January 28, 2014
USA Today (1/28, Szabo) reports that a study published online Jan. 27 in JAMA Neurology associates “exposure to the insecticide” dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) “with Alzheimer’s disease.”
Bloomberg News (1/28, Ostrow) reports that “researchers analyzed blood samples of 86 people who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and 79 patients without the condition.” In addition, they examined tissue and blood samples from 11 deceased Alzheimer’s patients. The investigators found that “people with Alzheimer’s disease had about four times the level of” dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), “a DDT byproduct in their blood, compared with those who didn’t have” Alzheimer’s.
The Huffington Post (1/28) reports that investigators also discovered that “people with the highest DDE blood levels who had the Ɛ4 version of the APOE gene scored worse on a cognitive functioning test, compared with people who had a different version of that gene.” The article notes that the “Ɛ4 version of the gene has been strongly linked with Alzheimer’s risk in” previous research.
The Newark (NJ) Star-Ledger (1/28, O’Brien) reports even though “DDT has been banned in the United States for more than four decades, it still shows up in 75 percent to 80 percent of blood samples monitored by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” The chemical is “still used in parts of the world where its anti-malaria efficacy trumps concern over its toxicity.” The pesticide “can still enter the US food chain through its presence in some imported meat, fish and dairy products.” What’s more, the chemical can persist for years in the environment, including in the soil. Also covering the story are HealthDay (1/28, Thompson), CQ (1/28, Young, Subscription Publication) and Reuters (1/28, Pittman).
Article courtesy American Medical Association
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