Question of the Day – Tuesday November 24, 2020

Ingestion of the roots, leaves, and fruits of hyoscyamus niger can lead to what typical poisoning syndrome? Atropine poisoning. The roots, leaves, and fruit of hyoscyamus niger contain alkaloids such as atropine, hyoscyamine, and scopolamine, leading to a syndrome similar to atropine poisoning with symptoms…

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Question of the Day – Monday November 23, 2020

For which rodenticide has ethanol been a suggested antidote, and by which mechanism?   Sodium mono-fluoroacetate (SMFA) (1080). Ethanol is metabolized Acetaldehyde and then to acetyl CoA which is thought to compete with SMFA for citrate synthase, the site of toxicicity of suicide inhibition by…

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Question of the Day – Friday November 20, 2020

Name this structure, and what plant was it first isolated from?   Biguanide. The identification of guanidine and related compounds in the French Lilac plant (Galega officinalis L. ) led to the development of biguanides, such as metformin. Perla V et al. Biguanide related compounds…

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Question of the Day – Thursday November 19, 2020

Which neurotoxin caused an outbreak poisoning in Canada in 1987 via the consumption of contaminated shellfish?   Domoic Acid. Domoic acid is a potent neurotoxin that is naturally produced by several diatom species and occurs via the consumption of contaminated shellfish that have accumulated the…

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Question of the Day – Wednesday November 18, 2020

What element has been implicated in the development of sideroblastic anemia with chronic ingestion?   Chronic zinc ingestion. Large quantities of zinc ingested chronically can lead to zinc-induced copper deficiency via inhibition of copper absorption. Copper is necessary for adequate iron utilization during erythropoeisis, therefore…

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Question of the Day – Tuesday November 17, 2020

When reviewing older literature or reports from different countries sometimes there are differences in how laboratory date are reported. If glucose was reported as “ 2,42 g. 0/00 “, how would you convert this into mg/dL?   The ‰ notation is called permille or permil…

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Question of the Day – Monday November 16, 2020

Two people were recently found guilty of murder by giving the decedent ‘devils breath’. What is the toxin?   Scopolamine. Sometimes referred to as “Columbian’s Devil’s Breath”, this drug has been used in Colombia during robbery attempts to incapacitate the victims. Link to latest news…

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Question of the Day – Friday November 13, 2020

A family of 9 died after consuming a meal of noodles. What is the toxin?   Bongkrekic Acid. Bongkrekic acid (BKA) inhibits adenine nucleotide translocase and is a mitochondrial toxin. It is produced by the bacterium Burkholderia gladiolog pathovar cocovenenas. There are numerous cases in…

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Question of the Day – Thursday November 12, 2020

Which element helps reduce the risk of chronic arsenic toxicity?   Selenium. Smits and colleagues demonstrated low blood selenium increases the risk of arsenic-induced health problems through a randomized, double-blind, placebo-control trial in Bangladesh. Participants chronically exposed to arsenic were enrolled and separated into two…

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Question of the Day – Wednesday November 11, 2020

Polymixin B is being studied currently to reduce renal and hepatic injury from this toxin?   In a recent animal study in rats, polymixin B +/- methlyprednisolone attenuated alpha-amanitin induced renal and hepatic necrosis. Garcia J et al. An effective antidotal combination of polymyxin B…

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