DDT is an insecticide that was once widely used against mosquitoes, lice, and ot
ID: 277659 • Letter: D
Question
DDT is an insecticide that was once widely used against mosquitoes, lice, and other pests. Because of its environmental effects we no longer use it in the US. It is not used much anywhere these days, but it is still available in some places. Proposals have been made recently to use it again for control of malarial mosquitos in Africa (primarily) and parts of Asia. It is a hydrophobic compound. In which part or parts of the cell would you expect it to accumulate? Explain your answer. Workers in the factories that made DDT accumulated the poison in their bodies because of accidental exposure. If these workers lost weight, especially if they had been overweight, they began to show symptoms of the poison. If they did not loose weight they generally experienced few or no symptoms. Why did this happen? Explain your answer.Explanation / Answer
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its metabolites accumulate in adipose tissue through prolonged exposure , and have been proposed to contribute to the development of abdominal obesity, insulin resistance and dyslipidemia.
Toxicity may also result when DDT and its metabolites are released from adipose tissue into the bloodstream as a result of rapid weight loss.
Although DDT localizes in fat where it is probably relatively harmless, but its release from this fat when it is broken down to provide energy can release enough DDT into blood stream to cause toxicity and weight loss.
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