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Title: Combined laboratory and epidemiological study of the effect of load on the excretion of Beta aminoisobutyric acid

Conference · · Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med.; (United States)
OSTI ID:5718686

Beta Aminoisobutyric Acid (BAIB) is the end product of the catabolism of thymine. BAIB is actively secreted and is a common component of human urine. Since lead has not been reported to degrade DNA we were surprised to find elevated amounts of BAIB in the urine of workers who had lead poisoning. To further study this phenomenon a group of 26 males engaged in demolition work which exposed them to lead was compared to a control group of 40 male hospital workers with regard to BAIB excretion. The exposed workers excreted an average of 19.26 nmoles of BAIB per ..mu..mole creatinine. The value for the control group was 6.02. In order to determine the effect of lead on BAIB excretion under controlled conditions, the authors exposed marmosets to different doses of lead and monitored the lead poisoning via the blood level of zinc protoporphyrin. They found a strong correlation between exposure to lead and excretion of BAIB.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville
OSTI ID:
5718686
Report Number(s):
CONF-8611204-
Journal Information:
Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med.; (United States), Vol. 184:4; Conference: Annual meeting of the Southeast Section of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA, 13 Nov 1986
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English