Death of Alzheimer victim linked to aluminium pollution

Brain autopsy of pollution victim rekindles contaminant fears.
Michael Hopkin

Fears of a link between aluminium and Alzheimer's disease have been reignited by the case of a British woman who died of the illness 16 years after an industrial accident polluted her local drinking water.

An autopsy on Carole Cross's brain showed that she was suffering from a rare form of early-onset Alzheimer's when she died in May 2004, and also revealed the presence of high levels of aluminium in her tissues. The researchers who investigated her brain cannot say whether the aluminium was the cause, but point out that the woman had no family history of dementia.

The polluting incident occurred in 1988 when a truck driver mistakenly emptied some 20 tonnes of aluminium sulphate --- used in the early stages of wastewater treatment --- into a tank containing drinking water destined for the village of Camelford in Cornwall, UK. An estimated 20,000 people may have been exposed to high levels of the chemical for several weeks.

Concerned residents are waiting to see whether more people will be similarly affected. Anecdotal reports state that several other villagers are suffering from dementia.

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Aluminium is often found in the twists of deformed protein, called 'neurofibrillary tangles', that characterize the disease. But there is no strong evidence that it is involved in the disease's onset, Perl cautions. "I realize that's quite a conservative answer," he says. "But show me a couple more cases like this and I might have to change it."
["Once aluminium binds to proteins, it sticks for good. It's like trying to use superglue to mend a Swiss watch.", according to Daniel Perl,
Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York]
[from [email protected]]

*autopsy=検死(postmortem),(死因究明のための)検死解剖；
rekindle=〈火〉を再びつける,…に再び火をつける.
*contaminant=《正式》汚染菌[物質].
reignite=〔…に〕再点火[再発火]する.r
*early-onset=初期症状
*tissue=細胞組織
*dementia=痴呆　＞senile dementia=老人性痴呆症
sulphate=【化】 硫酸塩[エステル].＿
treatment=処理　*[医療活動では「治療」「手当て」]
anecdotal=逸話の　ここでは住民の間で言われている話、位の意味か。　＜anecdote「逸話」
*neurofibrillary=neur/o/fibrillary→「神経」＋「原繊維(性)の」
conservative=控えめな、保守的な
(*は、医学、医療関連語）