Rare Form Of Alzheimer's Disease Found In Camelford Resident, UK

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Article 22 Apr 2006 - 4:00am (PDT)

 

A rare form of Alzheimer's disease has been discovered in a resident

of Camelford, the town in south west England which bore the brunt of

the accidental discharge of 20 tonnes of aluminium sulphate into the

local water supply almost 20 years ago.

 

The incident occurred In July 1988, resulting in 20,000 residents

across a large area of north Cornwall being exposed to levels of

aluminium around 500 to 3000 times the acceptable limit, as defined

by the European Union. The incident is the subject of an ongoing

government inquiry.

 

The findings, published ahead of print in the Journal of Neurology

Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, concern a woman, who was 44 at the time

of the incident.

 

In May 2003, some 15 years after the incident, the woman, then aged

58, was referred to a neurologist for repeated headaches,

difficulties in finding words and doing simple sums, and

hallucinations, symptoms she had had for several months. Her

condition progressively worsened and she died in April 2004.

 

A post-mortem examination revealed little out of the ordinary. But

her brain revealed a rare form of Alzheimer's disease, known as

sporadic early onset beta amyloid angiopathy. Other features typical

of Alzheimer's disease were also evident.

 

No other members of the woman's family had been affected by either

Alzheimer's disease or psychiatric problems.

 

Very high levels of aluminium were also found in the affected areas

of her brain tissue, which may have resulted from her abnormally high

exposure to aluminium following the incident, say the authors.

Aluminium has previously been associated with an increased risk of

developing Alzheimer's disease.

 

However, they emphasise that it is impossible to say whether

aluminium caused the disease found in the woman's brain tissue. But

they suggest that the survivors of the incident should be tested to

see if they have sustained any impairment to their intellectual

capacity.

 

An accompanying editorial by Professor Daniel Perl of Mount Sinai

School of Medicine, points out that the association between an

increased risk of Alzheimer's disease and exposure to aluminium is

somewhat controversial, largely because there are few epidemiological

data to support the theory.

 

Relatively little is known about the exact contribution of

environmental factors to the development of Alzheimer's disease, he

says, and a single case does not clarify that position.

 

" However, " he writes, " if additional similar cases were to appear

among the 20,000 exposed individuals then the implications of this

incident would become extremely important. Only time will tell. "

 

He continues: " At the very least, increased efforts towards

surveillance of individuals exposed in Camelford is certainly

warranted. "

 

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Emma Dickinson

edickinson

BMJ-British Medical Journal