Plastic chemical triggers allergic asthma

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Plastic chemical triggers allergic asthma

28/02/2010

http://www.foodconsumer.org/newsite/5/plastic_chemical_triggers_allergic_asthma_\

2902100305.html

A plastic chemical commonly used in baby bottles and the lining of food and

beverage cans may at least partially responsible for allergic asthma, a new

study suggests.

The animal model study presented Sunday in New Orleans at the American

Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology annual meeting showed the mice born

to the mothers who were exposed to bisphenol A or BPA suffered allergic

asthma.

BPA has been known to cause a myriad health problems. Even Food and Drug

Administration, which initially rejected the link between BPA exposure and

health conditions, has recently admitted that BPA can potentially be

harmful.

Dr. k Forno of pediatrics at the University of Miami School of

Medicine and colleagues early have found that baby mice born to mothers who

had been exposed to BPA were at higher risk of allergic asthma.

In the current study, Dr. Forno and colleagues intended to decide what

levels of exposure would affect the animals.

What the researchers did is prepare drinking water with 0.1 1 or 10

micrograms per ML of BPA and give it female mice before, during and after

pregnancy

.. Baby mice were given ovalbumin immediately after birth to induce asthma.

They found mice born to mothers exposed to 10 micrograms of BPA developed

airway problems while mice born to mothers exposed to low or no BPA did not

develop the problem.

Allergic asthma is the most common type of asthma that affects some 90

percent of children with asthma and 50 percent of adults with asthma.

Individuals with allergic asthma have their airways hypersensitive to the

allergens and when they are exposed to allergens, they may suffer coughing,

wheezing, shortness of breath, rapid breathing and tightening of the chest,

symptoms that are commonly experienced by patients with non-allergic or

allergic asthma.

The allergens of concern include pollen from tress, grasses and weeds, mold

spores, animal dander and saliva, dust mite feces and cockroach feces among

others.

Studies by The Environmental Working Group suggested that BPA contamination

in canned food are likely to put consumers at risk of ingesting doses of the

chemical that are very close to levels now known to harm laboratory animals.

EWG scientist Sonya Lunder said parents should choose BPA-free types of baby

bottles or water bottles and formulas with a label claiming BPA-free to

avoid BPA exposure. Babies are more sensitive than adults to the harm from

the chemical and they also ingest more than adults.

Lunder also suggested pregnant women should minimize exposure to canned

foods and polycarbonate food containers, and BPA-containing medical devices.

Early studies have found associations between BPA and high risk of abnormal

behavior, male reproductive system, heart disease immune system, the brain,

breast cancer, metabolic syndrome, heart attack and diabetes among other

diseases.