Environmental Pollutants Profile

Chronic exposures to a number of occupational and environmental pollutants are a growing concern in today's industrialized communities as their effects on human health are profound. Many have been linked to a variety of pathologies including neuropsychological and neuropsychological dysfunction, leukopenia, dyspnea, anemia, and certain cancers, to name a few.

US BioTek Laboratories' Environmental Pollutants Profile quantifies exposure to select environmental toxins; aromatic solvents, paraben and phthalates.

Chemicals in the report include metabolites of:

          Xyelene

          Toluene

          Benzene

          Trimethybenzene

          Styrene

          Paraben

          Phthalate

The metabolites of these parent compounds are measured from a first morning spot urine specimen through GC/MS.

Acute toxicological effects of aromatic compounds include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, headache, dizziness, drowsiness, confusion, tremor, loss of consciousness etc. Chronic exposure may affect multiple organ systems. Aromatic solvents are used commercially in a variety of applications; in the manufacture of plastics, paints, varnishes, resins, synthetic fibers, rubbers, lubricants, dyes and detergents. Aromatic solvents are used in the printing and leather industries, found in many industrial cleaning agents, are a natural part of gasoline, airplane fuel and cigarette smoke.

Parabens are a widely used family of preservatives found in many cosmetic, pharmaceutical and industrial products. Parabens have inherent estrogenic and other hormone related activity and have been detected in certain human breast cancer cell lines.

Phthalates are used in the manufacture of plastics to allow for flexibility and to soften resins. Not only that, but it is found in everything from makeup to detergents, shampoos to time-released pharmaceutical drugs. Phthalic acid esters are a well known endocrine disruptor as well as causing neurological and developmental disorders. It can interfere with tryptophan metabolism resulting in an increase in quinolinic acid, a pro-inflammatory and neurotoxic compound. Phthalates have also been implicated in abnormal fetal development, especially in male fetuses.

The physiological effects from exposure to these toxins depend on a number of factors including; amount and duration the individual is exposed to the substance, route of exposure (air, water, food, skin, consumer products), and whether or not other chemicals are present at the time of exposure as some compounds exert an accumulated effect. The patient’s profile and relation to specific disease is for the discernment of the prescribing doctor.

Sample collection utilizes our proprietary urine Dip ’N Dry collection strip to maximize analyte stability and recovery.

Our GC/MS analyses follow strict QA guidelines. Test performance is monitored through multi-rule Quality Control Procedures. Two internal control measurements and four internal standards are included with each run to insure accuracy. Additionally, external quality control procedures through the College of American Pathologists (CAP) are run quarterly.

A patient-friendly report flags abnormal values against a population ranking. A detailed multivariate statistical analysis, nutrient and detoxification guideline is provided by Lab Interpretation, LLC.

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