Toxicology letters
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There has been a significant evolution in the clinical management of the poisoned patient over the last decade. Interventions that were once the cornerstone of treating the poisoned patient have become passé or have come under intense scrutiny. The advent of evidence-based medicine has forced clinical scientists to re-evaluate standard therapies. ⋯ Very few antidotes, however, are used on a consistent basis in the management of poisoned victims. The indiscriminate use of antidotes may even be harmful to the patient and incur an inordinate expense. In addition to the commonly known antidotes N-acetylcysteine (acetaminophen, paracetamol), naloxone (opioids) and flumazenil (benzodiazepines), new antidotes include fomepizole to treat ethylene glycol and methanol poisoning and Crotalidae Polyvalent Immune Fab (Ovine) for pit viper envenomation.
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A number of the autoimmune rheumatic diseases are associated with environmental factors, drugs and chemicals. The often non-specific presentation of these diseases makes early diagnosis difficult. The availability of serological markers such as autoantibodies improves diagnostic ability when taken in context with the presenting clinical features. This review focuses on some of the major autoimmune rheumatic diseases and their associated autoantibody markers.
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Asbestos deposits have been used locally by the rural inhabitants of Central and Southeastern Anatolia for domestic purposes for many years. Mineralogical analysis revealed that tremolite is the most prominent asbestos type found in the region. There is in addition another mineral fiber found particularly in three villages located in the Cappadocian region of Central Anatolia (zeolite villages). ⋯ In zeolite villages malignant mesothelioma is responsible for more than 50% of the total deaths. A recent study showed that simian virus 40 is not a cofactor in the pathogenesis of environmental malignant mesothelioma in Turkey. An additional recent genetic-epidemiological study showed that there are some families, which are genetically predisposed to mesothelioma.