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Arch Environ Contam Toxicol (2011) 61:344357 DOI 10.1007/s00244-010-9611-5
Blood, Urine, and Sweat (BUS) Study: Monitoring and Elimination of Bioaccumulated Toxic Elements
Stephen J. Genuis Detlef Birkholz
Ilia Rodushkin Sanjay Beesoon
Received: 1 July 2010 / Accepted: 27 September 2010 / Published online: 6 November 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010
Abstract There is limited understanding of the toxicokinetics of bioaccumulated toxic elements and their methods of excretion from the human body. This study was designed to assess the concentration of various toxic elements in three body uids: blood, urine and sweat. Blood, urine, and sweat were collected from 20 individuals (10 healthy participants and 10 participants with various health problems) and analyzed for approximately 120 various compounds, including toxic elements. Toxic elements were found to differing degrees in each of blood, urine, and sweat. Serum levels for most metals and metalloids were comparable with those found in other studies in the scientic literature. Many toxic elements appeared to be preferentially excreted through sweat. Presumably stored in tissues, some toxic elements readily identied in the perspiration of some participants were not found in their serum. Induced sweating appears to be a potential method for elimination of many toxic elements from the human body. Biomonitoring for toxic elements through blood and/ or urine testing may underestimate the total body burden of such toxicants. Sweat analysis should be considered as an
additional method for monitoring bioaccumulation of toxic elements in humans.
The interaction between humans and chemical compounds may be described as a lovehate relationship, a liaison that probably dates back to the dawn of civilization. Throughout recorded history, chemical preparations have been used as a means to effect healing and enhance beauty but also as a means to induce harm. Hippocrates, sometimes referred to as the father of modern medicine, wrote the Hippocratic Oath in response to the recognition that some medical practitioners were being bribed to poison rivals with chemical potions. Paracelsus, oft called the father of toxicology, subsequently introduced the idea that illness may be the result of a chemical imbalance requiring restoration through therapeutic chemical intervention. Through the centuries, humankind has endeavored to tame existing chemicals and to develop new agents with specic properties in a ceaseless quest for comfort, convenience, and optimal health.