An Introduction to Toxicology

338 Pages·2013·9.37 MB·English

Philip C. Burcham
An Introduction
to Toxicology
123
An Introduction to Toxicology

Philip C. Burcham
An Introduction
to Toxicology
Philip C. Burcham
School of Medicine and Pharmacology
The University of Western Australia
Perth
Western Australia
Australia
ISBN 978-1-4471-5552-2 ISBN 978-1-4471-5553-9 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4471-5553-9
Springer London Heidelberg New York Dordrecht
Library of Congress Control Number: 2013954873
© Springer-Verlag London 2014
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For my wonderful parents

About th e Author
After undergraduate majors in chemistry and pharmacology, Phil Burcham com-
pleted a Ph.D. in biochemical toxicology in 1990 under the supervision of Dr.
Andrew W Harman at the University of Western Australia. He then completed post-
doctoral training in molecular toxicology under Lawrence J Marnett at Vanderbilt
University. After teaching pharmacology and toxicology at the University of
Adelaide for 12 years, he returned to Perth to establish a research group focused on
studying noxious smoke constituents. His research efforts have led to 55 scientifi c
publications. He has over 20 years of experience in teaching toxicology, pharmacol-
ogy and drug metabolism to science, medicine, pharmacy, podiatry and dentistry
students. His popular team-taught freshers course, Drugs that Changed the World ,
attracts over 400 enrolments. He currently serves on the Editorial Advisory Board
of Chemical Research in Toxicology and the Editorial Board of T oxicological
Sciences . He is also a member of the toxicology subsection of the Faculty of 1,000
(Biology) .
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Pref ace
Some fi ve or six decades ago, the normal perils of childbirth were shockingly escalated
for an unsuspecting generation of mothers in Germany, Canada, Australia and the UK.
In a ghastly epidemic that unfolded over several years beginning in the late 1950s,
distraught parents were confronted by the birth of babies with severely disfi gured
upper and lower limbs. By the time the sedative drug thalidomide was identifi ed as the
culprit, some 10,000 infants were affected – assailed within the womb by a poison that
condemned its victims to lives of struggle and signifi cantly reduced horizons.
The thalidomide disaster was a jarring wake-up call to a generation of scientists,
regulators and physicians, a sharp lesson concerning the need for extreme diligence
when testing new drugs for safety and unexpected harmful effects. Inspired by the
scope of the disaster, a whole branch of science blossomed into existence – m odern
toxicology . New scientifi c societies dedicated to studying the harmful effects of
drugs and industrial chemicals promptly emerged. New journals appeared for toxi-
cologists wishing to publish their research fi ndings. Innovative scientifi c institu-
tions as well as university departments offering toxicology training programmes
were established all around the world.
In today’s fast-moving research enterprise, fi ve decades is a very long time, yet
recent history suggests the societal need for toxicology expertise remains as strong
as ever. Many signifi cant toxicity-related episodes rocked the global community
during the fi rst decade of the new millennium. These included the withdrawal of the
arthritis drug Vioxx due to cardiotoxicity concerns; the adulteration of infant for-
mula with the protein-mimic melamine; the contamination of children’s toys with
lead-containing paints or the solvent 1,4-butanediol; the fi nding of high acrylamide
levels in potato chips; and many deaths in Bangladesh and Nigeria due to respective
outbreaks of arsenic and lead poisoning. In the USA, ongoing controversies over
the human and environmental impact of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill as
well as chronic exposure to high-volume synthetic chemicals such as the plasticiser
Bisphenol A or the herbicide atrazine show that toxicological issues still arouse
great public concern. In an era shaped by social media in which immediate, emotive
reactions govern public responses to many issues, the need for rigorous,
science- based investigation of chemically induced disease remains high.
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