Serum Aluminium Levels in Glue‐Sniffer Adolescent and in Glue Containers

• Published in: Basic & clinical pharmacology & toxicology 2008-05, Vol.102 (5), p.433-436
• Main Authors: Akay, Cemal, Kalman, Süleyman, Dündaröz, Ruşen, Sayal, Ahmet, Aydın, Ahmet, Özkan, Yalçın, Gül, Hüsamettin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adhesives; Adolescent; Adolescent Behavior; Aluminum - blood; Aluminum - toxicity; Biological and medical sciences; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Plastics; Product Packaging; Spectrophotometry, Atomic; Substance-Related Disorders - blood; Turkey
• ISSN: 1742-7835; 1742-7843
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1742-7843.2008.00226.x

:  Glue sniffing is a serious medical problem among teenagers. Various chemical substances such as toluene and benzene containing glues have been reported to be toxic. It has been demonstrated that some toxic metals such as lead are elevated in the blood of solvent‐addicted patients. Whereas aluminium is an element that has toxic effects on neurological, hematopoetic system and bone metabolism. We want to determine the serum levels of aluminium in glue‐sniffer adolescents in comparison with healthy subjects. In addition, we compared aluminium levels of different commercial glue preparations (i.e. metal and plastic containers), to determine which type of container is better for less aluminium toxicity. We measured serum levels of aluminium in 37 glue‐sniffer and 37 healthy subjects using atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The average duration of glue‐sniffer was 3.8 ± 0.8 years. We also measured aluminium levels of 10 commercial glue preparations that seven of them with metal and three with plastic containers. We found that serum levels of aluminium were 63.29 ± 13.20 ng/ml and 36.7 ± 8.60 ng/ml in glue‐sniffer and in control subjects, respectively (P