Aluminum In Brain Alzheimer’s

Or A Likely Contributor

Challenging past conclusions, a new report from Professor Christopher Exley of Keele University claims that aluminum must play some role in the development of the disease. Exley is a professor in bioinorganic chemistry of the Aluminum and Silicon Research Group in The Birchall Centre, Lennard-Jones Laboratories at Keele University and recently published a report in Frontiers In Neurology about the role that aluminum plays in contaminating the brain.

In the report, Exley claims that we are living in the Aluminum Age and argues that aluminum is in almost everything we eat or drink. While the metal is naturally absorbed from the soil by plants, aluminum sulphate is also added to water, cakes, biscuits, teas, cocoa, wine and carbonated drinks. In addition, everyday items such as makeup, sunscreen, aspirin, antacids and deodorants are also likely to contain aluminum. In the report, Professor Exley says that aluminum will build up in the brain until it reaches a toxic threshold.

He calls for more studies to test the aluminum hypothesis saying: There are neither cures nor effective treatments for Alzheimers disease. The role of aluminum in Alzheimers disease can be prevented by reducing human exposure to aluminum and by removing aluminum from the body by non-invasive means. Why are we choosing to miss out on this opportunity? Surely the time has come to test the aluminum hypothesis of Alzheimers disease once and for all?

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Aluminum Heads Straight To Your Brain

Aluminum is to your central nervous system as cigarette smoke is to your lungs. Scientists are clear that toxic metals damage brain tissue and lead to degenerative disease by producing oxidative stressand aluminum is one of the worst offenders. With Alzheimers rates skyrocketing, todays multiple avenues of aluminum exposure are of great concern. Just as with particles in the environment, once aluminum is in your tissues, your body has a difficult time releasing it. This toxic metal serves absolutely no biological purpose, so the less of it you ingest, the better.

Once in your body, it travels around easily, unimpeded, piggybacking on your iron transport system. It crosses biological barriers that normally keep other types of toxins out, such as your blood-brain barrier. Over time, aluminum can accumulate in your brain and do serious damage your neurological healthregardless of your age. Aluminum toxicity may be doing as much damage to our children as to our seniors.

Are There Exposure Limits For Aluminum

In the workplace, the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists has assigned an occupational exposure limit based on respirable particle size.

The current ACGIH recommended Threshold Limit Value Time-Weighted Average exposure limit for aluminum in the air is 1 mg/m3 for aluminum metal and insoluble compounds.

Aluminum metal and insoluble compounds of respirable particle size are also categorized by ACGIH for carcinogenicity as A4 – Not classifiable as a Human Carcinogen agents which cause concern that they could be carcinogenic for humans but which cannot be assessed conclusively because of a lack of data.

The TLV-TWA is the time-weighted average airborne concentration for a normal 8-hour workday and a 40-hour workweek to which it is believed that nearly all workers may be exposed repeatedly, day after day, without adverse health effects.

In many Canadian jurisdictions, exposure limits are the same as or similar to the ACGIH TLVs. Since the manner in which exposure limits are established, interpreted and implemented can vary, the appropriate government agency in each jurisdiction should be consulted.

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Effects Of Al On The Central Nervous Systemin Vitro Or In Vivo

Despite it’s environmental abundance, Al is not an essential element for living organisms, and no enzymatic reaction requires Al. Al is reported to influence more than 200 biologically important reactions and to cause various adverse effects on the mammalian central nervous system . These include crucial reactions for brain development such as the axonal transport, neurotransmitter synthesis, synaptic transmission, phosphorylation or dephosphorylation of proteins, protein degradation, gene expression, and inflammatory responses.

How To Remove Aluminum From Your Brain Before It Leads To Alzheimers

Aluminum is a neurotoxin, so it affects the nervous system and the brain. According to experts, it plays a vital role in Alzheimers disease.

However, there are numerous natural plant extracts and nutrients which can lower or prevent aluminum toxicity in the brain and thus avoid cognitive disorders, like memory loss.

Dr. Walter Lukiw, Ph.D., Professor of Neurology, Neuroscience and Ophthalmology at Louisiana State University, led a team of neuroscientists, who examined the possible contribution of aluminum to the onset, development, and progression of Alzheimers for 3 decades.

They have provided a summary of their study in a peer-reviewed article published in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience.

They stated that Aluminums contribution to Alzheimers disease is based on at least seven independently derived observations.

This is a short explanation of the 7 pieces of evidence:

-Aluminum stimulates an inflammation in the brain by increasing the pro-inammatory molecule called nuclear factor-kappa beta , an important feature in the brains of Alzheimers patients.

-It promotes beta-amyloid plaques in the brain at levels matching those currently found in humans.

-It leads to the same kinds of cellular energy deficits that are linked to Alzheimers disease, like impaired signaling involving ATP and energy utilization.

-Numerous studies have found the relation between the amount of aluminum in drinking water and the incidence of Alzheimers.

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One Major Side Effect Of Drinking From A Can New Study Says

Maybe you’ve heard that antiperspirants containing aluminum can be dangerous for your long-term brain health. Now, a new study is reinforcing that finding, as a group of scientists have found that the aluminum we consume, such as when we drink from a can, can lead to serious impairment to our long-term cognitive function.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

Last month, the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease published a study conducted by four scientists in England. They set out to understand how exposure to aluminum might impact people’s genetic predisposition to dementia-related illnesses, like Alzheimer’s.

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The scientists were aware of past research which had concluded that the aluminum found in everyday products, such as deodorants, is associated with neurodegenerative illnesses and forms of dementia, like Alzheimer’s. The scientists examined the presence of aluminum in the brains of donors with a family history of Alzheimer’s.

Upon analysis, the researchers found that aluminum was present in the same areas of the brain as the tangles of protein that appear in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. The study also found that aluminum itself might play a role in forming the tangles and plaques that precede the onset of Alzheimer’s.

Still, given the growing canned seltzer trend and the ever-popularity of sodas, it may be worth giving a second thought to the packaging of our beverages.

Measurement Of Aluminum In Fad Brain Tissues

The aluminum content of tissues was measured by an established and fully validated method that herein is described only briefly. Samples of cortex, between 0.6 and 2.0g in weight, were thawed at room temperature and cut using a stainless-steel blade into sections approximately 0.30.5g in weight. Tissues were dried for 48h, to a constant weight, in an incubator at 37°C. Dry and thereafter weighed tissues were digested in a microwave in a mixture of 1mL 15.8M HNO3 and 1mL 30% w/v H2O2 . The resulting digests were clear with no fatty residues and, upon cooling, were made up to 5mL volume using ultrapure water . Total aluminum was measured in each sample by transversely heated graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry using matrix-matched standards and an established analytical program alongside previously validated quality assurance data . The latter included method blanks, detailed descriptions of which have been published recently .

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Aluminum Content Of Fad Brain Tissues

The aluminum content of brain tissue across all donors and all brain regions ranged from 0.30 to 33.48 g/g dry wt. . The majority of tissues had an aluminum content above 1.99 g/g dry wt. with 14, 24, 10, and 35 tissues having contents in the range < 1.00, 1.001.99, 2.002.99, and 3.00 g/g dry wt. respectively. The median aluminum content for each lobe was 2.04 , 2.19 , 2.11 , and 2.31 for occipital, temporal, frontal, and parietal, respectively. There were no significant differences in aluminum content between lobes. There was no significant relationship between age of donor and aluminum content. There was a significant difference in aluminum content between genders with females having a higher content than males .

Table 1

Aluminum content of brain tissues from Colombian donors with a diagnosis of familial Alzheimers disease

Data are for all tissue samples measured with 14 replicates per lobe.

Where Does Absorbed Aluminum Go

After its absorbed, aluminum is distributed widely to various tissues. Some of the aluminum is excreted in the urine, so long as the individual doesnt have kidney disease. The aluminum that isnt excreted accumulates in the bones, liver, lungs, and brain, according to the Médecine et Maladies Infectieuses review.

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Conclusion: Al And Human Health

In this review, we have summarized the properties associated with various aspects of Al neurotoxicity. There is growing evidence for a link between Al and AD, and between other metals and AD. Nevertheless, because the precise mechanism of AD pathogenesis remains unknown, this issue is controversial. However, it is widely accepted that Al is a recognized neurotoxin, and that it could cause cognitive deficiency and dementia when it enters the brain and may have various adverse effects on CNS. In general, the absorption of metals by the gastrointestinal tract is widely variable and is influenced by various factors including an individual difference, age, pH, stomach contents . Recent studies using mass spectrometry of 26Al have demonstrated that small, but a considerable amount of Al crosses the blood brain barrier, enters into the brain, and accumulates in a semipermanent manner . Therefore, Al can cause severe health problems in particular populations, including infants, elderly people, and patients with impaired renal functions, and unnecessary exposure to Al should be avoided for such patients .

Does Aluminum In Pans And Antiperspirants Lead To Alzheimers Disease

Ive seen friends fret over the purported link between aluminum and Alzheimers disease and have often wondered if their fears are founded on fact. Should they give up aluminum pans or aluminum-containing antiperspirants? Ive always heard that aluminums health dangers are just hype. So whats the real deal?

The connection between aluminum and Alzheimers disease is less a myth than a longstanding scientific controversy. It began in 1965, when researchers discovered that injecting rabbits brains with aluminum caused them to develop neurofibrillary tangles, the twisted proteins found in brain cells of patients with Alzheimers disease, a degenerative brain disorder that destroys memory and cognition.

The finding spurred a rush of research. Just eight years later, a Canadian group studying brain tissue from deceased Alzheimers patients found that certain parts of their brains had two to three times more aluminum than a normal brain. By 1980, Daniel Perl and Arnold Brody had managed to actually peer inside human tangle-bearing brain cells and found aluminum there, too.

That really changed the whole complexion of the thing, recalls Perl, now a professor of pathology in the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda. I was getting called all the time, because there was so much public interest.

Its no surprise, then, that 30 years of studies on the aluminum-Alzheimers link have yielded conflicting results.

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Does Your Frozen Dinner Come With A Side Of Aluminum

Aluminum contamination in our food supply is a more significant problem than you may think. In a study published in the journal Environmental Sciences Europe,7 researchers analyzed 1,431 non-animal foods and beverages for aluminum content. This is what they found:

• 77.8 percent had an aluminum concentration of up to 10 mg/kg
• 17.5 percent had aluminum concentrations between 10 and 100 mg\kg
• 4.6 percent of the samples had aluminum concentrations in excess of 100 mg/kg

Aluminum compounds are often used as additives in foodstuffs. Additional contamination occurs when food comes into contact with aluminum equipment and other items because aluminum is unstable in the presence of acids and bases. Aluminum equipment has a protective oxide film, but this can be damaged as fine fissures develop from normal wear and tear. In the study Table 3 shows the aluminum content of everything from flour and baking mixes to soup, chocolate, beer and wine, and herbal teas. Some products show a wide range of contamination levels, and others are more homogenous. Baked goods are very high because of the common practice of baking and storing foods on aluminum trays. The report has numerous other tables that demonstrate how prevalent this toxin is in your food.

• Red meats cooked in aluminum foil showed an increase in aluminum by 89 to 378 percent
• Poultry increased by 76 to 214 percent
• Aluminum levels increased with higher cooking temperatures and longer cooking times

Aluminum Is Intricately Associated With The Neuropathology Of Familial Alzheimer’s Disease

Date:

IOS Press

Summary:

A new study continues to support a growing body of evidence that aluminum contributes to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease . Researchers found aluminum co-located with phosphorylated tau protein, which is an early initiator of AD.

A new study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease Reports continues to support a growing body of evidence that aluminum contributes to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease . Researchers found aluminum co-located with phosphorylated tau protein, which is an early initiator of AD. This study builds upon two earlier published studies from the same group.

The new data demonstrate that aluminum is co-located with phosphorylated tau protein, present as tangles within neurons in the brains of early-onset or familial Alzheimer’s disease. “The presence of these tangles is associated with neuronal cell death, and observations of aluminum in these tangles may highlight a role for aluminum in their formation,” explained lead investigator Matthew John Mold, PhD, Birchall Centre, Lennard-Jones Laboratories, Keele University, Staffordshire, UK.

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Why Industry Propaganda And Political Interference Cannot Disguise The Inevitable Role Played By Human Exposure To Aluminum In Neurodegenerative Diseases Including Alzheimers Disease

• The Birchall Centre, Lennard-Jones Laboratories, Keele University, Stoke-on-Trent, UK

In the aluminum age, it is clearly unpalatable for aluminum, the globes most successful metal, to be implicated in human disease. It is unpalatable because for approximately 100 years human beings have reaped the rewards of the most abundant metal of the Earths crust without seriously considering the potential consequences for human health. The aluminum industry is a pillar of the developed and developing world and irrespective of the tyranny of human exposure to aluminum it cannot be challenged without significant consequences for businesses, economies, and governments. However, no matter how deep the dependency or unthinkable the withdrawal, science continues to document, if not too slowly, a burgeoning body burden of aluminum in human beings. Herein, I will make the case that it is inevitable both today and in the future that an individuals exposure to aluminum is impacting upon their health and is already contributing to, if not causing, chronic diseases such as Alzheimers disease. This is the logical, if uncomfortable, consequence of living in the aluminum age.

Accumulation Of Al In Ad Brain

Another argument cites a lack of significant difference between Al levels in AD patients and age-matched controls. One reason for the controversy may be Al contamination of the solutions used in the process of tissue fixation and staining. Therefore, prior studies in fixed tissues cannot be relied upon for precise measures of Al quantitative analysis of nonfixed and freshly frozen tissues is necessary. One such study showed that the amount of Al in whole brains of AD patients was not significantly different in comparison to controls . Landsberg et al. claimed that they could not detect Al in senile plaques or NFTs using nuclear microscopy . However, this failure could simply be due to low detection limits of their analytical method. Bouras et al. used highly sensitive laser microprobe mass analysis with nonfixed brain samples and reported an accumulation of Al in NFT-bearing neurons of AD brains . An accumulation of Al in both senile plaques and NFTs has been reported in renal failure patients . Recently, Yumoto et al. analyzed Al using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy combined with transmission electron microscopy , a method which yields a high-resolution and low detection limit. Their detailed analysis demonstrated that Al was present in cores of senile plaques at a concentration of 3550ppm .

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Imaging Of Aluminum And Amyloid

Fig.1

Aluminum and amyloid- deposition in a senile plaque in the occipital cortex of a donor with familial Alzheimers disease . A) Aluminum is identified using lumogallion as an orange fluorescence emission. B) Thioflavin S staining of an adjacent serial section revealed a green fluorescence emission characteristic of amyloid-. C) Merging of fluorescence channels reveals co-localization of aluminum and amyloid-. D) Congo red staining confirmed the presence of amyloid- in the same plaque, producing a red hue under bright-field illumination and apple-green birefringence under polarized light. Magnification: X 400, scale bars=50 m.

Fig.2

Aluminum and amyloid- co-located in a senile plaque in the grey-white matter interface of the parietal lobe of a donor with fAD. A) Aluminum was detected via an orange fluorescence emission upon lumogallion staining. B) ThS-reactive fluorescence indicative of amyloid- in the identical senile plaque. C) Merging of fluorescence channels reveals co-localization of aluminum and amyloid-. D) Congo red staining of the same tissue region revealed apple-green birefringence in the form of a Maltese-Cross diffraction pattern or spherulite , under polarized light. Magnification: X 400, scale bars=50 m.

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