HSCI 304 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Thalidomide, Statistical Power, Morning Sickness
18 May 2016
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Toxicology: study of the adverse effects of chemical, physical, or biological agents on people, animals, and the environment. What happens to a toxic substance? (adme: absorption (toxicant crosses a biological barrier, distribution, metabolism. Most substances undergo metabolic conversion, or biotransformation. Generally to products that are less fat-soluble, more soluble in urine. Metabolite may be more toxic than parent compound: excretion. Lethal dose 50 (ld50: the amount (dose) of a chemical which produces death in 50% of a population of test animals to which it is administered, limitations: Does not tell us anything about chronic effects. Does not tell us about other (non-mortality) endpoints. Doesn"t tell us anything about the shape of the dose-response relationship. Doesn"t tell us anything about the presence/absence of a safe dose threshold. No observed adverse effect level (noael: if there is a noael, there is a threshold, look for the highest dose at which there is no response (ex.
