Healthcare News
Aluminum environmental pollution: the silent killer
Further to my previous substack, here is a 2021 PMC review of Aluminium (Al) and the increasing danger it poses to human health.
ABSTRACT
The concern about aluminum (Al) toxicity has been proven in various cases. Some cases are associated with the fact that Al is a neurotoxic substance that has been found in high levels in the brain tissues of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), epilepsy, and autism patients. Other cases are related to infants, especially premature infants and ones with renal failure, who are at the risk of developing the central nervous system (CNS) and bone toxicity. This risk is a result of infants’ exposure to Al from milk formulas, intravenous-feeding solutions, and possibly from aluminum-containing vaccinations. Furthermore, most antiperspirants contain aluminum compounds that raise human exposure to toxic Al. This review paper is intended to discuss in detail the above concerns associated with aluminum, and hence urges the need for more studies exploring the effects of overexposure to Al and recommending mitigation actions.
Impact of aluminum on human brain tissue
In recent years, researchers have detected elevated aluminum content in the brain tissue of patients with Alzheimer’s disease, autism, and epilepsy (Mold et al. 2019b).
Infant’s exposure to aluminum
Although aluminum is a neurotoxic substance which as discussed so far has been considered to be a major contributor to neurodegenerative diseases, infants are being exposed to this substance repeatedly through infant formula as well as vaccination. Therefore, there is an urgent need to study the long-term effects of early exposure to aluminum on infants’ developing brains. The discussion below is divided into two main parts: infant’s exposure to Al from milk formula, and infant’s exposure to Al from vaccination.
Aluminum from vaccination
Aluminum formulations, including aluminum hydroxides and aluminum phosphate, are commonly used as adjuvants in vaccines (Baylor et al. 2002). They help enhance the efficiency of vaccination by improving the immune response to vaccine antigens (Gołoś and Lutyńska 2015). However, aluminum formulations can cause allergic responses such as redness, pain, and itchiness at the injection site, but usually, they are mild (Gołoś and Lutyńska 2015). Currently, some studies are raising the concern of vaccination containing too much of the neurotoxic substance, aluminum (Miller 2016b).
In addition, in 2011, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended pregnant women to take vaccination with aluminum content (Miller 2016b). Aluminum accumulates in the fetal tissue since it passes through the placenta (Miller 2016b). This means that infants are receiving a considerable amount of aluminum even before being born (Miller 2016b). The aluminum contents in vaccines received from birth to 18 months are illustrated in Table Table44 (Miller 2016b).
The injection with aluminum adjuvants repeatedly during the critical period where the child’s brain is developing is of significant concern.
Conclusion
Since humans are exposed to Al from numerous sources, especially anthropogenic sources, on a daily basis, there is a great concern that this exposure is harmful to human health. First, Al has been associated with neurotoxicity. Recently, elevated Al level has been detected in the brain tissue for patients with AD and other neurodegenerative diseases. Second, studies have shown that milk formulas contain an intolerable amount of Al; hence, infants are being overexposed to this toxic metal. Although some of these studies are old, recent studies measuring Al content indicate that no action was taken to lower the Al level. Third, recent studies are raising the concern of infants’ vaccination containing too much Al.
Read the full review here: