neurodevelopmental damage

[HRVM60A@prodigy.com (MR CARROLL D JOHNSTON)]

As I’m catching up on a two week backlog of Dioxin-L messages, I want 
to respond to the following October 6 message from Ralph Ryder.  
After I give my response to him, I have an additional request for 
information from the rest of you about neurological damage to human 
fetuses as a result of the mothers’ exposure to dioxin-like compounds.


From: Ralph Ryder <Ralph@tcpub.demon.co.uk>
To: Multiple recipients of list <dioxin-l@essential.org>
Subject: Re: Autism?

Hello,

Can anyone help us?

The following is an article from the "Autism Research
Review International" Volume 8, number 1 1994.

No chromosome damage seen in Leominster children;
study disputed.

Concern over a cluster of autism cases in the
Massachusetts town of Leominster has prompted researchers
to investigate a possible link between the town's autism
rate and the residents exposure to toxins from near-by
plastics manufacturing sites.  Recently, Donna Spiker et
al. reported that chromosome test done on 14 children
from the Leominster area showed no abnormalities, "thus
failing to support the hypothesis that toxic exposure in
parents of autistic children is accompanied by
cytogenetic abnormalities in the children."

However, the researcher cautioned that current findings "
do not address questions about the epidemiology of autism
in this particular geographic area," and that the test
they performed may not detect some abnormalities.

Lori Altobeili. the mother who first called attention to
the Leominster pollution problem, expressed great
disappointment with the Stanford report.  "We thought
they were going to do an up-date DNA analysis to see if
there was any damage at gene level," Altobeili said.
"Instead they used 40 year old technology to do only a
gross visual examination of the chromosomes.  since the
kids look normal, we never suspected chromosome damage.
We are making arrangements with another laboratory to do
the kind of analysis we had in mind originally, which
will employ 1990s technology rather than 1950s methods.

The report:  "Failure to find cytogenetic abnormalities
in autistic children whose parents grew up near plastics
manufacturing sites,"  Donna Spiker,  Linda Lotspeich,
Joachim Halfmayer?  Helens Kraemer and Roland Claranello
. 

Has anybody an update on this research or any other
information that might be of use to our member?

Wishing you good health

Ralph Ryder
  
Ralph Ryder
TC Publications & Communities Against Toxics
PO Box 29
Ellesmere Port
South Wirral
L66 3TX
Ralph@tcpub.demon.co.uk
Cats@gn.apc.org
Http://www.gn.apc.org/cats/

My response to Ralph’s question:

I am aware of several researchers who have been looking at the 
neurodevelopmental problems created in the fetuses of mothers who 
were exposed to polyhalogenated organic compounds such as dioxins and 
PCBs.  Since these compounds could well be present at the plastics 
manufacturing sites that Ralph mentions, the researchers’ findings 
may be relevant.  It seems from their research that looking for 
chromosome damage is the wrong place to start.  The neurological 
damage to fetuses in their research occurred because the mother 
and/or fetus produced inadequate amounts of thyroxin hormone at a 
critical stage of fetal development.  I think the 12th to 16th weeks 
of gestation was the critical period for this to occur.  As I recall, 
the research articles mention lowered IQ and attention deficit 
hyperactivity disorder specifically, but a wide range of neurological 
damage was noted and might include autism.  Rather than being a 
chromosome problem, the neurological impairment resulted from the 
endocrine disrupter effect of the toxins.  I am no expert on 
chromosomal damage, but it appears to me that looking at chromosomes 
would not reveal the kind of damage mechanisms that these researchers 
are observing.

The recent studies by Sandra and Joseph Jacobson on mothers who ate 
PCB-contaminated Great Lakes fish before and during their pregnancies 
are one example of this research.  I also have a good 40-page 
overview article that I would recommend:  "Functional aspects of 
developmental toxicity of polyhalogenated aromatic hydrocarbons in 
experimental animals and human infants" by Abraham Brouwer, et. al.; 
European Journal of Pharmacology, Environmental Toxicology and 
Pharmacology Section; 293 (1995) 1-40.

The best article that I have found so far that lays out possible 
relationships among toxin exposure (especially dioxins and PCBs), 
thyroid disruption, and neurological damage to a fetus is:  
"Vulnerability of the Developing Brain to Thyroid Abnormalities:  
Environmental Insults to the Thyroid System" by Susan P. Porterfield  
(Environmental Health Perspectives; Vol. 102, Supplement 2, June 
1994).

I would appreciate hearing from other Dioxin-L readers who could tell 
Ralph and me about other especially good research articles on this 
topic.  I am particularly interested in lowered IQ, attention deficit 
hyperactivity disorder, and/or autism that have been linked to dioxin-
like compounds or other types of toxins that could be emitted by 
municipal waste incinerators.

Carroll Johnston
Oregon Chapter, Physicians for Social Responsibility
hrvm60a@prodigy.com