Toxic Sand: Another Enemy in Afghanistan?

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/06/25/toxic-sand-another-enemy-in-afghanistan/


Sheila Kaplan
Contributor
June 26, 2010


American forces in Afghanistan, who already face roadside bombs and insurgent attacks, may be dealing with an environmental enemy as well -- toxic sand that can damage their brains, according to a recent Navy study.

In a presentation at a neurotoxicology conference in Portland, Ore., earlier this month, Palur G. Gunasekar, a senior scientist with the Navy Environmental Health Effects Laboratory, said that dust kicked up in sandstorms contains manganese and other metals. "The sand is a risk factor for inducing neurotoxicity," Gunasekar said. Compounds that are neurotoxic are those that damage the nervous system or the brain.

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Gunasekar told the group, most of them academic and government scientists, that he and his colleagues focused on "subtle environmental issues that our soldiers face." Troops caught in sandstorms may inhale toxic particles, which can be carried to the brain, lungs and other organs. "Once they return...they complain about respiratory problems and also they complain about some of the cognitive functions," he said.

Gunasekar conducted the study with staff scientist Krishnan Prabhakaran and Lt. Cmdr. Micheal Stockelman, both of whom also work at the Naval Health Research Center Detachment, Navy Health Effects Laboratory, located at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, in Ohio. The research team analyzed sand samples from Afghanistan, and found manganese, silicon, iron, magnesium, aluminum, chromium and trace elements. Manganese, on its own, is considered a potent neurotoxicant capable of damaging the brain and causing Parkinsons-like symptoms. They are also studying sand from Iraq.

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http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/06/25/toxic-sand-another-enemy-in-afghanistan/?icid=main|
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I do not know if this was posted yet, but it seemed worthwhile to post.
Just one more reason perhaps to bring the troops home.

Altern Med Rev. 2010 Apr;15(1):15-32.
Biomarker-guided interventions of clinically relevant conditions associated with autism spectrum disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Bradstreet JJ, Smith S, Baral M, Rossignol DA.

International Child Development Resource Center, Melbourne, FL 32934, USA. DrBradstreet@aol.com
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are common and complex neurodevelopmental conditions. Diagnostic criteria for these conditions have traditionally relied solely on behavioral criteria without consideration for potential biomedical underpinnings.

Newer evidence, however, reveals that ASDs are associated with: oxidative stress; decreased methylation capacity; limited production of glutathione; mitochondrial dysfunction; intestinal dysbiosis; increased toxic metal burden; immune dysregulation, characterized by a unique inflammatory bowel disease and immune activation of neuroglial cells; and ongoing brain hypoperfusion.

Many of these same problems are common features in children with ADHD. These medical conditions, whether co-morbidities or etiopathogenic, would be expected to have synergistically negative effects on the development, cognition, focus, and attention of affected children.

It is likely these biological abnormalities contribute significantly to the behavioral symptoms intrinsic in these diagnoses. However, treatment for these underlying medical disorders is clinically justified, even if no clear immediate behavioral improvements are observed. This article reviews the medical literature and discusses the authors clinical experience using various biomarkers for measuring oxidative stress, methylation capacity and transsulfuration, immune function, gastrointestinal problems, and toxic metal burden. These biomarkers provide useful guides for selection, efficacy, and sufficiency of biomedical interventions. The use of these biomarkers is of great importance in young children with ADHD or individuals of any age with ASD, because typically they cannot adequately communicate regarding their symptoms.

PMID: 20359266 Free Article

You are thinking that metals may be responsible for ASD and the soldiers in the Middle East??

most people, some more than others based upon their genetic makeup, (their ability to deal with environmental insults) and so forth. This sort of exposure is not good for anyone, least of all persons under undue stress levels 24/7.