Dr. Arturo M. Volpe

The Center for Children’s Health and the Environment, founded by a group of physicians and scientists from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine (New York City), recently began running full-page ads in The New York Times addressing the current crisis in children’s mental and physical health and its possible underlying causes. Ad themes and related information, including lengthy scientific papers on which the ads are based, can be found on the authors’ website at http://www.childenvironment.org.

The authors and sponsors of the ads, all listed on the website, belong to conventional medical and research communities and have the highest credentials. Every statement contained in the ads is supported by extensive scientific data, although this information is generally not reported in the media and most of us are not aware of it.
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Tags: ADD/ADHD, Allergies & Asthma, Autism, Cancer, Chemicals & Environmental Issues, Mental Health
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High levels of ozone in the air we breathe are a major public health problem. It is estimated that more than 130 million Americans live in areas where ozone levels exceed safety standards. Exposure to ozone is known to cause decreased breathing capacity, airway hyperreactivity, and inflammation of the airway passages. In a study last year, (Am J Resp Crit Care Med 2001 164 819) participants were given a combination of antioxidants that included vitamin C, vitamin E and a vegetable cocktail. Antioxidants were found to be protective against decline in lung function but not to reduce markers of inflammation caused by ozone exposure.

Tags: Antioxidants, Chemicals & Environmental Issues
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A study (Med Sci Sports Exercise 2000;32(12):2024-2028) looked at the effects of halothane anesthesia, which is known to be toxic to the liver and can cause liver damage.

Experimental animals who were exercised regularly were better able to detoxify the chemical compound and had a reduced incidence of liver damage. Today’s toxic environment

taxes our livers like never before in the history of the human race. Chemicals enter our bodies through air, water and food and end up in our liver, which has the job of breaking them down. Regular moderate exercise can help rid our bodies of environmental toxins and preserve our health.

Tags: Chemicals & Environmental Issues
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A recent study (Environmental Health Perspec, June 2000;108 (Suppl 3): 433-438) reveals that certain common environmental chemicals can alter thyroid function by acting directly on the thyroid or by affecting centers in the brain that regulate thyroid function. These chemicals, known as PCBs and dioxins, are widespread in today’s environment. This may explain why low thyroid function and many related disorders, including depression and weight gain, have become so common.

A far more disturbing finding of the study is that, in animal models, these chemicals impaired brain development in early life. In humans, adequate thyroid function is essential for brain development starting several months before delivery through the first two years after birth. Based on this information, thyroid deficiencies could be a contributory factor in today’s epidemic of neurological disorders in children such as ADD and ADHD.

Tags: Chemicals & Environmental Issues, Thyroid issues
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A recent study (Environmental Health Perspec, June 2000;108 (Suppl 3): 433-438) reveals that certain common environmental chemicals can alter thyroid function by acting directly on the thyroid or by affecting centers in the brain that regulate thyroid function. These chemicals, known as PCBs and dioxins, are widespread in today’s environment. This may explain why low thyroid function and many related disorders, including depression and weight gain, have become so common.
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Tags: ADD/ADHD, Chemicals & Environmental Issues
Comments Off on Thyroid Dysfunction And Environmental Chemicals