Prenatal lead exposure linked to schizophrenia

[Guest guest]

What a novel idea that toxic substances can " poison " the brain and cause mental

illness whether in the womb or later in life.

 

Actually this should have been common knowledge for hundreds of years before and

was until the study of mental illness was taken over by the medical

establishment.

 

Anyone who can read about the Mad Hatters in " Alice In Wonderland " can see that

the Hatters in England went mad hundreds of years ago. They used mercury to make

hats.

 

Almost any toxic substances can cause mental illness. That is why the blood

brain barrier is there but is not effective against modern concentrated toxic

substances.

 

Invaders like viruses that produce toxic substances can also cause " poisoning "

of the brain.

 

Environmental toxins, pharmacuetical drugs, etc can cause poisoning of the

brain.

 

Nutritional deficiencies can cause mental illness.

 

As all of these toxics increase in our socities and the nutritional value of

food decreases, so does " mental illness " increase.

 

my 2 cents,

 

Frank

 

 

http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994681

 

 

Prenatal lead exposure linked to schizophrenia

10:26 16 February 04 NewScientist.com news service

Exposure to lead while in the womb may double a child's risk of developing

schizophrenia later in life, new research suggests.

 

While larger studies are needed to confirm the link, the researchers say this is

the first time an environmental toxin has been linked to the disorder.

 

Ezra Susser and his colleagues at Columbia University in New York followed

12,000 children born in Oakland, California, between 1959 and 1966. Lead was

still routinely used in petrol at that time. Their mothers had given samples of

blood serum while they were pregnant, which were frozen and stored for later

analysis.

 

Susser's team studied the medical records of the children later in life, and

tracked down 44 who were diagnosed with schizophrenia or a related disorder.

They then compared the levels of lead in the blood of mothers whose children

developed schizophrenia with those who did not.

 

They found that children who had been exposed to high levels of lead in the womb

were more than twice as likely to go on to develop the disease. The result will

be published in a future issue of Environmental Health Perspectives.

 

 

Nerve connections

 

 

The researchers now plan to repeat the study with a larger number of children.

This will not only give them the chance to confirm that the link is real, but

also to try to pin down whether there is a specific time during pregnancy when

lead exposure produces an increased risk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Susser says the idea that lead exposure might lead to schizophrenia is

compelling, because the metal is known to inhibit brain activity in the same way

as alcohol. Children who have suffered fetal alcohol syndrome have neurological

problems as the result of nerve cells in the developing brain not forming vital

connections.

 

If it is proved that lead triggers schizophrenia in this way, it would be the

first firm explanation for how an effect in the womb can lead to the illness.

 

" If we can understand even one pathway of how schizophrenia is caused, we could

open up the world of schizophrenia research to treatment and prevention, " says

Susser.

 

The research was presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for

the Advancement of Science in Seattle, Washington.

 

Joanna Marchant, Seattle

 

 

 

 

 

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