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The Toxic Effects of Formaldehyde on the Nervous System

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Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology

Part of the book series: Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology ((RECT,volume 203))

Abstract

Formaldehyde (FA) (formula: HCHO; IUPAC name: metanal) is a member of the aldehyde family and is one of the simplest organic molecules. FA is an irritating, colorless gas that has a pungent smell (Franklin et al. 2000; Smith 1992; Songur et al. 2003; Yamato et al. 2005). It is rarely found in its original state because it has a short half-life in air and decomposes in light to form a toxic substance. FA is highly soluble in water, as well as in most organic solvents, and is a highly reactive molecule that can be irritating to tissues through direct contact. Furthermore, FA causes cytotoxicity through the formation of strong DNA–protein cross-links, as well as cross-links with other molecules, e.g., amino acids (Cheng et al. 2003; Gurel et al. 2005; Metz et al. 2004).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of Kocatepe, Afyonkarahisar, Turkey

    Ahmet Songur

  2. Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of Namik Kemal, Tekirdag, Turkey

    Oguz Aslan Ozen

  3. Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, University of Firat, Elazig, Turkey

    Mustafa Sarsilmaz

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  1. Ahmet Songur
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  2. Oguz Aslan Ozen
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Correspondence to Ahmet Songur .

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    David M. Whitacre

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Songur, A., Ozen, O.A., Sarsilmaz, M. (2010). The Toxic Effects of Formaldehyde on the Nervous System. In: Whitacre, D. (eds) Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology. Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, vol 203. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1352-4_3

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