Dementia - Environment toxin causes of Dementia

 Dementia
About 5-8% of all people over the age of 65 have some form of dementia, and this number doubles every five years above that age. Dementia is the loss of mental ability that is severe enough to interfere with people's every life and Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia in aging people. American typical diet contains high amount of saturated and trans fat, artificial ingredients with less fruits and vegetable which can lead to dementia and other kind of diseases

 I. Causes of  Dementia
F. Environment toxin causes of Dementia
Certain environment toxins produced as a result of industrialization or naturally have been linked to cognitive degenerative diseases. Researchers at the University of British Columbia in the investugation of Novel environmental toxins: steryl glycosides as a potential etiological factor for age-related neurodegenerative diseases, showed that Mice fed washed cycad flour show signs that mimic ALS-PDC, which include progressive deficits in motor, cognitive, and olfactory functions associated with neuron loss in the spinal cord, nigrostriatal system, cortex, hippocampus, and olfactory bulb. Through a series of chemical extractions of washed cycad flour, we identified steryl glycoside molecules as bioactive molecules that are neurotoxic in culture and in mice. A detailed review of this class of molecule revealed that the molecules are abundant in the environment, particularly in plants and bacteria. Lipid analysis showed that some bacteria that are associated with some forms of neurodegenerative disorders have the capacity to synthesize steryl glycosides. Furthermore, certain steryl glycosides have been found to be a cell stress mediator and may have some immunomodulary effects.(1). Others researchers showed that Parkinson disease (PD) and Alzheimer disease (AD), are of purely genetic origin in a minority of cases and appear in most instances to arise through interactions among genetic and environmental factors and early environmental origins of neurodegenerative disease in later life(2).

1.  Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB)
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) an  industrial chemicals used commercially 1929 and ended in the United States in the 1970s  for the manufacturing of electrical equipment, heat exchangers, hydraulic systems, etc. The researchers at the Emory University showed that sex-specific analyses revealed that women had an excess of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (SMR-2.26; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.08-4.15; 10 deaths). Furthermore, among highly exposed women (defined by a job-exposure matrix), we found an excess of Parkinson disease (SMR-2.95; 95% CI = 1.08-6.42; 6 deaths) and dementia (SMR-2.04; 95% CI = 1.12-3.43; 14 deaths)(3). Other study suggested Chronic inhalation of low chlorinated PCBs that involved elevated blood levels was associated with a subtle attenuation of emotional well-being and attentional function. Extended research is needed to replicate the potential long-term low PCB effects in a larger sample.(4)

2. Pesticides
Pesticides is the substances used in preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest. In the study to exposure to pesticides could be related to central nervous system disorders in a prospective cohort study of 1,507 French elderly (1992-1998), suggested the presence of neurologic impairments in elderly persons who were exposed occupationally to pesticides(5). Other study of 917 subjects interviewed from February 1997 to August 1998, 528 were directly exposed to pesticides through mixing and/or spraying (mean exposure duration: 22 years), 173 were indirectly exposed through contact with treated plants, and 216 were never exposed, concluded that  long-term cognitive effects of low-level exposure to pesticides in occupational conditions.(6)

3. Cyanobacterial toxins
Cyanobacterial toxins produced by bacteria cyanobacteria have been linked to neurodegemerative disorders. Researchers at Laboratoire de Neurobiologie Cellulaire et Moléculaire in the study suggested that yanobacterial massive proliferation is of public concern regarding the capacity of certain cyanobacterial strains to produce hepatotoxic and neurotoxic compounds that can affect public health, human activities and wild and stock animals. The cholinergic synapses and voltage-gated sodium channels constitute the targets of choice of cyanobacterial neurotoxins. Anatoxin-a and homoanatoxin-a are agonists of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Anatoxin-a(s) is an irreversible inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase. Saxitoxin, kalkitoxin and jamaicamide are blockers of voltage-gated sodium channels, whereas antillatoxin is an activator of such channels. Moreover the neurotoxic amino acid l-beta-N-methylamino-l-alanine was shown to be produced by diverse cyanobacterial taxa(7)

4. Mixtures of organic solvents
In the study to assess the applicability of the World Health Organization (WHO) Neurobehavioral Core Test Battery (NCTB) of 53 male and 29 female Venezuelan workers exposed to mixtures of organic solvents in an adhesive factory, and 56 male and 11 female workers unexposed to any type of neurotoxic chemical, research team at University of Carabobo found that Compared to the nonexposed, the exposed subjects demonstrated an increased frequency of subjective symptoms of fatigue, difficulties with memory, confusion, paresthesias in upper and lower extremities, and sleep disturbances(8)


5.  Dioxins and heavy metals
In the study to evaluate the roles of dioxins and heavy metals in cancer and neurological diseases, suggested that Dioxins exert their toxic actions by acting on phase I and phase II enzymes, such as cytochromes P450, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase, promoting cell proliferation, growth arrest, and apoptosis, affecting cancer homeostasis and neuronal function. Heavy metals manifest cytotoxic effects in various cells and tissues, and tight regulation of metals is essential to the health of organisms. Cadmium modulates gene expression and signal transduction and reduces activities of proteins involved in antioxidant defense, interfering with DNA repair and modifying cancer development and brain function. Cobalt provokes generation of reactive oxygen species and DNA damage in cancer cells and brain tissues, altering proliferation and differentiation and causing apoptosis. Copper is a key metal in cell division processes in both normal and tumor cells. Copper also has been shown to have an important role in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.(9)

6. Asbestos
There are report that Asbestos has been kinked to Alzheimer disease. 10 cases in which an asbestos-related disease (malignant pleural mesothelioma or asbestosis) was associated with severe Alzheimer type lesions in the brain(10)

7. Etc.

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 Sources
(1) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17149752 
(2) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16140633
(3) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16357589
(4) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16236166
(5) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12615605
(6) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11564621
(7) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19660486
(8) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7900732
(9) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20696237
(10) http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3957626