
The Toxins That Threaten Our Brains - kareemm
http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2014/03/the-toxins-that-threaten-our-brains/284466/?single_page=true
======
tokenadult
The thread built on a previous submission of this 18 March 2014 story to
Hacker News, with lots of comments:

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8158510](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8158510)

I remember reading this article back then, and I see this story has been
submitted a couple of other times here. Rereading the article just now, I was
astonished that the author doesn't mention any of the massive data sets that
show that IQ scores have been steadily RISING around the world, a phenomenon
known as the Flynn effect,[1] after James R. Flynn, the researcher who first
drew the attention of the psychological community to all the data on rising IQ
scores around the world.[2] Really, if we are going to talk about mysterious
effects of "toxins" here, we should first of all look at the actual trend
lines in the real world.

[1]
[https://www.ted.com/talks/james_flynn_why_our_iq_levels_are_...](https://www.ted.com/talks/james_flynn_why_our_iq_levels_are_higher_than_our_grandparents?language=en)

[2] [http://www.psychometrics.cam.ac.uk/about-
us/directory/beyond...](http://www.psychometrics.cam.ac.uk/about-
us/directory/beyond-the-flynn-effect)

~~~
nulltype
Even if you are correct, that does not disprove a negative effect of "toxins"
on IQ. Perhaps IQ would be rising at twice the current rate without those
"toxins".

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Kenji
I think news like that is among the toxins that threaten my brain. A long as
hell article, very little substance, no new insights, and designed to provoke
certain emotions. How about solid data about the threat that I'm supposed to
be facing all the time?

~~~
nulltype
Well, if the dude is right, then under the current system I guess you won't
find out which chemicals were the toxins for a few more decades.

It sounds like fear mongering, but the point about using a bunch of chemicals
that are not really tested because they are presumed to be safe is a little
suspicious. Might be worthwhile to actually run tests on these things and find
out how bad they are before it makes a bunch of people's lives worse.

One thing the article is good at is pointing out that we have a history of
using various chemicals without really understanding what the adverse health
effects are.

~~~
Kenji
If the dude in the bible is right then more than half of humanity goes to hell
under the current system. Your point being...?

~~~
nulltype
If you consider the recent popularity of lead (known to be dangerous for
hundreds of years) and asbestos, you might not want to reconsider where the
burden of proof should lie.

It would probably be a better idea to require that chemicals used around you
be proven safe rather than proven dangerous.

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briandh
The fMRI results shown come from a self-described pilot study with only 3
subjects per group [1] [2].

> Results must be interpreted with caution due to the small number of
> participants and a fixed-effects analysis. However, the results are
> intriguing and statistically significant despite the small group size. They
> suggest that further fMRI investigations of children exposed to MeHg and
> PCBs are warranted and that this technique deserves to be used in
> neurotoxicity studies in general.

[1]
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuro.2011.04.001](http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuro.2011.04.001)
(the study)

[2] [http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/](http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/) S147
4-4422(13)70278-3 (a review containing a revised image based on that study --
the one that is included in the Atlantic piece)

------
Toast_
I can't believe this guy has the title of MD and has the gall to make the
claim that "the brain does not grow new brain cells throughout your life".
Absolutely ridiculous. source:[http://web.stanford.edu/group/hopes/cgi-
bin/hopes_test/neuro...](http://web.stanford.edu/group/hopes/cgi-
bin/hopes_test/neuroplasticity/)

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milesf
Does anyone else recoil when they read the work "toxins" as it pertains to our
health? The word has been so overused as to have lost its meaning.

~~~
sliverstorm
Not just overused but essentially coopted by pseudoscience.

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dccoolgai
How insane is it that they are still allowed to use asbestos in things that
are released in the consumer market? No one wants to live in a litigious
society, but these companies will not stop doing this until their billion-
dollar profits are punished with billion-dollar verdicts.

------
acheron
Rule of thumb: if anyone says "toxins", they're peddling anti-scientific
nonsense.

~~~
vixen99
Interesting rule of thumb! Maybe the authors responsible for that ton of peer-
reviewed literature I've just been browsing through - with 'toxins' in the
title, should take note.

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cromwellian
Is ADHD actually a neurodegenerative disorder, or is it a natural human
variation? How do we know that ADHD hasn't always been a substantial portion
of the population, and we've only recognized it once we developed modern
civilization post-agrarian revolution where kids need to sit in classrooms for
6 hours a day and homework for 1-2 hrs a day. Or that mind numbing repetitive
jobs were not something hunter-gathers evolved for?

I'd believe that these chemicals may be causing brain changes, but I am highly
skeptical of the claims there's been massive increase in autism and ADHD.

Would a hunter-gatherer or nomadic society even recognize ADHD as abnormal? Or
high functioning autism for that matter?

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vixen99
Mercury in the environment? Students of biochemistry know very well the
adverse effects of mercury ions on metabolic processes particularly in the
brain. Thus permanently installing lumps of mercury amalgam an inch or two
from said brain does not appear to be an entirely sensible procedure
irrespective of whether epidemiological studies have, so far, reported adverse
effects.

Meanwhile cremation releases 2 to 4 grams of mercury per body resulting in the
release of at least 3,000 kgm of Hg vapour in the US alone.

And yet the ADA, increasingly alone in the world, still supports its use in
dentistry. Incredible!

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elchief
It's interesting that "attention [span|problem]" shows up 3 times and "adhd"
shows up 5 times in this article. People seem to blame doctors for "over"
prescribing ADHD medication, but perhaps its recent toxins.

It's also sad that many of the murders and rapes of the 70s, 80s, and 90s
might be attributed to leaded gasoline.

