The war against the crisis of lead poisoning is being fought in Northeast Ohio by activists and professionals in a wide range of fields and disciplines. That reality was beautifully demonstrated today when noted neurologist and gerontologist Peter Whitehouse, M.D., Ph.D. [1], and his associate Danny George, M.Sc., presented a lecture on "environmental toxins and late-life dementia: a life span perspective", exploring connections between lead poisoning and Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, and suggesting the need for an integrative ecological model, concluding "better take care of your neurons at age 2". The two presenters have co-authored a book titled "The Myth of Alzheimer's" that will be released later this year.
Alzheimer's is in its 100th year as a named "disease" associated with degenerative conditions of the brain. While the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease may not be universally applied, it is apparent at the global level rates of all dementias are on the rise. This has led to a "race for a cure", but what is Alzheimer's and how it may be treated is more complex than that. While there is much research underway on genetic analysis, Peter stresses the enormous variability of conditions and progressions of Alzheimer's - it is not just one condition, and it is part of the continuum of aging... hence we need to develop a broader understanding and analytic framework.
Peter does not believe Alzheimer's will be cured with a silver pill but believes that his work with intergenerational learning and story telling indicates creating a lifelong learning and memory-exercising lifestyle for all ages has the greatest benefit for helping seniors to retain mental capacity. And, Peter believes, rather than hoping for medical cures, an ecological, life span, preventative approach to Alzheimer's is most appropriate.
Danny George presented related insight on such a new framework applying developmental programming theory. This sees brain aging as a continuum in people's lives and notes environmental insults can cause cellular effects that become maladaptive. This considers an area of health analysis referred to as FeBAD - Fetal Basis of Adult Disease. In other words, consider what has happened life-long to the now aging population exhibiting accelerating Alzheimer-like conditions.
Peter described the overall crisis of dementias among the aging populations as a silent epidemic and considered the relationship between lead and cognitive development. While it is well known the harm lead exposure causes the very young, the threat goes beyond early years of life. Studies have found lifetime lead exposure dulls thinking in older adults through a retained cumulative dose - this may lessen cognitive reserves of neurons and dendrites, and alter expression of genes.
Peter and Danny proposed a different biological perspective, reinventing aging with recognition that what you do throughout your life will define your end of life, bridging worlds of pediatrics and geriatrics. They propose there's not a whole lot you can do about your genes but there is a lot you can do about environment.
The host for this session, Dorr Dearborn, M.D., brought up the issue of rising rates of Autism, and that some experiments indicate a connection to a short stage of vulnerability at the embryonic stage. Peter points out the world is a more poisoned place, and that is a critical silent epidemic that will be quite a bit worse in the future.
The conclusion of the talk was that the time for studies is over - our society needs to embrace a precautionary principle and there are actions we should be taking to protect humanity from soiling our nests. In informal discussions following the lecture, those who attended reflected on the sad state of our environment and the harm that has caused humanity. So often we hear such concerns from "environmentalists" but somehow such a diagnosis holds more weight when presented by healthcare providers - it is a shame this lecture was preached to the converted... I hope the message spreads more broadly in our community.
For more insight on the impact of lead poisoning on society, be sure to attend the free Greater Cleveland Lead Advisory Council Annual Meeting this Friday, April 13, from 7:30 AM - 12:00 PM at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History - information found here [2]!
Links:
[1] http://www.gustavus.edu/events/nobelconference/2004/html/?pr=whitehouse&l=one
[2] http://smtp.realneo.us/Lead-Poisoning-and-Education
[3] http://smtp.realneo.us/Raising-Healthy-Kids-in-NEO
[4] http://smtp.realneo.us/HARMFUL-AMOUNTS-OF-LEAD
[5] http://smtp.realneo.us/Free-Times-covers-lead-poisoning