| Meeting Report: The Use of Newborn Blood Spots in Environmental Research: Opportunities and Challenges Andrew F. Olshan Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA Abstract
Introduction: Dried blood spots (DBS) are routinely collected from newborns in the United States using a heel stick. The DBS are screened for inborn errors of metabolism and other disorders. More states are keeping residual spots and making them available for research purposes. DNA extraction from the DBS has been widely applied ; however, the development of methods to measure a range of environmental toxicants in DBS has been a more recent goal for laboratory scientists and epidemiologists. Objectives: The purpose of the meeting was to examine the utility of DBS to measure environmental exposures. Speakers and discussants were invited to present data and discuss approaches to measure a range of analytes using DBS. Results: This meeting was held on 20 February 2007 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The audience consisted of epidemiologists, chemists, and staff from state public health programs, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institutes of Health. The meeting included presentations on measurement of flame-retarding chemicals and pesticides, metals, perchlorate, infectious agents, markers of immune status, and protein adducts. Analytical methods included mass spectrometry, atomic absorption, molecular methods, and microfluidic techniques. Significant progress was reported, but important challenges remain. Concerns including storage conditions, sample volume, contamination, and normalization require additional systematic evaluation. In addition, DBS storage and access policies require coordination. Conclusions: DBS remain a highly valuable resource for clinical, epidemiologic, and toxicologic investigation. The use of DBS to measure environmental exposures shows promise but additional work is necessary before more widespread use is warranted. Key words: environmental monitoring, environmental pollutants, infant, neonatal screening, newborn, specimen handling. Environ Health Perspect 115:1767–1769 (2007) . doi:10.1289/ehp.10511 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 30 August 2007]
Address correspondence to A.F. Olshan, Department of Epidemiology, CB#7435, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7435 USA. Telephone: (919) 966-7424. Fax: (919) 966-2089. E-mail: andy_olshan@unc.edu Supplemental Material is available online at http://www.ehponline.org/members/2007/10511/suppl.pdf We thank the other members of the organizing committee, H. Hannon and D. Barr of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) . The meeting was sponsored by UNC Center for Environmental Health & Susceptibility, CDC, and the National Childhood Cancer Foundation. The research was supported in part by grants P30ES10126 and P42ES10126, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. The authors declare they have no competing financial interests. Received 29 May 2007 ; accepted 30 August 2007.
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