Gastrointestinal Elimination of Perfluorinated Compounds Using Cholestyramine and Chlorella pyrenoidosa

Abstract

Background. While perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) are a family of commonly used synthetic compounds with many applications, some PFCs remain persistent within the human body due, in part, to enterohepatic recirculation and renal tubular reabsorption. With increasing recognition of potential harm to human health associated with PFC bioaccumulation, interventions to facilitate elimination of these toxicants are welcome in order to potentially preclude or overcome illness. Minimal research has been undertaken thus far on methods to accelerate human clearance of PFCs. Methods. To test for possible oral treatments to hasten PFC elimination, a group of individuals with elevated PFC levels was treated with cholestyramine (CSM) and, after a break, was subsequently treated with Chlorella pyrenoidosa (CP). Stool samples were collected from all participants (i) prior to any treatment, (ii) during treatment with CSM, and (iii) during treatment with CP. Results. With CSM treatment, significant levels of three distinct PFCs were found in all stools, while levels were mostly undetectable prior to treatment. Following treatment with oral CP, undetectable or very low levels of all PFCs were noted in each sample tested. Conclusion. CSM appears to facilitate elimination of some common PFCs and may have some role in the clinical management of patients with accrued PFCs.

Serum Half-Lives for Short- and Long-Chain Perfluoroalkyl Acids after Ceasing Exposure from Drinking Water Contaminated by Firefighting Foam

“…Medication use was checked, and no one reported usage of cholestyramine [a medication that influences PFAS elimination ( Genuis et al. 2010 , 2013 )], therefore, medication use was not included in the model.…”

“…Working task, duration of employment, number of glasses of water per day, blood donation, and pregnancy before mitigation of PFAS exposure from drinking water can influence the initial serum levels but would not be expected to influence the PFAS half-life. Medication use was checked, and no one reported usage of cholestyramine [a medication that influences PFAS elimination (Genuis et al 2010(Genuis et al , 2013], therefore, medication use was not included in the model. C70.97 (0.28-1.9) 1.6 (0.49-6.2) <LOD (<LOD-0.16) L-PFOS (C8) 6.5 (5.4-13) 11 (5.5-28) 3.0 (0.30-9.8) 1m-PFOS (C8) 0.52 (0.25-2.7) 1.0 (0.32-4.1) 0.18 (<LOD-0.59) 3/4/5m-PFOS C82.9 (1.2-6.7) 4.9 (1.7-17) 0.79 (0.10-2.2) 2/6m-PFOS C81.8 (0.84-3.2) 2.6 (1.0-7.5) 0.46 (<LOD-1.4)…”

Temporal trends of perfluorooctanesulfonate isomer and enantiomer patterns in archived Swedish and American serum samples

“…For example, it is currently uncertain if human elimination of 1m-PFOS (e.g. urine (Zhang et al, 2013a)) or feces (Genuis et al, 2013) is enantioselective. In rats, there was no evidence for enantioselective urinary elimination or tissue distribution (Wang et al, 2011b), but species differences could exist.…”

Gaussian graphical modeling of the serum exposome and metabolome reveals interactions between environmental chemicals and endogenous metabolites involved in critical metabolic processes

“…Recent studies have shown that PFHxS is a substrate for NTCP in both human and rat hepatocytes 44,45 . A case study involving eight subjects has found that oral treatment with BAs sequestrant increased fecal elimination of PFHxS 46 . Although no human study supporting the paraben-BAs association was found, in vitro studies have observed that paraben acts as a strong obesogenic compound through PPAR-activation at high concentrations (high  range) in murine 3T3-L1 cells 47,48 .…”