Toxic Pollutants Cause Brain Diseases

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Frank <califpacific wrote:

alternative_medicine_forum From: Frank Sun, 15 Aug 2004 00:07:04 -0700 (PDT) Toxic Pollutants Cause Brain Diseases<http://www.guardian.co.uk/medicine/story/0,11381,1283588,00.html>> > Pollutants cause huge rise in brain diseases> > Scientists alarmed as number of cases triples in 20> years> > Juliette Jowit, environment editor> Sunday August 15, 2004> The Observer> > The numbers of sufferers of brain diseases,> including Alzheimer's, > Parkinson's and motor neurone disease, have soared> across the West in > less than 20 years, scientists have discovered.> > The alarming rise,

which includes figures showing> rates of dementia have > trebled in men, has been linked to rises in levels> of pesticides, > industrial effluents, domestic waste, car exhausts> and other pollutants, > says a report in the journal Public Health.> > In the late 1970s, there were around 3,000 deaths a> year from these > conditions in England and Wales. By the late 1990s,> there were 10,000.> > 'This has really scared me,' said Professor Colin> Pritchard of > Bournemouth University, one of the report's authors.> 'These are nasty > diseases: people are getting more of them and they> are starting earlier. > We have to look at the environment and ask ourselves> what we are doing.'> > The report, which Pritchard wrote with colleagues at> Southampton > University, covered the incidence of brain diseases> in the UK, US,

> Japan, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy,> Netherlands and Spain > in 1979-1997. The researchers then compared death> rates for the first > three years of the study period with the last three,> and discovered that > dementias - mainly Alzheimer's, but including other> forms of senility - > more than trebled for men and rose nearly 90 per> cent among women in > England and Wales. All the other countries were also> affected.> > For other ailments, such as Parkinson's and motor> neurone disease, the > group found there had been a rise of about 50 per> cent in cases for both > men and women in every country except Japan. The> increases in > neurological deaths mirror rises in cancer rates in> the West.> Advertiser links> Volunteer Internationally> > The team stresses that its figures take account

of> the fact that people > are living longer and it has also made allowances> for the fact that > diagnoses of such ailments have improved. It is> comparing death rates, > not numbers of cases, it says.> > As to the cause of this disturbing rise, Pritchard> said genetic causes > could be ruled out because any changes to DNA would> take hundreds of > years to take effect. 'It must be the environment,'> he said.> > The causes were most likely to be chemicals, from> car pollution to > pesticides on crops and industrial chemicals used in> almost every aspect > of modern life, from processed food to packaging,> from electrical goods > to sofa covers, Pritchard said.> > Food is also a major concern because it provides the> most obvious > explanation for the exclusion of Japan from many of> these trends. Only

> when Japanese people move to the other countries do> their disease rates > increase.> > 'There's no one single cause ... and most of the> time we have no studies > on all the multiple interactions of the combinations> on the environment. > I can only say there have been these major changes> [in deaths]: it is > suggested it's multiple pollution.'> > Pritchard's paper has been published amid growing> fears about the > chemical build-up in the environment. A number of> studies have pointed > to serious problems. TBT is being banned from marine> paints after it was > blamed for masculinising female molluscs, causing a> dramatic decline in > numbers. A US report linked neurological disorders> to pesticides. And > testing by WWF (formerly the World Wildlife Fund)> found non-natural > substances such as flame

retardants in every person> who took part.> > WWF has named chemical pollution as one of the two> great environmental > threats to the world, alongside global warming, and> is particularly > worried about 'persistent and accumulative'> industrial chemicals and > endocrine - hormone distorting - substances linked> to changes in gender > and behaviour among animals and even children.> > 'We've started seeing changes in fertility rates,> the immune system, > neurological changes [and] impacts on behaviour,'> said Matthew > Wilkinson, the charity's toxics programme leader.> > Pesticides and pharmaceutical chemicals must now> undergo rigorous > testing before they can be used. But there are an> estimated 80,000 > industrial chemicals and the 'vast majority' do not> need safety > regulation or testing, said

Wilkinson.> > However, the chemical industry strongly rejects what> it claims are often > unproven fears. Just because chemicals are present> does not mean they > are at dangerous levels.> > But critics are not reassured. 'It is true that just> because we find a > chemical does not mean it is dangerous,' said> Wilkinson. 'But it is > equally true that for the vast majority of chemicals> we have so little > safety data that the regulatory authorities have no> idea what a safe > level is.'> > The Royal Society of Chemistry also said quantities> of pesticides were > declining. 'Improvements in analytical chemistry> mean that lower and > lower levels of pesticides can be detected,' said> Brian Emsley, the > society's spokesman. '[but] because you can detect> something doesn't > necessarily mean it is

dangerous.'> Please pass this message or article on to someone else so that they may learn also.Community Newsletters.http://www.alternative-medicine-newsletter.infoCommunity Message Boards.http://www.alternative-medicine-message-boards.info"Do not let either the medical authorities or the politicians mislead you. Find out what the facts are, and make your own decisions about how to live a happy life and how to work for a better world." - Linus PaulingGetting well is done one step at a time, day by day, building health and well being..list or archives: :........

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