\ ALS Research \ Formaldehyde exposure linked to ALS risk
Formaldehyde exposure is associated with an increased risk for ALS, according to a longitudinal study conducted by Mark Weisskopf, PhD, ScD, and colleagues from the Harvard School of Public Health,
The study, published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, assessed the self-reported exposure to 11 chemicals and x-rays in more than 1,100 men and women who died from ALS using data collected through the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Prevention Study II. Individuals who reported a known duration of exposure to formaldehyde – a by-product of cigarette smoke – were twice as likely to develop ALS than unexposed individuals. The risk increased with increasing years of exposure. In this study, exposure to pesticides and herbicides was not associated with an increased risk of ALS.
The design of the large prospective study eliminated the bias associated with patients trying to remember past exposures - a difficult task for an individual desperate to understand the nature of his or her illness. The authors acknowledge that the reliance on self-reports and the absence of data on the frequency or intensity of exposure were limitations to the study.
This is the first report suggesting that exposure to formaldehyde – a neurotoxic chemical that cause oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction, both of which are implicated in ALS – increases risk for the disease, the authors say. The authors also note that smoking is “perhaps the most consistent non-genetic risk factor for ALS,” apart from age and gender.
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Formaldehyde exposure linked to ALS risk
By: Katie Moisse, PhDFormaldehyde exposure is associated with an increased risk for ALS, according to a longitudinal study conducted by Mark Weisskopf, PhD, ScD, and colleagues from the Harvard School of Public Health,
The study, published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, assessed the self-reported exposure to 11 chemicals and x-rays in more than 1,100 men and women who died from ALS using data collected through the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Prevention Study II. Individuals who reported a known duration of exposure to formaldehyde – a by-product of cigarette smoke – were twice as likely to develop ALS than unexposed individuals. The risk increased with increasing years of exposure. In this study, exposure to pesticides and herbicides was not associated with an increased risk of ALS.
The design of the large prospective study eliminated the bias associated with patients trying to remember past exposures - a difficult task for an individual desperate to understand the nature of his or her illness. The authors acknowledge that the reliance on self-reports and the absence of data on the frequency or intensity of exposure were limitations to the study.
This is the first report suggesting that exposure to formaldehyde – a neurotoxic chemical that cause oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction, both of which are implicated in ALS – increases risk for the disease, the authors say. The authors also note that smoking is “perhaps the most consistent non-genetic risk factor for ALS,” apart from age and gender.
| Posted On: Thursday, January 07, 2010 Modified: Thursday, January 07, 2010 Category: ALS Research Posted By: |