| Project/Area Number |
15406004
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 海外学術 |
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| Research Field |
Environmental pharmacy
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| Research Institution | University of Tsukuba |
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Principal Investigator |
KUMAGAI Yoshito University of Tsukuba, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, Professor, 大学院・人間総合科学研究科, 教授 (00250100)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
YAMAUCHI Hiroshi St.Marianna University, Department of Preventive Medicine, Associate Professor, 予防医学, 助教授 (90081661)
YOSHIDA Takahiko Asahikawa Medical University, Department of Medicine, Professor, 医学部, 教授 (90200998)
HAYASHI Toshio Nagoya University, Lecture, 医学部附属病院, 講師 (80303634)
ISHII Tetsuro University of Tsukuba, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, Professor, 大学院・人間総合科学研究科, 教授 (20111370)
SUMI Daigo University of Tsukuba, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, Lecture, 大学院・人間総合科学研究科, 講師 (30400683)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2003 – 2005
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| Project Status |
Completed (Fiscal Year 2005)
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| Budget Amount *help |
¥13,100,000 (Direct Cost: ¥13,100,000)
Fiscal Year 2005: ¥4,200,000 (Direct Cost: ¥4,200,000)
Fiscal Year 2004: ¥4,100,000 (Direct Cost: ¥4,100,000)
Fiscal Year 2003: ¥4,800,000 (Direct Cost: ¥4,800,000)
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| Keywords | arsenic / chronic arsenosis / nitric oxide / intervention study / drinking water / oxidative stress / 酸化ストレス / 循環器疾患 / 慢性ヒ素中毒 / ビタミン剤 / 環境疫学 |
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| Research Abstract |
Arsenic is a naturally occurring element that is ubiquitously present in the environment. The main source of human environmental exposure is through consumption of water containing high levels of arsenic, primarily from natural contamination. In Asia, millions of people are chronically exposed to a high level of arsenic from their drinking water, obtained from wells drilled into arsenic-rich geologic strata. Nitric oxide (NO) is a messenger molecule that plays an important role in neurotransmission, vasodilation, and immune response. In a field study in an endemic area of chronic arsenic poisoning in Inner Mongolia, China, we found that prolonged exposure of humans to arsenic results in reduction of systemic NO levels and oxidative stress. Such phenomena were also seen with rabbits chronically exposed to arsenic (18 weeks, 5μg/ml), supporting the notion that arsenic is a metalloid that causes impairment of systemic NO production and increased oxidative stress through reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and decreased antioxidant enzyme activities.
Replacement of heavily arsenic-contaminated drinking water with low-arsenic water is thought to be a potential intervention strategy for arsenosis, although the reversibility of arsenic intoxication has not been established. However, our current intervention study in the endemic area of chronic arsenic poisoning in Inner Mongolia indicated that decreased NO levels and peripheral vascular disease in arsenosis patients can be reversed by exposure cessation. These results have important implications in the public health approach to arsenic exposure. From these observations, we thought that clearance of arsenic at the cellular level is critical for decreased arsenic poisoning.
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