Holistic Health Articles and Research Related to Herbal Medicines, Foods and Phytochemicals : Beware of Environment Toxins In Increased Substantially Risk Of Early Onset Of Dementia As We Age

Wednesday 20 June 2018

Beware of Environment Toxins In Increased Substantially Risk Of Early Onset Of Dementia As We Age

According to the research of Alzheimer's Research UK, 1 in 3 people born in the UK this year will develop dementia in their lifetime.

Approximately, over 850,000 people with dementia in the UK and these numbers will increase by over 1 million by year of 2025.

The prevalent risk of dementia have escalated substantially in the East due to economic prosperity over last 30 years in increased living standard of population over a billion.

As a large percentage of these population are followers of Western diet as they have made a lots of money in compared to others and the past.

Dementia is the loss of mental ability that is severe enough to interfere with people's every day quality of life.

And, Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia in aging people.

Western diet process high amount of saturated and trans fat, artificial ingredients with less fruits and vegetable can lead to dementia and other kinds of chronic ailment.

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 investigation 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 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/parkinsonism dementia complex (ALS-PDC), including 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, researchers 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 suggested 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) are 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.

Researchers at the Emory University in sex-specific analyses revealed that women had an excess of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis after exposing to the toxic chemicals,

Furthermore, women highly exposed to the chemicals at work are associated to an excessive risk of Parkinson disease and dementia(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 in related to central nervous system disorders of a prospective cohort study of 1,507 French elderly (1992-1998), researchers suggested neurologic impairments are highly presented in elderly persons who were exposed occupationally to pesticides in compared to general population(5).

Other study of 917 subjects interviewed from February 1997 to August 1998, 528 who 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, scientist strongly agreed that long-term cognitive effects also found in people with low-level exposure to pesticides in occupational conditions(6).

3. Cyanobacterial toxins
Cyanobacterial toxins produced by bacteria cyanobacteria have been linked to neurodegemerative disorders.

According to the Laboratoire de Neurobiologie Cellulaire et Moléculaire, cyanobacterial massive proliferation is a public concern regarding the capacity of certain cyanobacterial strains to produce hepatotoxic and neurotoxic compounds, such as beta-N-methylamino-l-alanine(BMAA) that can affect public health, human activities and wild and stock animals.

BMAA is associated to various forms of neurodegenerative disorder.

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, incompared to 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, abnormal sensation 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, researchers suggested that dioxins exert toxic actions by deceasing action of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase in protect cells integrity against cancer and neuronal dysfunction.

Heavy metals manifest cytotoxic effects in various cells and tissues.

Tight regulation of metals is essential to the health to general public.

Cadmium modulates gene expression and signals transduction and reduces activities of proteins involved in antioxidant defense, interfering with DNA repair and modifying cancer development and brain function.

Cobalt promotes generation of reactive oxygen species in induction of DNA damage in cells and brain tissues, altering abnormal cells proliferation and differentiation and causing healthy cells apoptosis.

Copper is a key metal in cell division processes in both normal and tumor cells.

Copper also has been shown to have an positively 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).

Although toxic substances have been banned over last 10 years, the environment ejected from these substances are stills a major concern in inflicted public health issues.