I tend to read on quite a wide
variety of topics. The following caught my interest enough to want to repost a
synopsis of the article.
In some women abnormally high levels
of a common and pervasive chemical may lead to adverse effects in their
offspring. The study, published recently in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism,
is the first of its kind to shed light on the possible harmful side effects of
perchlorate in mothers and their children.
Using data from the Controlled
Antenatal Thyroid Study (CATS) cohort, researchers at Boston University School
of Medicine (BUSM) and Cardiff University studied the effect of perchlorate, an
environmental contaminant found in many foods and in some drinking water
supplies, and its effects on children born to mothers with above average levels
of this substance in their system. They studied 487 mother-child pairs from
women with underactive thyroid glands and in the 50 women with the highest
levels of perchlorate in their body, their offspring had below average IQ
levels when compared to other children.
"The reason people really care
about perchlorate is because it is ubiquitous. It’s everywhere," said
Elizabeth Pearce, MD, MSc, associate professor of medicine at BUSM. "Prior
studies have already shown perchlorate, at low levels, can be found in each and
every one of us."
Perchlorate is a compound known to
affect the thyroid gland, an organ needed to help regulate hormone levels in
humans. According to Pearce previous studies have attempted to implicate this
anti-thyroid activity in pregnant mothers as a possible cause of
hypothyroidism, or an underactive thyroid gland. Hypothyroidism in newborns and
children can lead to an array of unwelcome side effects, including below
average intelligence.
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