Blog Posts

ADHD associated with increase risk of Parkinson's disease and similar disorders

9/13/2018

ScienceDaily is reporting on recent research from Glen Hanson and colleagues from the University of Utah showing that Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is associated with an increased risk for parkinsonism. The study found that patient's with ADHD were more likely to develop early onset parkinsonism than individuals of the same gender and age who did not have ADHD. The risk was dramatically increased, eight- to nine-fold among those ADHD patients who had a history of being treated with amphetamine-like drugs. This study adds to the growing body of literature implicating chemicals in a younger age at onset of Parkinson's disease and other forms of parkinsonism.

Link to story in ScienceDaily

Is it possible that people could be at greater risk for toxic effects when they are exposed to chemical mixtures than when they are exposed to the same chemicals at the same concentrations individually?

8/3/2018

According to Professor Andreas Kortenkamp, of Brunel University "An increasing body of science shows a neglect of mixture effects can cause chemical risks to be underestimated". Regulators have long operated under the assumption that if the concentration of each chemical in a mixture does not exceed the recommended exposure limits, that risk for toxicity is low. But, when chemicals share common mechanisms of action they can produce additive or synergistic effects even at exposure leaves below current regulatory limits. The logic behind additive and synergistic effects on the central nervous system is best exemplified by the consequences of drinking alcohol after ingesting benzodiazepines. Since both chemicals act to enhance inhibitory neurotransmission, their combined effect on behavior and consciousness will be greater than that which occurs the same dose of either chemical alone. Physicians and toxicologists who work in Emergency Departments are well aware of this type of interaction. So why can't those involved in creating regulatory policies for chemical constituents of paints, solvents, and pesticides create policies that anticipate these same risks? The answer may be due in part to the fact that unlike alcoholic beverage and benzodiazepines, industrial solvents and pesticides are "not intended for human consumption" and because proper industrial hygiene practices are expected to be sufficient to reduced exposure to levels below the current occupational exposure limits.

Link to original story appearing in Medicalxpress

Dr. Ratner discusses exposure to neurotoxicants as a cause of neurodiversity

7/2/2018

Dr. Marcia Ratner, discusses the role neurotoxic chemical exposures play in creating neurodiverse conditions, and gives tips on prevention and treatment options.

Link to Blog Post at DifferentBrains.org

The Role of Exposure to Neurotoxic #Chemicals in #Neurodiversity https://t.co/nrmZclrird
— Dr. Marcia Ratner (@Neurotoxicant) July 3, 2018

Changes in gene expression induced by paraquat and maneb implicated in risk for Parkinson's disease

7/2/2018

Ana Sandoiu reports in Medical News Today on her interview with Dr. Scott Ryan whose research is focused on investigating why some people develop Parkinson's disease while other do not," According to Dr. Ryan, "People with a predisposition for Parkinson's disease are more affected by these low-level exposures to agrochemicals and therefore more likely to develop the disease."

He and his colleagues used human cells to study the role of two pesticides, paraquat and maneb, in Parkinson's disease. They found that the levels of these toxic chemicals that impaired the cells in their model were below those deemed safe by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) suggesting that the EPA's guidelines for paraquat and maneb should be re-evaluated.

Link to original story in Medical News Today

Link between Prior Head Injury and Parkinson's Disease Risk Gets Stronger

5/2/2018

ABC News is reporting on new research from Kristine Yaffe, MD, of the University of California, San Francisco, show that head injuries leading to a mild concussion or mild traumatic brain injury are associated with an increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease. This new data expands on that from previous research which has found between that moderate to severe traumatic brain injury are associated with an increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease.

We have always included questions about a patients history of head injury and loss of consciousness in our questionnaires designed to assess for associations between exposure to chemicals and age at onset of neurodegernative diseases such as Parkinson's. We believe that head injuries like chemical exposures can modify the subclinical course of neurodegenerative diseases to thereby alter age at onset of overt symptoms and therefore, must be considered in the differential diagnosis.

Link to story at ABC News

Documenting VOCs in the workplace just got easier with introduction of game changing smartphone technology

3/4/2018

The DailyMail is reporting on the release of a new smartphone from CAT that has an on-board air sensor made by the Sensirion. The new phone can detect Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) commonly found in paints, solvents, carpets, furniture and cleaning products. This phone is a potential game changer for anyone at risk of occupational or environmental exposures to VOCs. The data these phones can detect could potentially be used in future research aimed at understanding the role of neurotoxic VOCs in age-related neurodegenerative diseases as well.

Link to original story in DailyMail

Link to CAT website

Could a diet high in L-serine stave of Alzheimer's disease till late in life?

2/19/2018

The WKU Herald is reporting a story about ethnobotanist Paul Alan Cox whose research looking at the Ogimi people of rural Japan, suggests that a diet high in the amino acid L-serine may provide neuroprotection and even delay Alzheimer’s disease onset until very late in life. According to Cox “If we dose early, we can push off Alzheimer’s until you’re 115 to 120 years old,” According to the article, the "standard Ogimi diet consists of various types of seaweed, tofu and pork, and is the highest diet ever measured in L-serine". So should you load up on L-serine? Not so fast, but you may want to follow the clinical trials that are underway at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.

Link to original story on WKU Herald website.

Link to FDA website for clinical Trial

Cadmium exposure and Alzheimer's disease: could there be an association?

1/28/2018

An association between cadmium exposure and cognitive deficits in mice has been reported by Wang an colleagues. Exposure to cadmium was associated with impaired performance on hippocampus-dependent learning and memory tasks. An association between urinary cadmium levels and AD risk in human subjects has previously been reported by Peng and colleagues. Peng and colleagues suggested that toxicological studies were need to further elucidate their findings in humans. This new study in mice lends support to the hypothesis that there could be an interaction between these two factors shown to influence cognitive performance.

Link to Peng et al, 2017

Link to Wang et al, 2018

There are still no therapeutic interventions to prevent Alzheimer's

12/27/2017

An article by Denis Thompson of Daily Health News which appears this month on WebMd calls our attention to the unfortunate fact that despite the billions of dollars and years of time spent on research, medical science has still not discovered any way to prevent or stop the progression of Alzheimer's disease. Many genes and proteins have been implicated in the disease and yet none of these has been found to be a druggable target suitable for effective disease prevention. The good news is that exercise and lifestyle changes may at least help to slow disease progression and delay onset.

Link to story on WedMD

Smoking associated with an older age-at-onset of Parkinson's Disease

11/14/2017

The results of a new study by Gigante and colleagues (2017) published in the journal Parkinsonism & Related Disorders indicates that smoking is associated with an older in age-at-onset of motor signs in patients with Parkinson's disease. These new findings are consistent with our own also showing an older age at onset of PD among ever smokers (see Ratner et al. 2014). These data provide additional support for the hypothesis that exposure to chemicals can modify the progression of PD to influence age at onset of the disease.

Link to original article in PubMed

Author

Dr. Marcia Ratner shares and reviews the news.

Authority
This Neurotoxicants.com blog is moderated occasionally and posteriorly by members of the Neurotoxicants.com management team. Internet users posting comments on this blog are not recognized as nor considered to be qualified healthcare professionals and therefore, all comments should be interpreted with caution.

Complementarity
Comments posted on this Blog are expected to support, but not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his/her healthcare providers.

Confidentiality
We remind you that this is a public forum and that everyone can read and use your comments. You do not have the possibility to erase your own comments.

Commenting
Visitors posting comments on this blog must behave with respect and honesty at all times. Visitors may not post any commercial/advertising comments. Users commenting on this blog must only post information which is true and correct to the best of their knowledge. We encourage users to provide resources (references, links) on health/medical claims whenever possible and relevant.

Moderators reserve the right to erase, without notification, any comment judged to be inappropriate.

Last updated: September 18, 2019

Archives

September 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
May 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
December 2016
November 2016
September 2016
July 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015

Categories

This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information:
verify here.

Neurotoxicants.com is strictly an information and news website about the associations between chemical exposure and neurological disease. The information provided on this site is meant to complement and not replace any advice or information from your healthcare professional. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. While every care has been exercised in compiling and publishing the data contained in these pages, Neurotoxicants.com accepts no responsibility for errors or omissions to of the information provided on this website. Neurotoxicants.com cannot be held liable for typographical errors, layout error or misinformation contained herein. Copyright © 2015-2019, Dr. Marcia H. Ratner, DABT, Proprietor and Principal Consultant, D.B.A. Neurotoxicants.com is registered with Dun and Bradstreet. All Rights Reserved. Privately funded; Neurotoxicants.com does not accept or host paid advertising. Neurotoxicants.com does not accept payment from any external influences which could affect the objectivity of the editorial content of this website.

Updated September 6, 2019

weebly analytics