Neurobehavioral Deficits Associated with PCB in 7-year-old Children Prenatally Exposed to Seafood Neurotoxicants

The Scientific Paper:

Philippe Grandjean, Pal Weihe, Virlyn W. Burse, Larry L. Needham, Eva Storr-Hansen, Birger Heinzow, Frodi Debes, Katsuyuki Murata, Henrik Simonsen, Peter Ellefsen, Esben Budtz-Jorgensen, Niels Keiding, Roberta F. White. Neurotoxicology and Teratology. Vol. 23 pp 305-317. 2001.

Review This Scientific Paper’s Abstract:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=
PubMed&list_uids=11485834&dopt=Abstract

The Purpose of this Study:
To determine if prenatal exposure to the toxic contaminants polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) causes mental problems that can be detected using several scientific tests.

Some Background, Methods, Results, Caveats, and Other Select Points:

• This peer-reviewed, scientific paper was published in 2001.
• There are many pollutants (including several pesticides and metals) that are toxic to the human brain and/or nervous system. These pollutants may damage human brains and/or nervous systems by exposure in the womb. The relative effects of these pollutants, the level of exposure needed to cause detectable harm(s), plus how and/or if these pollutants may work together to cause harm(s) are not well-known. Studies such as this one have to consider simultaneous exposures to these other pollutants as possibly influencing the harm(s) that might otherwise be attributed to only the one pollutant that is being studied.
• People oftentimes come into contact with many pollutants that can damage human brains and/or nervous systems. Science needs to learn a great deal more here.
• Because three different laboratories analyzed the PCBs, the results may not all be accurate because the required level(s) of expertise and/or equipment most likely vary from one laboratory to another when analyzing for PCBs or other things.
• The amount and importance of the interaction(s) observed between the PCBs and methylmercury in this study is difficult to determine because so very little is scientifically known about if and how these chemicals interact in people.
• These scientists believe that the most serious problem in interpreting research in this area is that PCBs in the environment are not a well-defined, single chemical – but are oftentimes an unknown mixture of several chemicals. Hence the name PCBs and not PCB.
• These scientists detected no clear-cut PCBs-associated damaging effects to the children in this study, but that does not mean that PCBs and/or other similar pollutants are harmless.
• PCBs consist of a mixture of several chemicals. Even though several of these may damage human brains and/or nervous systems, few of them are routinely analyzed for in the laboratory. Further, PCBs oftentimes are found with other toxic chemicals including some pesticides that may also damage human brains and/or nervous systems.
• PCBs have caused detectable brain and/or nervous system damage in experimental monkeys and rodents. PCBs and their metabolites may interfere with the thyroid gland, which may in turn cause hearing loss and other damage(s).

A Bottom Line:
These results suggest that in the Faroese population methylmercury-caused harm(s) may be a greater hazard than those associated with PCBs. Also, PCBs could possibly make worse the brain and/or nervous system damage(s) when there are increased levels of methylmercury.

The limited PCB-related harm(s) reported in this study appear to be influenced by a simultaneous exposure to methylmercury.

Find This Scientific Paper for Your Review:
Neurobehavioral Deficits Associated with PCB in 7-year-old Children Prenatally Exposed to Seafood Neurotoxicants. Neurotoxicology and Teratology. Vol. 23 pp 305-317. 2001.