Biomarkers of Neurotoxicity

Many data indicate that long-term exposure to an increasing number of neurotoxic xenobiotics in the environment plays an important role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. In fact, a correlation between exposure to some xenobiotics and the risk of developing these diseases has been demonstrated in epidemiological studies. The mechanisms of the neurotoxic action of individual xenobiotics are not yet fully understood, but the main mechanisms leading to damage to nerve cells by xenobiotics are similar to those shown in neurodegenerative diseases. In this chapter, we present current data on the main mechanisms of the neurotoxic effects of selected xenobiotics, including the induction of oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, disrupting metabolic processes, and inducing excitotoxicity and, as a result, intensifying cell death. We also present the potential role of these xenobiotics in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, the possibility of estimating exposure to them, and the available methods of assessing the effects of their damaging effects on nerve cells, including biomarkers of oxidation by free radicals, markers of microglia activation, cytokine profiling, level of S100β protein and prolactin, and imaging studies.