The mystery behind the astronomical rise in neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s could be caused by exposure to ubiquitous but poorly understood environmental toxins, leading physicians warn are doing.
At a conference on Sunday, the nation’s leading neurologists and neuroscientists will understand the role environmental toxins such as air pollution, pesticides, microplastics and eternal chemicals play in an increasingly common disease such as dementia. We highlight recent research efforts to fill large scientific holes in research. and developmental disabilities in children.
Humans may encounter over 80,000 staggering toxic chemicals as they work, play, sleep and learn. There are so many of them that it is almost impossible to determine their individual impact on an individual, let alone how they interact and have a cumulative effect on the nervous system. Over life.
Given the proliferation of plastic and chemical pollutants, and the indifference of America’s regulatory approach, contact with environmental toxins is inevitable, but exposure is unequal.
In the United States, communities of color, indigenous peoples, and low-income households can be exposed to myriad pollutants through unsafe housing and water, manufacturing and farming jobs, near roads and polluted factories. is much higher.
While genetic makeup likely plays a role in whether people are pathologically susceptible to various chemicals, studies have shown higher rates of cancer and respiratory disease in areas with high environmental stress. has been shown to be high.
Little is known about its impact on brain and nervous system disorders, but a sharp rise in previously rare diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and the degenerative disease ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) is not fully explained by genetics or aging alone. Details Commonly found in areas with military veterans and heavy industry.
Neurologists and their surgeons, neurosurgeons, will spotlight research gaps at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (ANA) in Chicago.
“Neurology is about 15 years behind cancer, so we need to sound the alarm about this and get more people to study it. [Environmental Protection Agency] Frances Jensen, president of ANA and chair of the Department of Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania, said:
Many well-known and dangerous toxins such as asbestos, glyphosate and formaldehyde continue to be widely used in agriculture, construction, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics in the United States despite being banned elsewhere. The Guardian initially reported that the company was trying to influence the EPA to cover up a link between the popular herbicide paraquat and Parkinson’s disease.
Jensen adds:
Neurology is the branch of medicine that focuses on disorders of the nervous system, including the brain, spinal cord, and sensory nerve elements such as the ears, eyes, and skin. Neurologists treat children with stroke, multiple sclerosis, migraines, Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, as well as neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD, autism, and learning disabilities.
The brain, the most complex and vital organ in the body, and perhaps the most sensitive to environmental toxins, has been largely inaccessible to researchers until the development of sophisticated imaging, genetic and molecular techniques over the past two decades.
Future research may help explain why people living in areas with higher levels of air pollution are at higher risk of stroke and examine the links between fetal exposure and neurodevelopmental disorders.
Rick Woychik, Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, said: PFAS chemicals are as ubiquitous in the environment as nanoplastics. With trillions of dollars worth of demand for nanomaterials, it’s chilling how little we know about their toxicity. ”
