorticotropic after six years of little or no treatment hormone (ACTH) or oral metyrapone. demonstrated that the hypertension and The hypertensive effect of the metyrapone mild hyperaldosteronism were decreased was eliminated by the additional treatment promptly by a small dose of dexamtha with aminoglutcthimide. These studies sug sone. During dexamthasone treatment, gest that an ACTH-depcndcnt steroid when aldosterone secretion was suppressed other than A, 18-OII DOC, or DOC may to less than normal and the patient was be the cause of the hypertension in this i normotensive, steroids were given by con patient. The aminoglutcthimide data sug stant infusion in an attempt to reproduce gest that the cause is a steroid and the the hypertension of the dcxamcthasonc-frec metyrapone studies suggest that that steroid state. Hypertension was not caused by five is an 11 dcsoxysteroid. Urine and blood col days of aldosterone (A ), 18-hydroxy (18- lected under ACTH stimulation and mety OH) dcsoxycorticostcrone (DOC) at 1 rapone treatment are rich sources from 1 mg./day, or DOC a t 30 mg./day. llow- which we may characterise this hormone. Occupational and Community Asbestos Exposure from Wallboard Finishing Compounds W illiam J. N icholson, Ph.D., A. R ohl, Ph.D.,* S. A. Imschhein, .M.D.* and I. J. S elikokk, .M.D. Environmental Sciences Laboralory Department of Community Mcdicine i The Mount Sinai School of N :ine of the City University of New York , X.Y. The primary purpose of this investiga tion is to evaluate the working procedures and the occupational exposure to asbestos of men engaged full-time in applying and finishing tape and spackle at the joints of wallboard in the construction industry in Xew York City. The extent of the exposure to asbestos of others in the construction industry who may work in the same area and to the community at large from the use of spackle by dwelling owners and others also will be ascertained. Personal air samples were taken in the breathing none of drvwall construction workers and CAREER SCIENTISTS -- HEALTH RESEARCH COUNCIL I I8I in adjacent areas where other building trades employees were working. In 60% of the personal samples the threshold lim it value (TLA') set by the National Occu pational Safety and Health Act of five fibers greater than 5 g in length per milli liter was exceeded. These concentrations are only suggestive of the total exposure to asbestos, since a comparison of as bestos fiber counts of identical samples shows that for every fiber visible by light microscopy, there are perhaps from 200 to 1,000 fibers that can only be seen by elec tron microscopy. The significance is two fold: all of the asbestos is respirable and, secondly, it is undetected and unmeasured by existing methods of industrial hygiene surveillance. Ten samples of the most com monly used taping and spackling compounds on dry walls were analyzed in the lab oratory by optical microscopy, x-ray pow der diffraction, and electron microscopy in order to determine the minerals present, with particular attention given to the quantitative determination of asbestos min erals. Nine contained various amounts of chrysotilc asbestos; four of the 10 samples contained quartz as a major constituent and two others also contained talc. A simi lar analysis of consumer spackling com pounds showed that three contained from 0 to 10% chrysotilc. In a companion study, clinical examinations have been undertaken of Off workers specializing in taping, two thirds of whom have had at least 10 years exposure. X-ray abnormalities were found in 37 of 63 films (59% of the workers). Our preliminary findings suggest that as bestos disease is un important hazard in this trade and that appropriate control measures are required. Influence of Amino Acids on tbe Formation of Intennediates of tbe y-Glutmiyl Cycle M. O rlowski, M.D., a n d S. W ilk* Department of l'iiarmacoIoKy The Mouni Sinai Scliool of Medicmc of the City Univcrsity of New York New York. N.Y. Intermediates of the 7-glutamyl cycle, pyrrolidonc carboxylatc and 7 -glutamyl amino acids, were determined in tissues of mice by a new gas chromatographic pro cedure coupled with electron capture detec tion. Administration of L-a-nminobiityrntc and also certain other amino acids that are utilized in the reaction which is catalyzed 7-glutamyl cysteine synthetase led to the accumulation of their 7-glutamyl de rivatives and also pyrrolidonc carboxylatc. This accumulation could be blocked by the administration of L-methionine-U, S-sulfoximinc, an inhibitor of 7-plntnmyl cys teine synthetase. No accumulation of pyr rolidonc carboxylate was observed after the administration of cysteine itself. The sep arate administration of several protein amino acids did not affect the levels of pyrrolidonc carboxylate; however, the for mation- of small amounts of the respective 7-glutamyl amino acids was observed in tiic kidney. A significant accumulation of pyrrolidonc carboxylatc was obtained after tiic administration of a mixture containing nil of tiic natural protein amino acids. These experiments demonstrate the exist ence of two separate pathways for the for mation of 7-glutnmyl amino acids and pyrrolidouc carboxylatc. One of these involves the synthesis of glutathione and apparently operates under n strict metabolic control mechanism. The other pathway involves the degradation of glutathione mediated by memhranc-bound 7-glutamyl transpeptidase and is probably associated with the func tion of this enzyme in the transport of amino acid. Voi. 51, No. 10, November 1975