Plasticizer Exposure and Its Consequences on Health

Launched by MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF VIENNA · Jul 16, 2024

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

The PEACH study is a clinical trial that aims to understand how plasticizers—chemicals often found in everyday items like food packaging and medical equipment—affect human health. Researchers want to learn more about how these substances are absorbed and stored in our bodies, especially in people with certain health conditions like beta-thalassemia, glioma (a type of brain tumor), and those who are generally healthy. The study will look at how plasticizers might change our gut bacteria, impact our immune system, and affect brain function. This research is important because while we know plasticizers are everywhere, we don’t fully understand their long-term health effects.

To be eligible for the study, participants need to be adults and meet specific criteria depending on their health status. For example, people with beta-thalassemia must be dependent on blood transfusions, while glioma patients must have a tumor larger than 3 cm. Healthy adults can join, but those with chronic diseases or infections will not be included. Participants can expect to undergo various tests that use advanced technology to gather information about how plasticizers interact with their bodies. The trial is not yet recruiting participants, but it promises to provide valuable insights into how these common chemicals impact our health.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• TDTM:
• • Inclusion: Adult, homozygous ß-Thalassemia Major, transfusion dependency.
• • Exclusion: Plastic implants, chronic infectious disease, pregnancy.
• Thalassemia Intermedia/Minor:
• • Inclusion: Adult, homozygous/heterozygous ß-Thalassemia Intermedia/Minor
• • Exclusion: Plastic implants, chronic infectious disease, pregnancy, transfusion dependency
• Healthy adults:
• • Inclusion: Adult
• • Exclusion: Chronic disease, plastic implants, infectious disease, pregnancy, anemia, medication-, drug-, or alcohol-abuse
• Glioma patients:
• • Inclusion: Adult, high/low-grade glioma, tumor larger then 3cm, resection with access to the ventricular system
• • Exclusion: Large intraventricular hemorrhage, plastic implants, infectious disease
• ICU patients:
• • Inclusion: Adult, brain hemorrhage, external CSF drain from ventricle
• • Exclusion: intraventricular hemorrhage, plastic implants, ECMO, hemodialysis, infectious disease
• Patients undergoing diagnostic lumbar-puncture:
• • Inclusion: Adult, diagnostic CSF sampling, outpatient setting
• • Exclusion: Ventricular hemorrhage, plastic implants, infectious disease