Disturbing findings about exposure to hormone-like chemicals in today’s NY Times science section: it can cause early puberty in children. A preschool-age girl and her kindergarten-age brother each developed pubic hair after their father used a testosterone cream he purchased from the Internet.  Apparently excess testosterone seeped into the kid’s system through ordinary skin-to-skin contact with their dad.  And four school girls developed breast enlargement after using a shampoo containing placental extract and estrogen. Scientists worry that we may be seeing more incidents like these as exposure to hormones and hormone-like chemicals occurs via cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and even some manufacturing processes. In 1996, Congress told the EPA to develop a screening program to address the issue, but, according to one EPA scientist, the program has been stalled due to stonewalling by chemical industry reps who sit on the advisory committee.

Posted by Sarah Schmidt on Oct 17, 2006 at 4:19 PM
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It’s a good thing we banned lead use in paint and gasoline.  A study just came out in the journal Neurology that shows that people who were exposed to high levels before the 1980s, when it was still widely-used, now have cognitive problems as they age. The study also showed that the problem is worse for African-Americans, though the authors aren’t sure if this is because of higher lead levels in their communities or because of differences in bone mineral density, which could cause lead to be absorbed differently. The knowledge that some age-related decline could actually be attributed to lead exposure may help doctors prevent and treat it more effectively.  It should also give us some food for thought: decades after addressing the lead problem, we’re still discovering more ill-effects.  Just one more reason to err on the side of caution as we consider how aggressive to be about mercury and other environmental toxins today.

Posted by Sarah Schmidt on Sep 14, 2006 at 1:33 PM
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The latest: eating fish contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) seems to make kids’ vaccinations less effective, yet another reason pregnant women and children should be extremely careful about what seafood they eat. PCBs are a type of industrial toxin believed to be human carcinogen. They’ve been banned since the 1970s but they linger in the environment. The most recent warning comes from a study done among people in living on the Faroe Islands—a population that eats a particularly seafood-heavy diet (some of the important research about mercury in fish has come from the Faroes, too).  If you’re not already whipping out one of those dorky-but-increasingly-useful wallet cards from Seafood Watch before ordering fish, consider doing it now.  Environmental Defense also has a good chart on contaminated fish that you can print out.

Posted by Sarah Schmidt on Sep 5, 2006 at 5:40 PM
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In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the rate of mental illness doubled among Gulf Coast residents according to a report from Harvard Medical School.

The most common problems were depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. About a quarter of study subjects reported recurring nightmares about the hurricane—among people living within New Orleans city limits, that number jumped to almost fifty percent.

The study, the biggest yet on post-Katrina mental health, was done in the spring of this year and published in World Health Organization’s Bulletin. Researchers compared their new data with a similar study in the same area between 2001 and 2003.

The one bright spot in the survey is that thoughts of suicide seem to have actually declined, an effect researchers attribute to a renewed sense of connectedness to the community and loved ones. According the New Orleans Times-Picayune, though, this point may be misleading. The actual suicide rate, at least one psychiatrist tells the paper, may increase since the people who are thinking about suicide may be more likely to act.  The Harvard researchers plan to follow the Katrina survivors for at least seven more years to get a picture of more long-term effects.

Posted by Sarah Schmidt on Aug 31, 2006 at 3:10 PM
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While the bad news about the Western diet keeps coming in, so does good news about healthy alternatives.  Several studies just came out that shed more light on how food choices play a role in cancer prevention.  First, the bad news: a Swedish study showed that eating more processed meats like bacon and sausage is linked to a higher risk of stomach cancer.  At the same time, another study in the journal Clinical Cancer Research shows that a diet high in omega-3 fatty acids (found in fatty fish, free-range meat, and flax seed) and low in omega-6 (found in farm-raised meat and corn-based products) may play a role in inhibiting the progression of prostate cancer. Researchers at Johns Hopkins have also found that a pill containing curcumin and quercetin, compounds found in curry and onions, seems to be able to shrink and reduce the number of pre-cancerous colon polyps.  And while some of this research is somewhat preliminary, doesn’t a nice wild salmon filet—or maybe some takeout curry—just sound better than a hotdog or BLT anyway?

Posted by Sarah Schmidt on Aug 2, 2006 at 4:41 PM
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