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Boston University Researchers with the Framingham Heart study are reporting that the risk of developing dementia is declining. Could this possibly be due to people working at jobs with a lower risk for occupational exposure to neurotoxic chemicals due to policy changes put in place during the 1970s? What do you think? Link to Framingham Heart Study website
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Litvan and calleagues have observed an association between a form of parkinsonism called Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) and smoking pack-years, drinking well water, living on a farm, living within 1 mile from an agricultural region, more transportation jobs, and more jobs with exposure to metals in general. However, in adjusted models, only more years of drinking well water was significantly associated with PSP. A blinded industrial hygienist and a toxicologist assisted with evaluating occupational histories for exposure to metals, pesticides, organic solvents, and other chemicals.
These findings add to the growing body a literature associating neurodegenerative diseases with environmental factors such as contaminated well water. Future studies and animal models examining the association between neurotoxicant exposure and age at onset of PSP are warranted. Link to PubMed listing for abstract A neurologist from the Henry Ford Hospital is raising concerns about a link between lead (Pb) exposure and Parkinson’s disease (PD) as a long-term concern for adults exposed to contaminated drinking water in Flint Michigan. But is the concern really warranted? A link between chronic occupational Pb exposure and PD has been reported by Coon and colleagues (2006). Although a cause-effect relationship between exposure to a particular chemical and PD has not established, neurotoxicants such as Pb can damage the nervous system and thus, these chemicals may unmask latent disease.
Link to Coon et al., 2006 Link to original story on CBS Detroit website |
AuthorDr. Marcia Ratner shares and reviews the news. Archives
February 2023
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