Aluminum neurological disorders

The etiologic role of aluminum in neurological disorders has been of increasing interest in recent years. Subtle neurological effects (altered performance on neurobehavioral tests and increased reporting of subjective symptoms) have been detected in workers exposed to large amounts of aluminum dusts in factories. ... 

Longstreth WT, Rosenstock L, Heyer NJ Neurologic disorder in three aluminum smelter workers. Arch Intern Med 145 1972-1975, 1985... 

Similar to the Martyn et al. (1989) study, Martyn et al. (1997) used CT records to identify individuals with Alzheimer s disease 106 cases were identified. Three sets of controls were used patients with other types of dementia (99 cases), patients with brain cancer (226 cases), and patients with other neurologic disorders (441 cases). The subjects (or next of kin) were mailed questionnaires that asked for all addresses (with dates of residence), and the investigators used this information to gather quantitative data for aluminum concentrations in the municipal water for each address and period of residence. No significant associations were found between the risk of Alzheimer s disease (as compared to each control group) and aluminum levels in drinking water. 

Sim M, Dick R, Russo J, et al. 1997. Are aluminum potroom workers at increased risk of neurological disorders Occup Environ Med 54 229-235. 

Metal ions play an important role in the stabilization of DNA and in the catalytic activity of DNA polymerases [1], Transition metals like Mn and Co, etc., at higher ionic strength are found to be mutagenic and carcinogenic in nature and also change the helical nature of the DNA [1-6]. Aluminum (Al) is reported to be associated with neurological disorders and to cause cellular toxicity through its interaction with DNA in cells [7-9]. 

The toxicity of aluminum is not in doubt (53, 75), though its relationship with certain neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer s disease, has not been firmly established (109). The clearest evidence that aluminum is toxic comes from patients with renal failure who have... 

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