Toxins News and Research

Considerable amounts of cancer-causing chemicals gets absorbed by lungs during vaping

E-cigarettes have become increasingly popular as a smoke-free alternative to conventional tobacco cigarettes, but the health effects of "vaping" on humans have been debated in the scientific and tobacco manufacturing communities.

Novel finding that links ALS/ataxia to cellular stress opens door to new treatment approaches

Few treatments exist for neurodegenerative diseases that progressively rob a person's ability to move and think, yet the results of a new study could potentially open additional approaches for exploration.

Breast cancer cases among men who were at ground zero on 9/11

The after effects of the terror attacks on 11th September 2001 in the United States are still appearing. Around 15 men who were present near the Ground Zero on the fateful day have been diagnosed with rare forms of male breast cancer. Male breast cancer makes up for less than 1 percent of all breast cancers. 

This new data emerges from a client list of a law firm that is specially looking into health cases of those in and around the region on 9/11. There could be many more men who are outside of this data base say experts. Two of the men – Jeff Flynn (65 years old) and John Mormando (51 years old) who were near the zone were initially diagnosed with the cancer and are being treated for it. Both men say that there is no history of breast cancers in their family and they were exposed to toxins on the day.

Flynn was an account manager for a data-storage company Dell EMC and was assigned to Goldman Sachs on Maiden Lane on the fateful day. He was around the region for months after the attack helping Goldman and other financial services firms to set up again.

After a decade, in 2011, he first noticed an abnormality in one of his nipples and was then diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer for which he underwent extensive operations. Soon the cancer returned as a stage 4 cancer. He was awarded compensation from the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund that helped him pay for his treatment. Mormando was a commodities broker working at the Mercantile Exchange until 2007. He is a triathlete now. Last year he noticed a lump on his chest and was diagnosed with the breast cancer.

Leon Silverstein (89 years old), an Army veteran, was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to be operated upon. As a result of the cancer both his breasts had to be removed in a double mastectomy. He used to live near Battery Park near the Ground Zero for 30 years.

Experts believe that apart from those killed during the attacks more people are emerging with long term after effects of the attack. There are over ten thousand individuals who were members of the first responders’ teams for rescue operations or were near the region when the attack took place.

These people have been diagnosed with various forms of cancers due to exposure to the toxins. Over 2000 individuals have ailments that can be attributed to the toxins on that day. The Chief of the fire Department of New York, for example, who was leading the first responder efforts died this June from cancer.

Research uncovers how the immune system detects DNA damage

Our immune system is working every day to protect us from bacteria, viruses, and parasites, but it can also detect when our own cells are damaged.

Newborns require special diagnosis and treatment considerations for C. difficile infection

Newborns require special diagnosis and treatment considerations for an infectious diarrhea known as Clostridioides difficile infection, according to a new evidence-based white paper published today in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

Routine oral care to treat gum disease may improve cognitive function in cirrhosis patients

Routine oral care to treat gum disease may play a role in reducing inflammation and toxins in the blood and improving cognitive function in people with liver cirrhosis.

Scientists develop urine diagnostic to detect parasitic worms that cause river blindness

Scientists at Scripps Research have developed a urine diagnostic to detect the parasitic worms that cause river blindness, also called onchocerciasis, a tropical disease that afflicts 18 to 120 million people worldwide.

Do e-cigarettes aid in smoking cessation or cause threat to public health?

Are e-cigarettes an important smoking cessation tool or an emerging public health concern?

Study: Air pollution can fuel chronic kidney disease

There is good evidence that polluted air increases the risk of respiratory problems such as asthma -- as well as organ inflammation, worsening of diabetes and other life-threatening conditions.

Daily e-cigarette use could double the risk of heart attacks

Use of e-cigarettes every day can nearly double the odds of a heart attack, according to a new analysis of a survey of nearly 70,000 people, led by researchers at UC San Francisco.

Wyss researchers create model of the BBB-brain interface using microfluidically linked Organ Chips

The human brain, with its 100 billion neurons that control every thought, word, and action, is the most complex and delicate organ in the body. Because it needs extra protection from toxins and other harmful substances, the blood vessels that supply the brain with oxygen and nutrients are highly selective about which molecules can cross from the blood into the brain and vice versa.

UTA researcher receives NIH grant to explore ways to boost innate immunity

A UTA researcher has won a five-year, $1.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to look at new ways to harness the body's own defense responses to fight pathogens like bacteria.

Understanding How Antibodies Shape the Gut Microbiome

Dr. Keiichiro Suzuki discusses the importance of IgA in the human body, and his recent research study, which showed that IgA interacts with the gut microbiome and promotes the growth of healthy bacteria.

New research confirms link between DDT exposure and autism

The results of a national birth cohort study published today provide biomarker evidence that DDT increases the risk of autism.

E-cigarettes not so safe but still better than cigarettes

According to latest research vaping using e-cigarettes can hasten the death of lung cells by up to fifty times and cause serious lung diseases later in life. This latest study was published in the journal Thorax.

Discovery could lead to new drugs against infection and inflammation

Researchers at Lund University in Sweden, have in collaboration with colleagues in Copenhagen and Singapore, mapped how the body's own peptides act to reduce infection and inflammation by deactivating the toxic substances formed in the process.

Rutgers researchers receive $2.5 million NIEHS grant to study cadmium exposure in expecting mothers

Rutgers researchers, with the aid of $2.5 million National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences grant, will study how exposure to cadmium during pregnancy can impact fetal development.

Hookah smoking develops cardiovascular risk factors similar to cigarette, shows study

In direct contradiction to marketing efforts claiming that hookah smoking is less hazardous to health than cigarettes, a new UCLA study published in the American Journal of Cardiology found that just a half-hour of hookah smoking resulted in the development of cardiovascular risk factors similar to what has been seen with traditional cigarette smoking.

Drinking or smoking while breastfeeding and affects later cognition in children

According to a new study published this week in the journal Pediatrics, quite a few breast feeding women are not abstaining from alcohol and are thus causing exposure of their babies to alcohol. They write in their study that children who are exposed to alcohol in the breast milk that they take are likely to have lower cognitive abilities.

Parkinson's therapies being developed may benefit everybody with the disease

A gene linked to 3 to 4 percent of people with Parkinson's disease could play an important role in most, if not all, people with the disease, according to new study findings from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and UPMC.