CHAIR'S INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND SYMPOSIUM DAY

摘要

In 1997, the Netherlands Society of Toxicology organized a symposium chaired by Dr. Henk Derks of the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RTVM) under the provocative title: "PBPK models: where's the beef?". The themes of this symposium were presented by excellent national speakers and an international keynote speaker. Guided by merely this title, one might perhaps draw the preliminary conclusion that PBPK models belong to mysticism and are made and used by mathematicians, just for their own satisfaction. One would also wonder whether there could be any benefit for society of such high degree academic constructs that are so little transparent for uninitiated people. However, what became apparent during this symposium? There are no mystics anymore about PBPK models. These models can be made as transparent as desired. There have been revolutions in applied mathematics and computers during the last decade, and PBPK models have become available for a broad range of applications and a large number of scientists of different disciplines. The main conclusion of the symposium was that the beef is already being consumed, and ...with great appetite! There was also a serious warning signal. Models are abundantly available nowadays and can be used with low thresholds on personal computer systems. The models will produce results, even in the hands of absolute laymen. The obvious question is then: are the results obtained by a model meaningful? Are they reliable? An example was presented of a so-called "adjusted" liver compartment with a volume of 50 litres, which of course by far exceeds the pathophysiological size limits of hepatomegaly, even in the heaviest drinker of alcohol.