Lower strontium in two different body matrices in neurodevelopmental disorders: A preliminary report

Toxicological mechanism of cadmium in the clam Ruditapes philippinarum using combined ionomic, metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses

Cadmium (Cd) contamination in marine environment poses great risks to the organisms due to its potential adverse effects. In the present study, the toxicological effects and mechanisms of Cd at environmentally relevant concentrations (5 and 50 μg/L) on clam Ruditapes philippinarum after 21 days were investigated by combined ionomic, metabolomic, and transcriptomic analyses. Results showed that the uptake of Cd significantly decreased the concentrations of Cu, Zn, Sr, Se, and Mo in the whole soft tissue from 50 μg/L Cd-treated clams. Significantly negative correlations were observed between Cd and essential elements (Zn, Sr, Se, and Mo). Altered essential elements homeostasis was associated with the gene regulation of transport and detoxification, including ATP-binding cassette protein subfamily B member 1 (ABCB1) and metallothioneins (MT). The crucial contribution of Se to Cd detoxification was also found in clams. Additionally, gene set enrichment analysis showed that Cd could interfere with proteolysis by peptidases and decrease the translation efficiency at 50 μg/L. Cd inhibited lipid metabolism in clams and increased energy demand by up-regulating glycolysis and TCA cycle. Osmotic pressure was regulated by free amino acids, including alanine, glutamate, taurine, and homarine. Meanwhile, significant alterations of some differentially expressed genes, such as dopamine-β-hydroxylase (DBH), neuroligin (NLGN), NOTCH 1, and chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan 1 (CSPG1) were observed in clams, which implied potential interference with synaptic transmission. Overall, through integrating multiple omics, this study provided new insights into the toxicological mechanisms of Cd, particularly in those mediated by dysregulation of essential element homeostasis.

Analysis of Whole Blood and Urine Trace Elements in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Autistic Behaviors

The relationship between trace elements and neurological development is an emerging research focus. We performed a case-control study to explore (1) the differences of 13 trace elements chromium (Cr), manganese (Mn), cobalt (Co), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), selenium (Se), molybdenum (Mo), cadmium (Cd), stannum (Sn), stibium (Sb), mercury (Hg), titanium (TI), and plumbum (Pb) concentration in whole blood and urine between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) children and their typical development peers, and (2) the association between the 13 trace elements and core behaviors of ASD. Thirty ASD subjects (cases) and 30 age-sex-matched healthy subjects from Baise City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, were recruited. Element analysis was carried out by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry. Autistic behaviors were assessed using Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC), Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), and Children Neuropsychological and Behavior Scale (CNBS). The whole blood concentrations of Mo (p = 0.004), Cd (0.007), Sn (p = 0.003), and Pb (p = 0.037) were significantly higher in the ASD cases than in the controls. Moreover, Se (0.393), Hg (0.408), and Mn (- 0.373) concentrations were significantly correlated between whole blood and urine levels in ASD case subjects. There were significant correlations between whole blood Sb (0.406), Tl (0.365), Mo (- 0.4237), Mn (- 0.389), Zn (0.476), and Se (0.375) levels and core behaviors of ASD. Although the mechanism of trace element imbalance in ASD is unclear, these data demonstrate that core behaviors of ASD may be affected by certain trace elements. Further studies are recommended for exploring the mechanism of element imbalance and providing corresponding clinical treatment measures.

Association Between Measures Derived From Children's Primary Exfoliated Teeth and Psychopathology Symptoms: Results From a Community-Based Study

Mental disorders are among the most disabling health conditions globally. However, there remains a lack of valid, reliable, noninvasive, and inexpensive biomarkers to identify (at an early age) people who are at the greatest risk of experiencing a future mental health condition. Exfoliated primary teeth, when used in combination with established and emerging tools (e.g., family history, imaging, genetics, epigenetics), may provide important additional insights about vulnerability to mental illness. Teeth are especially promising because they develop in parallel with the brain and maintain a permanent record of environmental insults occurring during prenatal and perinatal development. Despite their potential, few empirical studies have investigated features of exfoliated teeth in relation to mental health. Here, we used micro-CT imaging to test the hypothesis that measures derived from exfoliated primary incisors associated with psychopathology symptoms in a community-based sample of children (n = 37). We found that enamel volume (β = −0.77, 95% CI, −1.35 to −0.18, P = 0.01) had large negative associations with internalizing symptoms, and enamel mineral density (β = 0.77, 95% CI, 0.18–1.35, P = 0.01) had large positive associations with internalizing behavioral symptoms, even after stringent control for multiple testing. Pulp volume (β = −0.50, 95% CI, −0.90 to −0.09, P = 0.02) had a moderately-large negative association with externalizing behavioral symptoms, though these associations did not survive multiple testing correction. These results support the ongoing investigation of teeth as potential novel biomarkers of mental health risk.

Trace elements in drinking water and the incidence of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

BACKGROUND

Trace elements have been suggested to have neurotoxic effects and increase the risk of neurodevelopmental disorders, but studies of a potential role of trace elements in relation to Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are very limited. The objective of this study was to conduct an exploratory analysis investigating the associations between 17 geogenic trace elements (Ba, Co, Eu, I, Li, Mo, Rb, Re, Rh, Sb, Sc, Se, Si, Sr, Ti, U and Y) found in Danish drinking water and the risk of developing ADHD.

METHODS

In this cohort study, 284,309 individuals, born 1994-2007, were followed for incidence of ADHD from the age of five until the end of study, December 31, 2016. We conducted survival analyses, using Poisson regression to estimate incidence rate ratios (IRRs) with 95 % confidence intervals (CI) in three different confounder adjustment scenarios.

RESULTS

In a model including adjustments for age, sex, calendar year, parental socio-economic status, neighborhood level socio-economic status and parental psychiatric illness, we found that six of the 17 trace elements (Sr, Rb, Rh, Ti, Sb and Re) were associated with an increased risk of ADHD, whereas two (Ba and I) were inversely associated with ADHD. However, when including region as a covariate in the model, most trace elements were no longer associated with ADHD or the association changed direction. Four trace elements (I, Li, Rb, and Y) remained significantly associated with ADHD but in an inverse direction and for three of these (I, Li and Y), we found significant interactions with region in their association with ADHD.

CONCLUSION

The trace elements under investigation, at levels found in Danish drinking water, do not seem to contribute to the development of ADHD and our findings highlight the importance of examining consistency of associations across geographic areas.

Evaluation of blood and tooth element status in asthma cases: a preliminary case-control study

Background

Asthma is a common respiratory disorder; some data were present on the correlation between increased levels of trace elements and the risk of asthma development. It was aimed to evaluate the levels of 13 selected blood and tooth elements (magnesium, phosphorus, calcium, chromium, manganese, iron, copper, zinc, strontium, molybdenum, cadmium, lead, mercury) in a well-controlled asthma group and the control group.

Methods

During the study period, 17 asthma patients and 26 age and gender-matched healthy children donated shed deciduous teeth having neither decay nor filling and enrolled for the study. The element levels in blood and teeth matrixes were analyzed with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Differences in blood and tooth elements in groups were evaluated with generalized linear models after adjusting confounding factors.

Results

After adjusting the child’s “z scores of body mass index for age”, history of iron deficiency anemia, and status of parental smoking, the generalized linear model revealed significantly lower tooth magnesium levels, lower blood zinc levels, and lower blood zinc/copper ratio in the asthma group than the control group (p = 0.042, p = 0.034, p = 0.002, respectively). Other studied elements for tooth and blood matrixes were similar in groups.

Conclusion

Our study revealed some differences in tooth and blood element levels in the asthma group. Further studies on zinc and magnesium levels of severe asthma cases are necessary for the interpretation of the results.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12890-021-01565-9.