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By admin, April 29, 2010 1:39 pm

A recent study reported that in some communities people regularly shower with a dangerous microbe called Mycobacterium avium — a cousin of the tuberculosis-causing bacteria and one that is quite infectious in its own right.

The University of Colorado-Boulder study is part of a larger research project focused on bacteria we’re exposed to in daily life. This particular study examined showerheads because they provide ideal conditions for the formation of slimy biofilms — an assemblage of bacteria that attach themselves to a surface and excrete a protective mesh layer around themselves (dental plaque is an example), making them difficult to eradicate. Theorizing that the shower might be the point of entry for this infection, lead researcher Leah Feazel told me that researchers collected samples from the insides of 45 showerheads in nine US cities one, two or three times over two and one-half years. They found M. avium in both Denver and New York showerheads.

Confirming the finding, small amounts of M. avium were also detected in the water systems in both Denver and New York City. In those cities, the concentration of Mycobacteria (of which M. avium is one species) in some showerheads was more than 100 times that in the background water. Researchers theorize that this happened because the biofilms were able to establish colonies of such significant size that they could not be dislodged even by water regularly flowing through. Both municipalities treat their water systems with chlorine, ostensibly to eradicate such dangers, but M. aviumare known to be resistant, so the bacteria that survive become even stronger. Since many species of Mycobacteria have been implicated in respiratory and other kinds of infections, this is a cause for concern.

Why Showers are Especially Risky

M. avium is common in soil and water, but it’s especially dangerous in showerheads because it is dispersed in aerosol form, which is inhaled and can travel deep into the lungs. Like its relative, Mycobacterium tuberculosis,M. avium primarily causes lung disease, but it has also been known to cause digestive and lymphatic system infections. According to Feazel, M. avium infections are rare in people with healthy immune systems and “fairly rare” among the immune-compromised — but they’re on the rise here in the US as well as in the rest of the developed world. The infections caused byM. avium can lead to especially severe illness for people with compromised immune systems, often requiring antibiotic treatment that may be only marginally effective.

How to Be Sure You’re Safe

Since M. avium is so difficult to kill, individuals known to be immune deficient — including pregnant women… people with asthma or bronchitis… those who’ve had an organ transplant… and those with cancer or other chronic disease — should ask their doctors whether they should bathe instead of showering. Alternatively, Feazel suggests that people with compromised immune systems would do well to change their showerheads every six months (researchers found no M. avium in showerheads less than six months old) and to choose metal ones, which are less hospitable to biofilms than plastic.

Source(s):

Leah M. Feazel was the lead researcher on the showerhead study. She was head technician at the Pace Laboratory, University of Colorado-Boulder, and is currently a graduate student in Environmental Science and Engineering at the Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado.

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By admin, January 29, 2010 2:26 pm

We’ve long considered most cases of diabetes a lifestyle disease, associated with poor diet and a lack of exercise, but now researchers have found that other factors beyond heredity may also play a role, specifically environmental ones. I spoke with one of the leading researchers in this area, Ana Navas-Acien, MD, PhD, assistant professor and researcher at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, about how environmental toxins impact the development of diabetes and what we can do to protect ourselves.

Is your drinking water dangerous? Find out now

IS IT SAFE TO DRINK THE WATER?

In one recent study, scientists found that arsenic, a naturally occurring element in the environment that results when minerals dissolve in rocks and soil, was related to the prevalence of type 2 diabetes. This is potentially very important, since an estimated 8% of public water supplies in the US have levels of inorganic arsenic higher than the safety standard established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which is 10 micrograms per liter. Previous research has linked exposure to this heavy metal with bladder, lung, kidney and skin cancer, as well as other health problems. To determine the relationship between arsenic and diabetes, Dr. Navas-Acien and her team of collaborators analyzed data from 788 adults age 20 and older whose urine was tested for traces of this toxin.

They found that …

• Participants with type 2 diabetes had a 26% higher arsenic level than people who did not have the disease.
• Those with the highest levels of arsenic were more than three times as likely to have diabetes than those with the lowest levels. Drinking water can be contaminated with arsenic in some mining areas and in areas with inappropriate arsenic waste disposal… also, air pollution can be an additional source of arsenic exposure in certain areas.

The theory is that inorganic arsenic may contribute to diabetes by interfering with insulin sensitivity. When the body’s cells are exposed to both insulin and arsenic, they absorb less blood glucose than when exposed to insulin alone and, of course, impaired ability to manage glucose is a hallmark of diabetes. Inorganic arsenic may also contribute to diabetes by encouraging inflammation. (Note: Inorganic arsenic is distinct from arsenobetaine, an organic arsenic compound often found in seafood that is not believed to pose health risks.)

These findings were published in the August 20, 2008, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Further research is necessary to confirm the causal role of arsenic in diabetes development.

PESTICIDES AND DIABETES

Pesticides are also being implicated as a possible factor in increasing rates of diabetes, Dr. Navas-Acien told me. Scientists at the US National Institutes of Health looked into the incidence of diabetes in workers who applied pesticides on farms and in other agricultural settings. They found that workers who used chlorinated pesticides for more than 100 days over the course of their lifetimes faced a significantly higher risk of diabetes. The associations between particular pesticides and diabetes ranged from a 20% to 200% jump in risk. Also, scientists at University of Cambridge in the UK have noted the need for more research on a possible link between persistent organic pollutants (POPs, a chemical group that includes many pesticides) and the risk of type 2 diabetes. Although POPs such as DDT have been banned, they persist in our environment, slowly biodegrading and entering the food supply. Other environmental chemicals, such as brominated flame retardants used in a range of consumer products, from electronic equipment to clothing, or bisphenol A, found in plastics, may be associated with the development of diabetes as well.

WHILE WE WAIT FOR MORE INFORMATION…

While researchers continue to study what role environmental toxins may play in susceptibility to type 2 diabetes, it is important to do what we can to limit exposure to those we know are potentially dangerous. Reasonable steps to take to protect yourself and your family include…

• Ask your water utility company for a water quality report. You can also review independent tests on bottled water brands at the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Web site,www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/bw/appa.asp.
• Filter your tap water before drinking. Reverse osmosis filters are effective at removing arsenic, but pitcher filters and water softeners are not.
• Go green. For example, instead of deadly pesticides, use pest-resistant grasses to manage your lawn. Read more about “integrated pest management” (IPM) athttp://www.epa.gov/pesticides/factsheets/ipm.htm… replace chemical-laden cleaning products in your home with green brands such as Seventh Generation (http://www.seventhgeneration.com/).

While the jury is still out on any direct causal relationship between environmental toxins and diabetes, there is a strong suggestion of such links. This just adds more to the already long list of health risks you may be able to avoid altogether by living life as naturally and healthfully as possible.

Source(s):

Ana Navas-Acien, MD, PhD, assistant professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland.

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