Skip to content
Research Article Open access CC BY 3.0

Alzheimer Disease and Environmental Exposure to Neurotoxic Factors: A Controversy

Hélène Sordet-Guépet, Patrick Manckoundia

Journal of Advances in Medicine and Medical Research · pp. 5298–5311 · Published 25 Jul 2014

10.9734/BJMMR/2014/10762

Abstract

Background: Common neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer disease are a major public health issue because of their high prevalence and etiopathogenic complexity. Ageing, combined with a genetic predisposition and modifiable risk factors including cardiovascular factors, has been shown to be the main risk factor of Alzheimer and related diseases. The international scientific community suspects that physicochemical environmental factors may be involved. The lack of consensus justifies a general review of current knowledge on the role of environmental neurotoxic factors in the occurrence of some neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer disease. Methodology: A literature search was conducted on PubMed using the keywords dementia, dementia syndrome, Alzheimer disease, Alzheimer type dementia, exposure, neurotoxicity aluminium, mercury, pesticide. After reading all of the abstracts and ruling out irrelevant articles, only relevant articles in English or French were selected. We read more than 600 abstracts and based on these we selected and read 352 articles, 176 for each of the two authors. Finally, our bibliography includes 78 articles. Results: The neurotoxicity data from animal experiments are old, and in the professional environment there is no evidence regarding the gradient of environmental toxicity. Synergistic, multiple-factor neurotoxicity is complex and difficult to document epidemiologically as it is due to a cumulative toxic continuum rather than a dose/effect relationship. Within this recognized multi-causal model of neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer disease, chronic exposure to neurotoxic products has a real pathogenic effect on the central nervous system though certain aspects of this effect are not entirely proven. Conclusion: The lack of overall agreement about precautions for heavy metals does not mean that latent and prolonged exposure to these products is safe, especially with regard to the potential risk of worsening neurodegenerative diseases.

Environment exposure Alzheimer disease neurodegenerative disease neurotoxicity

References (75)

  1. 1 Global prevalence of dementia: a Delphi consensus study [DOI]
  2. 2 Chronic Parkinsonism in Humans Due to a Product of Meperidine-Analog Synthesis [DOI]
  3. 3 Prevention of dementia in randomised double-blind placebo-controlled Systolic Hypertension in Europe (Syst-Eur) trial [DOI]
  4. 4 Oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease [DOI]
  5. 5 The three modern faces of mercury. [DOI]
  6. 6 Human Health Risk Assessment for Aluminium, Aluminium Oxide, and Aluminium Hydroxide [DOI]
  7. 7 Alzheimer disease amyloid beta protein forms calcium channels in bilayer membranes: blockade by tromethamine and aluminum. [DOI]
  8. 8 Geographical relation between Alzheimer's disease and aluminum in drinking water.
  9. 9 Parkinson's Disease and Residential Exposure to Maneb and Paraquat From Agricultural Applications in the Central Valley of California [DOI]
  10. 10 Aluminum and Alzheimer's Disease: After a Century of Controversy, Is there a Plausible Link? [DOI]
  11. 11 The neurotoxicity of environmental aluminum is still an issue [DOI]
  12. 12 Environmental risk factors for Parkinson’s disease and parkinsonism: the Geoparkinson study [DOI]
  13. 13 Aluminum in hippocampal neurons from humans with Alzheimer's disease [DOI]
  14. 14 Occupation and risk of parkinsonism: a multicenter case-control study. [DOI]
  15. 15 ORGANOCHLORINE INSECTICIDES IN SUBSTANTIA NIGRA IN PARKINSON'S DISEASE [DOI]
  16. 16 Neuropsychological and Renal Effects of Dental Amalgam in Children [DOI]
  17. 17 Is Pesticide Use Related to Parkinson Disease? Some Clues to Heterogeneity in Study Results [DOI]
  18. 18 Mercury Induces Cell Cytotoxicity and Oxidative Stress and Increases β‐Amyloid Secretion and Tau Phosphorylation in SHSY5Y Neuroblastoma Cells [DOI]
  19. 19 Involvement of Environmental Mercury and Lead in the Etiology of Neurodegenerative Diseases [DOI]
  20. 20 The role of environmental mercury, lead and pesticide exposure in development of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis [DOI]
  21. 21 Occupational risk factors in Alzheimers disease: a review assessing the quality of published epidemiological studies [DOI]
  22. 22 The Earliest Stage of Cognitive Impairment in Transition From Normal Aging to Alzheimer Disease Is Marked by Prominent RNA Oxidation in Vulnerable Neurons [DOI]
  23. 23 Molecular toxicity of aluminium in relation to neurodegeneration.
  24. 24 Chronic Aluminum Intake Causes Alzheimer's Disease: Applying Sir Austin Bradford Hill's Causality Criteria [DOI]
  25. 25 EXPERIMENTAL PRODUCTION OF NEUROFIBRILLARY DEGENERATION [DOI]
  26. 26 ALUMINIUM, NEUROFIBRILLARY DEGENERATION AND ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE [DOI]
  27. 27 A case‐control study of Alzheimer's disease in Australia [DOI]
  28. 28 EXPERIMENTAL PRODUCTION OF NEUROFIBRILLARY DEGENERATION [DOI]
  29. 29 Incorporating pharmacokinetic differences between children and adults in assessing children's risks to environmental toxicants [DOI]
  30. 30 Effects on the nervous system among welders exposed to aluminium and manganese. [DOI]
  31. 31 Alzheimer disease: mercury as pathogenetic factor and apolipoprotein E as a moderator.
  32. 32 Health effects of dental amalgam exposure: a retrospective cohort study [DOI]
  33. 33 Increased blood mercury levels in patients with Alzheimer's disease [DOI]
  34. 34 Mechanisms by which metals promote events connected to neurodegenerative diseases [DOI]
  35. 35 Occupational aluminum exposure: Evidence in support of its neurobehavioral impact [DOI]
  36. 36 Decrements in cognitive performance in metal inert gas welders exposed to aluminium. [DOI]
  37. 37 Brain lesions comprised of aluminum-rich cells that lack microtubules may be associated with the cognitive deficit of Alzheimer's disease [DOI]
  38. 38 Intoxication par le mercure [DOI]
  39. 39 ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE, DENTAL AMALGAM AND MERCURY [DOI]
  40. 40 In vitro evidence for the hole of glutamate in the CNS toxicity of mercury [DOI]
  41. 41 Increased absorption of aluminium from a normal dietary intake in dementia [DOI]
  42. 42 Apolipoprotein E genotyping as a potential biomarker for mercury neurotoxicity [DOI]
  43. 43 Prevalence of dementia in the older Japanese‐Brazilian population [DOI]
  44. 44 Mental abilities of workers exposed to aluminium.
  45. 45 Epidemiology of dementia [DOI]
  46. 46 Mortality with Alzheimer's disease and dementia in France, 2006 [DOI]
  47. 47 The epidemiology of Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia in Japanese and African-American populations: the search for etiological clues [DOI]
  48. 48 The Faroes Statement: Human Health Effects of Developmental Exposure to Chemicals in Our Environment [DOI]
  49. 49 Exposure to aluminium and the subsequent development of a disorder with features of Alzheimer's disease [DOI]
  50. 50 The Delayed Appearance of a Mercurial Warning [DOI]
  51. 51 A primate model of parkinsonism: selective destruction of dopaminergic neurons in the pars compacta of the substantia nigra by N-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine. [DOI]
  52. 52 Developmental neurotoxicity of industrial chemicals [DOI]
  53. 53 Relation between Aluminum Concentrations in Drinking Water and Alzheimer's Disease: An 8-year Follow-up Study [DOI]
  54. 54 Pesticide Exposure and Self-reported Parkinson's Disease in the Agricultural Health Study [DOI]
  55. 55 Aluminum and Silica in Drinking Water and the Risk of Alzheimer's Disease or Cognitive Decline: Findings From 15-Year Follow-up of the PAQUID Cohort [DOI]
  56. 56 Neurodegenerative Diseases and Exposure to Pesticides in the Elderly [DOI]
  57. 57 Risk factors for Alzheimer's disease: a population-based, longitudinal study in Manitoba, Canada [DOI]
  58. 58 Neurobehavioral effects of dental amalgam in children: a randomized clinical trial. [DOI]
  59. 59 Mercury in human brain, blood, muscle and toenails in relation to exposure: an autopsy study [DOI]
  60. 60 EPIDEMIOLOGY OF DEMENTIA [DOI]
  61. 61 Does Inorganic Mercury Play a Role in Alzheimer's Disease? A Systematic Review and an Integrated Molecular Mechanism [DOI]
  62. 62 Aluminum and its potential contribution to Alzheimer's disease (AD) [DOI]
  63. 63 Oxidative Stress and its Implications for Future Treatments and Management of Alzheimer Disease [DOI]
  64. 64 Prevalence of Dementia and Its Subtypes in the Japanese American Population of King County, Washington State: The Kame Project [DOI]
  65. 65 Retrograde degeneration of neurite membrane structural integrity of nerve growth cones following in vitro exposure to mercury [DOI]
  66. 66 Neurobehavioral effects of long-term exposure to pesticides: results from the 4-year follow-up of the PHYTONER Study [DOI]
  67. 67 A review of genome mutation and Alzheimer's disease [DOI]
  68. 68 An ignored risk factor in toxicology: The total imprecision of exposure assessment [DOI]
  69. 69 Comparative epidemiology of multiple sclerosis and dental caries. [DOI]
  70. 70 Neurobehavioral Effects of Dental Amalgam in Children: A Randomized Clinical Trial [DOI]
  71. 71 Neuropsychological and Renal Effects of Dental Amalgam in Children: A Randomized Clinical Trial [DOI]
  72. 72 [Human neurotoxicity of ethylene-bis-dithiocarbamates (EBDC)]
  73. 73 [Occupational cancers: notification, compensation and prevention].
  74. 74 Developmental neurotoxicity of industrial chemicals [DOI]
  75. 75 Editorial: Children’s Health and the Environment: A Transatlantic Dialogue [DOI]

Cited by 3

Identification of the Hub Genes in Alzheimer’s Disease

Huiwen Gui, Qi Gong, Jun Jiang · Computational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine · 2021

Showing 1 of 3 known citations — external sources report more than can currently be individually listed.

Article metrics

Real usage data collected on this platform.

36

Page views

0

PDF downloads

12

Outbound clicks

3

Citations

Views over time

Views by country

Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".

Traffic sources

Referring site, by host.

Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.