Common Pesticide Linked To Widespread Brain Abnormalities In Children (sciencealert.com) 46
alternative_right shares a report from ScienceAlert: The insecticide chlorpyrifos is a powerful tool for controlling various pests, making it one of the most widely used pesticides during the latter half of the 20th century. Like many pesticides, however, chlorpyrifos lacks precision. In addition to harming non-target insects like bees, it has also been linked to health risks for much larger animals -- including us. Now, a new US study suggests those risks may begin before birth. Humans exposed to chlorpyrifos prenatally are more likely to exhibit structural brain abnormalities and reduced motor functions in childhood and adolescence.
Progressively higher prenatal exposure to chlorpyrifos was associated with incrementally greater deviations in brain structure, function, and metabolism in children and teens, the researchers found, along with poorer measures of motor speed and motor programming. [...] This supports previous research linking chlorpyrifos with impaired cognitive function and brain development, but these findings are the first evidence of widespread and long-lasting molecular, cellular, and metabolic effects in the brain. "The disturbances in brain tissue and metabolism that we observed with prenatal exposure to this one pesticide were remarkably widespread throughout the brain," says first author Bradley Peterson, a developmental neuroscientist at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine. Senior author Virginia Rauh added: "It is vitally important that we continue to monitor the levels of exposure in potentially vulnerable populations, especially in pregnant women in agricultural communities, as their infants continue to be at risk."
The report notes that the EPA banned residential use of chlorpyrifos in 2001 but the pesticide is still used in agriculture around the world.
The findings have been published in the journal JAMA Neurology.
Progressively higher prenatal exposure to chlorpyrifos was associated with incrementally greater deviations in brain structure, function, and metabolism in children and teens, the researchers found, along with poorer measures of motor speed and motor programming. [...] This supports previous research linking chlorpyrifos with impaired cognitive function and brain development, but these findings are the first evidence of widespread and long-lasting molecular, cellular, and metabolic effects in the brain. "The disturbances in brain tissue and metabolism that we observed with prenatal exposure to this one pesticide were remarkably widespread throughout the brain," says first author Bradley Peterson, a developmental neuroscientist at the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine. Senior author Virginia Rauh added: "It is vitally important that we continue to monitor the levels of exposure in potentially vulnerable populations, especially in pregnant women in agricultural communities, as their infants continue to be at risk."
The report notes that the EPA banned residential use of chlorpyrifos in 2001 but the pesticide is still used in agriculture around the world.
The findings have been published in the journal JAMA Neurology.
One can only hope... (Score:4, Insightful)
... that the c-suites who rushed this sort of crap onto the market without proper testing because $Profit , suffer some of these effects themselves. I wouldn't wish it on their kids as I don't believe in the whole sins of the father thing.
Re: One can only hope... (Score:4, Insightful)
Hahaha, not a chance. Theyâ(TM)ve run off with the cash, had a fun life, died and handed the problem on to someone else already. And frankly, even if they were still around, the chances of a C suiter being made to accept the consequences of their own actions is near zero
Re:One can only hope... (Score:4, Insightful)
... that the c-suites who rushed this sort of crap onto the market without proper testing because $Profit , suffer some of these effects themselves. I wouldn't wish it on their kids as I don't believe in the whole sins of the father thing.
A lot of these harsher pesticides were developed in the 50's, and frankly coming out of the famine era of WWII the priorities were different. We also didn't have quite the safety culture in that era.
I remember as a kid growing up on a farm being warned to be very careful around any insecticide. The logic was something along the lines of: "While herbicides can be hazardous, by and large they're tailored to plants and you aren't much like a plant. So generically the risks are more minimal. But you are, fundamentally, a lot like an insect. So whatever an insecticide is trying to target to kill insects is probably something that could also mess you up."
Its stuck with me all these years, and I think it's generically good advice.
Re: (Score:1)
Dr.: Who's brain was it?
Assistant: Abby someone.
Dr.: Abby someone? Abby who?
Assistant: Abby... Normal. I'm almost certain that was the name.
I had that skit in my head since I read the headline, I had to share or I'd have a tick all day. With that out of the way...
I recall similar warnings about insecticides. More specifically the active ingredient in the mix was a kind of muscle relaxant, if I think long enough I might recall the specific chemical. I guess in small doses it can help people with certain
Re: (Score:3)
The skit is from Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein" told (I believe) between Gene Wilder and Marty Feldman; twas a great movie.
Re:One can only hope... (Score:5, Insightful)
Probably not in a position to tease out some of the more subtle neuroanatomical changes at low prenatal doses or the like given medical imaging of the time; but with a bunch of these we are talking about either compounds we worried about IG Farben tinkering with during the war or close analogs thereof.
Re: (Score:2)
So similar that a creepy cult in Japan converted a fair amount of insecticide into sarin (GB) hoping to commit mass murder in train stations.
Re: (Score:2)
back when i frequented WattsUpWithThat there were quite a few who thought Rachel Carson was the worst woman to have ever existed
Metal-Tipped Darts (Score:3)
I hate to highjack such an interesting thread, but now we have to talk about the incredibly unsafe crap our parents let us do in the 70's and 80's. My contribution is this: Remember those big lawn darts with a metal tip from the 70's? They weighed almost a pound and would kill a Corgi if you threw it just right. You'd try to throw one to land in a hoop laying on the ground 30 feet away - much like horseshoes. You'd win a point if you got one in the circle, but to me and my teenage beer-drinking friends
Re: (Score:2)
I hate to highjack such an interesting thread, but now we have to talk about the incredibly unsafe crap our parents let us do in the 70's and 80's. My contribution is this: Remember those big lawn darts with a metal tip from the 70's? They weighed almost a pound and would kill a Corgi if you threw it just right. You'd try to throw one to land in a hoop laying on the ground 30 feet away - much like horseshoes. You'd win a point if you got one in the circle, but to me and my teenage beer-drinking friends, you'd get two points if you caught your opponent's dart mid-air as you stood by the target hoop. What blinding fun! And then in 1988, they were banned due to the rising toll on Corgis and children's eyeballs.
Kids in the future will grow up safely insulated from any activity that might cause harm to them or others. They can then be content sitting back and watching the world unfold on their little screen, safe from the dangers of actual participation in life.
Re: (Score:3)
I doubt if many of the C?Os from 1966 are still around to face the consequences.
Besides, it was likely an improvement over the pesticides it replaced. DDT wasn't banned for residential and agricultural use until 1972.
Re: (Score:2)
... that the c-suites who rushed this sort of crap onto the market without proper testing because $Profit , suffer some of these effects themselves. I wouldn't wish it on their kids as I don't believe in the whole sins of the father thing.
According to Wikipedia, chlorpyrifos was patented in 1966. It seems unlikely that back then they had any clue about its prenatal effects.
I hate to find myself defending CEOs - I recommend imprisonment for them all the time, and occasionally even lynching. And I guess I'm not really defending them here, because they likely continued to push the product after they knew of its health effects. But if they're going to be jailed or lynched, let's make sure the charges are factual and accurate.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
You know, one of the selling points for religion is that evil assholes (like those c-levels) get punished. The promise is empty, but if it were not, that would be something.
This is why I hated the rush to ban neonicotinoids (Score:5, Informative)
Particularly due to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) concerns - except that neonicotinoids appear to at worst be be a weak factor (if one at all) in CCD (CCD appears to be multifactor, but the strongest factor appears to be varroa; there's little correlation between neonicotinoid use trends and bans vs. CCD).
If you ban neonicotinoids, farmers tend to switch to organophosphates, and I have WAY more concerns about them. Neonicotinoids at least tend to be far more specific to insects, whereas organophosphates also tend to strongly affect mammals. Organophosphate-Induced Delayed Neuropathy (OPIDN) [wikipedia.org] is very much a real problem.
Re: (Score:2)
(And it should go without saying, but organophosphates also are extremely effective at killing bees)
Re: (Score:3)
Unfortunately mass production factory style single crop agriculture + pesticides and nature don't mix. Its like antibiotics - eventually something becomes resistent and we go around the circle again so a new antibiotic/pesticide has to be created. There are natural alternatives for some pesticides and while they'll inevitably lead to a lower yield but thats a better outcome than destroying the entire ecosystem and poisoning ourselves in the process.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
There's good and bad ways to use antibiotics.
I grew up on a dairy farm and every so often it was time to dehorn the heifers, that's literally sawing the horns off their heads so there is less chance of them hurting people, other cattle, and themselves. There's a decent blood supply to the horns and so there would be efforts to best close the wound and prevent infection. That included a big shot of antibiotics. Unless the heifer got especially sick later as a milking cow then that could be the first and l
Re: This is why I hated the rush to ban neonicotin (Score:1)
Is anyone else thinking "poor cows"?
Re: (Score:1)
Is anyone else thinking "poor cows"?
The heifers got off easy with losing only their horns. Think for a tick what was removed from the bulls.
Do I need to explain further? Should I give a hint to "steer" you in the right direction?
Re: (Score:3)
They are WAY less antibiotics used in farm animals in europe than in the US, mainly because they're banned from being in the meat, yet our herds seem pretty healthy. Seems to me antibiotics on US farms are done routinely on a just-in-case basis whereas in the EU they're used when needed, ie when an animal is actually ill.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
I expect humans to be terrible in accounting for long tailed risk, even worse when there is tragedy of the commons. Until it was banned those aware farmers were using prophylactic antibiotics as growth promoters.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:3)
As a farmer I partially agree with you. The rush to ban neonics was definitely not done with any kind of scientific rigor. Certain forms of neonics such as seed treatments are incredibly beneficial without harming bees and other insects. We regularly use neonic seed treatments in Canada still (will be banned eventually unfortunately), and we also heavily rely on pollinators and they do just fine with such limited use of neonics.
However foliar application of neonics later in season is problematic. If I'm
Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitor (Score:3)
OK, I looked it up.
Yes, mammals need acetylcholinesterase too.
Re:Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitor (Score:4, Informative)
Yes, mammals need acetylcholinesterase too.
They do indeed. Most nerve agents, including Sarin and VX, work as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, causing acetylcholine to accumulate in neuron synapses.
Atropine, the active ingredient in belladonna nightshade toxin, has the opposite effect of breaking down acetylcholine. It will normally kill you too, but it is an antidote to nerve agents.
App(roach)ing the problem (Score:2)
Does it make you Orange? (Score:1)
This would explain a few things.
Banned in Canada a few years ago. (Score:3)
I always have to look up the trade names so I know what they are are talking about. Seems that this particular insecticide was banned in Canada a few years ago. It went under the trade name of "Lorsban." I used it once on a crop on recommendation, but it certainly wasn't a chemical I wanted to be exposed to on a regular basis. Never found a need to use it again after that. As insecticides go, it is one of the more toxic ones.
Guess I've been lucky in recent years. The only insecticide I've needed to use was for grasshoppers and there's a highly selective (and expensive) insecticide for that that doesn't harm most other insects.
RFKjr will fix it (Score:2)
right?
Re: (Score:2)
I'm ok with him banning artificial red food dyes but he has zero basis or understanding as to why.
Re: (Score:2)
after watching some of his recent Congressional testimony, i'd say the only understanding he has is how to lie
Finally, an explanation for all those Trump voters (Score:1)
Breaking News! (Score:2)
Poison is bad for kids, and other living things too.