PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Butter flavoring in microwave popcorn, thought safe for food industry workers, is respiratory hazard

New findings reported in the American Journal of Pathology

2012-08-13
(Press-News.org) Philadelphia, PA, August 13, 2012 – The ingredient 2,3-pentanedione (PD), used to impart the flavor and aroma of butter in microwave popcorn, is a respiratory hazard that can also alter gene expression in the brain of rats. Manufacturers started using PD when another butter flavoring, diacetyl, was found to cause bronchiolitis obliterans, a life-threatening and nonreversible lung disease in workers who inhaled the substance. New research on PD with implications for "popcorn workers' lung" is published in The American Journal of Pathology and indicates that acute PD exposure has respiratory toxicity which is comparable to diacetyl in laboratory animals.

"Our study demonstrates that PD, like diacetyl, damages airway epithelium in laboratory studies. This finding is important because the damage is believed to be the underlying cause of bronchiolitis obliterans," says lead investigator Ann F. Hubbs, DVM, PhD, DACVP, Health Effects Laboratory Division of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Morgantown, WV. "Our study also supports established recommendations that flavorings should be substituted only when there is evidence that the substitute is less toxic than the agent it replaces."

The study included groups of rats exposed for six hours to different concentrations of PD, a comparable concentration of diacetyl, or filtered air. Since the investigators observed signs of delayed toxicity, they exposed additional rats to PD, and further microscopically examined the brains, lungs, and nasal tissues from these rats 0-2 hours, 12-14 hours, and 18-20 hours after exposure. investigators then evaluated changes in gene expression in discrete brain regions.

The investigators found respiratory epithelial injury in the upper nose, comparable to that caused by diacetyl that progressed through 12 to 14 hours post-exposure. They also found that PD exposure caused necrosis and apoptosis in the olfactory neuroepithelium and activation of caspase 3, a protein that plays a role in cell death, in axons of olfactory nerve bundles. Signs consistent with neurotoxicity included increased expression of the inflammatory mediators, interleukin-6 and nitric oxide synthase-2, as well as decreased expression of vascular endothelial growth factor A in the olfactory bulb, striatum, hippocampus, and cerebellum.

"Our study is a reminder that a chemical with a long history of being eaten without any evidence of toxicity can still be an agent with respiratory toxicity when appropriate studies are conducted," says Dr. Hubbs. "It suggests several intriguing potential mechanisms for the toxicity of inhaled volatile α-diketones, reveals mRNA changes in the brain, documents olfactory neurotoxicity, and clearly demonstrates that the remarkable airway toxicity of diacetyl is shared with its close structural relative, PD."

INFORMATION:

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Optics and photonics research priorities, grand challenges presented in new report

2012-08-13
WASHINGTON — A new report from the National Research Council identifies research priorities and grand challenges to fill gaps in optics and photonics, a field that has the potential to advance the economy of the United States and provide visionary directions for future technology applications. The report recommends that the federal government develop a "National Photonics Initiative" to bring together academia, industry, and government to steer federal research and development funding and activities. "Much is unknown when pursuing basic optical science and its transition ...

Researchers identify key culprit causing muscle atrophy

Researchers identify key culprit causing muscle atrophy
2012-08-13
Whether you're old, have been ill, or suffered an injury, you've watched gloomily as your muscles have atrophied. The deterioration of muscle—even slight or gradual—is about as common to the human condition as breathing. Yet despite its everyday nature, scientists know little about what causes skeletal muscles to atrophy. They know proteins are responsible, but there are thousands of possible suspects, and parsing the key actors from the poseurs is tricky. In a new paper, researchers from the University of Iowa report major progress. The team has identified a single ...

New key element discovered in pathogenesis of Burkitt lymphoma

2012-08-13
Burkitt lymphoma is a malignant, fast-growing tumor that originates from a subtype of white blood cells called B lymphocytes of the immune system and often affects internal organs and the central nervous system. Now Dr. Sandrine Sander and Professor Klaus Rajewsky of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch have identified a key element that transforms the immune cells into malignant lymphoma cells. They developed a mouse model that closely resembles Burkitt lymphoma in humans and that may help to test new treatment strategies (Cancer Cell)*. Burkitt ...

Gene discovery could improve treatment for acute myeloid leukemia

2012-08-13
August 13, 2012 ─ (BRONX, NY) ─ Scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have made a discovery involving mice and humans that could mean that people with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a rare and usually fatal cancer, are a step closer to new treatment options. Their study results were published online today in Cancer Cell. "We have discovered that a gene called HLX is expressed at abnormally high levels in leukemia stem cells in a mouse model of AML," said Ulrich Steidl, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of cell biology and of ...

Chromosomal translocations point the way toward personalized cancer care

2012-08-13
A broken chromosome is like an unmoored beansprout circling in search of attachment. If a cell tries to replicate itself with broken chromosomes, the cell will be killed and so it would very much like to find its lost end. Often, it finds a workable substitute: another nearby chromosome. When a broken chromosome attaches to another, or when chromosomes use a similar process to exchange genetic material, you've got a translocation – genes end up fused to other genes, encoding a new protein they shouldn't. A recent University of Colorado Cancer Center review in the journal ...

Why are people overconfident so often?

2012-08-13
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY'S HAAS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS – Researchers have long known that people are very frequently overconfident – that they tend to believe they are more physically talented, socially adept, and skilled at their job than they actually are. For example, 94% of college professors think they do above average work (which is nearly impossible, statistically speaking). But this overconfidence can also have detrimental effects on their performance and decision-making. So why, in light of these negative consequences, is overconfidence still so pervasive? The ...

Protective bacteria in the infant gut have resourceful way of helping babies break down breast milk

2012-08-13
A research team at the University of California, Davis, has found that important and resourceful bacteria in the baby microbiome can ferret out nourishment from a previously unknown source, possibly helping at-risk infants break down components of breast milk. Breast milk is amazingly intricate, providing all of the nutrients necessary to sustain and strengthen infants in the first months of life. Moreover, this natural source of nutrition provides protection from infections, allergies and many other illnesses. Breast milk also promotes the growth of protective bacteria ...

Wind farms: A danger to ultra-light aircraft?

Wind farms: A danger to ultra-light aircraft?
2012-08-13
For a motorized hangglider or a one-seater weighing 300 kilograms: the business of flying by ultra-light aircraft is booming. That is also why numerous airfields are applying for the license to host these lightweight gliders. Most of these airfields are located on flat land, which is also the preferred terrain for wind power plant. However, these facilities could turn out to be a risk factor for aviators, especially when it comes to takeoff and landing: On the one hand, the power plants "pilfer" the winds from the planes, because wind speeds aft of such facilities are considerably ...

New oncogene identified for breast cancer

2012-08-13
A team of researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, led by Dr. Mark W. Jackson, have developed a novel method to identify genes that, when overexpressed, make normal cells behave like cancer cells. Using this method, the Jackson laboratory has identified a new oncogene, which is a gene that contributes to the development of cancer, named FAM83B. "We made our discovery in a model of breast cancer," said Mark W. Jackson, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Case Comprehensive Cancer ...

Poor oral health can mean missed school, lower grades

2012-08-13
Poor oral health, dental disease, and tooth pain can put kids at a serious disadvantage in school, according to a new Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC study. "The Impact of Oral Health on the Academic Performance of Disadvantaged Children," appearing in the September 2012 issue of the American Journal of Public Health, examined nearly 1500 socioeconomically disadvantaged elementary and high school children in the Los Angeles Unified School District, matching their oral health status to their academic achievement and attendance records. Ostrow researchers had previously ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Breathable yet protective: Next-gen medical textiles with micro/nano networks

Frequency-engineered MXene supercapacitors enable efficient pulse charging in TENG–SC hybrid systems

Developed an AI-based classification system for facial pigmented lesions

Achieving 20% efficiency in halogen-free organic solar cells via isomeric additive-mediated sequential processing

New book Terraglossia reclaims language, Country and culture

The most effective diabetes drugs don't reach enough patients yet

Breast cancer risk in younger women may be influenced by hormone therapy

Strategies for staying smoke-free after rehab

Commentary questions the potential benefit of levothyroxine treatment of mild hypothyroidism during pregnancy

Study projects over 14 million preventable deaths by 2030 if USAID defunding continues

New study reveals 33% gap in transplant access for UK’s poorest children

Dysregulated epigenetic memory in early embryos offers new clues to the inheritance of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

IVF and IUI pregnancy rates remain stable across Europe, despite an increasing uptake of single embryo transfer

It takes a village: Chimpanzee babies do better when their moms have social connections

From lab to market: how renewable polymers could transform medicine

Striking increase in obesity observed among youth between 2011 and 2023

No evidence that medications trigger microscopic colitis in older adults

NYUAD researchers find link between brain growth and mental health disorders

Aging-related inflammation is not universal across human populations, new study finds

University of Oregon to create national children’s mental health center with $11 million federal grant

Rare achievement: UTA undergrad publishes research

Fact or fiction? The ADHD info dilemma

Genetic ancestry linked to risk of severe dengue

Genomes reveal the Norwegian lemming as one of the youngest mammal species

Early birds get the burn: Monash study finds early bedtimes associated with more physical activity

Groundbreaking analysis provides day-by-day insight into prehistoric plankton’s capacity for change

Southern Ocean saltier, hotter and losing ice fast as decades-long trend unexpectedly reverses

Human fishing reshaped Caribbean reef food webs, 7000-year old exposed fossilized reefs reveal

Killer whales, kind gestures: Orcas offer food to humans in the wild

Hurricane ecology research reveals critical vulnerabilities of coastal ecosystems

[Press-News.org] Butter flavoring in microwave popcorn, thought safe for food industry workers, is respiratory hazard
New findings reported in the American Journal of Pathology