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Metabolic signatures may be able to help doctors determine who is most likely to be protected from lung injury after exposure to toxic particles like those that filled the air and lungs of first responders on September 11, 2001, scientists report in a study published today (September 3) in Scientific Reports. The researchers identified 30 metabolites that seem to be associated with protection from lung disease after hazardous exposures and many of them may be related to a person’s diet.
Many people’s lungs are exposed to hazardous air based on their occupations or where they live, but it’s difficult to study environmental hazards “unless you have a clearly defined exposure,” says Ross Summer, a pulmonologist at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College. The firefighters who responded to the disaster site on 9/11 provide that clearly defined sample of individuals who were all exposed to similar toxins for ...
