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~tChronic fatigue linked with virus
~w2009-10-16
A new study has discovered a link between chronic fatigue syndrome, a mysterious and debilitating exhaustion that is not relieved by sleep, and a retrovirus.The new study, published in the journal Science, reported that the findings could lead to a treatment for a debilitating ailment that affects millions of people and in some cases leaves them unable to work. Judy Mikovits, director of research for the Whittemore Peterson Institute, at the University of Nevada, Reno, one of the organisations which led the research said, "We now have evidence that a retrovirus named XMRV is frequently present in the blood of patients with CFS," said. "This discovery could be a major step in the discovery of vital treatment options for millions of patients." Researchers cautioned that while there appeared to be a relationship between the retrovirus and chronic fatigue syndrome, they had not proven that the illness was caused by XMRV. In the study, XMRV was identified in the blood of 68 of 101 CFS patients but was found in the blood of only eight of 218 healthy people. Retroviruses such as XMRV have been shown to activate a number of other latent viruses.
The Australian, 10 October 2009
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~tCommon air pollutants react and make more pollution
~w2009-10-16
A new study by Raff et al titled Chlorine activation indoors and outdoors via surface-mediated reactions of nitrogen oxides with hydrogen chloride, published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Scienceshas found that common air pollutants can react with one another to form highly reactive and toxic chlorine gasses. The pollutants – gaseous hydrochloric acid (HCl) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) – can be abundant in both indoor and outdoor air.The authors warn that these reactions may contribute to poor indoor air quality.Gaseous HCl is produced both naturally and by human activities such as combustion (including burning garbage, medical wastes, coal) and some industrial processes. In addition, gaseous nitrogen oxides are ubiquitous as a result of combustion.Nitrogen oxides can attach to surfaces in a process called adsorption. During the study, lead author JD Raff and colleagues discovered that adsorbed nitrogen oxides can react with gaseous HCl to form nitrosyl chloride (ClNO) and nitryl chloride (ClNO2) – two intermediates that can react with light to create highly responsive chlorine atoms. Chlorine gas was among the first gases used in wartime in WWII, and it is a strong lung irritant and oxidant.However, the extent of the problem remains unknown because analytical techniques to measure ClNO at low levels – parts per thousand – have not been developed. Furthermore, it is possible that similar chemical reactions may also occur with other compounds that contain bromine. The results from the new study are important because the adsorption of NOx to surfaces is generally regarded positively, as it is thought to permanently remove it from air. This study shows that NOx on surfaces can, instead, be a first step in a process that creates more air pollution.Secondly, in areas where both NOx and HCl concentrations are generally high (such as urban coastal areas – because HCl can be generated from sea salt), these chemical reactions can increase ozone pollution. Ozone is a greenhouse gas and a strong pollutant. It can affect health by irritating the respiratory system, permanently damaging lungs and aggravating asthma.
Environmental Health News, 7 October 2009
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~tCould take years to lower pandemic alert level – WHO
~w2009-10-16
According to the World Health Organisation, it could take years to downgrade the H1N1 flu from a pandemic to seasonal-like virus.The WHO moved its six-point pandemic alert level to the top rung in June in response to the spread of the new virus widely known as swine flu, which has killed at least 4,500 people, especially in North America.WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said that health warning would stay in place until people can better fend off infection from the H1N1 strain."At some point in the future, there would be a recognition of the fact that if it's no longer circulating on a sustainable basis in communities. Then you would lower the pandemic level," he said, while stressing: "There is absolutely no indication yet of that happening."In previous pandemics, Hartl said, it has taken time for worrisome flu strains to become less contagious. The slowdown generally comes from people having some prior exposure to the virus or gaining protection from a vaccine."Eventually a pandemic virus becomes more like a seasonal virus and that normally will take something like two to three years," Hartl said. "Once enough people either have been vaccinated or have contracted the virus, then it becomes more difficult to spread. It starts acting like a seasonal flu."National health authorities conduct regular monitoring of flu viruses and research on the circulating strains is used by pharmaceutical companies who sell seasonal flu shots, which normally contain a mixture of a few viruses.GlaxoSmithKline , Novartis , Baxter , AstraZeneca and CSL are among the firms now scrambling to develop and sell H1N1 flu shots, yielding them billions of dollars in government orders. China began the world's first mass vaccination programme in late September and Australia and the United States have also launched campaigns targeting children and health workers first.Hartl said there was no sign yet that the pandemic strain had mutated into a more dangerous or more mild form than the one first identified in Mexico and the United States."So far the virus has remained quite homogenous," he said.In its latest snapshot of the spreading virus, the WHO said there has been an unusually early start of flu-like illness in the northern hemisphere this autumn.Influenza viruses thrive in colder climates and normally pack the biggest punch in winter.In recent weeks some countries in Europe seen higher than normal respiratory disease activity and Japan's flu pattern is above its, especially in big cities. The United States, Mexico and Canada have also had higher than normal illness rates for the time of year, the WHO said in the statement.Flu transmission has stayed steady in tropical parts of the Americas and Asia, with "high intensity respiratory diseases activity" reported in Colombia, Cuba and El Salvador. However, in the southern hemisphere, flu infections have waned with the end of the winter season, the WHO said, describing subsided transmission in Chile, Argentina and New Zealand and falling rates of illness in South Africa and Australia.
Reuters Health, 10 October 2009
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~tToxic chemicals found in Maine health workers
~w2009-10-16
A new study of U.S health professionals has demonstrated positive test results for toxic chemicals. Doctors and nurses in 10 states, tested positive for at least 24 different toxic chemicals in their blood and other body fluids in a recently released study conducted by the national organisation - Physicians for Social Responsibility. The small study, with a total of just 20 participants, is the first to measure the presence of environmental chemicals in the bodies of health care professionals. The study aims to raise awareness in the medical community about the prevalence of toxic substances in the environment as well as to support the overhaul of a 1976 federal law that regulates the chemical industry. “We really are our environments. We assimilate the world around us, whether it is natural or artificial,” said Anne Perry, a nurse practitioner and a Democratic state representative from Calais. Perry, one of two Maine health professionals to participate in the study, said that she did so partly from curiosity about her exposure and partly to help build support for strengthening federal regulation of chemicals used in manufacturing. Perry said she was “pleasantly surprised” to find she had no measurable amounts of either lead or mercury in her body. But she was disturbed to see she had the second-highest level among all participants of perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, in her blood. “That’s what they use for the protective coating on carpets and on the outside of microwave popcorn bags and on nonstick cooking pans,” Perry said. “I try to be as natural as possible, but you really don’t realise how much exposure you have from your environment.”
WashingtonCounty residents, already at risk from high rates of cancer and chronic disease, are especially vulnerable to the effects of toxic chemicals, Perry said. Another participant in the study is Dr. Stephanie Lash, a neurologist said that many toxic substances in the environment cause neurological damage in humans, including in the developing brains of infants and in the peripheral nervous systems of the elderly. “So it really affects us at both ends of life,” she said. Like Perry, Lash had virtually no trace of lead or mercury in her test results. But she had surprisingly high levels of Bisphenol A, perfluorinated compounds and phthalates — “the ubiquitous chemicals in plastics,” she said. Lash said she avoids drinking from plastic bottles of water or soda and doesn’t know why her levels are so high. “The bottom line is that we know far too little about these things,” she said. Mike Belliveau of the Bangor-based Environmental Health Strategy Centre said Maine has been a leader in calling for tighter regulation of chemicals used in manufacturing. The 2008 Kids Safe Products Law requires the state Department of Environmental Protection to identify potentially dangerous chemicals used in consumer items for children and to faze them out of products sold in Maine. The law drew support from a 2007 study of Maine people who agreed to be tested for the presence of toxic chemicals in their bodies. Belliveau said manufacturers should be required to demonstrate the safety of their products before marketing them, as pharmaceuticals companies must. “There is no such requirement for the chemical industry,” he said. Out of about 80,000 chemicals in common use, Belliveau said only five have been restricted since the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 was enacted.
Physician Dr. Lani Graham said that although the new report is built on a very small sample population, it is important. “It draws attention to the fact that chemicals are out there, they get into our bodies and we really don’t know the long-term effects,” she said. The 1976 law “has been a complete paper tiger. It does not protect people from these toxic chemicals. It needs to be completely re-evaluated and reauthorised.” A spokesman for the American Chemistry Council said the organisation has not had time to evaluate the study. Mike Walls, vice president for regulatory and technical affairs, said monitoring the presence of chemicals in humans can be helpful in assessing the impact of chemicals in the environment. Although most substances measured in the new study have strong safety records, he said, the organisation supports the “modernisation” of the Toxic Substances Control Act. “We will continue to work with the administration, Congress, states, regulatory agencies, our downstream partners, environmental groups and others with a stake in this issue to advance comprehensive reforms to enhance the way chemicals are managed,” Walls said.
Bangor Daily News, 9 October 2009
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~dGossip
~tNanosilver In The Wash
~w2009-10-16
Socks and other garments that stay odour-free thanks to antimicrobial nanoscale silver particles are increasingly showing up on store shelves. However, what happens to the silver when such products are washed remains an open question. A new study by Bernd Nowack and colleagues at the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing & Research provides a first look at the behaviour of nanosilver textiles under real-world washing conditions. The study builds on previous research conducted in water without detergents by researchers at ArizonaStateUniversity.Nowack and colleagues found that the total amount and form of silver (dissolved or particulate) that leaches during washing varies significantly depending on the product and the conditions. During the new study, the researchers tested nine textiles and found that the percentage of total silver lost during washing varied from less than 1% to 45%. “Some particles are only loosely attached to the fibre; others are incorporated into the fibre,” Nowack notes. “Companies have a possibility to optimise their products by using a method that strongly binds the particles.”More than half of the silver that was released in the washing machine was in the form of particles larger than 450 nm in diameter. The researchers have yet to characterise the particles or determine what happens to them during wastewater treatment. In addition, the researchers examined the effects of pH, surfactants, and oxidisers. Under typical washing conditions (pH 10–11, with high levels of surfactants), dissolved concentrations of silver were 10 times lower than at pH 7. But when a bleaching agent such as hydrogen peroxide or peracetic acid was added, the dissolution of silver was greatly accelerated.The study “gives us a much better idea of how silver might be released into the environment from the new wave of silver-nanoparticle-containing fabrics,” says Andrew D. Maynard, chief science adviser at the nonprofit Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies.The results do not contradict the previous ArizonaState study. But they do show that washing conditions matter in the leaching of silver nanomaterials from fabric. Understanding nanomaterial behaviour “will certainly involve more than swishing socks around in water,” notes environmental engineer Mark R. Wiesner, director of DukeUniversity’s Centre for the Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology.
Chemical & Engineering News, 2 October 2009
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~tFolate may prevent hearing loss in men
~w2009-10-16
The findings from a new study by U.S researchers suggest that increased intakes of folate and folic acid may reduce the risk of hearing loss in men by 20 per cent. Antioxidants such as vitamins C and E, and beta-carotene were not associated with any benefits, researchers have told the 2009 AmericanAcademy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) Annual Meeting in San Diego. Researchers led by Boston-based Josef Shargorodsky used the most recent figures from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study cohort from years 1986 to 2004, a group consisting of 51,529 male health professionals. The study identified 3,559 cases of men with hearing loss. When the nutritional data was analysed, men over the age of 60 with high folate intake from foods and supplements had a 20 per cent decrease in risk of developing hearing loss. This is not the first time the B vitamin has been linked to the prevention of hearing loss, the most common sensory disorder in the United States, affecting more than 36 million people. In 2007 scientists from WageningenUniversity reported that folic acid supplements delayed age-related hearing loss in the low frequency region in a study of 728 men and women between the ages of 50 and 70 (Annals of Internal Medicine, Vol. 146, pp. 1-9). Another study, published earlier this year indicated a role for beta carotene and vitamins C and E, and the mineral magnesium in preventing prevent both temporary and permanent hearing loss in guinea pigs and mice. The animal study was presented at the Association for Research in Otolaryngology's annual conference in Baltimore in February 2009. The findings from the new study support the potential of folate from both dietary and supplemental sources, but challenges the findings on antioxidant vitamins – no benefits were observed in people with increased intakes of vitamins C and E, and beta carotene. Dr Shargorodsky and his co-workers believe that this study is the largest study to investigate the relation between dietary intake and hearing loss. The findings can allow greater education, prevention, and screening efforts for hearing loss, said the researchers. Folate is found in foods such as green leafy vegetables, chick peas and lentils, and an overwhelming body of evidence links has linked folate deficiency in early pregnancy to increased risk of neural tube defects (NTD) - most commonly spina bifida and anencephaly - in infants. This connection led to the 1998 introduction of public health measures in the US and Canada, where all grain products are fortified with folic acid - the synthetic, bioavailable form of folate. While preliminary evidence indicates that the measure is having an effect with a reported 15 to 50 per cent reduction in NTD incidence, parallel measures in European countries, including the UK and Ireland, are still on the table.
Nutra Ingredients, 7 October 2009
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~dGossip
~tTake a deep breath -- more bad news on air pollution
~w2009-10-16
It's easy to see how air pollution would affect respiratory disease: You breathe in smog-filled miasma all day and the ozone, other noxious gases and small particulate matter therein can make you wheeze and cough. Pollutants can trigger asthma attacks and bronchitis in susceptible individuals. However, it is harder to see the connection to other conditions. According to the finds from two recent studies, breathing polluted air is linked to appendicitis and ear infections. The new reports have been met with surprise because neither health problem seems obviously linked with the airway or bloodstream. At the same time, they represent a trend toward broadening the research scope of air pollution and health. "People are looking at everything and air pollution these days," says Francine Laden, an epidemiologist at Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. For decades researchers worldwide have undertaken studies on air pollution, which forms part of the basis for government regulation of air quality. Study after study has found more hospitalisations and higher death rates when certain pollutants are high. In addition to respiratory effects, research has established that air pollution increases the risk of cardiovascular events such as arrhythmia, heart attack and stroke, and the incidence of certain cancers. A new study, published on 5 October in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, researchers examined records for 5,191 adults admitted to Calgary hospitals for appendicitis from 1999 to 2006. The dates of the patients' admissions were compared to air pollution levels in the preceding week, using data from three air quality surveillance sites in the city. The results demonstrated a significant effect of pollutants on appendicitis rates in the summer months among men, but not women.