McDiarmid Melissa A, Engelhardt Susan, Oliver Marc, Gucer Patricia, Wilson P David, Kane Robert, Kabat Michael, Kaup Bruce, Anderson Larry, Hoover Dennis, Brown Lawrence, Handwerger Barry, Albertini Richard J, Jacobson-Kram David, Thorne Craig D, Squibb Katherine S
Department of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA.
J Toxicol Environ Health A. 2004 Feb 27;67(4):277-96. doi: 10.1080/15287390490273541.
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.
自20世纪90年代初以来，一直在对一群曾遭受贫铀（DU）“友军火力”袭击的美国海湾战争退伍军人进行医学监测。迄今为止的研究结果显示，在那些留有弹片碎片的退伍军人中，接触贫铀十多年后，尿铀水平持续升高。这种排泄可能是由于弹片在原位氧化导致贫铀持续释放。与尿铀检测相关的其他临床结果显示异常情况较少。尽管肾脏是铀毒性的“关键”靶器官，但预期会受到影响，然而肾功能仍属正常。一些近端肾小管参数的细微变化可能表明铀暴露产生了早期影响，尽管在临床上并不显著。还观察到了遗传毒性结果的复杂情况，包括次黄嘌呤 - 鸟嘌呤磷酸核糖转移酶（HPRT）突变频率与高尿铀水平之间的关联。在这个长期暴露的队列中观察到的结果为预测其他潜在暴露人群未来的健康影响提供了指导，并为未来部署人员的危害沟通提供了有用的数据。
