Metabolism and pharmacokinetics of pharmaceuticals in cats (Felix sylvestris catus) and implications for the risk assessment of feed additives and contaminants

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The role of phthalate esters in autism development: A systematic review

Background Available evidence implicates environmental factors in the pathogenesis of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, the role of specific environmental chemicals such as phthalate esters that influence ASD risk remains elusive. This paper systematically reviews published evidences on association between prenatal and/or childhood exposure to phthalate and ASD. Methods Studies pertaining to systematic literature search from Scopus, PubMed, PsycInfo and Web of Science prior to December 2015 were identified. The authors included studies which assessed the effect of exposure to phthalates on occurrence of ASD. This comprehensive bibliographic search identified five independent studies. Each eligible paper was summarized with respect to its methods and results with particular attention to study design and exposure assessment. Because of the heterogeneity in the type of included studies, different methods of assessing exposure to phthalates and the use of different statistics for summarizing the results, meta-analysis could not be used to combine the results of included studies. Results The results of this systematic review have revealed the limited number of studies conducted and assessed phthalate exposure. Seven studies were regarded as relevant to the objectives of this review. Two of them did not measure phthalate exposure directly and did not result in quantitative results. Out of the five studies in which phthalate exposure was mainly measured by the examining biomarkers in biological samples, two were cohort studies (one with positive results and another one with not clear association). Among the three case control studies, two of them showed a significant relation between exposure to phthalate and ASD and the last case control study had negative results. Indeed, this case control studies showed a compromised phthalate metabolite glucuronidation pathway, as a probable explanation of mechanism of the relation between phthalate exposure and ASD. Conclusions This review reveals evidence showing a connection between exposure to phthalates and ASD. Nevertheless, further research is needed with appropriate attention to exposure assessment and relevant pre and post-natal cofounders. © 2016 Elsevier Inc

A vision on the 'foodture' role of dietary exposure sciences in the interplay between food safety and nutrition

Background: In this paper, the European chapter of the International Society for Exposure Science (ISES Europe) provides a vision on how dietary exposure sciences can contribute to address the challenges in the field of food safety and nutrition due to changes in food systems by answering the following question: How can we assess timely and accurately changes in dietary exposure to hazardous chemicals (and mixtures thereof) or intake of nutrients due to changes in food production, food consumption and food composition? Scope and approach: We first describe the current role of dietary exposure sciences and the instruments that are being used to assess dietary exposure in food safety and nutrition. This is followed by an analysis of current changes and developments, primarily at the European level, relevant for food safety and nutrition. This results in a list of identified challenges for dietary exposure sciences. Key findings and conclusions: We thus focus on the timely and accurate assessment of the impact of changes and developments on consumer's and public health, from the perspective of dietary exposure sciences. This includes making better use of chemical analysis, dietary exposure assessment and human biomonitoring, providing increased insight in food composition and nutrients, taking into account the impact of new technologies on human exposure, and making better use of risk-benefit assessment