This week, Politico covered the Society of Toxicology-US Food and Drug Administration (SOT-US FDA) colloquium on partially hydrogenated oils, while SOT members discussed a new mouse model that may accurately predict the range of human responses to chemical exposures and made recommendations regarding uncertainty associated with epidemiological studies.
SOT Member Research
John E. French, Daniel L. Morgan, and Gabriel A. Knudsen, alongside other researchers, have found that a genetically diverse mouse model can predict a range of human responses to chemical exposures. As discussed in their Environmental Health Perspectives paper, by using Diversity Outbred mice, the researchers were able to identify specific genes or chromosomal regions that make some mice more susceptible, and others more resistant, to the toxic effects of benzene.
SOT Members in the News
On Friday, SOT hosted a colloquium alongside the US FDA that focused on research and toxicological considerations regarding partially hydrogenated oils. Politico spoke with the event’s chair Martin Ronis for a short piece in its Morning Agriculture round-up. To read the full piece, scroll to the bottom of this post.
“Different types of studies, like toxicology studies in animals and epidemiological studies in humans, can help compensate for each other’s inherent weaknesses,” Michael Dourson told Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP). Dr. Dourson’s comments are in response to a commentary in the publication, on which Jennifer B. Pierson, James E. Klaunig, Leonard Ritter, and Kun Don Yi are coauthors, which outlines recommendations on how researchers can better communicate uncertainty associated with epidemiological studies. Dr. Pierson echoed Dr. Dourson’s sentiments, telling EHP that epidemiologists, toxicologists, and risk assessors need to work together to strengthen studies to more accurately inform public health decision making.
Science and Public Health News
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From Politico
FDA HEARS DEBATE ON UNSETTLED TRANS FAT SCIENCE: The FDA on Friday got to hear all about the lack of consensus on what effect low-levels of trans fat have on human health during a colloquia with leading experts hosted with the Society of Toxicology in College Park, Md.
The meeting — hosted one year after the agency dropped its controversial decision to tentatively declare industrial trans fats no longer Generally Recognized as Safe — made clear there is still a lot scientists don’t know about Partially Hydrogenated Oils and the trans fats that occur naturally in dairy and meats.
“The consensus is very clear” that at high concentrations of trans fat there is an increase in LDL (bad cholesterol), a decrease in HDL (good cholesterol) and an increase in cardiovascular disease, says Martin Ronis, colloquium chair, and associate director of basic research at the University of Arkansas Children’s Nutrition Center. “That’s essentially where the agreement stops.”
“The question now is, under current conditions in the U.S….is there a high enough level in the diet to warrant a concern? That’s where it gets fuzzy,” Ronis tells MA. The lack of conclusive science in this area will surely play a role in the ongoing debate over whether FDA should ban industrial trans fats from the American diet.