Democratic Underground Latest Greatest Lobby Journals Search Options Help Login
Google

Heavy Metal Breakdown, or why America has such a prosperous cottage

Printer-friendly format Printer-friendly format
Printer-friendly format Email this thread to a friend
Printer-friendly format Bookmark this thread
This topic is archived.
Home » Discuss » Archives » General Discussion (Through 2005) Donate to DU
 
HysteryDiagnosis Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-01-05 08:28 PM
Original message
Heavy Metal Breakdown, or why America has such a prosperous cottage
industry, the prison system.

There is a common denomenator amongst some ADHDers, Type A personalities, autistics and violent offenders.

A poorly formed protein in the human body (coded by genes of course) responsible for clearing heavy metals such as cadmium, arsenic, lead, aluminum and mercury has been tied to these neurological conditions.

Whilst ritalin, concerta, adderall, prozac, effexor, paxil, and misunderstanding might suffice in some cases... in others, they do not address the real biological dysfunction that afflicts many of these people.

The uptake of oxidative heavy metals instead of zinc, magnesium, calcium and others can hamper the production of synaptic junctions and neurons in general. The damage occurs over time, hampering the development of the nervous system.

An underproduction of synaptic junctions can result in the ones that are available being overdriven sort of like a vacuum tube which can be overdriven and the result is the same in both instances. Poor operation and erratic results are to be expected.

Another issue that some who have the genes that code a poorly functioning metallothionein protein can be a genetic flaw that hampers their ability to convert short chain fatty acids into long chain fatty acids, another essential nutrient for proper respiration of neuronal cells and the nervous system in general. Hence all the studies showing the benefits of DHA supplements and other essential fats.


http://www.hriptc.org/zinc_deficiency.html
>>Most Americans receive all the zinc they need if they have a reasonably well-balanced diet involving the major food groups. However, many persons are born with a metal-metabolism disorder which results in zinc depletion regardless of diet.

Zinc is a component of more than 80 enzymes. High concentrations have been found in brain hippocampus, and many medical researchers believe that zinc is a neurotransmitter. Low zinc levels at these sites could reduce the inhibition of neuron activity, thus leading to abnormal behavior. The discovery of zinc "finger proteins" in the past decade has led to a vastly improved understanding of how cells replicate and divide. There role in behavior is not yet clear, but could be involved in the transport or availability of zinc. Recent research has shown zinc to be far more important than previously believed and low levels of zinc are associated with behavior disorders.

Many of the patients of the Carl Pfeiffer Treatment Center suffer from behavior disorders. The most common ones are attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and conduct disorder (CD). These patients typically have a history of extensive counseling and multiple medications and many have experienced residential care. They represent a narrow and rather uncharacteristic segment of the general population.

A high percentage of behavior disordered persons exhibit abnormal levels of copper, zinc, lead, cadmium, calcium, magnesium and manganese in blood, urine, and tissues, based on chemical analysis results from thousands of patients. With regard to zinc, this condition appears to involve a malfunction of the metal-binding protein metallothionein. Most of these patients have symptoms of zinc deficiency along with depressed levels of zinc in their blood plasma.

The high incidence of zinc deficiency in assaultive young males was illustrated in a recent study1 which found elevated serum copper and depressed plasma zinc concentration, compared to normal controls. This study confirmed our clinical observations of zinc depletion in more than 4,000 behavior disordered patients.<<
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
HysteryDiagnosis Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Jan-01-05 08:42 PM
Response to Original message
1. Whilst some of the soil in the gardens of Baltimore Maryland contains
500ppm lead, the EPA would have you haul off soil with 50ppm to be burned. Many inner cities have levels approaching or exceeding this amount.

Boys typically play outside and are more exposed to the dust that contains the lead that is so detrimental to a developing nervous system.

Add the possibilities of a genetic flaw that makes these children susceptible to heavy metals in the first place and you have a recipe for a situation that should not be.

While it is easy to point one's finger at a particular group of people and say look how violent they are, or look how slow they are, or this or that, it is just as easy to dig down deep and look for the reasons why a large number of American children can and do have such a hard time in school, social situations and life in general.

Ritalin, Prozac, Adderall, Effexor, Cylert, etc will not correct zinc/copper ratios in the nervous system. They are a bandaid. They are a substitute. They are an alternative medicine to what is really needed. They are VooDoo medicine.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=10845777
1: Environ Res. 2000 May;83(1):1-22. Related Articles, Links
How lead exposure relates to temporal changes in IQ, violent crime, and unwed pregnancy.
Nevin R.
ICF Consulting, Fairfax, Virginia 22031-1207, USA.

This study compares changes in children's blood lead levels in the United States with subsequent changes in IQ, based on norm comparisons for the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT) given to representative national samples of children in 1984 and 1992. The CogAT norm comparisons indicate shifts in IQ levels consistent with the blood lead to IQ relationship reported by an earlier study and population shifts in average blood lead for children under age 6 between 1976 and 1991.

The CogAT norm comparisons also support studies indicating that the IQ to blood lead slope may increase at lower blood lead levels. Furthermore, long-term trends in population exposure to gasoline lead were found to be remarkably consistent with subsequent changes in violent crime and unwed pregnancy. Long-term trends in paint and gasoline lead exposure are also strongly associated with subsequent trends in murder rates going back to 1900.

The findings on violent crime and unwed pregnancy are consistent with published data describing the relationship between IQ and social behavior. The findings with respect to violent crime are also consistent with studies indicating that children with higher bone lead tend to display more aggressive and delinquent behavior. This analysis demonstrates that widespread exposure to lead is likely to have profound implications for a wide array of socially undesirable outcomes.

PMID: 10845777

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=9251975
1: Physiol Behav. 1997 Aug;62(2):327-9. Related Articles, Links

Elevated blood copper/zinc ratios in assaultive young males.

Walsh WJ, Isaacson HR, Rehman F, Hall A.

Health Research Institute, Naperville, IL 60563, USA.

In research conducted over the past 20 years, we have observed abnormal trace-metal concentrations, including elevated serum copper and depressed plasma zinc, in blood samples collected from violence-prone individuals. The purpose of the study reported here was to test the validity of our observation that assaultive young males have elevated blood copper/zinc (Cu/Zn) ratios when compared to a control group of young males with no history of assaultive behavior. All male patients between the ages of 3 years and 20 years who made a first visit to the outpatient Pfeiffer Treatment Center in Naperville, Ill., during a two-month period were evaluated. Based on interviews with patients and their families and application of a standardized behavior scale, 135 assaultive young males and 18 controls with no history of assaultive behavior were identified. Blood samples were collected from test subjects and controls and analyzed for serum copper and plasma zinc concentrations by an independent laboratory using atomic absorption methods. The median Cu/Zn ratio for the assaultive subjects was 1.40 compared to 1.02 for controls, a statistically significant difference (t = 5.94; p < 0.01).

Publication Types:

* Clinical Trial


PMID: 9251975

Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
DU AdBot (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view 
this author's profile Click to add 
this author to your buddy list Click to add 
this author to your Ignore list Sat May 04th 2024, 10:51 PM
Response to Original message
Advertisements [?]
 Top

Home » Discuss » Archives » General Discussion (Through 2005) Donate to DU

Powered by DCForum+ Version 1.1 Copyright 1997-2002 DCScripts.com
Software has been extensively modified by the DU administrators


Important Notices: By participating on this discussion board, visitors agree to abide by the rules outlined on our Rules page. Messages posted on the Democratic Underground Discussion Forums are the opinions of the individuals who post them, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Democratic Underground, LLC.

Home  |  Discussion Forums  |  Journals |  Store  |  Donate

About DU  |  Contact Us  |  Privacy Policy

Got a message for Democratic Underground? Click here to send us a message.

© 2001 - 2011 Democratic Underground, LLC