Environmental monitoring

The measurement of pollutants in the environment serves to prove or rule out exposure to environmental toxins and should, if necessary, enable the identification of a source of exposure. The individual risk of exposure depends not only on the level of the concentration of pollutants in the environment, but also on the intake path, the duration and frequency of exposure. Environmental pollutants can be detected in house dust, air, consumer goods and building materials.

Biomonitoring

Evaluation of the individual internal stress through detection and quantitative determination of toxins or their metabolites in body materials. The measurement of an environmental pollutant or its metabolites in body materials should enable the individual internal The environmental medical analysis is divided into 4 areas:exposure to be assessed. Which body material is suitable depends on the toxicokinetics of the environmental pollutant and the environmental toxicological background.

Metal exposure can play a causal role in the pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory multisystem diseases by directly promoting inflammation and at the same time negatively affecting the regulatory circuit between inflammation, mitochondriopathy, oxidative and nitrosative stress. In this respect, they make a significant contribution to the fact that the immune tolerance is permanently disturbed by the chronic inflammation, which makes the organism “more sensitive” and more intolerant of numerous other trigger factors.

Biochemical effect monitoring

Evidence of influences on biochemical processes caused by toxic environmental chemicals. Biochemical changes are the first indication of the effect of a pollutant in the organism. They can explain the pathogenesis of environmental health disorders (e.g. lead anemia through inhibition of heme biosynthesis) and allow an individual risk assessment when exposed to a pollutant. Enzymes, metabolites, proteins as well as DNA adducts serve as markers of biochemical effects (effect markers).

Environmental pollution can lead to disturbances in the balance between radical formation and radical degradation. Increased occurrence of free radicals can lead to extremely damaging effects at the cellular level. In these cases one speaks of “oxidative stress”.

Susceptibility Monitoring

Evidence of individual factors that influence the reaction to environmental pollutants (level of internal exposure, extent of biochemical effects and health disorders). The response to exposure to pollutants depends on individual differences in absorption, metabolism, distribution and excretion of environmental toxins, as well as repair mechanisms, e.g. B. modified DNA. Only in a few cases are the molecular causes of susceptibility to pollutants known. The individual factors that influence the sensitivity to environmental toxins also include the intestinal ecosystem and the interactions between different environmental pollutants.

https://www.mlhb.de/labor/schwerpunkte/umweltmedizin
https://www.imd-berlin.de/spezielle-kompetenzen/metallbelastung
https://www.labo.lu/de/lab-tests/integrative/intestinal-health/florinscan