Evaluating the Effects of Environmental Exposures on Neurological Disorders

[Andy]

Both genes and the environment shape a person’s risk of disease, but while genes are frequently cataloged, perturbed, activated, turned off and systematically tested in the lab, environmental exposures are often studied as one-offs. Investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital have developed an approach to systematically and simultaneously evaluate the effects of hundreds of environmental factors on the development of neurological diseases. Through a series of investigations, the team has identified environmental factors that boost neurological inflammation, including an herbicide being used in the U.S. that is currently banned in Europe. Details of the team’s approach and findings are published in Cell.

“When we study inflammation and neurodegeneration, we learn that the environment may play just as important of a role as genetics,” said corresponding author Francisco Quintana, PhD, a principal investigator in the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases at the Brigham. “We created a platform to systematically investigate the understudied effects of environmental exposures. As an example, we followed up on one of our top hits, an herbicide currently banned in Europe. The goal of our work is to return results that can guide future epidemiological studies and identify actionable targets.”

https://neurosciencenews.com/environment-neurology-10592/

 

[TiredSam]

As an example, we followed up on one of our top hits, an herbicide currently banned in Europe.

My wife sprayed the garden with roundup the summer before I got ill.

 

[Jonathan Edwards]

Summary: Researchers have identified a number of environmental factors, including the herbicide Linuron, as inflammation activators in neurodegenerative disorders.

No they didn't. They found some chemicals made zebra fish with an induced disease that looks vaguely like MS got worse - as far as I can see. That tells us absolutely nothing about the role of chemical sin MS.

Whenever a paper starts by taking about genes and environment one can be pretty sure the authors do not know what they are on about. They should start by learning some real epidemiology rather than regurgitating buzzwords.