LOS ANGELES -- Depression is a growing problem across America. Some reports state that 17.5 million Americans suffer from depression. According to one Surgeon General's Report, as many as 1 in 10 children may suffer from a serious emotional disturbance. People with severe depression have a reported suicide rate as high as 15 percent, making it potentially the No. 1 cause of suicide in the United States.
Americans end up spending billions of dollars on ineffectual and harmful pharmaceutical drugs each year to supposedly deal with the problem of depression. Yet despite the use of these drugs, why are depression rates still rising?
Researchers are finding evidence that depression may come from an entirely different cause. The University Pathology Consortium, a not-for-profit academic consortium founded and owned by the medical school departments of six leading universities including Stanford, recently attributed some symptoms of depression to exposure to toxins.
Repeated exposure to pollutants in the food and environment can result in accumulation of toxins such as lead, mercury and aluminum inside the body. One possible source of exposure is dental fillings made from amalgam, which contains mercury. Norwegian researchers found that 47 percent of patients with dental amalgam fillings reported suffering from major depression, compared to 14 percent in the dental control group. Exposure to other toxins, such as lead, may also elicit symptoms of depression.
"Environmental toxins have only increased over the past 50 years and have been found in everything from grit on the ground to the makeup a woman uses to powder her nose. Pesticides, toxic mold and harsh chemicals cleaners have all become more prevalent in our country and also in many of our homes," says Dr. Harry Wong, clinical director of the Physicians Plus Medical Group, a medical clinic in the San Francisco Bay area. "We often see patients who have feelings of depression and one of the first things we suspect is an environmental influence."
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Developed more than 200 years ago and found in households around the world, chlorine bleach is among the most widely used disinfectants, yet scientists never have understood exactly how the familiar product kills bacteria. New research from the University of Michigan, however, reveals key details in the process by which bleach works its antimicrobial magic.In a ...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – An activist group's call for a one-size-fits-all labeling scheme on household cleaning products could obscure the most important information for consumers – product safety and usage information.The Soap and Detergent Association has expressed its disappointment at a cleaning product "report card" issued by a group known as Women's Voices for the Earth (WVE) which could misguide consumers ...
A Nevada television station reporter tested two Las Vegas homes for various kinds of disease-causing bacteria, swabbing tile floors, carpeted areas, the soles of shoes, and even the family pet’s paws. The samples were taken to the Silver State Analytical Labs and scientists there found mold, fungus and coliform found in human and animal waste. To read the complete article, ...
As Midwest floodwaters recede and clean-up efforts get underway, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) offers advice to help reduce the risk of infection:Nothing beats hand hygiene – It’s critical to remember to practice basic hand hygiene during the emergency period. Always wash your hands with soap and warm water. If your local health authority has ...
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued a new fact sheet, “Control of Pandemic Flu Virus on Environmental Surfaces in Homes and Public Places,” which explains how cleaning and disinfecting surfaces in homes and public places can help to prevent the spread of pandemic influenza. How Flu Viruses Spread A flu pandemic is an outbreak of illness ...
Bacteria and viruses are the microscopic organisms – otherwise known as germs -- that are responsible for causing and transmitting illness and disease. These microbes are so small, that according to the American Society for Microbiology, if the smallest of all microbes was the size of a baseball, an average bacterium would then be the size of the pitcher's mound, and just one of the millions of cells that make up your body would be the size of the ballpark!
