From: Robina Suwol
Date: 22 Mar 2003
Time: 16:11:46
Remote Name: 172.146.180.111
Organophosphate Insecticide Use may be Linked to the Gulf War Syndrome and
Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), according to a March 18 News
Release issued by the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, which states in
part: " ... Research at the Salk Institute has identified a gene that may link
certain pesticides and chemical weaponry to a number of neurological disoders,
including the elusive Gulf War syndrome and attention deficit/hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD). The finding, published in the March 17 online version of Nature
Genetics, is the first to demonstrate a clear genetic link between neurological
disorders and exposure to
organophosphate chemicals; the gene is one that scientists had not studied in
previous efforts to find connections between these chemicals and disease ... Dr.
Carrolee Barlow, who led the work at the Salk Institute and is now at Merck and
Co., Inc., and her team, headed by Christopher Winrow, found in mice that
organophosphate exposure inhibited the activity of a gene called neuropathy
target esterase, or NTE. This inhibition either killed the mice before birth, or
over time led to a range of behaviors very similar to ADHD. Some of the
neurological problems also echoed many of the symptoms seen in Gulf War syndrome
... Barlow's group had originally been looking at how environmental factors
immediately affect the nervous system.
They found that mice bred to lack the NTE gene died before birth. But the group
also found that mice with only one copy of the NTE gene, when exposed to
experimental organophosphates and examined over a prolonged period, exhibited
behavior similar to ADHD. The mice with only one NTE copy had a 40 percent
decrease in the NTE enzyme produced by the NTE gene. The mice
with normal NTE genes also showed ADHD-like behavior, though to a lesser degree,
when exposed to organophosphates. The gene is active in parts of the brain
controlling movement, including the hippocampus, the cerebellum and the spinal
cord ... At the Salk, researcher Matthew Hemming in Professor Stephen
Heinemann's laboratory is continuing to work on unlocking the secrets of NTE's
activity. The Salk team is working to detail how losing NTE function results in
behavioral and neurological changes, as well as focusing on what happens when
the gene for NTE is turned off in one part of the brain, but working in other
areas ... The researchers are supported by a $1.5 million grant from the U.S.
Department of Defense ..." - The Salk News Release should be posted soon at <
http://www.salk.edu/news/releases/>http://www.salk.edu/news/releases/
-
Questions may be directed to Salk's Robert Bradford, Senior Director of
Communications at 858 453 4100 ext. 1290; e-mail:
Bradford@Salk.edu - Dr. Barlow may be reached
by e-mail at
Carrolee_Barlow@Merck.com -
The March 17 Nature Genetics article, "Loss of neuropathy target esterase in
mice links organophosphate exposure to hyperactivity," is posted at ;
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/ng/journal/vaop/ncurrent/ab
s/ng1131.html
>http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/ng/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/ng1131.html
- Thanks to the University of Guelph's March 18 AgNet II for the Salk News
Release.
The following news release should be posted soon at
http://www.salk.edu/news/releases/
March 18, 2003
Robert Bradford
Senior Director of Communications
858.453.4100 ext. 1290
bradford@salk.edu
Salk Institute for Biological Studies
La Jolla, Calif.--Research at the Salk Institute has identified a gene that may
link certain pesticides and chemical weaponry to a number of neurological
disorders, including the elusive Gulf War syndrome and
attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
The finding, published in the March 17 online version of Nature
Genetics, is the first to demonstrate a clear genetic link between neurological
disorders and exposure to organophosphate chemicals; the gene is one that
scientists had not studied in previous efforts to find connections between these
chemicals and disease. Organophosphates include household pesticides as well as
deadly nerve gases like sarin.
Dr. Carrolee Barlow, who led the work at the Salk Institute and is now at Merck
and Co., Inc., and her team, headed by Christopher Winrow, found in mice that
organophosphate exposure inhibited the activity of a gene called neuropathy
target esterase, or NTE. This inhibition either killed the mice before birth, or
over time led to a range of behaviors very similar to ADHD.
Some of the neurological problems also echoed many of the symptoms seen in Gulf
War syndrome.
"There have been anecdotal links made between rises in ADHD, Parkinson's disease
and other disorders and exposure to pesticides," said Barlow, an adjunct faculty
member at the Salk. "There also has been suspicion of a link to Gulf War
syndrome. But scientists have been focusing on enzymes
that act on acetylcholine neurotransmitters. This study shows that there may
indeed be a genetic connection that explains how organophosphates can cause
these reactions; it's just not what we assumed it would be."
Barlow's group had originally been looking at how environmental factors
immediately affect the nervous system. They found that mice bred to lack the NTE
gene died before birth. But the group also found that mice with only one copy of
the NTE gene, when exposed to experimental organophosphates and examined over a
prolonged period, exhibited behavior similar to ADHD.
The mice with only one NTE copy had a 40 percent decrease in the NTE enzyme
produced by the NTE gene. The mice with normal NTE genes also showed ADHD-like
behavior, though to a lesser degree, when exposed to organophosphates. The gene
is active in parts of the brain controlling movement, including the hippocampus,
the cerebellum and the spinal cord.
"NTE is a large gene," said Barlow. "It's possible that we all have slightly
different forms of the NTE enzyme, which may explain why some may get ADHD when
they're exposed at young ages, and why some may get Gulf War syndrome at a later
age, or why some of us have no symptoms at all. It appears to be a case of
delayed toxicity, inhibiting the function of NTE."
At the Salk, researcher Matthew Hemming in Professor Stephen Heinemann's
laboratory is continuing to work on unlocking the secrets of NTE's activity. The
Salk team is working to detail how losing NTE function results in behavioral and
neurological changes, as well as focusing on what happens when the gene for NTE
is turned off in one part of the brain, but working
in other areas.
The Gulf War syndrome is a loosely defined collection of symptoms, ranging from
headache and fever to severe forgetfulness and movement disorders. It was first
noted after Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield in 1991, when U.S.,
Canadian and British military veterans reported more symptoms than soldiers who
were not deployed. Its cause is unknown.
The researchers are supported by a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department
of Defense. Barlow's colleagues on the project include Christopher Winrow, Duane
Allen, and, Gary Quistad and John Casida of the University of California,
Berkeley.
The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, located in La Jolla, Calif., is an
independent nonprofit organization dedicated to fundamental discoveries in the
life sciences, the improvement of human health and conditions, and the training
of future generations of researchers. The institute was founded in 1960 by Jonas
Salk, M.D., with a gift of land from the City of San Diego and the financial
support of the March of Dimes Birth Defects Foundation.
******************
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/ng/journal/vaop/ncurrent/ab
s/ng1131.html
Published online: 17 March 2003, doi:10.1038/ng1131
Loss of neuropathy target esterase in mice links organophosphate
exposure to hyperactivity
Christopher J. Winrow1, 3, Matthew L. Hemming1, Duane M. Allen1, Gary B.
Qnd the spinal cord ... At the Salk, researcher Matthew Hemming in Professor
Stephen Heinemann's laboratory is continuing to work on unlocking the secrets of
NTE's activity. The Salk team is working to detail how losing NTE function
results in behavioral and neurological changes, as well
as focusing on what happens when the gene for NTE is turned off in one part of
the brain, but working in other areas ... The researchers are supported by a
$1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense ..." - The Salk News
Release should be posted soon at
http://www.salk.edu/news/releases/ -
Questions may be directed to Salk's Robert Bradford, Senior Director of
Communications at 858 453 4100 ext. 1290; e-mail:
Bradford@Salk.edu - Dr. Barlow may be reached by
e-mail at
Carrolee_Barlow@Merck.com
The March 17 Nature Genetics article, "Loss of neuropathy target esterase
in mice links organophosphate exposure to hyperactivity," is posted at
http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/ng/journal/vaop/ncurrent/ab
s/ng1131.html >http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/ng/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/n
g1131.html