If so, can anyone quote the metal responsible for the above?
Mercury and copper are usually responsible for Parkinson's disease whereas an exposure to arsenic can potentially be associated with Alzheimer. There are various articles in literature, easily accessible, from which you may be enlightened with further details if you wish.
Kind regards!
Hi! The correlations between toxic environmental factors (e.g. aluminium, specific insecticides) in Alzheimer´s disease are controversely debated. For Parkinsonism (which is not necessarily identical with Parkinson´s disease) manganese exposure is a well-established factor. Fortunately under modern industrial hygiene reguations, manganese-induced Parkinsonism has become extremely rare in well-developed countries.
1.Major neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, are characterized by elevated tissue iron, and miscompartmentalization of copper and zinc (e.g. accumulation in amyloid).
Reference
Barnham, Kevin J ; Bush, Ashley I. 2008. Metals in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Diseases Current Opinion in Chemical Biology, 12(2): 222-228. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18342639
2.Our brains are continuously exposed to a broad spectrum of chemicals from various sources; these may react or interfere with biomolecules, or they may bioaccumulate (e.g., mercury, nanoparticles, and pesticides and persistent organic pollutants (POPs)), causing changes in brain function. There is strong support for the involvement of metal dyshomeostasis (imbalance or other breakdown of a homeostasis system) , inflammation, and oxidative damages to biomolecules in both diseases (AD, PD)
Reference
Oddvar Myhre, Hans Utkilen, Nur Duale,Gunnar Brunborg,and Tim Hofer. 2013. Metal Dyshomeostasis and Inflammation in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Diseases: Possible Impact of Environmental Exposures. Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity. http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/726954.
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/omcl/2013/726954/
If these diseases were monocausal (Thus caused by one agent only) we would long have tackled and solved them!
As for the observed differences in metal contents my main question is: are we not confounding causes and effects??????
Thanks for you all. In this scenario, prevention is better than cure. Let us wait for some more improved version of treatment than present, so that elders can have a peaceful life in their diseased conditions.
You may check on encylopedia of food safety for more information about metal toxicityby foods.
Thank you Prof. Yalcin and Anushruti. If you predict the possible combination areas of As, Cd and Pb, that could be administered directly (except water and sediments), it will be helpful for prevention.
Very nice professor. At the same time, if you are sure about the heavy metal inlets to the mankind (major case), we can go for prevention.
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