Their review, scheduled for the May 19 issue of ACS’ monthly journal, Chemical Research in Toxicology, recommends that drug regulatory agencies, physicians, and toxicologists join in a focused research effort to combat the problem.
In the new study, Giorgio Minotti, Pierantonio Menna, and Emanuela Salvatorelli point out that the risk of cardiotoxicity may be higher than previously believed, especially in older patients and those with high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, and other risk factors. Studies of long-term survivors of childhood and adult cancer — more than 10 million people in the United States alone — also suggest an increased risk of symptomatic cardiac events.
Their review found that newer, targeted drugs can damage the heart, particularly when combined with old-generation chemotherapeutics. “Toxicologists and regulatory agencies and clinicians should therefore join in collaborative efforts that improve early identification of cardiotoxicity and minimize the risks of cardiac events in patients,” the article notes.-American Chemical Society
Shallow Breathing
The air in Los Angeles today-mixed fine particulates and ash form fires burning in our sprawling urban midst; the ash is light as a feather but will settle on our car roofs inevitably. There it will join jet fuel residue in surface tension.