Research Service, Boston VA Healthcare System, Boston, Massachusetts.
Many U.S. Gulf War-era veterans complained of poor cognition following the war. This study assessed neuropsychological functioning in veterans 10 years after the war through objective tests. 2189 Gulf War-era veterans (1061 deployed, 1128 non-deployed) were examined at 1 of 16 U.S. Veterans Affairs medical centers. Outcomes included neuropsychological domains derived from factor analysis and individual test scores. Deployed veterans performed significantly worse than non-deployed veterans on 2 of 8 factors (motor speed & sustained attention, analysis not corrected for multiple comparisons) and on 4 of 27 individual test variables (Trails A & B, California Verbal Learning Test - List B, and Continuous Performance Test sensitivity, with only Trails B surviving Bonferroni correction). Within deployed veterans, Khamisiyah exposure was negatively correlated with motor speed after controlling for emotional distress. Depressive symptoms and self-reported exposure to toxicants were independently and significantly associated with worse sustained attention. Other factors were also associated with self-reported exposures. The findings were not a result of differential effort across groups. Gulf War deployment is associated with subtle declines of motor speed and sustained attention, despite overall intact neuropsychological functioning. Evidence suggests that toxicant exposures influence both these functions, and depressive symptoms also influence attention. (JINS, 2009, 1-13.).
PMID: 19640317 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
"Ozone exposure, even at levels deemed safe by current clean air standards, can have a significant and negative effect on lung function, according to researchers at the University of California Davis."
"Cindy Bennett's only initial concern with the sandbox in her son's first outdoor play set was the mess it would create. She never thought the threat of cancer would be the issue that would keep Angus' sandbox empty to this day."
Comment: Besides nutrients, these studies fail to consider that the main reason people eat organic is NOT because they thing organic is more nutritious! It's because organic doesn't use toxic synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides which have been found on the final product and linked over and over again to many health ailments. These are nothing more than mainstream agriculture and chemical company funded and biased studies to try to convince people to buy commercially grown produce. Are we buying it? No way!
"A report from a group of English researchers who claim to have conducted "the most extensive systematic review of the available published literature on nutrient content of organic food ever conducted," downplayed their own results that favored organic food, and failed to consider the use of toxic pesticides or chemical additives when forming their conclusions."
"Tian Lihua was just beginning her morning shift when she felt a wave of nausea, then numbness in her limbs and finally dizziness that gave way to unconsciousness. In the days that followed, more than 1,200 fellow employees at the textile mill where Ms. Tian works would be felled by these and other symptoms, including convulsions, breathing difficulties, vomiting and temporary paralysis."
"At first, fire officials suspected that carbon monoxide or some other poisonous fumes might have sickened almost 150 people at a Fort Worth bank call center."
"Oregon Department of Transportation Regional Director Jane Lee, in a letter dated July 16, announced that the original 25-mile no-spray pilot project from Newport south to the Lane County line will continue until at least 2011, despite the Oregon Legislature's failure to fund a larger project that would have included all of Lane County and much of U.S. Highway 101."
Woods JS, Martin MD, Leroux BG, DeRouen TA, Bernardo MF, Luis HS, Leitão JG, Simmonds PL, Rue TC.
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98105, USA. jwoods@u.washington.edu
BACKGROUND: Urinary porphyrins are diagnostic of various metabolic disorders and xenobiotic exposures, but comprehensive normative data for urinary porphyrin concentrations in children are currently unavailable.
METHODS: Subjects were participants in a prospective, randomized, controlled clinical trial of dental materials safety, 8 to 12 y at inception, who were followed longitudinally for 7 y after baseline with an extensive battery of neurobehavioral, neurological, renal function and urinary porphyrin assessments. Porphyrins were quantified by HPLC. Linear regression analyses were used to measure associations of porphyrin levels with age and gender.
RESULTS: Mean concentrations, 95% confidence intervals, and 10th, 50th, and 90th percentiles for all 5 typically excreted urinary porphyrins are presented by year of age and by gender. Unadjusted urinary concentrations (microg/l) of all 5 porphyrins remained relatively constant throughout the age range of 8-18 y for both males and females. In contrast, creatinine-adjusted urinary porphyrin concentrations (microg/g) declined significantly throughout this age range in both genders. Boys had significantly higher pentacarboxyl- and copro-porphyrin levels compared with girls both before and after creatinine adjustment.
CONCLUSIONS: Normative longitudinal data provided herein may facilitate the clinical assessment of pediatric metabolic disorders and may be of particular relevance in evaluating porphyrin changes as a biological indicator of disease or xenobiotic exposures among children and adolescents.
"It's back to school season and a group of eco-friendly teens wants consumers to be aware of "green" options when it comes to filling a college dorm room."
"Small to mid-size farms and those growing organic foods are challenging the congressional effort to expand the Food and Drug Administration's food-safety powers."
"Two pesticides used in highly populated agricultural areas of California appear to be killing frogs that live and breed in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, according to results from a study published in the August 2009 issue of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry."
"Reproductive health in the United States is headed in the wrong direction; fertility problems, miscarriages, preterm births, and birth defects are all increasing."
"A chemical used in many plastic products and already under scrutiny for potential health risks is suspected of raising the risk of liver problems in premature babies, according to a new study. The small study in a German hospital suggests a chemical known as a phthalate, used in some intravenous feeding bags and tubing, may raise preemies' chances for liver damage."
"Lawmakers grapple with ways to create notification system. Paul Hahn, owner of Mackinaw Valley Vineyard, has battled chemical drift from nearby farm fields for more than a decade, and this year his vines got slammed by drift from the herbicide 2,4-D."
"A BYRON Bay school teacher is heading back to work after winning a landmark court case which arose when she was sacked because she was allergic to parts of the school."
"For decades, one of the nation's most widely used dry cleaning solvents was billed as a marvel of modern chemistry that could safely remove dirt and stains from clothing. Shops sprang up to take advantage of the chemical, perchloroethylene, also known as PCE or perc. People became familiar with the sharp odor of clothes freshly removed from plastic wrap, a sign that perc was used to clean them. But over the years, with little if any notice to the public, the often sloppy use of perchloroethylene has poisoned hundreds of sites in Illinois. As scientists linked perc exposure to cancer, liver damage, neurological problems and other ailments, regulators found problems in virtually every town with a dry cleaner."
Environmental Health 2009, 8:33doi:10.1186/1476-069X-8-33
Published:
25 July 2009
Abstract (provisional)
Epidemiologic studies have established an association between exposures to air pollution particles and human mortality and morbidity at concentrations of particles currently found in major metropolitan areas. The adverse effects of pollution particles are most prominent in susceptible subjects, including the elderly and patients with cardiopulmonary diseases. Controlled human exposure studies have been used to confirm the causal relationship between pollution particle exposure and adverse health effects. Earlier studies enrolled mostly young healthy subjects and have largely confirmed the capability of particles to cause adverse health effects shown in epidemiological studies. In the last few years, more studies involving susceptible populations have been published. These recent studies in susceptible populations, however, have shown that the adverse responses to particles appear diminished in these susceptible subjects compared to those in healthy subjects. The present paper reviewed and compared control human exposure studies to particles and sought to explain the "unexpected" response to particle exposure in these susceptible populations and make recommendations for future studies. We found that the causes for the discrepant results are likely multifactorial. Factors such as medications, the disease itself, genetic susceptibility, subject selection bias that is intrinsic to many controlled exposure studies and nonspecificity of study endpoints may explain part of the results. Future controlled exposure studies should select endpoints that are more closely related to the pathogenesis of the disease and reflect the severity of particle-induced health effects in the specific populations under investigation. Future studies should also attempt to control for medications and genetic susceptibility. Innovative study design, such as exposing subjects to filtered air and ambient levels of particles and assessing the improvement in biological endpoints during filtered air exposure, may allow the inclusion of higher risk patients who are likely the main contributors for the increased particle-induced health effects in epidemiological studies.
"Open windows, be careful with cleaners and check housewares. Good ventilation is probably the single most important step you can take toward making your home healthier, experts say. For the most part, the air you breathe while you're at home isn't nearly as clean as the air you breathe while you're outside (even if the outdoor air is fairly smoggy)."
"Two specific groups of chemicals are the source of considerable concern these days -- volatile organic compounds and phthalates. Here's what you need to know about how they affect your air."
"FOR Steve Miller a trip to his local High Street is a living hell that makes him sick, dizzy and confused. Pubs make him feel the same and he can't use trains, airports or hotels without experiencing head-banging agony. But Steve doesn't suffer from some strange phobia. He is allergic to wi-fi."
Abstract: Cases of multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) are reported to be initiated by seven classes of chemicals. Each of the seven acts along a specific pathway, indirectly producing increases in NMDA activity in the mammalian body. Members of each of these seven classes have their toxicant responses lowered by NMDA antagonists, showing that the NMDA response is important for the toxic actions of these chemicals. The role of these chemicals acting as toxicants, in initiating cases of MCS has been confirmed by genetic evidence showing that six genes that influence the metabolism of these chemicals, all influence susceptibility to MCS. It is likely that chemicals act along these same pathways, leading to increased NMDA activity when they trigger sensitivity responses in MCS patients.
The chronic nature of MCS and also related multisystem illnesses is thought to be produced by a biochemical vicious cycle mechanism, the NO/ONOO- cycle, which is initiated by various stressors that increase nitric oxide and peroxynitrite levels (with some but not others acting via NMDA stimulation). The NO/ONOO- cycle is based on well documented individual mechanisms. The interaction of this cycle with previously documented MCS mechanisms, notably neural sensitization and neurogenic inflammation, explains many of the previously unexplained properties of MCS. This overall mechanism is also supported by physiological correlates found in MCS and related multisystem illnesses, objectively measurable responses to low level chemical exposure in MCS patients, many studies of apparent animal models of MCS and also evidence from therapeutic trials of MCS-related illnesses. Some have argued that MCS is a psychogenic illness, but this view is completely inconsistent with this diverse data on MCS and related illnesses and the literature claiming psychogenesis of MCS is deeply flawed. In addition, two rare predictions that can be used to test psychogenesis both lead to rejection of the psychogenic hypothesis. While the NO/ONOO- cycle mechanism for MCS is supported by many different observations, there are also multiple areas where further study is needed.
"A gingerbread man ornament, taken from a Layton-area home, was identified as the source of a chemical considered likely to cause cancer. Utah health officials are warning about similar molded plastic decorations, which could be hazardous. It took months for environmental investigators to nab the culprit, a gingerbread man."
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a $433,100 grant to the University of Chicago to investigate how allergic reactions to food are initiated. The research is expected to lead to improved methods to assess whether pesticides produced in genetically engineered plants can trigger food allergies, which impact more than 11 million Americans each year. The study is funded through EPA's Science to Achieve Results program (STAR)."
"Greg Dust, who has chronic fatigue syndrome, says the condition derailed his career as a teacher. In a world where most people function on a shortage of sleep, chronic fatigue syndrome is the Rodney Dangerfield of diseases -- it gets no respect. And in Canada, it gets little or no money. It's so bad that sufferers, estimated to number four million in the U.S. and 400,000 here, have to fund the research themselves to come up with a simple blood test just to diagnose the syndrome."
Hokama Y, Campora CE, Hara C, Kuribayashi T, Le Huynh D, Yabusaki K.
Department of Pathology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Mânoa, Honolulu, Hawaii.
NLM Citation: PMID: 19623655
Examination of anticardiolipin antibodies (ACAs) in the sera of patients clinically diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) using an enzyme-linked immunoassay procedure demonstrated the presence of immunoglobulin M isotypes in 95% of CFS serum samples tested.
The presence of immunoglobulin G and immunoglobulin A isotypes were also detected in a subset of the samples.
Future studies will focus on elucidating whether alterations to mitochondrial inner membranes and/or metabolic functions play a possible role in the expression of ACAs.
"Many people go through life wishing they had enough time in the day to do the things they need to before it's time for bed. But for some, bedtime comes sooner and more often than normal, making it difficult to do anything at all. Chronic fatigue syndrome is the theme behind the new play "Standing Still Standing," a dramatic production by Bluelight Stage and Leilani Productions, in association with New Play Project. Directed by Landon Wheeler on the stage of the Provo Theatre, it is a comedic play depicting the struggle many people go through in their fight to stay awake on a daily basis."
"A Charlotte County couple has had enough of the Chinese drywall in their home. Now, they are taking matters into their own hands... literally. They ripped it out, thinking that would solve their problem, but it didn't."
A panel of Commonwealth Court judges has affirmed a Lehigh County judge's decision to order a South Whitehall couple to remove an allergen-free building known as the ''bubble'' from their property. But Elizabeth Feudale, who says the bubble is essential to her health, said she and her husband, Craig Bowes, will continue fighting to keep the 11-by-14-foot structure on their property. ''We're not laying down for them, that's for sure,'' said Feudale, 53. ''We're going to do what we have to do to keep me alive.''
"A Pennsylvania appeals court has upheld a Lehigh County judge's ruling that a man must remove a modular housing unit from his property. But Craig Bowes and his wife, Elizabeth Feudale, maintain that the structure's anti-allergen properties are critical to Feudale's health and plan to appeal the July 7 Commonwealth Court ruling."
San Rafael council OKs antennas near Ecology House http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_12880530 "Cell phone antennas will be installed near a home for chemically sensitive people in East San Rafael, despite residents' pleas to move the high-tech equipment elsewhere."
Comment: Please write or call San Rafael City Council with complaints about this. They need to hear from more than just EH residents. This is an outrage!
Bill Moyers Journal airs Friday nights at 9 pm on PBS, check your local listings. http://www.pbs.org/moyers/j...
Key Words: multiple chemical sensitivity, chemical sensitivity, chemical sensitivities, multiple chemical sensitivities, MCS, EI, environmental illness, sick building syndrome, idiopathic environmental intolerance, fibromyalgia, chronic fatiuge, FM, CFS, mold illness, clinical ecology, alternative medicine, environmental medicine, neuropathy, encephalopathy, toxic, chemical
Check this out: In Allegheny County, a 60 percent increase in the rate of school children with asthma. In Butler County, a 63 percent increase. In Greene County, a 79 percent spike. Those are the kind of numbers that made us ask, "What's going on?"
"Prenatal exposure to environmental pollutants known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) can adversely affect a child's intelligence quotient or IQ, according to new research by the the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) at the Mailman School of Public Health. PAHs are chemicals released into the air from the burning of coal, diesel, oil and gas, or other organic substances such as tobacco. In urban areas motor vehicles are a major source of PAHs. The study findings are published in the August 2009 issue of Pediatrics."
"A new survey that has been given to pilots, as well as crew members, for different airlines as now risen concerns over whether passengers on planes are inhaling contaminated air. The survey found out that an alarmingly high level of illnesses have contracted since they started working in the airline industry."
Purpose. This notice strongly encourages Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) to implement non-smoking policies in some or all of their public housing units. According to the American Lung Association, cigarette smoking is the number one cause of preventable disease in the United States. The elderly and young populations, as well as people with chronic illnesses, are especially vulnerable to the adverse effects of smoking. This concern was recently addressed by the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, P.L. 111-31, signed by the President on June 22, 2009. Because Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS) can migrate between units in multifamily housing, causing respiratory illness, heart disease, cancer, and other adverse health effects in neighboring families, the Department is encouraging PHAs to adopt non-smoking policies. By reducing the public health risks associated with tobacco use, this notice will enhance the effectiveness of the Department's efforts to provide increased public health protection for residents of public housing. Smoking is also an important source of fires and fire-related deaths and injuries. Currently, there is no Departmental guidance on smoking in public housing.
"Learning to clean from scratch—making homemade recipes—can truly work if you take time to understand a bit about the chemistry behind how the materials work. Here are the five ingredients that I find to be the safest, most effective, and useful for cleaning."
Comment: The "disinfectant" section recommends essential oils. Vinegar and peroxide can be used back to back instead.
"Hazardous materials spill in Ventura County. A lot. There were 100 gallons of acetone, styrene and other flammable chemicals dumped into an Oxnard street after a 2007 tractor-trailer crash. More than 200 gallons of sulfuric acid emptied into Ventura's storm drains after a spill at a linen supply company in 2006. A few cups of cyanide after an unsuccessful suicide attempt in Oxnard had to be dealt with. And then there are the more than 15,000 gallons of gas and diesel spilled after car accidents, 10 million gallons of sewage that flowed into the county's streams and more than 540,000 gallons of crude oil that spilled onto the ground during oil production. All told, more than 13 million gallons of pollutants have spilled on the ground and into the waterways around Ventura County in the past five years."
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine:
July 2009 - Volume 51 - Issue 7 - pp 838-847
doi: 10.1097/JOM.0b013e3181a7f021
Original Articles
The Idiopathic Environmental Intolerance Symptom Inventory: Development, Evaluation, and Application
Andersson, Maria J. E. MSc; Andersson, Linus MSc; Bende, Mats MD, PhD; Millqvist, Eva MD, PhD; Nordin, Steven PhD
Abstract
Objective: To develop, evaluate, and apply a questionnaire-based instrument for investigation of specific symptoms in idiopathic environmental intolerance (IEI), called the Idiopathic Environmental Intolerance Symptom Inventory (IEISI).
Methods: Participants with IEI to chemicals responded to 82 candidate symptoms and to three subscales of the Quick Environmental Exposure and Sensitivity Inventory (QEESI) at a test (n = 207) and retest (n = 193) occasion.
Results: The 27 most commonly reported symptoms were selected and grouped into five symptom categories. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and concurrent validity were found to be satisfying. Cluster analysis identified two subgroups of IEI to chemicals.
Conclusions: The results provide support for the IEISI being a reliable, valid, and fast tool for the study of specific symptom prevalence in IEI and encourage further study of subgroups.
National Allergy Research Centre, Department of Dermatology and Allergology, Gentofte University Hospital, Gentofte, Denmark. jacpth01@geh.regionh.dk
BACKGROUND: Contact sensitization to fragrance mix (FM) I and Myroxylon pereirae (MP) is common among European patients with dermatitis. Recently, FM II was included in the European baseline series as an additional marker of fragrance sensitization. OBJECTIVES: This literature review aims to assess the prevalence of fragrance sensitization in the general population, and to suggest how future population-based studies and questionnaires should be constructed, better to assess the prevalence and burden of fragrance sensitization. This is of relevance as it is often difficult to establish causality in biological systems. METHODS: A systematic review of the literature was carried out by searching Pubmed-Medline, Biosis and contact dermatitis textbooks. RESULTS: Nineteen studies were identified, of which 13 were performed among adults. Sample sizes varied between 82 and 2545 tested subjects, and 11 648 subjects were tested in total. The median prevalence of FM and MP sensitization among adults was 2.3% (women, 1.7%; men, 1.3%) and 1.1% (women, 1.4%; men, 0%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the reliability of patch test data from the general population and exposure data obtained from patients with dermatitis, the prevalence and burden of fragrance sensitization in the general population is significant.
University of Alberta, Faculty of Medicine, 2935-66 Street, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6K 4C1.
Contemporary reproductive aged women and their offspring are facing an unprecedented onslaught of toxicant exposures from myriad sources in their day-to-day life. Public health recommendations regarding optimal diet and nutrition in pregnancy must incorporate several considerations including safety of available foodstuffs, cultural practices and lifestyle issues. Gestational consumption of contaminated seafood remains a potential source of toxicant exposure, including mercury, for the developing child. Health care professionals responsible for the care of women and their developing children need to become apprised of: a) risks associated with toxicant bioaccumulation in pregnancy; b) ongoing information emerging in the important field of reproductive toxicology; and c) strategies within the clinical setting to facilitate nutritional sufficiency and precautionary avoidance of adverse exposure among young women.
PMID: 19596629 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Division of Environmental Health and Risk Management, School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom. S.J.Harrad@bham.ac.uk
Ingestion of indoor dust has been highlighted as an important pathway of exposure to brominated flame retardants. Hence, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were determined in indoor dust from homes in Amarillo/Austin, TX, USA (n=20; median concentration=200 ng Sigma PCB g(-1)); Birmingham, UK (n=20; 48 ng Sigma PCB g(-1)); Toronto, Canada (n=10; 260 ng Sigma PCB g(-1)); and Wellington, New Zealand (n=20; 46 ng Sigma PCB g(-1)). Concentrations in Canadian and US samples were statistically indistinguishable, but exceeded significantly (p<0.05) those in both New Zealand and UK dust. Principal component analysis revealed that while UK samples were enriched comparatively in lower molecular weight congeners; samples from other countries contained proportionally more mid-to-high molecular weight congeners. Concentrations of PCBs determined in air from the same 10 Canadian homes showed concentrations (median=4.9 ng Sigma PCB m(-3)) higher than those reported previously for UK homes (1.8 ng Sigma PCB m(-3)). Interpretation of these data alongside that for dietary exposure from other studies suggest that indoor exposures (i.e. air and dust combined) may be a significant contributor to overall exposure for the majority of the population - ranging from 4.3% to 87% in adults and 1.6-73% in toddlers. While inhalation is the principal indoor pathway under a typical dust ingestion scenario, exposure via dust ingestion exceeds that from either inhalation or diet for a small proportion of North American toddlers.
Research Center for Material Cycles and Waste Management, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2, Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8506, Japan. takigami@nies.go.jp
This study analyzed polyhalogenated compounds (PHCs) such as brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in indoor air and dust samples from two modern homes in Japan. Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and 2,4,6-tribromophenol (2,4,6-TBP) in exhaust and indoor air of two houses were detected at 10(2)-10(3)pgm(-3) order, which were well above those in outdoor air. For dust samples, the detected polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) and polybrominated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furan concentrations resembled values found in our past study. Interestingly, compared to PBDE concentrations, two orders of magnitude higher concentration (13000 ng g(-1)) was observed for hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) in a dust sample from one house. Based on the calculation of air/dust partition ratio values (Kad), low Kad values (log Kad <or=0) were obtained for high brominated PBDEs (pentaBDEs - decaBDE), tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA), and HBCDs, although indoor air contained higher contents of low chlorinated PCBs, low brominated PBDEs, and 2,4,6-TBP. Attention should be given to exposure to 2,4,6-TBP through inhalation of air as well as dust ingestion. Results of X-ray fluorescence analysis show high bromine concentrations in curtain and roll screen samples possessing a high product loading factor. Furthermore, a preliminary estimation was made of the likely magnitude of inhabitants' exposure to PHCs via inhalation and dust ingestion in the two houses.
The University of Queensland, National Research Centre for Environmental Toxicology, 39 Kessels Road, Coopers Plains, QLD 4108, Australia. l.toms@uq.edu.au
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are compounds that are used as flame retardants. Human exposure is suggested to be via food, dust and air. An assessment of PBDE exposure via indoor environments using samples of air, dust and surface wipes from eight sites in South East Queensland, Australia was conducted. For indoor air, SigmaPBDEs ranged from 0.5-179 pg/m(3) for homes and 15-487 pg/m(3) for offices. In dust, SigmaPBDEs ranged from 87-733 ng/g dust and 583-3070 ng/g dust in homes and offices, respectively. PBDEs were detected on 9 out of 10 surfaces sampled and ranged from non-detectable to 5985 pg/cm(2). Overall, the congener profiles for air and dust were dominated by BDE-209. This study demonstrated that PBDEs are ubiquitous in the indoor environments of selected buildings in South East Queensland and suggest the need for detailed assessment of PBDE concentrations using more sites to further investigate the factors influencing PBDE exposure in Australia.
US Environmental Protection Agency, Reston, VA 22091, USA.
The health risks to babies from pollutants in house dust may be 100 times greater than for adults. The young ingest more dust and are up to ten times more vulnerable to such exposures. House dust is the main exposure source for infants to allergens, lead, and PBDEs, as well as a major source of exposure to pesticides, PAHs, Gram-negative bacteria, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, phthalates, phenols, and other EDCs, mutagens, and carcinogens. Median or upper percentile concentrations in house dust of lead and several pesticides and PAHs may exceed health-based standards in North America. Early contact with pollutants among the very young is associated with higher rates of chronic illness such as asthma, loss of intelligence, ADHD, and cancer in children and adults. The potential of infants, who live in areas with soil contaminated by automotive and industrial emissions, can be given more protection by improved home cleaning and hand washing. Babies who live in houses built before 1978 have a prospective need for protection against lead exposures; homes built before 1940 have even higher lead exposure risks. The concentration of pollutants in house dust may be 2-32 times higher than that found in the soil near a house. Reducing infant exposures, at this critical time in their development, may reduce lifetime health costs, improve early learning, and increase adult productivity. Some interventions show a very rapid payback. Two large studies provide evidence that home visits to reduce the exposure of children with poorly controlled asthma triggers may return more than 100% on investment in 1 yr in reduced health costs. The tools provided to families during home visits, designed to reduce dust exposures, included vacuum cleaners with dirt finders and HEPA filtration, allergy control bedding covers, high-quality door mats, and HEPA air filters. Infants receive their highest exposure to pollutants in dust at home, where they spend the most time, and where the family has the most mitigation control. Normal vacuum cleaning allows deep dust to build up in carpets where it can be brought to the surface and become airborne as a result of activity on the carpet. Vacuums with dirt finders allow families to use the three-spot test to monitor deep dust, which can reinforce good cleaning habits. Motivated families that receive home visits from trained outreach workers can monitor and reduce dust exposures by 90% or more in 1 wk. The cost of such visits is low considering the reduction of risks achieved. Improved home cleaning is one of the first results observed among families who receive home visits from MHEs and CHWs. We believe that proven intervention methods can reduce the exposure of infants to pollutants in house dust, while recognizing that much remains to be learned about improving the effectiveness of such methods.
INTRODUCTION: Air quality is not only important for respiratory health but it also influences the homeostasis of the whole human organism. In the past years numerous violations of European Union particulate matter thresholds have been recorded. METHODS: The present study is a selective literature analysis encompassing the epidemiology and pathophysiological effects of particulate matter. RESULTS: Epidemiological studies point to an association between chronic particulate matter exposure and mortality. The most prominent effects on the human body are present in subjects with cardiovascular or respiratory conditions. However, the effects of air pollutants need to be examined critically and the plausibility of thresholds should be evaluated in detail. DISCUSSION: The negative influences of chronic particulate matter exposure have been proven by a multitude of epidemiological and experimental studies. From the viewpoint of primary prevention, air quality plays a crucial role. This encompasses both the outdoor compartment with particulate matter and other pollutants and the indoor compartment with tobacco smoke.
aOccuptional Health Initiatives, Incorporated, 60 Amory Street, Brookline, Massachusetts, MA 02446-3909, USA.
The Children's Environment and Health Action Plan for Europe has established four Regional Priority Goals (RPG) for the protection of the health of children. Hutter et al (JPHP 2009) have developed and tested an accessible method for addressing one aspect of RPG III: indoor and outdoor air pollution. The study provides an accessible method for use by communities to access effects of air pollution in and around the home on the respiratory health of children. This Commentary reviews that study, as well as other evidence in the scientific literature of effects of indoor and outdoor air pollution on children's respiratory health. In addition, this Commentary discusses the importance of air quality in schools to children's respiratory health and to school attendance and performance, citing supportive dat and urging action on this front.Journal of Public Health Policy (2009) 30, 158-162. doi:10.1057/jphp.2009.8.
"Long after a potentially neurotoxic flame retardant is off the market, it could linger in our food chain. One of the most comprehensive analyses yet of human exposure to PBDEs, or polybrominated diphenyl ethers, shows that the chemical — long used in everything from computers to sleeping bags — enters humans through their diets, not just their household."
Martin L. Pall Professor Emeritus of Biochemistry and Basic Medical Sciences, Washington State University and Research Director, The Tenth Paradigm Research Group 638 NE 41st Ave. Portland, OR 97232-3312 USA 503-232-3883 martin_pall@wsu.edu
Abstract: Cases of multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) are reported to be initiated by seven classes of chemicals. Each of the seven acts along a specific pathway, indirectly producing increases in NMDA activity in the mammalian body. Members of each of these seven classes have their toxicant responses lowered by NMDA antagonists, showing that the NMDA response is important for the toxic actions of these chemicals. The role of these chemicals acting as toxicants, in initiating cases of MCS has been confirmed by genetic evidence showing that six genes that influence the metabolism of these chemicals, all influence susceptibility to MCS. It is likely that chemicals act along these same pathways, leading to increased NMDA activity when they trigger sensitivity responses in MCS patients.
The chronic nature of MCS and also related multisystem illnesses is thought to be produced by a biochemical vicious cycle mechanism, the NO/ONOO- cycle, which is initiated by various stressors that increase nitric oxide and peroxynitrite levels (with some but not others acting via NMDA stimulation). The NO/ONOO- cycle is based on well documented individual mechanisms. The interaction of this cycle with previously documented MCS mechanisms, notably neural sensitization and neurogenic inflammation, explains many of the previously unexplained properties of MCS. This overall mechanism is also supported by physiological correlates found in MCS and related multisystem illnesses, objectively measurable responses to low level chemical exposure in MCS patients, many studies of apparent animal models of MCS and also evidence from therapeutic trials of MCS-related illnesses. Some have argued that MCS is a psychogenic illness, but this view is completely inconsistent with this diverse data on MCS and related illnesses and the literature claiming psychogenesis of MCS 2
is deeply flawed. In addition, two rare predictions that can be used to test psychogenesis both lead to rejection of the psychogenic hypothesis. While the NO/ONOO- cycle mechanism for MCS is supported by many different observations, there are also multiple areas where further study is needed.
Key Words: Peroxynitrite; oxidative stress; excitotoxicity; mitochondrial dysfunction; long term potentiation; chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis; fibromyalgia
Comment: This is posted only because hypocortisolism is consistently a factor in CFS and treating it may lead to some improvement. This is not posted because CBT is in any way supported or endorsed as a CFS treatment.
Does hypocortisolism predict a poor response to cognitive behavioural therapy in chronic fatigue syndrome?
Journal: Psychol Med. 2009 Jul 17:1-8. [Epub ahead of print]
Authors: Roberts AD, Charler ML, Papadopoulos A, Wessely S, Chalder T, Cleare AJ.
Affiliation: King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Department of Psychological Medicine, London, UK.
NLM Citation: PMID: 19607750
BACKGROUND: There is evidence that patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) have mild hypocortisolism. The clinical significance of this is unclear. We aimed to determine whether hypocortisolism exerted any effect on the response of CFS to cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
METHOD: We measured 24-h urinary free cortisol (UFC) in 84 patients with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-defined CFS (of whom 64 were free from psychotropic medication) who then received CBT in a specialist, tertiary out-patient clinic as part of their usual clinical care. We also measured salivary cortisol output from 0800 to 2000 h in a subsample of 56 psychotropic medication-free patients.
RESULTS: Overall, 39% of patients responded to CBT after 6 months of treatment. Lower 24-h UFC output was associated with a poorer response to CBT but only in psychotropic medication-free patients. A flattened diurnal profile of salivary cortisol was also associated with a poor response to CBT.
CONCLUSIONS: Low cortisol is of clinical relevance in CFS, as it is associated with a poorer response to CBT. Hypocortisolism could be one of several maintaining factors that interact in the persistence of CFS.
"The last time the government embarked on a major vaccine campaign against a new swine flu, thousands filed claims contending they suffered side effects from the shots. This time, the government has already taken steps to head that off. Vaccine makers and federal officials will be immune from lawsuits that result from any new swine flu vaccine, under a document signed by Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius, government health officials said Friday."
Department of Environmental Science, Shokei Gakuin University, 4-10-1 Yurigaoka, Natori, Miyagi, 981-1295, Japan, hojo@shokei.ac.jp.
OBJECTIVES: The Quick Environment Exposure Sensitivity Inventory (QEESI((c))) has been used as a questionnaire to evaluate subjective symptoms of patients with multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), also known as idiopathic environmental intolerance, in Japan. However, no cutoff value for Japanese subjects has yet been established. We designed this study to establish a cutoff value for Japanese subjects using QEESI((c)) for screening of MCS patients. METHODS: A questionnaire using the QEESI((c)) was administered to 103 MCS patients and 309 healthy control subjects matched for age and sex. QEESI((c)) scores of the two groups were compared using logistic regression analysis, receiver operating characteristic analysis, and the Mann-Whitney test. RESULTS: Cutoff values for Japanese subjects were determined for the Chemical Intolerance subscale (40), Symptom Severity subscale (20), and Life Impact subscale (10). The subjects whose scores exceeded the cutoff values in any two subscales accounted for 88.4% of the patients but only 14.5% of the controls. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that subjects meeting two out of three subscale criteria can be screened as "patients suffering from a low level of environmental chemicals such as MCS" in Japan.
PMID: 19603254 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
"The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announce the publication of Maine's List of Chemicals of High Concern. Publishing the list of about 1700 chemicals is the first step toward implementing Maine's new Toxic Chemicals in Children's Products law."
"A new study confirms that lung problems get worse for Fresno asthmatics in winter when soot pollution increases. But, strangely, the same is not true during the worst summertime smog."
"In a move that stands to create jobs, boost local economies, reduce diesel emissions and protect human health and the environment for people of New Jersey and New York, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $1.4 million to clean up a variety of long-haul trucks based in the area. This clean diesel project will create or preserve over 60 jobs while protecting air quality."
Kozul, CD, KH Ely, RI Enelow and JW Hamilton. 2009.
Low dose arsenic compromises the immune response to influenza A infection in vivo. Environmental Health Perspectives doi:10.1289/ehp.0900911
Low dose exposure to arsenic compromises the immune response to infection in mice, increasing their vulnerability to the flu virus. By itself, the metal altered the number and function of certain immune cells. The changes predisposed the rodents to more severe reactions when exposed to the Influenza A virus.
"New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof has written another chilling column on the health dangers of endocrine disruptors, which are such a prevalent, if hidden, part of our everyday lives. Today, he writes about phthalates:"
We've written to you before about methyl iodide. Thousands of UFW supporters have written to California authorities and begged them to do the right thing and refuse approval of this deadly, mutagenic compound.
This highly toxic new pesticide is currently being given a comprehensive review by the Department of Pesticide Regulations and the agency's registration decision is pending advice from a panel of scientists convened specifically to review this chemical.
However, according to inside sources, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is being pressured by corporate interests to fast-track registration of this toxic pesticide--despite serious concerns from the state's own scientists at the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR).
"Methyl iodide is so toxic that scientists working with it in the laboratory take extreme precautions when handling it, using a ventilation hood, gloves, and special equipment for transferring it so it does not escape to the air," notes Dr. Susan Kegley. "This degree of protection is not possible in an agricultural setting where the pesticide would be applied at rates of 175 pounds per acre in the open air. Buffer zones of 400 feet for a 40-acre fumigation would still result in a dose of methyl iodide to neighbors that is 375 times higher than DPR believes is acceptable. For workers, the numbers are much worse, with exposures estimated at 3,000 times higher than DPR's acceptable dose for some tasks."
Methyl iodide's manufacturer, Arysta, withdrew its New York application for registration after state officials raised concerns about groundwater contamination and potential exposure for workers, bystanders and nearby residents--especially children, pregnant women and the elderly.
Now the industry is asking California's governor to order DPR to fast track the registration of this deadly fumigant. This is not acceptable. Please take action and tell the Governor to keep methyl iodide of California's fields.
"You are in the grocery store staring at salad dressings. You are craving a balsamic vinaigrette for your dinner salad tonight, and there are about seven different brands from which to choose. A brand you like is on sale. It makes an organic version of the dressing and a non-organic version, and both are the same price today. If you are like me, this is a no-brainer. You pick the organic version, right? Well, yes, but it turns out there may not be much difference between the two."
"On July 14, 2009, Beyond Pesticides and Food and Water Watch submitted an amended petition to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requiring that the agency ban the use of the controversial pesticide triclosan for non-medical applications on the basis that those uses violate the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act. Strong scientific evidence suggests that pervasive use of triclosan poses imminent threats to human health and the environment."
"A landmark study conducted by Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland is the first to reveal a new syndrome in children that presents with a combination of allergy, apraxia and malabsorption. Autism spectrum disorders were variably present."
"Ask the average American with an Evian bottle in his or her hand why they pay extra for bottled water, they will likely say it it's because it's safer than tap water. In reality, however, this may not be the case."
"Taking a pill to treat depression is widely believed to work by reversing a chemical imbalance. But in this week's Scrubbing Up health column, Dr Joanna Moncrieff, of the department of mental health sciences at University College London, says they actually put people into "drug-induced states"."
"According to Dr. Paul Dupont , in spite of the delaying tactics of the phone companies and the unconcerned Ministry of Health, it is becoming quite clear that mobile phones have damaging health effects, as it was scientifically proven recently, that there is a connection between certain types of tumor and the intensive use of a cell phone."
Pathophysiology. 2009 Mar 3. [Epub ahead of print]
Phillips JL, Singh NP, Lai H.
Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Colorado Springs, CO 80918, USA.
A major concern of the adverse effects of exposure to non-ionizing electromagnetic field (EMF) is cancer induction. Since the majority of cancers are initiated by damage to a cell's genome, studies have been carried out to investigate the effects of electromagnetic fields on DNA and chromosomal structure. Additionally, DNA damage can lead to changes in cellular functions and cell death. Single cell gel electrophoresis, also known as the 'comet assay', has been widely used in EMF research to determine DNA damage, reflected as single-strand breaks, double-strand breaks, and crosslinks. Studies have also been carried out to investigate chromosomal conformational changes and micronucleus formation in cells after exposure to EMF. This review describes the comet assay and its utility to qualitatively and quantitatively assess DNA damage, reviews studies that have investigated DNA strand breaks and other changes in DNA structure, and then discusses important lessons learned from our work in this area.
PMID: 19264461 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
"In a reversal of a Special Master Judge's ruling, a federal Circuit Court of Appeals has decided that Enrique Andreu, a boy who was vaccinated at eight weeks of age, is entitled to compensation. The plaintiff claimed that the DPT vaccination (diphtheria, whole-cell pertussis, and tetanus) caused a seizure disorder that led to a low IQ, and developmental delays including language."
Dick Peixoto planted hedges of fennel and flowering cilantro around his organic vegetable fields in the Pajaro Valley near Watsonville to harbor beneficial insects, an alternative to pesticides. He has since ripped out such plants in the name of food safety, because his big customers demand sterile buffers around his crops. No vegetation. No water. No wildlife of any kind. "I was driving by a field where a squirrel fed off the end of the field, and so 30 feet in we had to destroy the crop," he said. "On one field where a deer walked through, didn't eat anything, just walked through and you could see the tracks, we had to take out 30 feet on each side of the tracks and annihilate the crop."
"Researchers report that a woman's DDE exposure during early pregnancy is associated with altered thyroid hormone levels, a condition that could affect fetal brain development."
Jason R. Richardson et al. Arch Neurol. 2009;66(7):870-875.
Background Exposure to pesticides has been reported to increase the risk of Parkinson disease (PD), but identification of the specific pesticides is lacking. Three studies have found elevated levels of organochlorine pesticides in postmortem PD brains.
Objective To determine whether elevated levels of organochlorine pesticides are present in the serum of patients with PD.
Design Case-control study.
Setting An academic medical center.
Participants: Fifty patients with PD, 43 controls, and 20 patients with Alzheimer disease.
Main Outcome Measures Levels of 16 organochlorine pesticides in serum samples.
Results β-Hexachlorocyclohexane (β-HCH) was more often detectable in patients with PD (76%) compared with controls (40%) and patients with Alzheimer disease (30%). The median level of β-HCH was higher in patients with PD compared with controls and patients with Alzheimer disease. There were no marked differences in detection between controls and patients with PD concerning any of the other 15 organochlorine pesticides. Finally, we observed a significant odds ratio for the presence of β-HCH in serum to predict a diagnosis of PD vs control (odds ratio, 4.39; 95% confidence interval, 1.67-11.6) and PD vs Alzheimer disease (odds ratio, 5.20), which provides further evidence for the apparent association between serum β-HCH and PD.
Conclusions These data suggest that β-HCH is associated with a diagnosis of PD. Further research is warranted regarding the potential role of β-HCH as a etiologic agent for some cases of PD.
"For decades, California has been the only state in the nation to require the use of highly toxic fire-retardant chemicals on cribs, infant carriers, strollers, nursing pillows, changing tables, high chairs and other baby products. Regulations mandating the treatment were well intentioned. Who wouldn't want to protect children from fire? But there is a complete lack of evidence that using the chemicals saves lives, and a growing body of research suggesting that exposure to fire retardants is dangerous."
"Research led by The University of Arizona College of Pharmacy has found that medication prescribers correctly identified fewer than half of drug pairs with potentially dangerous drug-drug interactions. These findings raise concern because of the high number of drugs Americans take: an average of 2.3 medications is prescribed during each physician office visit."
"People with Parkinson's disease have significantly higher blood levels of a particular pesticide than healthy people or those with Alzheimer's disease, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found."
"To require that household cleaning products and similar products bear a label that contains a complete and accurate list of all the product's ingredients."
"Current federal law does not require companies to list ingredients in household products used every day on floors, counters, sinks, in yards and all around the home. On Monday, Rep Steve Israel (D-Long Island), the Citizens Campaign for the Environment, and the Huntington Breast Cancer Action Coalition announced new legislation to protect consumers. The Household Product Labeling Act of 2009 (H.R. 3057) was introduced by Rep. Israel.
"We require ingredient labeling for the food we put in our mouths, but not for soap in which we wash our plates. The lack of labeling required for household products is ludicrous, it's dangerous, and it's due for a change," said Rep. Steve Israel. "We have buckets and bottles full of this stuff, but no clue what's in it. We have a right to know. The legislation I just introduced will require companies to list all ingredients for these products right on the package. This is a bill about protecting consumers, protecting our children, and keeping our homes safe.""
"Professionally and patriotically, emergency room nurse Amy Alexander thought at the time, it was the right thing to do. At her boss' request, she took a smallpox vaccine so she could join a bioterrorism response team at Good Samaritan Hospital that would be ready if America's enemies ever tried to spread the deadly disease.
Six years later, she sees it as perhaps the worst decision of her life - a depressing notion that seeps into her thoughts daily as pain and numbness crawl up her legs and arms, as she reaches for the walker she needs to go any farther than room to room, and as she copes with a litany of other health woes doctors traced to a seriously adverse reaction to the vaccine."
For most people, vaccinating themselves and their children seems like a good idea. Vaccines are safe, effective and are supposed to protect us against dangerous infectious diseases - Right? Wrong! What you don’t know can harm you or kill you! In this groundbreaking film, you will: * See the truth about the dangers of vaccines and their direct relationship to autoimmune diseases, infections, allergies and a massive increase of developmental learning and behavioral disorders in children, such as Autism. * Discover the truth about the history of vaccines and how they have NEVER been proven to be safe and effective for anyone. * Witness the legacy of governmental deception and cover-ups associated with vaccines. * Learn about the corruption within the scientific community and how vaccine studies are seriously flawed. * You’ll also follow heart-wrenching, real life stories of the parents and children devastated by the effects of vaccines. Join director Gary Null PhD and over 40 of the worlds foremost vaccine experts in this shocking expose’ that will shatter the truth as you know it. DVD copies are available at www.garynull.com«
Key Words: multiple chemical sensitivity, chemical sensitivity, chemical sensitivities, multiple chemical sensitivities, MCS, EI, environmental illness, sick building syndrome, idiopathic environmental intolerance, fibromyalgia, chronic fatiuge, FM, CFS, mold illness, clinical ecology, alternative medicine, environmental medicine, neuropathy, encephalopathy, toxic, chemical
Mitochondrial dysfunction, impaired oxidative-reduction activity, degeneration, and death in human neuronal and fetal cells induced by low-level exposure to thimerosal and other metal compounds
Thimerosal (ethylmercurithiosalicylic acid), an ethylmercury (EtHg)-releasing compound (49.55% mercury (Hg)), was used in a range of medical products for more than 70 years. Of particular recent concern, routine administering of Thimerosal-containing biologics/childhood vaccines have become significant sources of Hg exposure for some fetuses/infants. This study was undertaken to investigate cellular damage among in vitro human neuronal (SH-SY-5Y neuroblastoma and 1321N1 astrocytoma) and fetal (nontransformed) model systems using cell vitality assays and microscope-based digital image capture techniques to assess potential damage induced by Thimerosal and other metal compounds (aluminum (Al) sulfate, lead (Pb)(II) acetate, methylmercury (MeHg) hydroxide, and mercury (Hg)(II) chloride) where the cation was reported to exert adverse effects on developing cells. Thimerosal-associated cellular damage was also evaluated for similarity to pathophysiological findings observed in patients diagnosed with autistic disorders (ADs). Thimerosal-induced cellular damage as evidenced by concentration- and time-dependent mitochondrial damage, reduced oxidative-reduction activity, cellular degeneration, and cell death in the in vitro human neuronal and fetal model systems studied.Thimerosal at low nanomolar (nM) concentrations induced significant cellular toxicity in human neuronal and fetal cells. Thimerosal-induced cytoxicity is similar to that observed in AD pathophysiologic studies. Thimerosal was found to be significantly more toxic than the other metal compounds examined. Future studies need to be conducted to evaluate additional mechanisms underlying Thimerosal-induced cellular damage and assess potential co-exposures to other compounds that may increase or decrease Thimerosal-mediated toxicity.
Environ Monit Assess. 2009 Jun;153(1-4):83-93. Epub 2008 May 16.
Public Health Department, University of Alicante, Ap. de Correos, 99-03080 Alicante, Spain. Elena.Ronda@ua.es
Several studies indicate health problems among hairdressers to be related to their chemical exposure at work. The purpose of this study was to describe the exposure of chemical compounds in the air of Spanish hairdresser salons, and to study differences between salons in central and suburban areas. Ten hairdresser salons were examined for two days, by recording number and type of customers, ventilation and size of salon. Both stationary and personal borne samples for organic compounds were collected, as well as stationary samples of ammonia. TVOC was calculated. Air temperature, relative humidity, CO and CO2 were logged for 48 h in each salon. Fifty-six personal and 28 stationary samples were analysed for organic compounds. Thirty-five different air-borne compounds were found in the working environment of the hairdressers. All levels were well below the limit values in Spain and USA, both for ammonia and organic compounds. TVOC ranged from 48.37 mg/m3 to 237.60 mg/m3, meaning that many salons had levels above suggested comfort values of 25. There were only minor differences in exposure between central and suburban salons. No salons had ventilation systems, and the CO2 was increasing during the day. The exposure was higher for several chemical compounds when hair dying was performed. Hairdressers were exposed to low air levels of a large number of chemical substances mostly related to work related to hair dying. There were no differences between exposure levels in salons in central and suburban areas.
Environ Monit Assess. 2009 Jun;153(1-4):119-26. Epub 2008 Jun 12.
Center for Environmental Health Sciences, The University of Montana, Missoula, MT, USA. tony.ward@umontana.edu
Indoor and ambient concentrations of 21 volatile organic compounds (including 14 hazardous air pollutants) were measured in the homes of nearly 80 western Montana (Missoula) high school students as part of the 'Air Toxics Under the Big Sky' program during the 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 school years. Target analytes were measured using low flow air sampling pumps and sorbent tubes, with analysis of the exposed samples by thermal desorption/gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (TD/GC/MS). The results reported here present the findings of the first indoor/ambient air toxics monitoring program conducted in a semi-rural valley location located in the Northern Rocky Mountain/Western Montana region. Of all of the air toxics quantified in this study, toluene was found to be the most abundant compound in both the indoor and ambient environments during each of the two school years. Indoor log-transformed mean concentrations were found to be higher when compared with ambient log-transformed mean concentrations at P < 0.001 for the majority of the compounds, supporting the results of previous studies conducted in urban areas. For the air toxics consistently measured throughout this program, concentrations were approximately six times higher inside the student's homes compared to those simultaneously measured directly outside their homes. For the majority of the compounds, there were no significant correlations between indoor and ambient concentrations.
Indoor Air. 2009 Apr;19(2):174-82. Epub 2009 Jan 28.
School of Environmental Science and Technology, Tianjin University, Weijin Road 92, Tianjin City, China. syxczh@yahoo.com.cn
A cross-sectional study was carried out at Tianjin University campus, China, from February 21 to June10, 2006, to survey the association between dampness in dorms and allergy and airways infection among college students. The health and dampness condition were self-reported by 3436 students living in 1511 dorm rooms located in 13 buildings on the campus. The buildings were selected according to their positions, construction periods and occupant densities. The allergy and airways infection symptoms involved wheezing, dry cough during night, rhinitis, eczema, cold/flu, ear inflammation, pneumonia and tuberculosis. The indoor moisture signs were mould/damp spots on walls, ceilings and floors; suspected or ever happened water damage; condensation on windowpane in winter and odours perceived by subjects themselves. This study showed there was significantly positive association between condensation and dry cough. Eczema was often reported in rooms with suspected moisture problem. Dampness was a significantly risk factor for common cold. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: This paper indicated that dampness problem at dorms of Chinese students was a risk factor in irritating allergic symptoms, and hence there is a need for dorm environment improvement. The ventilation and microbiology problems in dorm environment corresponding to dampness should be further studied, especially when it is associated to occupants' health.
Indoor Air. 2009 Apr;19(2):159-65. Epub 2009 Jan 22.
Indoor Environment Department, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. wjfisk@lbl.gov
Data from published studies were combined and analyzed to develop best-fit equations and curves quantifying the change in sick building syndrome (SBS) symptom prevalence in office workers with ventilation rate. For each study, slopes were calculated, representing the fractional change in SBS symptom prevalence per unit change in ventilation rate per person. Values of ventilation rate, associated with each value of slope, were also calculated. Linear regression equations were fitted to the resulting data points, after weighting by study size. Integration of the slope-ventilation rate equations yielded curves of relative SBS symptom prevalence vs. ventilation rate. Based on these analyses, as the ventilation rate drops from 10 to 5 l/s-person, relative SBS symptom prevalence increases approximately 23% (12% to 32%), and as ventilation rate increases from 10 to 25 l/s-person, relative prevalence decreases approximately 29% (15% to 42%). Variations in SBS symptom types, building features, and outdoor air quality may cause the relationship of SBS symptom prevalence with ventilation rate in specific situations to differ from the average relationship predicted in this paper. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: On average, providing more outdoor air ventilation will reduce prevalence rates of sick building syndrome (SBS) symptoms. However, given the costs of energy use, including increased risks of climate change, it is important to balance the benefits and risks of increased ventilation. This paper provides initial estimates of how the incremental health benefits per unit of increased ventilation diminish at higher levels of ventilation.
"This compelling account of the explosive growth of Lyme disease grows to encompass all the peculiar politics, corruption and inertia of American medicine. Everyone agrees that the tick-borne disease is "the great imitator," mirroring a multitude of ailments, including fibromyalgia and Parkinson's disease."
California Gives Desalination Plants a Fresh Look Process to Make Seawater Drinkable Gains Traction, but Environmentalists Object to Heavy Energy Use, Harm to Marine Life http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124708765072714061.html
"Early next year, the Southern California town of Carlsbad will break ground on a plant that each day will turn 50 million gallons of seawater into fresh drinking water."
"Airline customer service isn't the only thing in need of improvement these days. The air in airplane cabins needs some fixing, too, and not just because your seatmate sneezed all over you."
"Bjorkum, Wang, and Waterloo are Norwegian researchers who examined close to one thousand patients diagnosed with CFS. The results were dumbfounding! The most commonly prescribed treatments didn't work."
"Health Canada testing has detected bisphenol A in baby foods in glass jars with metal lids and in some 18.5-litre polycarbonate bottles of drinking water, but it says the levels are low and pose no health or safety concerns."
"Diane Koerner travels with an oxygen tank in the trunk of her car, all the windows rolled up and the air conditioning on recirculate. The Big Island resident, who suffers from severe Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, takes such precautions because smelling the herbicide Roundup can leave her with a debilitating migraine. And given that chemicals are used to suppress vegetation along nearly every mile of roadway in the Islands, an unpleasant chance encounter is not an unlikely risk."
"First published in July 2009. The report presents the results of the second global compilation of the Happy Planet Index, based on improved data for 143 countries around the world – representing 99 per cent of the world's population. The results shows that globally we are still far from achieving good lives within the Earth's finite resource limits. But although the evidence shows that we are heading in the wrong direction, the achievements of some countries around the world provide reasons to believe that we can achieve true sustainable well-being."
"You would never cross the street without looking both ways, walk alone down a dark alley alone at three a.m., or tell your child to accept rides from strangers. So why let hazardous, toxic, and even carcinogenic chemicals into your home everyday?"
"For many people who have had MCS for some time, they have slowly made their living space their sanctuary. For those who are newly diagnosed, things are going to be different, and need to be for you to stay as well as possible. That means looking at your home in a different light. This series of articles will walk through the kinds of elements that I look for in a healthy house and where the potential problems lie within a home. We will focus on the sneaky things that you may have missed in your own process as well."
Duk-Hee Lee, David R Jacobs, Jr., Miquel Porta doi: 10.1289/ehp.0900741 (available at http://dx.doi.org/) Online 8 July 2009 ehponline.org
Abstract
Background: Although both nutrition and chemicals are important environmental factors modulating epigenetic changes, they are commonly studied separately by researchers in different fields. However, these two environmental factors cannot be separated from each other in the real world because a number of chemical agents contaminate food chains.
Objective: We propose a unifying mechanism that can link epigenetic alterations in relation to DNA hypomethylation due to chemical agents and to nutrient deficiency or imbalance, emphasizing the importance of an integrative approach in the field of environmental epidemiology.
Discussion: Methyl groups from S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) are needed for DNA methylation. Thus, diets low in sources of methyl groups can lead to global DNA hypomethylation by impairing synthesis of SAM. However, even without nutritional deficiency, enhanced need to synthesize glutathione (GSH) can impair synthesis of SAM and perturb DNA methylation, because the methylation cycle and the GSH synthesis pathways are biochemically linked. Exposure to environmental chemicals is a common situation in which the need for GSH synthesis is enhanced, because GSH is consumed to conjugate diverse chemicals. Given that GSH conjugation happens at any chemical dose, this hypothesis is relevant even at exposures below the high doses that cause toxicological responses.
Conclusion: At present, general populations are exposed to a large number of chemicals, each at a very low dose. Thus, DNA hypomethylation due to chemical exposure may be common in modern societies and can synergistically interact with nutrition-induced DNA hypomethylation.
"These brain functional abnormalities were correlated with the severity of the disease, and not with anxiety or depression, in regions of the brain known to be involved in pain processing."
"Japan passed a law offering financial compensation to tens of thousands more victims of a mercury poisoning disaster in the 1950s blamed for generations of birth defects."
Pall ML. The Tenth Paradigm Research Group and School of Molecular Biosciences (WSU), 638 NE 41st Ave., Portland, OR 97232-3312, USA.
Sauna therapy has been used to treat a number of different diseases known or thought to have a tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) deficiency. It has been interpreted to act in multiple chemical sensitivity by increasing chemical detoxification and excretion but there is no evidence that this is its main mode of action. Sauna therapy may act to increase BH4 availability via two distinct pathways. Increased blood flow in heated surface tissues leads to increased vascular shear stress, inducing increased activity of GTP cyclohydrolase I (GTPCH-I) in those vascular tissues which will lead to increasing BH4 synthesis. A second mechanism involves the heat shock protein Hsp90, which is induced by even modest heating of mammalian tissues. Sauna heating of these surface tissues may act via Hsp90, which interacts with the GTPCH-I complex and is reported to produce increased GTPCH-I activity by lowering its degradation. The increased consequent availability of BH4 may lead to lowered nitric oxide synthase uncoupling, such as has been reported for the eNOS enzyme. Increased BH4 synthesis in surface tissues of the body will produce increased circulating BH4 which will feed BH4 to other body tissues that may have been BH4 deficient. Similar mechanisms may act in vigorous exercise due to the increased blood shear stresses and possibly also heating of the exercising tissues and heart. There is a large and rapidly increasing number of diseases that are associated with BH4 depletion and these may be candidates for sauna therapy. Such diseases as hypertension, vascular endothelial dysfunction, multiple chemical sensitivity and heart failure are thought to be helped by sauna therapy and chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia may also be helped and there are others that may be good candidates for sauna therapy.
PMID: 19581054 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
"When Congress originally passed the Social Security Act in the 1930's it did not provide any disability benefits, only retirement income for people over 65. In the 1960's it was amended to also allow for recovery of the same benefit amount that would be realized on retirement, if a wage earner became unable to continue to work prior to age 65 due to physical or mental impairments."
"The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced a $1.4 million joint study with the University of Michigan on the health effects of air pollution on children living near the nation's heavily traveled thoroughfares. The study is funded through EPA's Science to Achieve Results program."
"The European Chemicals Agency, which coordinates the REACH program in the European Union (EU), recommended in June 2009 that seven chemicals, most of which are widely used in construction products, should be restricted. If adopted by the EU, these recommendations could significantly affect polystyrene insulation and flexible polyvinyl chloride (PVC) products."
"A Toronto-area woman left in chronic pain after a hospital bed-chair collapsed under her has won damages of more than $3 million — a sum her lawyer says may be unprecedented in a type of lawsuit where there is no physical evidence of injury."
"The goal of a new CDC Website, the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network, is to become a one-stop shop for anyone who wants to investigate environmental causes of illness, from asthma to well water."
Doctors Asking for More Education PDF Version: http://mcs-america.org/July2009pg8.pdf Online Version: http://mcs-america.org/mcsanewsjuly2009.htm#_Doctors_Asking_for
"Over 60% of general practitioners surveyed in Denmark have been consulted by at least one patient with multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) in the past year.
More than half of these physicians recognize that these patients are in a chronic condition which requires medical intervention. Yet, they feel that they are rarely able to meet healthcare expectations for this population and the majority refer the patient to other specialists."
"A new study of expectant mothers suggests that a group of common environmental contaminants called phthalates, which are present in many industrial and consumer products including everyday personal care items, may contribute to the country's alarming rise in premature births."
ABSTRACT: Background Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a disease of unknown aetiology. A patient with CFS had unexpected, marked recovery of CFS symptoms lasting for five months during and after cytotoxic chemotherapy for Hodgkin's disease. We reasoned that the transient CFS recovery was related to methotrexate treatment, which induces immunomodulation in part through B-cell depletion. Methods In a case series, this patient and two additional CFS patients were B-cell depleted by infusion of the monoclonal anti-CD20 antibody rituximab. Results All three had improvement of all CFS symptoms. Patients 1 and 2 had major amelioration from 6 weeks after intervention, patient 3 slight improvement from the same time, but then improved markedly from 26 weeks after intervention. The symptomatic effect lasted until weeks 16, 18 and 44, respectively. At relapse, all were retreated with a single (patient 1) or double rituximab infusion (patients 2 and 3). Again, all three had marked symptom improvement, mimicking their first response. After new symptom recurrence, patients 1 and 2 were given weekly oral methotrexate, patient 1 having effect also from this agent. Patients 1 and 2 were again treated for a third rituximab infusion after new relapse, again with a marked clinical benefit. No unexpected toxicity was seen. Conclusion These observations suggest that B-lymphocytes are involved in CFS pathogenesis for a subset of patients. Benefit for all CFS symptoms, the delayed symptom relief following B-cell depletion, the kinetics of relapses, and the effect also from methotrexate treatment, provide suggestive evidence that B-cells play a significant role in the ongoing clinical features, and that CFS may be amenable to therapeutic interventions aimed at modifying B-cell number and function. More systematic investigations of this therapeutic strategy, and of its biological basis, are now needed.
PMID: 19566965 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Centro de Estudos de Saúde do Trabalhador e Ecologia Humana, Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil. castro@ensp.fi ocruz.br
OBJECTIVE: To assess the association between daily exposure to air pollution and lung function in school children. METHODS: Panel study with a random sample of 118 students (between 6 and 15 years of age), enrolled in a public school of the city of Rio de Janeiro, state of Rio de Janeiro, and living within 2 km of the study site. Data on students' characteristics were obtained with a questionnaire, including the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood - ISAAC. Daily peak expiratory flow measurements were taken to measure lung function. Daily data on PM10, SO2, O3, NO2 and CO levels, temperature and humidity were provided by a portable monitor. Repeated measurements of lung function were associated with pollutant levels with a multilevel model adjusted for time trend, temperature, air humidity, exposure to smoking at home, presence of asthma, height, sex, weight and age of children. RESULTS: Mean peak expiratory flow was 243.5 l/m (sd=58.9). The lowest mean peak expiratory flow was 124 l/m, and the highest, 450 l/m. For the 10 microg/m(3) increase in PM10, there was a 0.34 l/min decrease in mean peak flow on the third day. For the 10 microg/m(3) increase in NO2, there was a decrease between 0.23 l/min and 0.28 l/min in mean peak flow after exposure. CO and SO2 effects on students' peak flow were not statistically significant. O3 showed a protective result: an increase in 10 microg/m(3) of O3 would be associated, after a day of exposure, with a 0.2 l/min increase in mean lung function. CONCLUSIONS: Even within acceptable levels most of the time, air pollution, especially PM10 and NO2, was associated with a decrease in lung function in children living in the city of Rio de Janeiro.
Chronic Disease: Who is Killing Us and How? http://thetruthaboutmcs.blogspot.com/2009/07/chronic-disease-who-is-killing-us-and.html
MICROBIOLOGIST GARTH NICOLSON interview, (Sudbury, Ontario Aug. 30, 2008). Will YOUR doctor tell you about weaponized mycoplasma? About engineered mycoplasma pathogens in vaccines? Or will he or she treat your symptoms, hook you up for life (or death) on high-priced (and often dangerous) drugs?
What's the real story of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Gulf War Syndrome, AIDS and other degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Crohns, Parkinson's, Huntington's, Lupus, Lyme disease, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, diabetes (type one) and MANY others? If your doctor doesn't know about (or isn't CURIOUS about) US chemical & biological warfare, Operation Paperclip, MKNAOMI, MKDELTA, Texas prison inmates being used as guinea pigs to test genetically engineered pathogens (mycoplasma fermentans incognitus), then get another doctor. You can't afford not to know what Dr. Nicolson is carefully, cautiously, telling us.
Nicolson was a speaker at the 9th Common Cause Medical Research Foundation Conference, Sudbury Canada (Aug 29-31, 2008).
GARTH NICOLSON is a whistle-blower. The kind that movies won't be made about because the conspiracy is huge, on-going, and reaches to the top. It reveals a key element (a silent weapon) in the quiet war on the 'lower orders.'
But SURELY parents (and grandparents) want to know - for starters - what's going on with vaccines their children are forced to take by the Benevolent Homeland.
This video is subtitled, 'Who's killing us, and how?' The title avoids the question,'why?' Garth Nicolson, PhD, avers it's for money, greed. Surely, that's a big part of it.
Dr. Nicolson is the President, Chief Scientific Officer and Research Professor at the Institute for Molecular Medicine in Huntington Beach, California. Born in 1943 in Los Angeles, Dr. Nicolson received his B.S. in Chemistry from University of California at Los Angeles in 1965 and his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from the University of California at San Diego in 1970. He is currently Professor of Integrative Medicine at Capitol University of Integrative Medicine and a Conjoint Professor at the University of Newcastle (Australia). He was formally the David Bruton Jr. Chair in Cancer Research and Professor and Chairman of the Department of Tumor Biology at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, and he was Professor of Internal Medicine and Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston. He was also Professor of Comparative Pathology at Texas A & M University. Among the most cited scientists in the world, Professor Nicolson has published over 550 medical and scientific papers (including 3 Current Contents Citation Classics), edited 14 books, served on the Editorial Boards of 20 medical and scientific journals and is currently serving as Editor of two (Clinical & Experimental Metastasis and the Journal of Cellular Biochemistry). Professor Nicolson has received peer-reviewed research grants from the U. S. Army, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, American Cancer Society and the National Foundation for Cancer Research. Dr. Garth Nicolson has won many awards, such as the Burroughs Wellcome Medal of the Royal Society of Medicine (United Kingdom), Stephen Paget Award of the Metastasis Research Society, the U. S. National Cancer Institute Outstanding Investigator Award, and the Innovative Medicine Award of Canada. He is also a Colonel (Honorary) of the U. S. Army Special Forces and a U. S. Navy SEAL (Honorary) for his work on Armed Forces and veterans illnesses.
For interview transcript, see snowshoefilms website. See also Dr. Nicolson's book, Project Day Lily and William L.C.Scott and Donald W.Scott's magnificent book, AIDS: The Crime Beyond Belief.
Are vaccines contaminated? Are they potentially deadly? Garth Nicolson, whistle-blowing microbiologist (see THE DAY LILY PROJECT), addresses these questions in this excerpt from Dr. Nicolson's talk at the Common Cause Medical Research Foundation Conference in Sudbury, Aug 29-31, 2008.
Key Words: multiple chemical sensitivity, chemical sensitivity, chemical sensitivities, multiple chemical sensitivities, MCS, EI, environmental illness, sick building syndrome, idiopathic environmental intolerance, fibromyalgia, chronic fatiuge, FM, CFS, mold illness, clinical ecology, alternative medicine, environmental medicine, neuropathy, encephalopathy, toxic, chemical, vaccines, adjuvants, autism
Most people look upon renovating, cleaning, and scenting our living space as a positive. However, scientists say that these simple activities are increasingly linked to poor indoor air quality and health impairment. Herberth and colleagues at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research Leipzig in Germany say, "Exposure to indoor renovation activities has been shown to be associated with airway symptoms and allergic manifestations in children."
"There are some 80,000 man-made chemicals in the industrial environment, but only a handful of them - lead, mercury manganese, acrylamide, organophosphates, heavy metals and organic solvents - have been fully tested for potential health risks. The realization that chemicals can damage the central nervous system is not very old, so there are not many specialists with extensive knowledge of both neurology and toxicology. Eighty of these interdisciplinary experts from 16 countries, including the US, Israel, Nigeria, Japan, Estonia, Poland, Spain, Italy, the UK, India and France met last month at the Kibbutz Ma'aleh Hahamisha Guest House outside Jerusalem to discuss the latest discoveries in the field. Few of the foreign participants had ever been here."
"Three years ago, U.S. Department of Agriculture employees determined that synthetic additives in organic baby formula violated federal standards and should be banned from a product carrying the federal organic label. Today the same additives, purported to boost brainpower and vision, can be found in 90 percent of organic baby formula."
Q: Can my multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) be reasonably accommodated under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)?
A: Yes, MCS may be reasonably accommodated. The challenge is that employers generally don't want to accommodate disabilities. It's not the ease of simple and reasonable accommodations that is the issue. It's the fact that employers just refuse to provide them and view people with MCS (and other disabilities) as a lawsuit risk and try to push them out of the company or school in favor of someone else who "won't be such a hassle".
"Baby products throughout the United States are saturated with toxic flame retardants, and it is going to stay that way if the bromine industry has its way. Parents would be outraged if they were aware."
"SOMETHING really smells outside the Diane von Furstenberg store in the Meatpacking District. Pedestrians walking past the designer's posh West 14th Street boutique claim an overpowering fragrance is being pumped into the air from the shop's vents. "
"Though adults still need to eat right and exercise, a growing number of studies now suggest the best time to fight the diseases of aging may be before babies are even born, says Peter Gluckman of the University of Auckland in New Zealand."
"As she directed passengers from the American Airlines MD-82 airliner into Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Williams, now 40, contends she was exposed to hazardous fumes being pushed into the cabin through the plane's air intake system."
"Fourth of July fireworks unleash a shower of toxins into the soil and water, and scientists are only beginning to figure out what that means for human health. The rockets' red glare on the Fourth of July can fill onlookers with patriotism and awe. Unfortunately, it can also fill them with particulates and strontium.
Fireworks get their flamboyance from a variety of chemicals, many of which are toxic to humans. From the gunpowder that fuels them to the metallic compounds that color their explosions, fireworks often contain radioactive, carcinogenic or endocrine-disrupting substances that seep into soil and water, potentially threatening animals throughout the food chain."
Nakayama and colleagues at the Department of Social and Environmental Medicine, Osaka University say that exposure to mites, molds, air freshener, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), benzin, thinner, and coating materials are all linked to SBS. If people occupy a carpeted building or one recently renovated, they significantly increase the odds of developing SBS.
"Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Christopher Smith (R-NJ) have introduced the "Comprehensive Comparative Study of Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Populations Act of 2009," HR 3069, (HERE) legislation that would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct a comprehensive, peer-reviewed, comparative study of vaccinated and unvaccinated populations, which has never before been completed."
"If you had $11 million, would you bet it on somebody who has pancreatic cancer staying alive?"
Hollywood is usually the first to embrace the do-gooder cause of the moment, with the elite often sporting colored ribbons to indicate their solidarity with those affected by diseases like AIDS, multiple sclerosis and breast cancer.
But actors who suffer from the diseases say that when out of the spotlight, the industry tends to ignore those with disabilities and chronic illnesses, leaving many actors and crew members fighting to get work.
GENEVA (AP) - The World Health Organization says a study has shown that babies with HIV could die if given a standard tuberculosis vaccine.
WHO says a three-year study in South Africa found babies born with HIV had a higher risk of contracting a deadly form of TB if given the widely used BCG vaccine.
The study recommends not vaccinating babies with HIV and delaying vaccination for those babies whose HIV status is unknown.
The study was published Wednesday in the journal Bulletin of the World Health Organization.
Chronic fatigue syndrome after infectious mononucleosis in adolescents.
Journal: Pediatrics. 2009 Jul;124(1):189-93.
Authors: Katz BZ, Shiraishi Y, Mears CJ, Binns HJ, Taylor R.
Affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Children's Memorial Hospital, 2300 Children's Plaza, Box 20, Chicago, IL 60614. <bkatz@northwestern.edu>.
OBJECTIVE: The goal was to characterize prospectively the course and outcome of chronic fatigue syndrome in adolescents during a 2-year period after infectious mononucleosis.
METHODS: A total of 301 adolescents (12-18 years of age) with infectious mononucleosis were identified and screened for nonrecovery 6 months after infectious mononucleosis by using a telephone screening interview. Nonrecovered adolescents underwent a medical evaluation, with follow-up screening 12 and 24 months after infectious mononucleosis. After blind review, final diagnoses of chronic fatigue syndrome at 6, 12, and 24 months were made by using established pediatric criteria.
RESULTS: Six, 12, and 24 months after infectious mononucleosis, 13%, 7%, and 4% of adolescents, respectively, met the criteria for chronic fatigue syndrome. Most individuals recovered with time; only 2 adolescents with chronic fatigue syndrome at 24 months seemed to have recovered or had an explanation for chronic fatigue at 12 months but then were reclassified as having chronic fatigue syndrome at 24 months. All 13 adolescents with chronic fatigue syndrome 24 months after infectious mononucleosis were female and, on average, they reported greater fatigue severity at 12 months. Reported use of steroid therapy during the acute phase of infectious mononucleosis did not increase the risk of developing chronic fatigue syndrome.
CONCLUSIONS: Infectious mononucleosis may be a risk factor for chronic fatigue syndrome in adolescents. Female gender and greater fatigue severity, but not reported steroid use during the acute illness, were associated with the development of chronic fatigue syndrome in adolescents. Additional research is needed to determine other predictors of persistent fatigue after infectious mononucleosis.
NLM Citation: PMID: 19564299
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More than half of the beverages, tissues and women's sanitary products on sale in the markets of Guangdong province are "substandard", with a number of them even "dangerous to consumers' health", tests conducted by authorities on over 200 products showed.
Chemist Raymond Wu and engineer Rob Pedersen, both of the Environmental Protection Agency, take soil samples from front yard along West Sharp in Spokane today. The EPA is retesting soil in the area to look for asbestos.
Yards near W.R. Grace's former Zonolite factory in Spokane are being retested for asbestos with new technology that can detect the cancer-causing fibers at ever lower levels.
Now that summer has officially begun, you've prepared a nice meal and a glass of wine for the occasion. After a few minutes, you're overpowered by a chemical smell, which you realize is coming from your neighbor's clothes dryer exhaust. The smell is ruining your meal and the neighbors aren't even home, so you can't ask them to turn it off.
Two weeks after receiving the "cervical cancer" vaccination Gardasil, 26-year-old Shannon from Melbourne remembers, "it became so difficult to breathe that I went straight to the emergency room. I was very frightened at this point. Two weeks before I had been fit and healthy, and by this stage I was limping around the house like a stroke victim, wheezing and worried I was suffocating."
http://www.epa.gov/otaq/climate/ca-waiver.htm WASHINGTON – EPAis granting California's waiver request enabling the state to enforce its greenhouse gas emissions standards for new motor vehicles, beginning with the current model year. Using the law and science as its guide, EPA has taken this action to tackle air pollution and protect human health.
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