TY - JOUR
T1 - Health effects of depleted uranium on exposed Gulf War veterans
T2 - A 10-year follow-up
AU - McDiarmid, Melissa A.
AU - Engelhardt, Susan
AU - Oliver, Marc
AU - Gucer, Patricia
AU - Wilson, P. David
AU - Kane, Robert
AU - Kabat, Michael
AU - Kaup, Bruce
AU - Anderson, Larry
AU - Hoover, Dennis
AU - Brown, Lawrence
AU - Handwerger, Barry
AU - Albertini, Richard J.
AU - Jacobson-Kram, David
AU - Thorne, Craig D.
AU - Squibb, Katherine S.
PY - 2004/2/27
Y1 - 2004/2/27
N2 - Medical surveillance of a group of U.S. Gulf War veterans who were victims of depleted uranium (DU) "friendly fire" has been carried out since the early 1990s. Findings to date reveal a persistent elevation of urine uranium, more than 10 yr after exposure, in those veterans with retained shrapnel fragments. The excretion is presumably from ongoing mobilization of DU from fragments oxidizing in situ. Other clinical outcomes related to urine uranium measures have revealed few abnormalities. Renal function is normal despite the kidney's expected involvement as the "critical" target organ of uranium toxicity. Subtle perturbations in some proximal tubular parameters may suggest early although not clinically significant effects of uranium exposure. A mixed picture of genotoxic outcomes is also observed, including an association of hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (HPRT) mutation frequency with high urine uranium levels. Findings observed in this chronically exposed cohort offer guidance for predicting future health effects in other potentially exposed populations and provide helpful data for hazard communication for future deployed personnel.
AB - Medical surveillance of a group of U.S. Gulf War veterans who were victims of depleted uranium (DU) "friendly fire" has been carried out since the early 1990s. Findings to date reveal a persistent elevation of urine uranium, more than 10 yr after exposure, in those veterans with retained shrapnel fragments. The excretion is presumably from ongoing mobilization of DU from fragments oxidizing in situ. Other clinical outcomes related to urine uranium measures have revealed few abnormalities. Renal function is normal despite the kidney's expected involvement as the "critical" target organ of uranium toxicity. Subtle perturbations in some proximal tubular parameters may suggest early although not clinically significant effects of uranium exposure. A mixed picture of genotoxic outcomes is also observed, including an association of hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (HPRT) mutation frequency with high urine uranium levels. Findings observed in this chronically exposed cohort offer guidance for predicting future health effects in other potentially exposed populations and provide helpful data for hazard communication for future deployed personnel.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=10744225516&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=10744225516&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
C2 - 14713562
AN - SCOPUS:10744225516
SN - 1528-7394
VL - 67
SP - 277
EP - 296
JO - Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health - Part A: Current Issues
JF - Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health - Part A: Current Issues
IS - 4
ER -