The Autoimmune Epidemic: Bodies Gone Haywire in a World Out of Balance--and the Cutting-Edge Science that Promises Hope (No Series) (38 page)

The average patient with autoimmune disease:
American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association. Who we are. Press release; 4.

Recent surveys conducted:
American Autoimmune Related Diseases Associaton. Autoimmunity: A major women’s health issue; 2. This patient information literature notes that according to a 2001 AARDA survey, “over 45 percent of patients with autoimmune diseases have been labeled chronic complainers in the earliest stages of their illness.” Available from the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association, 22100 Gratiot Avenue, East Detroit, MI 48021-2227, (586) 776-3900, [email protected].

women with autoimmune disease:
American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association. Who we are. Press release; 4.

This presumption—set forth in the early 1900s by Nobel laureate:
Others recall Ehrlich’s use of the term “horror autotoxicus” differently. Zoltan Fehervari and Shimon Sakaguchi relate in a recent issue of
Scientific American
that Paul Ehrlich theorized autoimmunity might be biologically plausible yet was somehow “kept in check and therefore did not occur.” The medical community misconstrued this “two-sided idea,” taking from it that autoimmunity was inherently impossible, thus leading to generations of medical students and physicians learning that the body could not and would not attack itself. Fehervari, Z and Sakaguchi, S. Peacekeepers of the Immune System. Scientific American, 2006 Oct; 57.

One of the more interesting diseases:
Germolec DR and Smith DA. Introduction to immunology and autoimmunity. Environ Health Perspect 1999 Oct;107(Suppl 5):661–5.

In 2005, Mayo Clinic researchers:
Nicola PJ et al. The risk of congestive heart failure in rheumatoid arthritis: A population-based study over 46 years. Arthritis Rheum 2005 Feb;52(2):412–20.

Other studies show similar elevated risk of heart disease:
Swanberg M et al. MHC2TA is associated with differential MHC molecule expression and susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and myocardial infarction. Nat Genet 2005 May;37(5):486–94. Epub 2005 Apr 10.

Maradit-Kremers H et al. Increased unrecognized coronary heart disease and sudden deaths in rheumatoid arthritis: A population-based cohort study. Arthritis Rheum 2005 Feb;52(2):402–11.

Although the exact means by which autoimmune disease:
Germolec DR and Smith DA. Introduction to immunology and autoimmunity. Environ Health Perspect 1999 Oct;107(Suppl 5):661–5.

Recent studies show that in artherosclerosis:
Lunardi C et al. Endothelial cell activation and apoptosis induced by a subset of antibodies against human cytomegalovirus: Relevance to the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. PLoS ONE 2(5):e473. Doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0000473, www.plosone.org/doi/pone.0000473 (accessed May 30, 2007). Lunardi C et al. Induction of endothelial cell damage by hCMV molecular mimicry. Trends Immunol 2005 Jan;26(1):19–24.

CHAPTER TWO: THE INVISIBLE INVADERS

Yet the average participant:
Houlihan J, Wiles J, Thayer K, and Gray S. Body burden: The pollution in people. Environmental Working Group, 2005. Available from http://www.ewg.org.

These chemicals included pesticides:
http://www.ewg.org/reports/bodyburden2 (accessed May 17, 2007).

Shortly after, investigators in the Netherlands:
Papadakis M. Placenta chemical cocktail. Sunday Tasmanian, 2005 Oct 2. Available online from http://chickenlittle.org/news/story.php?id=4474 (accessed July 18, 2007).

One recent study found PBDEs:
Carlton J. Study reveals toxic chemicals in household dust. Wall Street Journal, 2005 Mar 23;D7.

A separate study of seventeen homes:
National Institute of Standards and Technology. Flame retardant exposure linked to house dust. Report, 2004 Dec 29. Available from http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/releases/PBDE_dust.htm (accessed May 16, 2007).

Babies and toddlers:
Ibid.

They discovered, to their alarm:
Williams F. Toxic breast milk? New York Times Magazine, 2005 Jan 9;23. Herrick T. Toxins in breast milk: Studies explore impact of chemicals on our bodies. Wall Street Journal, 2004 Jan 20. Available from http://www.mindfully.org/Health/2004/Biomonitoring-Breast-Milk20jan04.htm (accessed July 18, 2007).

In 2003, a study of twenty first-time American mothers:
Ibid. Also see Siddiqi MA. et al. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs): New pollutants—old diseases. Clin Med Res 2003 Oct;1(4):281–90.

Overall, levels of PBDEs:
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). Public health statement for polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Available from http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles.phs68_plode.html (accessed May 16, 2007). When viewed in September 2004 on the ATSDR website, the Public Health Statement on PBDEs stated: “Recent studies have shown that levels of lower brominated PBDEs in the general population of the United States continue to rise. The U.S. levels are 10–100 times higher than levels in individuals living in Europe.” When last viewed in May 2004, the page on PBDEs has since been shortened significantly and this statement is no longer included in the abbreviated version.

Other recent studies show that levels of PBDEs:
He J. et al. Microbial reductive debromination of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Environ Sci Technol 2006 Jul 15;40(14):4429–34.

Recently, however, investigators have found:
Ibid.

The CDC’s website now informs:
The ATSDR Public Health Statement for Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers states that “preliminary findings from short-term animal studies suggest that some PBDEs might impair the immune system.” Available from http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/phs68-pbde.html (accessed May 16, 2007).

At breakfast, Becky’s favorite no-hassle:
Manufacturers of Teflon say that in order for nonstick pans to emit toxic substances into the air they must be heated to high temperatures (which makes the coating break down and vaporize). DuPont, the maker of Teflon, says that temperatures must exceed 500°F for deterioration to occur and 660°F for significant decomposition. According to the manufacturer, temperatures don’t reach 500°F in the course of normal cooking except in the broiler. However, according to the Environmental Working Group, nonstick pans do reach such high temperatures when preheated on high—a common practice in many households. In tests conducted on ordinary gas and electric stoves, Teflon and other nonstick pans topped 700°F in three to five minutes. Certainly, in the case of burning pancakes, the pan is reaching such high temperatures. For more on this and other related articles, see http://www.ewg.org/node/8303 and http://www.ewg.org/reports/toxicteflon (accessed July 18, 2007).

It does not break down:
Based on conversation with Timothy Kropp, Environmental Working Group, September 2005.

In 2005, the Environmental Protection Agency:
Eilperin J. Teflon chemical’s potential risk cited. Washington Post, 2005 Jan 13;A4.

In one recent and provocative paper from Stockholm:
Yang Q et al. Potent suppression of the adaptive immune response in mice upon dietary exposure to the potent peroxisome proliferator, perfluorooctanoic acid. Int Immunopharmacol 2002 Feb;2(2–3):389–97.

In one recent study—which found that 100 percent:
From the press release: “100 percent of pregnant women have at least one kind of pesticide in their placenta.” EurekAlert! 2007 May 14. Available from http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-05/udg-1op051407.php (accessed May 28, 2007).

Indeed, if you were to do a search:
For a list of studies, go to PubMed and type in “endosulfan and immune system.” Or see Kannan K et al. Evidence for the induction of apoptosis by endosulfan in a human T-cell leukemic line. Mol Cell Biochem 2000 Feb; 205(1–2):53–66.

Every single one of the female mice:
Sobel ES et al. Acceleration of autoimmunity by organochlorine pesticides in (NZB x NZW)F1 mice. Environ Health Perspect 2005 Mar;113(3):323–8. Sobel ES et al. Comparison of chlordecone effects on autoimmunity in (NZBxNZW)F(1) and BALB/c mice. Toxicology 2006 Feb 1;218(2–3):81–9. Epub 2005 Nov 22.

the commonly used pesticide methoxychlor:
Sobel ES et al. Acceleration of autoimmunity by organochlorine pesticides in (NZB x NZW)F1 mice. Env Health Persp 2005 Mar;113(3):328. In this study, the authors write: “It is worthwhile noting that the lower dose of methoxychlor tested (3 mg/pellet, or approximately 1.2 mg/kg/day) is 4-fold lower than the NOEL used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in developing an oral reference dose for methoxychlor. This suggests that an effect on autoimmunity might be a sensitive toxic end point (an effect that occurs at doses lower than other adverse effects) for methoxychlor, and therefore of particular interest for risk assessment.”

Yet occupational studies that link groups of people:
Rosenberg AM et al. Prevalence of antinuclear antibodies in a rural population. J Toxicol Environ Health A 1999 June;57(4):225–36. In this study researchers found that farmers with a history of working with pesticides were more likely to have a low, but still significant, titer of antinuclear antibodies associated with lupus diagnosis.

In one 2007 study, reseachers studied data from over 300,000 death certificates:
Gold LS et al. Systemic autoimmune disease mortality and occupational exposures. Arthritis Rheum 2007 Oct;56(10):3189–3201. This study also reported an association between exposures to asbestos, solvents, and benzene and a higher risk of dying from systemic autoimmune diseases.

In yet another study, rural farmers who reported mixing pesticides:
Cooper GS et al. Occupational risk factors for the development of systemic lupus erythematosus. J Rheumatol 2004 Oct;31(10): 1928–33. In this study, researchers found a strong association (based on small numbers) between mixing pesticides and lupus.

Despite such danger signals:
Colborn T. Our stolen future. New York: Plume, 1996;216.

There is mounting evidence that this air pollution:
Gilmour PS et al. The procoagulant potential of environmental particles (PM10). Occup Environ Med 2005 Mar;62(3):164–71. Powell JJ et al. Evidence for the role of environmental agents in the initiation or progression of autoimmune conditions. Environ Health Perspect Supplements 1999 Oct;107 (Suppl 5):667–72.

mice exposed to fine particles of pollution:
Sun Q et al. Long-term air pollution exposure and acceleration of atherosclerosis and vascular inflammation in an animal model. JAMA 2005 Dec 21; 294(23):3003–10. This study showed a direct cause and effect link between exposure to fine-particle air pollution and the development of atherosclerosis, commonly known as hardening of the arteries. Mice that were fed a high-fat diet and exposed to air with fine particles had 1.5 times more plaque production than mice fed the same diet and exposed to clean filtered air.

All nine people tested by Mount Sinai:
http://www.ewg.org/reports/bodyburden2 (accessed May 17, 2007).

It has long been known to cross the placenta:
Dahlgren J et al. Residential and biological exposure assessment of chemicals from a wood treatment plant. Chemosphere 2007 Apr;67(9):S279–85. Epub 2007 Jan 17; also see Kao WY. Site-specific health risk assessment of dioxins and furans in an industrial region with numerous emission sources. J Hazard Mater 2006 Nov 30. Epub 2006 Nov 30. For many more studies, search PubMed for “dioxin and cancer.”

when female rodents are exposed to dioxin:
Holladay SD. Prenatal immunotoxicant exposure and postnatal autoimmune disease. Environ Health Perspect, 1999 Oct;107(Suppl 5):687–91.

Other research is examining the role everyday exposure to dioxin:
Silverstone AE et al. 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin may accelerate disease in a murine model of a lupus-like nephritis. Organo-halogen Comp 1996;29:156–160.

Indeed, environmental exposures to dioxin and PCBs:
Based on an e-mail correspondence with Allen Silverstone, April 24, 2007.

At the University of Tokyo:
Yurino H et al. Endocrine disruptors (environmental estrogens) enhance autoantibody production by B1 cells. Toxicol Sci 2004 Sep;81(1):139–47.

Other lab research confirms that environmental estrogens:
Iwata M et al. The endocrine disruptors nonylphenol and octylphenol exert direct effects on T cells to suppress Th1 development and enhance Th2 development. Immunology Letters 2004 Jun 15;94(1–2):135–9.

a number of studies show that BPA alters:
Waldman P. Common industrial chemicals in tiny doses raise health issue. Wall Street Journal, 2005 Jul 25;1.

In 2006, researchers found that BPA:
Welshons WV et al. Large effects from small exposures. III. Endocrine mechanisms mediating effects of bisphenol A at levels of human exposure. Endocrinology 2006 Jun;147(6 Suppl):S56–69. Epub 2006 May 11.