New Research Shows Two of the Leading Killers in America Might be Linked

“We know there’s a link,” says Heather Snyder, senior associate director of Medical and Scientific Relations for the Alzheimer’s Association. “What we’re trying to find out is the why.”

Snyder is speaking of two of this country’s worst scourges: Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes. Both are major killers. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they are, respectively, the sixth and seventh leading causes of death in the U.S.

Now, research has begun to suggest that they share something else besides a capacity for death—namely, a common organic thread. For that reason, research into one may lead to successful means of dealing with the other.

To begin with, 26 million people in the U.S. have diabetes, 7 million of whom don’t even know they are affected, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease. But regardless of awareness, diabetes remains a condition whereby too much sugar builds up in the bloodstream because the body cannot use insulin effectively. That is, the body stops producing sufficient insulin to help cells absorb sugar and turn it into energy.

Certain segments of the population have a disproportionate rate of diabetes, including Hispanic, African, Asian and Native Americans. According to the National Institutes of Health, 8.3 percent of the U.S. population have diabetes, but more than 16.1 percent of the adult population of American Indians and Alaska Natives have been diagnosed with it. The rates of diabetes vary by region, with American Indians in southern Arizona suffering the highest rates in the country at 33.5 percent.

Diabetes and Alzheimer’s have several links. For example, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes increase the risk of both heart disease and stroke. Damaged blood vessels can result from either of these conditions, and researchers believe that damaged vessels in the brain may well contribute to Alzheimer’s.

Further, our brain cells use a high level of energy, which can be affected by diabetes because the disease retards the body’s ability to absorb sugar to generate the necessary energy. Healthy brain function also depends on a symphony of many different chemicals working in concert. Too much insulin can throw off the balance of these chemicals and potentially trigger Alzheimer’s. Finally, high blood sugar causes inflammation, which could damage brain cells and help Alzheimer’s develop.

Tackling the connection between diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease may ultimately involve a better understanding of vascular dementia, a disease with the same symptoms as Alzheimer’s. But as Snyder puts it, “Of the top 10 causes of death in the United States, Alzheimer’s is the only one without any way to prevent, cure or slow its progression.” Vascular dementia, by contrast, can be prevented or managed through many of the same healthy habits that can also reduce the risk of diabetes.

“[Vascular dementia] results from hypertension, a high-fat diet, smoking and uncontrolled diabetes,” says Carson Henderson, associate director of Two Hawk Institute, an Indian-owned and -operated corporation focused on health education, training and research in Indian country. “If you exercise, eat right, and don’t smoke, you might be able to prevent vascular dementia as you age.”

Vascular dementia is caused by low blood flow to the brain, often as the result of a stroke or series of strokes. “With vascular dementia, your brain cells are dying, because small, tiny blood vessels in the brain are being blocked, and the cells below are not receiving blood or oxygen,” explains Carson Henderson’s husband, Neil Henderson, Oklahoma Choctaw, who directs the American Indian Diabetes Prevention Center at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center’s College of Public Health. “Vascular dementia looks a lot like Alzheimer’s disease, but it is not the same causation. You still get memory loss and confused thinking.”

The latest link between diabetes and dementia was established by a recent study undertaken by Kyushu University in Japan. Researchers analyzed “1,017 community-dwelling dementia-free subjects” over the course of 15 years and found that Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia “were significantly higher in subjects with diabetes then in those with normal glucose tolerance.”

Snyder puts the significance of the finding this way: “Diabetes affects your heart, and there are links between cardiovascular health and brain health. The brain uses 25 percent of the oxygen in blood for its functions, if the heart isn’t healthy, the brain won’t be healthy, either.”

So the ties between diabetes and heart disease and stroke continue to be uncovered. Now, with the possibility that diabetes might be among the causes of one of America’s most lethal diseases, organizations like the Alzheimer’s Association are doing everything they can to spread awareness—and prevention.

Source: A Deadly Duo: New Research Shows Two of the Leading Killers in America Might be Linked
By ICTMN Staff December 14, 2011

“We know there’s a link,” says Heather Snyder, senior associate director of Medical and Scientific Relations for the Alzheimer’s Association. “What we’re trying to find out is the why.”

Snyder is speaking of two of this country’s worst scourges: Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes. Both are major killers. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they are, respectively, the sixth and seventh leading causes of death in the U.S.

Now, research has begun to suggest that they share something else besides a capacity for death—namely, a common organic thread. For that reason, research into one may lead to successful means of dealing with the other.

To begin with, 26 million people in the U.S. have diabetes, 7 million of whom don’t even know they are affected, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease. But regardless of awareness, diabetes remains a condition whereby too much sugar builds up in the bloodstream because the body cannot use insulin effectively. That is, the body stops producing sufficient insulin to help cells absorb sugar and turn it into energy.

Certain segments of the population have a disproportionate rate of diabetes, including Hispanic, African, Asian and Native Americans. According to the National Institutes of Health, 8.3 percent of the U.S. population have diabetes, but more than 16.1 percent of the adult population of American Indians and Alaska Natives have been diagnosed with it. The rates of diabetes vary by region, with American Indians in southern Arizona suffering the highest rates in the country at 33.5 percent.

Diabetes and Alzheimer’s have several links. For example, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes increase the risk of both heart disease and stroke. Damaged blood vessels can result from either of these conditions, and researchers believe that damaged vessels in the brain may well contribute to Alzheimer’s.

Further, our brain cells use a high level of energy, which can be affected by diabetes because the disease retards the body’s ability to absorb sugar to generate the necessary energy. Healthy brain function also depends on a symphony of many different chemicals working in concert. Too much insulin can throw off the balance of these chemicals and potentially trigger Alzheimer’s. Finally, high blood sugar causes inflammation, which could damage brain cells and help Alzheimer’s develop.

Tackling the connection between diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease may ultimately involve a better understanding of vascular dementia, a disease with the same symptoms as Alzheimer’s. But as Snyder puts it, “Of the top 10 causes of death in the United States, Alzheimer’s is the only one without any way to prevent, cure or slow its progression.” Vascular dementia, by contrast, can be prevented or managed through many of the same healthy habits that can also reduce the risk of diabetes.

“[Vascular dementia] results from hypertension, a high-fat diet, smoking and uncontrolled diabetes,” says Carson Henderson, associate director of Two Hawk Institute, an Indian-owned and -operated corporation focused on health education, training and research in Indian country. “If you exercise, eat right, and don’t smoke, you might be able to prevent vascular dementia as you age.”

Vascular dementia is caused by low blood flow to the brain, often as the result of a stroke or series of strokes. “With vascular dementia, your brain cells are dying, because small, tiny blood vessels in the brain are being blocked, and the cells below are not receiving blood or oxygen,” explains Carson Henderson’s husband, Neil Henderson, Oklahoma Choctaw, who directs the American Indian Diabetes Prevention Center at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center’s College of Public Health. “Vascular dementia looks a lot like Alzheimer’s disease, but it is not the same causation. You still get memory loss and confused thinking.”

The latest link between diabetes and dementia was established by a recent study undertaken by Kyushu University in Japan. Researchers analyzed “1,017 community-dwelling dementia-free subjects” over the course of 15 years and found that Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia “were significantly higher in subjects with diabetes then in those with normal glucose tolerance.”

Snyder puts the significance of the finding this way: “Diabetes affects your heart, and there are links between cardiovascular health and brain health. The brain uses 25 percent of the oxygen in blood for its functions, if the heart isn’t healthy, the brain won’t be healthy, either.”

So the ties between diabetes and heart disease and stroke continue to be uncovered. Now, with the possibility that diabetes might be among the causes of one of America’s most lethal diseases, organizations like the Alzheimer’s Association are doing everything they can to spread awareness—and prevention.

Authors: ICTMN Staff December 14, 2011

Republished by courtesy of Indian Country Today Media Network
Original Source: A Deadly Duo: New Research Shows Two of the Leading Killers in America Might be Linked
Twitter: Indian Country

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Children in rural communities get a “double-dose” of the pesticide chlorpyrifos from food and drift from neighboring fields

Washington, DC — As children settle into the new school year, health professionals are demanding that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ban the neurotoxic chemical chlorpyrifos, a pesticide used on farms throughout the country and the same chemical that the agency banned some ten years ago for use in homes.

In a letter to be submitted to EPA tomorrow, over two dozen health professionals cite new science showing the health impacts of chlorpyrifos, including lowering IQs and increasing the risk of ADHD and learning disabilities among children.

“EPA should follow the science and take this brain toxin completely off the market” said Dr. David Carpenter, MD, Director Institute for Health & The Environment, University at Albany. “Chlorpyrifos poses serious threats to children’s health and doesn’t belong in our homes, on our farms, or on our cafeteria trays.”

The recent studies show that exposure to chlorpyrifos in the womb and in early childhood, during critical development “windows,” can lead to lasting effects on the brain. Researchers now say that as many as 25% of all U.S. children may have IQs several points lower due to eating foods treated with chlorpyrifos and similar pesticides.

“Fruits and vegetables are essential for healthy children but shouldn’t be grown with chlorpyrifos,”said Ted Schettler, MD, MPH, Science Director of the Science and Environmental Health Network, and one of the letter’s signatories. “Children in rural communities face a double dose of this brain poison. They are exposed to chlorpyrifos drifting from neighboring fields, and again when the pesticide is on their food.”

Chlorpyrifos was banned for use in homes over ten years ago because of it’s potential harm to children. But ten million pounds of chlorpyrifos are still used on agricultural fields each year. Air monitoring, biomonitoringand poisoning data confirm that extensive human exposure to chlorpyrifos is linked to its continued use in agriculture. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control,the vast majority of us — including children — carry breakdown products of the chemical in our bodies.

Children living in farm communities are at especially high risk. In addition to exposure from food they may also be breathing in particles that drift into their classrooms and homes from nearby farms. Farmworker children are exposed even more, as parents sometimes carry residues of the pesticide home at the end of the day on clothing and shoes.

“Chlorpyrifos drift poses serious threats to communities like mine,” said Luis Medellin, of the community organization El Quinto Sol de America. Luis grew up in homes next to farms using chlorpyrifos in California’s San Joaquin Valley. “The realities on the ground show that this brain toxin can’t be used safely and should not be used in the fields.”

At age 17, Luis began using Pesticide Action Network’s Drift Catcher to document chemical drift from neighboring citrus fields, finding that a majority of samples contained chlorpyrifos. Residents also sampled chlorpyrifos in their urine, and all but one had levels above what EPA considers “acceptable.”

In their letter to EPA (pdf), health professionals are demanding that EPA ban all uses of chlorpyrifos. In their letter they state:

We urge EPA to act now on the weight of scientific evidence of health harms of chlorpyrifos for children and fetuses. It is time that EPA take action to protect the public health and provide a healthy legacy for our children and for future generations. We call on EPA to cancel all uses of pesticide chlorpyrifos.

Other letters with a similar demand were delivered to EPA from environmental health groups nationwide, including a petition signed by more than 6,000 concerned citizens across the country.

Author:

PAN, Toxic Brain Chemical Must Be Banned: Health Professionals Demand EPA Take Action, October 5, 2011

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In several countries EHS, MCS and fibromyalgia are already classified as functional disabilities

Several experts from different European countries agree that Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity is a real, physical illness and for some of them this condition seems to be strictly related to Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS). This is what came out of the congress “Mobile Telephony, Wi-Fi, Wi-Max: Are there Health Risks?”, held at Palazzo Marini – Chamber of Deputees in Rome on 14 June 2011. The event, organized by the Association for Environmental and Chronic Toxic Injury (A.M.I.C.A.), was meant to give an overview on the health dangers linked to the use of wireless devices.

Prof. Dominique Belpomme, Oncologist, Professor of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Necker-Enfants Malades, Chairman of Research for Anti-Cancer Therapeutics (ARTAC), in his lecture “Diagnostic and Therapeutic Protocols for Electromagnetic Fields Intolerance”, showed the results of a clinical observation on more than 450 patients enrolled from 2008 to 2011. He and his team use a new technique to make the diagnosis to people reporting reactions to electromagnetic fields, a condition that he prefers to define as “Electromagnetic Fields Intolerance” or “EFI Syndrome” rather than “Electromagnetic Hyper-Sensitivity”.

The new technique is the “Pulsed Eco-Doppler” of the brain that combines the eco-doppler with a computer to evaluate brain perfusion. Unlike some other methods, this one is not dangerous and it does not involve any ionizing radiation. The results show that people with Electromagnetic Fields Intolerance have a reduced perfusion in the brain, particularly in the left part of the limbic area of the brain, compared to the control group. This is a very particular area, because it is the “ancient” part of the brain that controls many body functions.

“These results are very important – Belpomme said at the congress – because for the first time we are able to define the Electromagnetic Fields Intolerance as a physical illness based on objective tests”.

His team uses also other tests, such as the dosage of histamine, of protein S100B, and of heat shock proteins hsp70 and hsp27 in the blood. The 70% of the group of patients observed showed a serious reduction of vitamin D, about 1-2% of the patients showed an increase of proteins hsp27 and hsp70, while more than the 40% of the sample had increased histamine, a fact that is fully compatible with a physiological interpretation of this syndrome.

About 10% of the patients had an increased protein S100B, which is a marker for Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) permeability. In one third of the sample, a reduction of melatonin in urine was found, and this can explain symptoms such as fatigue, insomnia and depression in these patients.

These alterations are quite similar to the ones found in patients with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), particularly regarding the brain perfusion reduction, the neurogenic inflammation, the oxidative stress increase, and the reduction of the defense mechanism. The fact that EMF induces the opening of the BBB may interfere with the brain protection from toxic chemicals. It is not uncommon, in fact, that patients with EFI Syndrome have MCS symptoms, while many patients with MCS also react to EMF.

The increase of oxidative stress in electrosensitive patients was found also by Dr. Valeria Pacifico, who lectured in Rome about “Metabolic biomarkers of oxidation-reduction imbalance and susceptibility to non-ionizing radiation”. She works in the team of Dr. Chiara De Luca at the Experimental Laboratory BILARA at Istituto Dermopatico of Immaculata in Rome that published several works on the role of oxidative stress in environmental sensitivities. (1, 2)

“To make a diagnosis of this syndrome we need to listen first to patients and we need to verify if the symptoms improve or disappear when they stay away from EMF sources”, Prof. Belpomme explained. In order to demonstrate if the electromagnetic fields were the real cause of the alterations found in these patients, the patients had to repeat the tests before and after a period of avoidance of EMF for three months. The results show that after the period of avoidance the levels tend toward the normal standard.

Given the strong correlation found by six epidemiologic studies on EMF exposure and Alzheimer Disease (AD), Prof. Belpomme believes that any electrosensitive patient with memory dysfunctions should be evaluated also for AD. He stresses the fact that AD is a loss of long term memory while EFI Syndrome often involves the loss of short term memory, but this symptom may be considered as a pre-Alzheimer condition.

Prof. Olle Johansson, Assoc. Prof., The Experimental Dermatology Unit, Department of Neuroscience, Karolinska Institute; Professor, The Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, talked in Rome about “The precautionary principle: from Bioinititive to the Seletun consensus”. He dedicated his lecture to people affected by EHS and MCS because “they have a very difficult life”.

He is one of the most dedicated scientists in the promotion of new biologically-based safety guidelines for EMF. He was in Benevento for the ICEMS resolution in 2006, then in London in 2007 for a new resolution, and he was also member of the group of independent scientists that published the famous Bioinitiative Report in 2007, which had strong ecological concern in the political agenda. Thanks to this report, in fact, the European Parliament signed a resolution on September 4, 2008 to state that the actual safety limits for EMF are obsolete and to warn EU governments about the increase of new environmental illnesses such as EHS, MCS and Dental Amalgam Mercury Syndrome.

More recently, Prof. Johansson was part of the group of scientists who prepared the Seletun Consensus, published last February in Reviews on Environmental Health (3). It states that present standards do not protect global human population from electromagnetic fields and all EMF should be reduced now instead of waiting for a definitive proof of danger. It also states that people reporting EHS symptoms should be considered as having a functional disability.

In Sweden, for example, EHS, MCS and fibromyalgia are already classified as functional disabilities. This means that people affected by these conditions are not considered patients, but it’s the environment that creates limitations for them so it’s the environment that has to be changed. This kind of classification represents the full concretization of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, signed by governments on March 30, 2007. This convention should be enough to push all governments to find the right accommodation and the best welfare strategies for people with environmental sensitivities, and put an end to discrimination.

Author: Francesca Romana Orlando, journalist and Vice President of A.M.I.C.A.

Literature:

1. De Luca C. et al., Biological definition of multiple chemical sensitivity from redox state and cytokine profiling and not from polymorphisms of xenobiotic-metabolizing enzymes, Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, YTAAP-11818; No. of pages: 8; 4C.
2. De Luca C. et al., The Search for Reliable Biomarkers of Disease in Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and Other Environmental Intolerances, Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2011, 8, 2770-2797; doi:10.3390/ijerph8072770
3. Fragopoulou A ed al., Scientific panel on electromagnetic field health risks: consensus points, recommendations, and rationales, Rev Environ Health. 2010 Oct-Dec; 25(4):307-17.

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Were pesticides to blame for the death of Knut, the polar bear?

Many thousands of people mourn the sudden death of Knut, the polar bear. He was the darling at a German zoo. Why did Knut die? Initial autopsy results showed that Knut, the polar bear, suffered from a brain disease. A former animal keeper at a zoo reported the death of gorilla babies dying from pesticide use. The keeper herself fell ill and nearly died. Were pesticides the cause of death of the polar bear, Knut? Recent scientific research has shown that pesticides cause different brain diseases. What caused Knut’s brain disease will require further investigation. It is possible, because pesticides are used regularly in zoos to keep the zoo animals free of vermin.

All mourn the loss of Knut, the polar bear

In the media, on Twitter and Facebook, the death of Knut, the polar bear , remains the main topic for days now. The sweet polar bear was raised by a nurse with a bottle in the German zoo after his mother abandoned him. The little polar bear in no time, won the hearts of all the visitors. Now the sadness is great, and the cause of Knut’s brain disease is still under investigation. Zoo visitors witnessed the polar bear turning itself around several times and falling into the pond. Over 500 people observed the death of this polar bear and reported that he had an epileptic-like seizure before he sank into the water in his polar bear enclosure. Knut’s keeper also died suddenly at the age of 44 from a heart attack in 2008.

Dream job, but health went downhill

The young woman worked in one of the biggest zoos in Germany. She loved her job as a veterinary nurse above everything. She was responsible for the gorillas. With the bottle, she helped gorilla babies grow when needed. Most of all, she never wanted to go home after work because she loved her job so much. During her training, her health was deteriorating. The reason for her health decline was first discovered years later. Several radiological studies including SPECT, CT, and MRT scans of her brain showed severe brain damage and atrophy. Pesticides were the reason the keeper’s health went downhill.

Gorilla babies dead due to the use of pesticides

During training, the young keeper had to deal with pesticides during the spraying of the gorilla’s sleeping quarters. The pesticide nerve agents, pyrethroids and organophosphates were used. The young woman had to spray the sleeping caves. As she kneeled in front of the caves, she couldn’t avoid breathing in the poison. “The gorilla babies died, and now I know it was because they were exposed to the pesticides,” she told me several years ago when we met at a special clinic. Her immune and nervous system were severely damaged, and she had problems with her muscles and her heart was weakening. Her hair was falling out and she had the typical nerve agent seizures. She stated, “I initiated a workers’ compensation lawsuit and won.” There was no question that the health of the animal keeper was destroyed by pesticides.

Knut died from pesticide exposure?

We do not know exactly which brain disease Knut, the public’s favorite animal in the Berlin Zoo, suffered from, but further studies will hopefully determine the nature and cause of his brain disease. Pesticides may well be on the short list, because they are regularly used in zoos to keep the zoo animals free of fleas and other parasites. Certain herbicides, which are often used on pavements and along roadsides in zoos in order to be kept free of weeds, are quite capable of causing life-threatening seizures.

Author: Silvia K. Müller, CSN – Chemical Sensitivity Network, March 21, 2011

Translation: Thanks to Christi Howarth.

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Ancient food source may offer neuroprotection

Nutritional supplementation with Spirulina, a nutrient-rich, blue-green algae, appeared to provide neuroprotective support for dying motor neurons in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, University of South Florida neuroscientists have found. Although more research is needed, they suggest that a spirulina-supplemented diet may provide clinical benefits for ALS patients.

A spirulina dietary supplement was shown to delay the onset of motor symptoms and disease progression, reducing inflammatory markers and motor neuron death in a G93A mouse model of ALS. Spirulina, an ancient food source used by the Aztecs, may have a dual antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect on motor neurons, the researchers said.

Their study is published (pdf) in the current issue of The Open Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Journal (3:36-41).

“ALS is a degenerative motor neuron disease,” said the study’s lead author, Svitlana Garbuzova-Davis, PhD, DSc, assistant professor in the Department of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair at USF. “Most available treatments relieve symptoms without altering the underlying disease. However, evidence for oxidative stress has been associated with ALS and, in our past studies, we demonstrated potent decreases in markers of oxidative damage and inflammation in aged rats fed diets supplemented with spirulina or spinach. In this initial study, the diet supplement was fed only to pre-symptomatic mice. Further studies showing the diet supplement’s effect on the lifespan of symptomatic ALS mice are needed to prove the treatment’s effectiveness.”

Specifically, when the USF researchers tested compounds found in blueberries and spirulina for effectiveness in animal models of stroke and aging in past experiments, they noted neuroprotective effects of the nutritional supplements.

The current study compared ALS mice receiving a spirulina-supplemented diet over a 10-week period with mice that did not receive the diet supplementation. The spirulina-fed ALS mice showed reduced inflammatory markers and motor neuron degeneration over that period.

“The focus of our future ALS experiments will include motor neuron counts and an examination of lifespan following dietary spirulina supplementation in symptomatic ALS mice,” said study co-author Paula C. Bickford, PhD, a professor in the USF Department of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair and a senior research biologist at the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital in Tampa.

Reference:

University of South Florida (USF Health), Blue-green algae tested for treating ALS, 21-Dec-2010

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