Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effects of short-term ambient environmental exposure to fine particles and heavy metals (HMs) on neural biomarkers of people within dust storm conditions. From 44 healthy volunteers, who had already been identified, blood and urine samples were taken 24 h before the dust storm. Their blood and urine samples were taken 24 h after exposure. Vanillylmandelic acid (VMA) and homovanillic acid (HVA) were measured as urine markers, while neuron-specific enolase (NSE), cortisol, S100β, and white blood cells (WBCs) were tracked as blood markers. Eleven HMs (Fe, Mn, Zn, Cr, Co, Al, Ni, Pb, Cd, As, and Cu) correlated with fine particles were measured in both normal and dusty days. The mean concentration of fine particles on normal and dusty days was 60.21 and 238.8 µg m⁻³, respectively. The mean value of the post-exposure NSE and S100β was 0.59 ng/L⁻¹ (p = 0.002) and 5.61 ng/L⁻¹ (p ≤ 0.004) higher than that of the pre-exposure respectively. However, the average blood cortisol level decreased by 3.12 ng mL⁻¹ after exposure compared to before it. The mean post-exposure HVA was 0.59 mg g⁻¹ creatinine (CRT) higher than the mean pre-exposure HVA value, which was statistically significant (p = 0.000). Ni (r = 0.6), Cd (r = 0.85), and Fe (r = 0.7) caused an increase in the NSE biomarker. Metal compounds and toxicity of fine particles in dust storms may affect biological markers related to nervous system function and systemic physiological stress.

摘要

这项研究旨在调查短期环境暴露于细颗粒和重金属（HMs）对沙尘暴条件下人的神经生物标志物的影响。在沙尘暴发生前24小时，从44名健康志愿者（已经确定）中抽取了血液和尿液样本。他们的血液和尿液样本在暴露后24小时采集。测定了香草醛酸（VMA）和高香草酸（HVA）作为尿液标志物，而跟踪了神经元特异性烯醇化酶（NSE），皮质醇，S100β和白细胞（WBCs）作为血液标志物。在正常和尘土飞扬的日子里，都测量了与微粒相关的11种重金属（铁，锰，锌，铬，钴，铝，镍，铅，镉，砷和铜）。正常和多尘天的细颗粒平均浓度分别为60.21和238.8 µg m ^-3， 分别。后曝光NSE和S100β的平均值为0.59纳克/升^-1（p  = 0.002）和5.61纳克/升^-1（p  ≤0.004）分别比该预曝光的更高。但是，暴露前的平均血液皮质醇水平比暴露前降低了3.12 ng mL ^-1。接触后平均HVA比接触前平均HVA值高0.59 mg g ^-1肌酐（CRT），具有统计学意义（p  = 0.000）。Ni（r  = 0.6），Cd（r  = 0.85）和Fe（r = 0.7）导致NSE生物标志物增加。沙尘暴中的金属化合物和细颗粒的毒性可能会影响与神经系统功能和全身生理应激有关的生物学标记。