Long-term Respiratory Effects of Mustard Vesicants.

Abstract

Sulfur mustard and related vesicants are cytotoxic alkylating agents that cause severe damage to the respiratory tract. Injury is progressive leading, over time, to asthma, bronchitis, bronchiectasis, airway stenosis, and pulmonary fibrosis. As there are no specific therapeutics available for victims of mustard gas poisoning, current clinical treatments mostly provide only symptomatic relief. In this article, the long-term effects of mustards on the respiratory tract are described in humans and experimental animal models in an effort to define cellular and molecular mechanisms contributing to lung injury and disease pathogenesis. A better understanding of mechanisms underlying pulmonary toxicity induced by mustards may help in identifying potential targets for the development of effective clinical therapeutics aimed at mitigating their adverse effects.

• Authors: Rama Malaviya, Jeffrey D Laskin, Debra L Laskin
• Journal: Toxicology letters (Toxicol Lett) Vol. 319 Pg. 168-174 (Feb 01 2020) ISSN: 1879-3169 [Electronic] Netherlands
• PMID: 31698045 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Chemical References

• Alkylating Agents
• Chemical Warfare Agents
• Mustard Compounds

Topics

• Alkylating Agents (toxicity)
• Animals
• Chemical Warfare Agents (toxicity)
• Humans
• Lung (pathology)
• Lung Injury (chemically induced, drug therapy, pathology)
• Mustard Compounds (toxicity)
• Pulmonary Fibrosis (chemically induced, drug therapy, pathology)
• Respiratory Tract Diseases (chemically induced, drug therapy, pathology)