الفهرس 
Introduction and Aim of the WorkOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Brick manufacturing is the fastest-growing industrial sector in many countries like Egypt, India and Pakistan and among the top three sectors, along with vehicle exhaust and
suspended road dust, contributing to the air pollution and health problems. The total emissions from the brick manufacturing about 23,300 tons of particulate matter having aerodynamic diameter < 2.5 μm (PM2.5), 15,500 tons of sulfur dioxide (SO2), 302,000 tons of carbon monoxide (CO),6,000 tons of black carbon (BC) and 1.8 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year.
The diseases related to skin, and respiratory system have created many problems for the humans and animals. According to experts and professionals, one of the main causes of the environment and health related problems is brick kiln.
The aim of this study was to evaluate neurotransmitters disorders and oxidative stress in brick kiln workers, and to study the relationship between heavy metals concentration in Brick Kiln Workers and neurotransmitters disorders and oxidative stress.
This study was carried out on 60 workers exposed to emissions from brick kilns in addition to, 20 healthy volunteers served, as control. Informed consent from the participants was obtained. The participants were interviewed with structured, validated questionnaire to obtain information regarding their age, weight, height, Body Mass Index (BMI) education, marital status, diseases history, medications, smoking habit, exposure time, and use of protective equipment.
Subjects under study classified into the following groups:
group I: Control (un-exposed).
group II: Brick bakers (maximum exposure to smoke,
dust, and heat).
group III: Brick makers (medium exposure to smoke and
maximum exposure to dust).
group IV: Brick carriers (less exposure to smoke and
medium exposure to dust).
All groups were subjected to the following:
Analysis of heavy metals in serum:
• Lead (Pb)
• Cadmium (Cd)
• Chromium (Cr)
Antioxidant Parameters:
• Total antioxidant capacity
• Malodialdehyde (MDA)
• Nitric oxide (NO)
Biochemical Parameters:
• Liver Functions(AST,ALT, Alb, GGT)
• Kidney Functions (BUN, Creatinine)
• Serum Alpha-1-antitrypsin
Hematological Parameters:
• Complete blood count (RBCs, HB, HCT, MCH, MCHC, WBCs, PLTs).
Neurotransmitters Parameters:
• Serum acetylcholine (ACh )
• Neuron-Specific Enolase (NSE)
• Serum pseudo cholinesterase
Arterial Blood Gases: PH, PO2 PCO2, HCO3
The data were tabulated and statistically analyzed and revealed that:
The workers who exposed to the brick kiln emissions; the mean exposure time per day was 12 h for brick bakers, 10 h for brick makers and 8 h for brick carriers. None of the workers was found using any protective wears; as a result, they come in contact with different pollutants through inhalant, oral, dermal or mucosal routes.
The present study revealed that there was significant decrease in blood pH in-group II in comparison to the control group I, while no significant difference was found in-group III &IV when compared with the control group I.
In the current study, we found that there was a significant increase in PCO2 in-group II in comparison to control group I. and high significant decrease in PO2 in-group II in comparison to control group I
The study revealed that serum AST, ALT and GGT were significantly increase in-group II and group III when compared to control group I.
The present study showed that the serum Alpha-1 antitrypsin level was significantly decrease in-group II when compared to control group I, and there were high significant increase in group III and group IV when compared to group II.
Our study showed that there was a significant increase in the levels of MDA, NO and TAC in all groups when compared to group control I. In addition, there was a significant increase in the levels Cd, Pb and Cr in brick kiln workers studied groups when compared to control group.
Our study showed that there was a significant increase in RBCs, Hb and Hct in brick makers compared to control group, while MCH and MCHC were significantly low in all exposed groups when compared to control group.
The study revealed that there were high significant differences between the markers of nerve cells degeneration (NSE, ACh and PChE) in groups II and III when compared with the control. Therefore, serum NSE can be used as early markers in brain cells degeneration in heavy metals toxicity.