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EATING TAINTED FISH CURBS ADULT LEARNING AND MEMORY CHAMPAIGN, Illinois, June 6, 2001 (ENS) - Adults who eat PCB laden fish from Lake Michigan can be affected just as much as young children, researchers have learned. Many of the former big eaters of sport caught fish now have high levels of (PCBs) polychlorinated biphenyls in their blood and problems with learning and memory. Since 1992, researchers led by Susan Schantz of the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, have studied Lake Michigan fish eaters, many of whom had eaten more than 24 pounds of sport caught fish a year. The researchers' latest findings show that the heavy eaters who are now over age 49 have problems learning and remembering new verbal information. Fish eaters with high blood PCB levels had difficulties recalling a story´ told just 30 minutes earlier. They also were less likely than their less exposed peers to cluster words into categories based on their meaning to boost recall, said Schantz, a professor of toxicology in the department of veterinary biosciences. "This study suggests, for the first time, that PCB body burdens in adulthood may be associated with impairments in certain aspects of memory and learning," Schantz said. "The focus has been almost exclusively on increased health risks of exposure to children and pregnant women. It had been assumed that mature adults are less susceptible than are developing fetuses. This may not be the case." Until they were banned in the late 1970s, PCBs were used as electrical insulators and lubricants and as extenders in paints and varnishes. The chemicals are slow to decompose, and large quantities remain in older electrical equipment still in use. In the Great Lakes, PCBs make their way up the food chain and accumulate at increasing levels in fatty tissue. The new study by researchers at four institutions appears in the June issue of "Environmental Health Perspectives," a journal of the National Institutes of Health. ============================ Studies suggest link between lead, violence Experiment on rats indicates exposure hinders brain growth; Analysis tracks lead, crime Baltimore Sun May 9, 2000 By Jim Haner Two new studies on the effects of lead exposure to be released this week suggest that the toxin commonly found in household paints made before 1960 may stunt normal brain growth and could contribute to patterns of violent crime. ... The reports - to be published almost simultaneously in two leading research journals [note: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and Environmental Research] - are the first in an expected wave of new studies this year examining how lead exposure influences learning disabilities in children, violent behavior in teens and mental dysfunction in the elderly. ... -------- More about chemicals, violence and learning diabilities you can read from Peter Montague
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