Research Reports

Drs. Chaitman and coworkers at the St. Louis University School of Medicine examined whether there is a link between carbon monoxide exposure and arrhythmias in subjects with coronary artery disease. Carbon monoxide is a ubiquitous air pollutant. It is found in cigarette smoke and emissions from motor vehicles, industrial processes, and poorly ventilated combustion sources. The investigators studied 25 men and 5 women, aged 45 to 77 years, all of whom were nonsmokers with stable coronary artery disease and who had moderate levels of ventricular arrhythmias.

Ozone is a highly reactive gas that is a pervasive air pollutant at ground level. It is a major component of urban smog, forming when emissions from mobile and industrial sources interact with sunlight. When inhaled, ozone can cause cough, shortness of breath, and transient changes in breathing patterns; however the health significance of these effects is unknown. Dr. David Thomassen and coworkers examined the ability of ozone to alter the structure and growth characteristics of epithelial cells from rat tracheas in ways consistent with precancerous changes.

Ozone is a highly reactive gas that is a pervasive air pollutant at ground level. It is a major component of urban smog, forming when emissions from mobile and industrial sources interact with sunlight. When inhaled, ozone can cause cough, shortness of breath, and transient changes in breathing patterns; however the health significance of these effects is unknown. Dr. Philip Bromberg and coworkers at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill examined whether exposure to ozone alters properties of the airway epithelium.

Nitropyrenes are a class of chemicals found in diesel engine exhaust that can form DNA adducts and are suspected animal carcinogens. Dr. Beland at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences examined the relationship between DNA adducts and cancer in laboratory animals treated with 1-nitropyrene, the major nitropyrene present in diesel engine exhaust. The investigator used state-of-the-art techniques to study DNA adducts formed from 1-nitropyrene under different conditions of exposure, with an emphasis on identifying unique adducts that had not been recognized before.