Abstract

Children are widely viewed as the population subgroup that is most vulnerable to the toxicities that result from exposure to environmental chemicals. Their enhanced vulnerability is due to a variety of behavioral and physiologic factors. For many chemicals, the central nervous system (CNS) is the most sensitive target organ. In general, the impacts depend on a chemical’s mode of action, the dose, and the stage of development at which exposure occurs. This paper surveys the toxicology of environmental chemicals, specifically the impacts on children’s intellectual development. It focuses on metals (or metalloids), including mercury, lead, arsenic, fluoride, as well as on pesticides, air pollution, synthetic organic chemicals, and endocrine disruptors. The final section discusses issues germane to estimating the global burden of disease associated with exposures to neurotoxic environmental chemicals.

• Related Studies :

  • Attenuating effect of Vitamin E on the deficit of learning and memory of rats with chronic fluorosis: the mechanism may involve muscarinic acetylcholine receptors.

    The protective role of vitamin E (Vit E) against neurotoxicity induced by fluorosis was investigated by using Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats fed with 50 ppm fluoride in drinking water for 10 months. Spatial learning and memory of rats were measured by the Morris water maze test; the expressions of M1 and

  • The effect of high fluoride exposure on the level of intelligence in children.

    Objective: Investigate the effect of high fluoride exposure on the level of intelligence in children. Method: In May 2006, 42 children from a high endemic fluorosis group and 37 children from the control area (who have been consuming low-fluoride water after water improvement schemes) were chosen for the test. They are all

  • Deficit in learning and memory of rats with chronic fluorosis correlates with the decreased expressions of M1 and M3 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors

    To reveal the molecular mechanism of deficit in learning and memory induced by chronic fluorosis, the expression of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) and oxidative stress were investigated. Sixty Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were divided randomly into two groups (30 cases in each), i.e., the control group (<0.5 ppm fluoride in drinking water)

  • Letter to the Editor: IQ of 9-12 year-old children in high and low-drinking water fluoride areas in West Axerbaijan Province, Iran: Further information on the two villages in the study and the confounding factors considered.

    In a critique of our study1 on the IQ of 9–12-year-old children in high- and low drinking water fluoride (F) areas in West Azerbaijan province, Iran, Dr Ken Perrott questioned whether possible confounding factors in the two villages, such as the rural status and parental educational levels, were adequately considered.2 Perrott’s

  • Excessive ER stress and the resulting autophagic flux dysfunction contribute to fluoride-induced neurotoxicity.

    Fluoride is capable of inducing neurotoxicity, but its mechanisms remain elusive. This study aimed to explore the roles of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and autophagy in sodium fluoride (NaF)-induced neurotoxicity, focusing on the regulating role of ER stress in autophagy. The in vivo results demonstrated that NaF exposure impaired the learning

• Related FAN Content :

  • Fluoride & IQ: The 64 Studies

    As of December 2019, a total of 72 studies have investigated the relationship between fluoride and human intelligence. Of these investigations, 64 studies have found that elevated fluoride exposure is associated with reduced IQ in humans, while over 60 animal studies have found that fluoride exposure impairs the learning and/or

  • Fluoride's Neurobehavioral Effects in Humans & Animals

    In addition to studies linking fluoride to reduced IQ in humans, and impaired learning/memory in animals,  human and animal studies have also linked fluoride to a variety of other neurobehavioral effects. These studies, which are excerpted below, provide yet further evidence that fluoride is a neurotoxin. The latest findings were reported

  • Fluoride's Effect on Fetal Brain

    The human placenta does not prevent the passage of fluoride from a pregnant mother's bloodstream to the fetus. As a result, a fetus can be harmed by fluoride ingested pregnancy. Based on research from China, the fetal brain is one of the organs susceptible to fluoride poisoning. As highlighted by the excerpts

  • NRC (2006): Fluoride's Neurotoxicity and Neurobehavioral Effects

    The NRC's analysis on fluoride and the brain.

  • Fluoride's Direct Effects on Brain: Animal Studies

    The possibility that fluoride ingestion may impair intelligence and other indices of neurological function is supported by a vast body of animal research, including over 40 studies that have investigated fluoride's effects on brain quality in animals. As discussed by the National Research Council, the studies have consistently demonstrated that fluoride, at widely varying concentrations, is toxic to the brain.