Pesticide link to autism suspected

"Pesticide link to autism suspected", Los Angeles Times, July 30,
2007,
Link: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...la-home-center

Women who live near California farm fields sprayed with organochlorine
pesticides may be more likely to give birth to children with autism,
according to a study by state health officials to be published today.

The rate of autism among the children of 29 women who lived near the
fields was extremely high, suggesting that exposure to the
insecticides in the womb might have played a role. The study is the
first to report a link between pesticides and the neurological
disorder, which affects one in every 150 children.

But the state scientists cautioned that their finding is highly
preliminary because of the small number of women and children involved
and lack of evidence from other studies.

"We want to emphasize that this is exploratory research," said Dr.
Mark Horton, director of the California Department of Public Health.
"We have found very preliminary data that there may be an association.
We are in no way concluding that there is a causal relationship
between pesticide exposure of pregnant women and autism."

The two pesticides implicated are older-generation compounds developed
in the 1950s and used to kill mites, primarily on cotton as well as
some vegetables and other crops. Their volumes have declined
substantially in recent years.

Examining three years of birth records and pesticide data, scientists
from the Public Health Department determined that the Central Valley
women lived within 500 meters, or 547 yards, of fields sprayed with
organochlorine pesticides during their first trimester of pregnancy.
Eight of them, or 28%, had children with autism. Their rate of autism
was six times greater than for mothers who did not live near the
fields, the study said.

Susan Kegley, senior scientist of Pesticide Action Network North
America, a San Francisco-based advocacy group, said the report adds to
an existing body of evidence that endosulfan and dicofol, already
banned in some countries, are harmful.

"This is one of the first papers that links use of pesticide to
incidence of a disease, and autism in particular," she said. "The
findings are very strong. This is a sixfold risk factor in comparison
to someone who is not exposed. There aren't too many studies that come
out like that."

Even though small numbers of children were involved, "it is still one
of those things that make you sit up and pay attention," she said.

The findings suggest that 7% of autism cases in the Central Valley
during the years studied - 1996 through 1998 - might have been
connected to exposure to the insecticides drifting off fields into
residential areas. Births during those years were analyzed because
children born later might not yet be diagnosed with autism.

Children with autism spectrum disorders have impaired social and
communication skills. The causes are unknown, but because diagnoses
have been increasing, scientists have been exploring various
environmental factors, including children's vaccines and chemical
pollutants.

"The good news is we've used a new research technology to generate
hypotheses and possible associations, so we are making progress in the
battle to get more information" about the cause of autism, Horton
said.

The goal of the study was to "systematically explore the general
hypothesis that residential proximity to agricultural pesticide
applications during pregnancy could be associated with autism spectrum
disorders in offspring," the authors wrote in their study, published
online today in the scientific journal Environmental Health
Perspectives.

The scientists collected records of nearly 300,000 children born in
the 19 counties of the Sacramento and San Joaquin river valleys. Of
those children, 465 had autism. The scientists then compared the
addresses during pregnancy to state records that detailed the location
of fields sprayed with several hundred pesticides.

For most pesticides, no unusual numbers of autism cases were found,
but the exception was a class of compounds called organochlorines.
Most, including DDT, were banned in the United States several decades
ago because they were building up in the environment. Only dicofol and
endosulfan remain.

The autism rate was highest for children of those mothers who lived
the closest to the fields and it declined as the distance from the
fields increased.

There is no other human or animal evidence that the two chemicals can
cause autism. But both affect nerves and the brain - and cause
reproductive effects and alter hormones in animal tests. In addition,
dicofol is a possible human carcinogen.

The scientists concluded that "the possibility of a connection between
gestational exposure to organochlorine pesticides and autism spectrum
disorders requires further study."

A July report by the state Department of Pesticide Regulation said
endosulfan can spread far from fields via the air and expose the
public, based on air monitoring in Fresno, Monterey and Tulare
counties. The agency is likely to designate endosulfan as a toxic air
contaminant soon, and dicofol could follow. That designation triggers
a review by the agency to see whether steps should be taken to
minimize the chemicals drifting off fields into nearby communities.

Glenn Brank, spokesman for the pesticide agency, said officials there
are "very interested" in the new autism data but say that "more work"
on the potential link is needed before it can carry much weight in
assessments of the chemicals' risks.

The two insecticides are now used much less often than in the years in
which the possible connection to autism was found. As a result, there
is less likelihood that pregnant women are exposed today. Nearly
774,000 pounds were applied in 1996, compared with 277,000 pounds in
2005, down nearly 64%, according to state records.

"In the past couple years, the bottom has dropped out of these two,"
Brank said.

Insects have built up resistance and cotton farmers have switched to
new compounds.

The two chemicals are not found in household or yard pesticides.
Traces are found in food, but the study looked only at possible
exposure from the air. The chemicals are used most extensively in
Fresno, Kings, Imperial and Tulare counties. Dicofol is mostly used on
cotton, oranges, beans and walnuts. Endosulfan is used primarily in
tomato processing and on lettuce, alfalfa and cotton crops.

Roman Bystrianyk wrote:
...

"We want to emphasize that this is exploratory research," said Dr.
Mark Horton,

...

"Jeff" wrote in message
news:apFri.8280$FO1.3845@trnddc05...
Roman Bystrianyk wrote:
...

"We want to emphasize that this is exploratory research," said Dr.
Mark Horton,

...

notice how real shills defend all corporate products

D'Amelio et al 2005 described an association between autism and an
organophosphate

JOHN wrote:
"Jeff" wrote in message
news:apFri.8280$FO1.3845@trnddc05...
Roman Bystrianyk wrote:
...

"We want to emphasize that this is exploratory research," said Dr.
Mark Horton,
...

notice how real shills defend all corporate products

Who is the shill here? Not I. I get no money from anyone to express *my*
views. And they are all *my* views, not the views of someone else.

The reality is that these are preliminary results.

Unless you are able to say anything intelligent on the thread, I will
not reply to you.


Jeff

"Jeff" wrote in message
news:A3Jri.8797$Kk4.3771@trndny09...

notice how real shills defend all corporate products

Who is the shill here? Not I. I get no money from anyone to express *my*
views. And they are all *my* views, not the views of someone else.

The reality is that these are preliminary results.

Unless you are able to say anything intelligent on the thread, I will not
reply to you.


Jeff

sorry Auntie, I must remember not to use that rude word, shill

Roman Bystrianyk wrote:
"Pesticide link to autism suspected", Los Angeles Times, July 30,
2007,
Link: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...la-home-center

With the demise of the MMR and thimerosal fantasies, the anti-vacs need
something...

Mark Probert wrote:
Roman Bystrianyk wrote:
"Pesticide link to autism suspected", Los Angeles Times, July 30,
2007,
Link:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la...la-home-center


With the demise of the MMR and thimerosal fantasies, the anti-vacs need
something...

A link makes perfect sense. The insecticides affect neurotransmitters
that may be involved in brain development. However, the work is very,
very preliminary. And does nothing to help the kids who already have autism.

Jeff