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Losing Our Minds: How Environmental Pollution Impairs Human Intelligence and mental health

pattismith

Senior Member
Messages
3,931
Losing Our Minds: How Environmental Pollution Impairs Human Intelligence and Mental Health

book by Barabara Demeneix

extracts

ABOUT D1 (liver, kidney, pituitary, thyroid)
activate T4 to T3
recirculate iodine from rT3 in the liver (and from other iodothyronines)
stimulated by T4 in most tissues

liver D1 activity decreased by fasting, and increased by carbohydrate meals

ABOUT D2 (D2 activates T4 into T3):

D2 is inhibited by excess T4 (except in Tanicytes) or by rT3
Transcription of DIO2 gene is inhibited by T3
D2 is rapidly degraded by ubiquitination
DIO2 is highly express in the brain, especially in glial cells (astrocytes) and tanicytes (hypothalamus)
Neurons need an efflux of T3 from the glial cells
via TH transporters (MCT8, MCT10 and OATP1C1)
D2 is activated by transcription factors nuclear factor kappa and Fox03
D2 in glial cells, brown fat and thyroid cells is stimulated by cAMP


ABOUT D3
(D3 deactivates T4 to rT3 and T3 to T2)

stimulated by T4 in most tissues
high levels of rT3 are found in brain (inhibiting D2 production and braking excess T3 production)
His role is to limit excess exposure to T3

SELENIUM AND MERCURY See P38

(only 45 pages available out of 280)
 
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pattismith

Senior Member
Messages
3,931
another article to understand better deiodinases:

'D1 is largely expressed in liver and kidney. Its main role is clearance of rT3 from the circulation and it also contributes to production of plasma T3.

D2 is importantly expressed in the central nervous system, pituitary, brown adipose tissue and muscle and, generally, its expression reciprocally responds to changes in thyroid state. D2 serves to adapt cellular thyroid state to changing physiological needs.

D3 is importantly expressed in fetal tissues and in adult brain tissue. In addition, D3 can be re-expressed under certain pathological conditions such as critical illness or in specific cancers.²"

"In iodine deficiency, D1-mediated peripheral T3 production decreases but this is in part compensated by an increased thyroidal T3 production, which is mediated by an increased TSH secretion as well as by increased efficiency of D2-mediated T3 production. Simultaneously, neuronal D3 expression decreases thereby prolonging the local half-life of T3."

"In non-thyroidal illness (NTI) plasma T3 is often decreased and plasma rT3 increased; plasma FT4 is still in the normal range depending on the severity of disease. The changes in plasma T3 and rT3 are explained by a diminished conversion of T4 to T3 and of rT3 to 3,3-T2 by D1 in the liver. Although this may be caused to some extent by decreased D1 expression or cofactor levels, a diminished activity of transporter(s) mediating hepatic uptake of T4 and rT3 appears to be another important mechanism. This also holds for the generation of the low T3 syndrome in malnutrition.

In addition to a decreased peripheral T3 production, the low T3 syndrome of NTI may also be caused by stimulated thyroid hormone degradation due to induction of D3 in different tissues. Pathological expression of D3 may be so high that this results in a state of consumptive hypothyroidism with low serum (F)T4 and T3 and very high rT3 levels. This has been shown in different patients with hemangiomas which express very high D3 activities.

Finally, peripheral production of T3 can be inhibited by a variety of drugs, including PTU, dexamethasone, propranolol, and iodinated compounds such as the radiographic agents iopanoic acid and ipodate and the anti-arrhythmic drug amiodarone."
 
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ebethc

Senior Member
Messages
1,901
thanks for this... pollution is one of my main triggers! I have a thyroid problem, too, plus high rT3, high sensitivity to iodine

ABOUT D1 (liver, kidney, pituitary, thyroid)
activate T4 to T3
recirculate iodine from rT3 in the liver (and from other iodothyronines)
stimulated by T4 in most tissues

liver D1 activity decreased by fasting, and increased by carbohydrate meals

Is she saying that fasting is bad for D1 problems, and carbs help?
 

pattismith

Senior Member
Messages
3,931
thanks for this... pollution is one of my main triggers! I have a thyroid problem, too, plus high rT3, high sensitivity to iodine

I too have low fT3 and high rT3... and I am convinced pollutions play a role in it...

I crashed badly some years after organophosphates exposure...

Is she saying that fasting is bad for D1 problems, and carbs help?

This is what I understand too!
 

ebethc

Senior Member
Messages
1,901
This is what I understand too!

I find that "lazy fasting" is best for me :) ie, I eat virtually all calories w/in an 8 hr time frame.... the exception is breakfast; I consume <100 calories (grapefruit, milk in my coffee)... supposedly, if <100 calories, it's okay outside the 8 hour time frame ... I find this gives my GI a chance to rest, and I don't starve... I've never liked fasting - not that most ppl do, but I just feel very sick... I don't think it's necessarily good for someone w metabolic issues, so her comment makes sense.. Also, low carb is hard (<50 g of carbs per day).. I'm better at 100-150 g per day

also, pollution is linked to diabetes, so her hypothesis makes sense.. thanks for sharing!
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/06/170629101259.htm
 

pattismith

Senior Member
Messages
3,931
@pattismith have you ever compared your symptoms with Gulf War Syndrome? Might be worth a look as OPs are a suspected cause of it. By the way the bear just winked at me so I am winking back.;)

Yes of course, it could be GWS, but my symptoms had already started years before my toxic exposure, when I was a teen, on a low grade. It worsened progressively from 16 to 30 years, and then after some years of intermittent toxic OP exposure I crashed heavily at 35....until now 15 years later... So I think it is a mix, the two syndromes have common features anyway...
Maybe the bear was just blinking before awaking from his hibernation!:lol:
 

pattismith

Senior Member
Messages
3,931
2. THYROID HORMONE DISRUPTION BY ENVIRONMENTAL HALOGENATED CHEMICALS IN MAMMALS

Many thyroid hormone-disrupting agents are halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons, which are structurally similar to the endogenous thyroid hormones.
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are well-known environmental contaminants that disrupt thyroid hormone homeostasis. They have been detected in wildlife and human serum, breast milk, and adipose tissue at levels of the order of pg-ng/g lipid, and are considered to be accumulated due to their lipophilicity.

Laboratory animals exposed to PCBs and PBDEs develop lesions in thyroid follicular cells, with decreased levels of circulating serum thyroid hormones.
PCBs and PBDEs exert neurotoxic effects on the developing brain by inducing hypothyroidism.

These compounds, including their hydroxylated metabolites, bind competitively at thyroid hormone receptors in mammals. Hydroxylated PCBs and PBDEs also show high binding affinity for serum TTR.
The activity and gene expression of thyroid hormone metabolic enzymes, SULTs, UGTs and Ds, are affected by hydroxylated metabolites of PCBs and PBDEs

The chemical structures of several agrichemicals, antiparasitics, pharmaceuticals and food colorants resemble those of thyroid hormones. Among them, triclosan, a chlorinated phenolic antibacterial agent, decreases serum T4 concentration in male juvenile rats.
 

ebethc

Senior Member
Messages
1,901
2. THYROID HORMONE DISRUPTION BY ENVIRONMENTAL HALOGENATED CHEMICALS IN MAMMALS

Many thyroid hormone-disrupting agents are halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons, which are structurally similar to the endogenous thyroid hormones.
...
PCBs and PBDEs exert neurotoxic effects on the developing brain by inducing hypothyroidism.
....

The chemical structures of several agrichemicals, antiparasitics, pharmaceuticals and food colorants resemble those of thyroid hormones. Among them, triclosan, a chlorinated phenolic antibacterial agent, decreases serum T4 concentration in male juvenile rats.


pathetic...and bound to get worse w the decimation of the EPA

I've heard that thyroid disease has increased dramatically, but I haven't seen any actual data... Have you?

thanks
 

Wishful

Senior Member
Messages
5,684
Location
Alberta
It doesn't explain why T2 or iodine works for me, but T4 and T3 don't. The pollution scare you make is failing to scare me.
 

pattismith

Senior Member
Messages
3,931
I find that "lazy fasting" is best for me :) ie, I eat virtually all calories w/in an 8 hr time frame.... the exception is breakfast; I consume <100 calories (grapefruit, milk in my coffee)... supposedly, if <100 calories, it's okay outside the 8 hour time frame ... I find this gives my GI a chance to rest, and I don't starve... I've never liked fasting - not that most ppl do, but I just feel very sick... I don't think it's necessarily good for someone w metabolic issues, so her comment makes sense.. Also, low carb is hard (<50 g of carbs per day).. I'm better at 100-150 g per day

also, pollution is linked to diabetes, so her hypothesis makes sense.. thanks for sharing!
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/06/170629101259.htm

I feel fine on fasting but I'm not able to fast while working, so I simply don't do it.

But this D1 modulation is not the only one to consider, because there is much more factors at play...

LPS is used by searchers to induce Non Thyroidal Illness Syndrome (= NTIS = ex euthyroid sick syndrome), and it has shown to produce many thyroid disruptions:

"LPS-treated pigs had decreased Thyroid Hormons (TH) levels in serum and most tissues.
DIO1 expression in liver and kidney and DIO1 activity in kidney decreased after LPS.
No changes in DIO2 activity were observed between groups.
LPS induced an increase in hypothalamus, thyroid, and liver DIO3 activity.
Among the other studied genes, monocarboxylate transporter 8 and THRB were the most commonly repressed in endotoxemic pigs. LPS-induced NF-kB activation was associated with a decrease in THRB gene expression only in frontal lobe, adrenal gland, and kidney cortex."

So LPS from leaky gut may produce the imbalance D1/D3 leading to the low T3/high rT3 syndrome ...
This could be the reason why some of us do well when fasting and when curing gut issues.
 

pattismith

Senior Member
Messages
3,931
New bear pic is Formidable!! I did'nt know you were ill before you were exposed OP. I agree that it is possible you have had a mix of 2 health problems.

The pollar bear doesn't hibernate and he doesn't feel the cold, exactly me when I take my T3 (for 9 hours after the intake but I hope I will improve this success!):)

It doesn't explain why T2 or iodine works for me, but T4 and T3 don't. The pollution scare you make is failing to scare me.

wishful, I don't have any will to argue about this with anyone. If you are not interested by the effect of pollution on bodies, I would suggest you not to read the posts/threads refering to it.
The fact you are not scared will not protect you against toxic effects of environmental pollutions but it is not a problem if you don't want to hear about it. Some other members feel concern and are interested I think, so I will not restrain me posting on that subject, even if it doesn't scare you (which is not my goal).:)

By the way, I feel concerned by your lack of effect with T3 and T4, I think it is strange that you didn't had any side effects from it, even not any symptom of hyper... It maybe that you have a kind of thyroid resistance different than mine....
Did you tested your reverseT3 ?
 

ebethc

Senior Member
Messages
1,901
I feel fine on fasting but I'm not able to fast while working, so I simply don't do it.

But this D1 modulation is not the only one to consider, because there is much more factors at play...

LPS is used by searchers to induce Non Thyroidal Illness Syndrome (= NTIS = ex euthyroid sick syndrome), and it has shown to produce many thyroid disruptions:

"LPS-treated pigs had decreased Thyroid Hormons (TH) levels in serum and most tissues.
DIO1 expression in liver and kidney and DIO1 activity in kidney decreased after LPS.
No changes in DIO2 activity were observed between groups.
LPS induced an increase in hypothalamus, thyroid, and liver DIO3 activity.
Among the other studied genes, monocarboxylate transporter 8 and THRB were the most commonly repressed in endotoxemic pigs. LPS-induced NF-kB activation was associated with a decrease in THRB gene expression only in frontal lobe, adrenal gland, and kidney cortex."

So LPS from leaky gut may produce the imbalance D1/D3 leading to the low T3/high rT3 syndrome ...
This could be the reason why some of us do well when fasting and when curing gut issues.


wow - thanks. I've never heard anyone articulate that, and it really makes sense for me... screw lps.. .it's like having low-level sepsis all the time
 

Wishful

Senior Member
Messages
5,684
Location
Alberta
By the way, I feel concerned by your lack of effect with T3 and T4, I think it is strange that you didn't had any side effects from it, even not any symptom of hyper..

I did feel rapid heartbeat when I took several times the prescribed dosage of T4, so that part is functioning correctly. It had no effect on the ME symptoms though.

I don't have a copy of any of the tests, so I don't recall if rT3 was measured.
 

HowToEscape?

Senior Member
Messages
626
Mmmkay, i’d rather stay far away from pcb & pbde, evolution did not have 100,000 years or so to figure out how to deal with them.

But if that were destroying everyone’s mind, how is it that we have half a dozen teams of people who built artificial intelligence systems so powerful that the AI (plural) invented their own language and then used the invented language to work out problems they had been assigned.

And how are there people clever enough to throw up a snowstorm of BS thick enough to obscure our disease for 63 years since Ramsey?

I’m sure those chemicals are not good for you, but they’re doing a mighty poor job of hammering us all down to Neanderthals.

* no offense to any Neanderthals out there and maybe reading this. Y’all got a bad deal from Hollywood ;-)
 

pattismith

Senior Member
Messages
3,931
@HowToEscape? , the book is 280 pages, so if really you want answers, I suggest you to buy it and to read it...:lol:

That said, I heard that median QI is currently lowering, which doesn't mean we will not find any more genius, as demography is largely compensating...
 

cigana

Senior Member
Messages
1,095
Location
UK
My symptoms rapidly disappear when I'm in a clean, remote part of the world, so I often wonder if pollutants are the cause.
Not sure if it's via the T3 route though, since I tried large doses of T3 with all the cofactors for getting it into cells, with zero effect.
 
Messages
236
Location
Medford NJ
I think pollution is a huge part of my cfs. I left a mloldy house and we actually moved away from the city and live close to the pine barrens in NJ. My youngest son son has Aspergers ,My older son was on psyche meds his add and depression and rage attacks ( very rare but where scary out of character) totally disappeared after we moved and his psychiatrist released him. My husband has anxiety and depression I am encouraging him to go hiking with me on the weekends. Outside I can now hike ( this was impossible until very very recently. ) . I don’t. Have that cfs feeling like crap when I am in nature . Really wish I could move to a remote area.

I am currently spending as much time in the forest as possible and sleeping outside on a sleeping potrch, This sounds crazy but it is really helping I am much more functional. If I am in Clear Air ( did terrific in Death Valley) I do much better.