"Mark Probert" wrote in message
...
Jason Johnson wrote:

http://www.laleva.cc/environment/alu...lzheimer2.html
Can Aluminum Cause Alzheimer's Dis
by Melvyn R. Werbach, M.D. Senile dementia is a progressive degenerative
brain disease associated
with old age. Its symptoms include short-term memory loss, slowness in
thought and movement, confusion, disorientation, depression,
difficulty communicating, and loss of physical function. Alzheimer's
disease accounts for about half of all senile dementia cases. Although
there are many theories about what causes Alzheimer's, the fact is,
its origins remain poorly understood. One theory proposed that the
common occurrence of being exposed to
aluminum could cause Alzheimer's dementia. Aluminum, the theory
postulated, becomes concentrated in the characteristic lesions (senile
plaques and neurofibrillary tangles) that develop in the brain during
the course of the disease. At first, medical scientists thought this
theory was absurd. Aluminum, they believed, accumulated merely as a
result of a destructive process caused by some other factor. In recent
years, however, the aluminum hypothesis has been gaining
respect. For example, studies have discovered a direct association
between the level of aluminum in municipal drinking water and the risk
of Alzheimer's dementia. One study found aluminum in drinking water
was related to only this specific type of dementia;1 another found
that the probability of the association being due to chance was only 1
in 24, with a 46 percent increased risk for people drinking water with
the highest aluminum levels.2 The use of aluminum-containing
antiperspirants--but not the use of
antiperspirants and deodorants in general--has also been associated
with a risk of Alzheimer's dementia, with a trend toward a higher risk
corresponding with increasing frequency of use.3 This relationship
does not extend to aluminum-containing antacids,4 which may simply be
evidence that the aluminum in antacids is not absorbed--the process of
absorption through the gut mucosa is quite different from absorption
through the skin. We also know that serum aluminum concentrations
increase with age.
Aluminum may accumulate slowly over our lifetimes or we may absorb it
more easily as we age. Moreover, there is evidence that people with
probable Alzheimer's disease have serum aluminum levels that are often
significantly higher than those of people with other types of
dementia, as well healthy people of similar ages.5 Further evidence that
aluminum fosters the development of Alzheimer's
dementia comes from a scientific (placebo-controlled) trial of
desferrioxamine, a drug that removes aluminum from the body by binding
with it. While regular administration of the drug failed to stop the
disease from progressing, desferrioxamine did significantly reduce the
rate of decline in the ability of a group of people with Alzheimer's
dementia to care for themselves.6 Although the aluminum/Alzheimer's link
remains unproven, I believe
that waiting for definitive proof before taking a few easy and
protective measures is foolhardy--and more scientists are starting to
agree.7,8 Perhaps one person in 10 age 65 or older suffers from
dementia; by age 80 that figure rises to one in five. This is too
common an illness to ignore preventive measures until we can know for
certain why it develops. Ways To Avoid Aluminum Here are my suggestions
for minimizing your exposure to aluminum. * Drinking water should be low
in aluminum. Some bottled-water
companies provide an analysis of the aluminum content of their water.
You might also find out from your public water company what the
aluminum level is in the local drinking water. * Aluminum-containing
antiperspirants can easily be avoided, as can
aluminum utensils and even, to play it safe, aluminum-containing
antacids. * Commercially processed foods such as cake and pancake mixes,
frozen
doughs and self-rising flour are sources of dietary aluminum, so their
ingestion should be minimized. Watch for and avoid sodium aluminum
phosphate, an ingredient in baking powder. Pickles and cheese should
also be avoided. * There is a close relationship between silicon and
aluminum in
Alzheimer brain lesions, as the two substances bind together to form
aluminosilicates.9 High levels of silica in drinking water in the form
of silicic acid do seem to protect against the adverse effects of
aluminum ingestion, and silicic acid ingestion increases urinary
aluminum excretion.10,11 Whether silica supplements protect against
the development of dementia has yet to be determined. * Besides
minimizing aluminum exposure, taking the Recommended Dietary
Allowance (RDA) of calcium, magnesium and zinc should help to protect
against aluminum accumulation.12-14 Deficiencies of these important
minerals are common among the elderly.15 Yet, unless there is
laboratory evidence of a zinc deficiency, I would not recommend zinc
supplementation to help prevent Alzheimer's disease, for two reasons.
First, beta-amyloid protein, the major substance found in the brain
lesions (usually in a liquid form), binds with zinc. At concentrations
only slightly higher than those normally found in the brain, excess
zinc may convert the protein to the solid form that is found in
Alzheimer lesions.16 This suggests that, at least in theory, excess
zinc could actually promote the development of the disease. Second,
there is a lack of adequate research demonstrating the efficacy of
zinc supplementation in preventing Alzheimer's, although in one study
all six relatively young dementia victims had some memory improvement
following supplementation with zinc aspartate.17 References 1. Martyn,
C.N., et al. Lancet, 1: 59-62, 1989. 2. Neri, L.C., & Hewitt, D. Letter.
Lancet, 338: 390, 1991. 3. Graves, A.B., et al. J Clin Epidemio,l 43(1):
35-44, 1990. 4. Ibid. 5. Zapatero, M.D. Biol Trace Elem Res, 47: 235-40,
1995. 6. McLachlan, D.R., et al. Lancet, 337: 1304-8, 1991. 7. Lukiw,
W.J. Mineral and Metal Neurotoxicology. 113-26. CRC Press,
1997. 8. McLachlan, D.R., et al. Can Med Assoc J, 145(7): 793-804, 1991.
9. Candy, J.M., et al. Lancet, i: 354-57, 1986. 10. Jacqmin-Gadda, H., et
al. Epidemiology 7(3): 281-85, 1996. 11. Bellia, J.P., et al. Ann Clin
Lab Sci, 26: 227-33, 1996. 12. Foster, H.D. Health, Disease and the
Environment. 311-16. Boca
Raton, Fla.: CRC Press, 1992: 13. Durlach, J. Magnes Res, 3(3): 217-18,
1990. 14. Wenk, G.L., & Stemmer, K.L. Brain Res 288: 393-95, 1983. 15.
Werbach, M.R. Foundations of Nutritional Medicine: Common
nutritional deficiencies. Tarzana, Calif.: Third Line Press, 1997. 16.
Bush, A.I., et al. Science, 265: 1464-67, 1994. 17. Constantinidis, J.
Schweiz Arch Neurol Neurochir Psychiatr,
141(6): 523-56, 1990. Melvyn R. Werbach, M.D., is a faculty member at
the UCLA School of
Medicine and the author of Nutritional Influences on Illness (Third
Line Press Inc., 1993). Melvyn R. Werbach, M.D., is a faculty member at
the UCLA School of
Medicine and the author of Nutritional Influences on Illness (Third
Line Press Inc., 1993).


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~ Ilena,
Thanks for posting this interesting research study. The "gang" keeps
asking for studies and you posted an excellent study.

Jason, until you email me as I requested, I will merely comment on what
you post, and not engage in discussion with you.

http://groups.google.com/group/misc....db5f3991fe0575

Jul 30 2006 12:57 pm

BTW, just for your information, if wish to have further discussion with
me, I suggest that you email me.


mark{dot}probert{at}gmail{dot}com


No email, no further responses.
==

Poor Mark.

As for what is posted above, it is NOT a study by any means. It is an
article with annotations. IOW, it is expository writing providing the
writers point of view, which may or may not be correct. His citation of
the various articles are not necessarily accurate. Each must be checked.

For an example of how "leading researchers" can mis-cite and mis-state
information that they reference, you should read:

http://neurodiversity.comAGREES with Mark's BS.

[ ]