No abstract

: Increased applications of pesticides mainly in agriculture and public health has resulted in increased chances of human exposure to pesticides. Chronic exposure to pesticides has been implicated in several human diseases including cardiovascular diseases. Cardiovascular diseases are broadly used for various heart pathological conditions including defect blood vessels, and they include myocardial infarction, atherosclerosis, stroke, cardiomyopathy, coronary heart disease etc. In this review, the association between human exposure to pesticides and development of cardiovascular diseases was discussed using epidemiological and laboratory data. The toxicokinetics of pesticides in humans was reviewed, as well as the risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. The important role of oxidative stress, and principally the induction of reactive oxygen species as the signaling molecules for various signaling pathways involved in pesticidesinduced cardiovascular disease was discussed.

The possibility of ultraviolet (UV) photooxidation of cypermethrin generating more toxic intermediates or isomers demands that studies that look at the effects of cypermethrin and UV irradiation under a coexposure scenario be carried out. In this study, juvenile African catfish (Clarias gariepinus) were exposed to 50 µg/L cypermethrin, 100 µg/L cypermethrin, UV, 50 µg/L cypermethrin + UV or 100 µg/L cypermethrin + UV, in a static renewal for 3 weeks. The control fish were maintained in uncontaminated water, and not exposed to UV radiation. After the exposure duration, the fish were killed, and the activities of acid phosphatase, alkaline phosphatase, amylase, protease, and lipase were determined in the liver or intestinal homogenates. Also, the histopathology of some sections of the intestine was performed. The results showed that the activities of the enzymes decreased significantly following exposure to cypermethrin while there was no change in the activities of the enzymes due to UV irradiation alone. The histopathological analyses indicated that exposure to cypermethrin caused alterations in the histoarchitecture of the fish such as severe erosion of the mucosa layer, faded lamina propria, and disintegration of the muscle layer. The exposure of fish to both cypermethrin and UV irradiation caused significant decrease in the activities of the enzymes. This could be an indication that UV irradiation has the tendency to potentiate cypermethrin‐induced toxicity in fish.