Gabor Szendi:
The Age of Aluminum

It could be worth to highlight the danger of aluminum, because it seems to be so innocent and necessary that put us off our guard.

 

 

Aluminum is the most common metal on Earth, but it was only used in paint production and food preservation from the second half of the 19th century. Today aluminum is everywhere in our lives, starting with everyday aluminum foil and household appliances, continuing through a wide variety of electrical appliances and home furnishings, to means of transport. It is present in drinking water, food, and cosmetics. And what's causing serious controversy is the use of aluminum compounds in vaccines as adjuvants to boost the immune response.

Because aluminum is extremely reactive to carbon and oxygen, it has a detrimental effect on living organisms. This was described by William Gies in 1911, after careful examination (Shaw and Tomljenovic, 2013). Most of the aluminum ingested is excreted, but in young children, and in the elderly with impaired renal function, aluminum accumulates readily. The situation is different with the aluminum compounds given in vaccines as they are designed to stay in the body for longer. This creates two problems: aluminum compounds alone stimulates the immune system (that is, not only against the pathogen that the vaccine targets), and also get to the brain (Shaw and Tomljenovic, 2013).

Aluminum, neurological and autoimmune diseases

The most heated debate was triggered by the link between aluminum adjuvant and autism. The main reason is that the vaccine industry aggressively responds to any research that dares to link vaccines to autism. Lucija Tomljenovic and Christopher Shaw found a link between statistics on autism in countries, and the number of pre-school vaccines given (Tomljenovic and Shaw, 2011). Numerous studies have reported elevated levels of aluminum in autistic children (Mold et al., 2018). However these studies are not conclusive, but merely raise the possibility of a link that is indirectly supported by other studies analyzing the effects of aluminum on the nervous system. It is also important to keep in mind that autism is a spectrum disease and its subtypes can have different causes.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a disease that attacks motor neurons, leading to death within 3-5 years. After the Second World War, the Chamorro people living in the Mariana Islands were the first to notice the incidence of ALS and Parkinson's disease, and they described the high levels of aluminum in their food and drinking water (Shaw and Tomljenovic, 2013). ALS was three times more common in soldiers with Gulf War Syndrome who had received multiple vaccines with aluminum adjuvant (Shaw and Tomljenovic, 2013).

Aluminum especially tends to accumulate in the brain, because nerve cells have a long life span. In Alzheimer's disease, brain tissue tests have shown very high levels of aluminum (Mirza et al., 2017). The importance of this is underlined by two lines of research. One is the measurement of aluminum intake: the combined analysis of several studies has shown that where the aluminum ion content of drinking water is higher, the risk of Alzheimer's disease is increased by 71% overall (Wang et al., 2016).

The other direction of research examines the effects of reducing the amount of aluminum in the body. Two studies have used Desferal (desferrioxamin) (Crapper et al., 1991; McLachlan et al., 1993), which among other things can remove aluminum from the body, and the deterioration of patients slowed down significantly.

The connection between Alzheimer's disease and aluminum is underscored by Dialysis-Related Encephalopathy, developed in those who underwent kidney dialysis, where the dialysis fluid was contaminated with aluminum. Such patients suffered from speech disorders, tremors, thinking and memory disorders, concentration problems, epileptic seizures, and could die in coma within 3 to 7 years. When the role of aluminum was recognized, and it was removed from the dialysis fluid, patients rapidly recovered (Shaw and Tomljenovic, 2013).

In France, macrophage myofasciitis was described in 1998, characterized by muscle pain and chronic fatigue, and in half of cases, thinking and memory problems. It was clearly demonstrated that itthis was caused by an aluminum adjuvant injected intramuscularly with Hepatitis B, Hepatitis A, and tetanus injections. This caused symptoms locally, and partly via the lymphatic circulation to the brain (Gherardi et al., 2012). Following patients in the long term, 15-20% developed autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, Hashimoto's thyroid malfunction, and various autoimmune muscle disorders, such as myasthenia gravis. A few years later, the phenomenon was classified as ASIA (adjuvant-induced autoimmune / inflammatory syndrome).

The concept of ASIA syndrome was introduced by researcher Yehuda Shoenfeld (Shoenfeld and Agmon-Levin, 2011), although autoimmune reactions following vaccination were already known. An adjuvant-induced autoimmune reaction does not occur immediately, and is a slow process that can be accelerated by the next vaccination or infection. It primarily affects those who are genetically predisposed to an autoimmune disease. The syndrome is marked by muscle pain, chronic fatigue, cognitive impairment, and later various autoimmune diseases may develop, such as ovarian exhaustion, autism, pancreatitis, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjögren's syndrome, Hashimoto's thyroid inflammation, etcetera.

According to the supposed mechanism, the adjuvant stimulates the immune system, which may potentiate latent autoimmune processes. In France between 1994 and 1997, 20 million people were vaccinated with Hepatitis B vaccine. During this time, multiple sclerosis cases doubled and continued to increase in the years following vaccination. Hepatitis B vaccination has led in the US to a 5-fold increase, and in England to a 3-fold increase in new MS patients (Le Houézec, 2014).

Breast cancer and breast cyst

Deodorants often contain aluminum compounds that can be absorbed through the skin. It is suspected that the use of deodorants may increase the risk of breast cancer. Higher levels of aluminum were found in breast cancer tissues than in surrounding healthy tissues (Darbre et al., 2013). It is an old observation that in both men and women, breast cancer is more common in the upper-extreme quarter, which is closest to the armpit (Darbre, 2005). For example in England, 38.3% of cases fell in this area in 1980, compared to 54.7% in 2001. It is also striking in the data that growth is more characteristic of the younger age group. According to a study, the earlier and more frequently a woman uses deodorant, the earlier she is likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer (McGrath, 2003). According to another study, those who use deodorant several times a day have a 3.88 times greater risk of breast cancer (Linhart et al., 2017). Breast cysts have also been observed to be most common in the upper-extreme quarter, and showed elevated levels of aluminum in the cyst fluid (Mannello et al., 2009).

What can we do to reduce aluminum intake?

It is important to note that for most aluminum-related illnesses, there is only strong suspicion and not absolute certainty. But it is also certain that as aluminum does not play a role in our bodily functions, it should not be a problem if we lower its level in our body.

It is worth paying attention to infant formulas, as the average formula contains 100-300 micrograms of aluminum per liter, while soybean based formulas contain at least double that (Chuchu et al., 2013).

It is also worth reconsidering our use of deodorant, as aluminum-free deodorant is readily available today. Many people take aluminum compounds that are acid neutralizers, and these are also worth replacing with aluminum-free products. Do not use aluminum dishes, aluminum trays, or aluminum foil. Silica binds aluminum, so when taking it in tablets or drinking water that is high in silica, it is possible to reduce the body's aluminum content (Rondeau et al., 2009). Sweat contains most aluminum, so those who exercise a lot or use the sauna can get rid of a significant amount of aluminum (Minshal et al., 2014).

 

References

Chuchu N, Patel B, Sebastian B, Exley C. The aluminium content of infant formulas remains too high. BMC Pediatr. 2013 Oct 8;13:162.

Crapper McLachlan DR, Dalton AJ, Kruck TP, Bell MY, Smith WL, Kalow W, Andrews DF. Intramuscular desferrioxamine in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Lancet. 1991 Jun 1;337(8753):1304-8.

Darbre P, Mannello F, Exley C. Aluminium and breast cancer: Sources of exposure, tissue measurements and mechanisms of toxicological actions on breast biology. J Inorg Biochem. 2013; 128: 257-261.

Darbre PD. Recorded quadrant incidence of female breast cancer in Great Britain suggests a disproportionate increase in the upper outer quadrant of the breast. Anticancer Res. 2005 May-Jun;25(3c):2543-50.

Gherardi RK, Authier FJ. Macrophagic myofasciitis: characterization and pathophysiology. Lupus. 2012 Feb;21(2):184-9.

Le Houézec D. Evolution of multiple sclerosis in France since the beginning of hepatitis B vaccination. Immunol Res. 2014 Dec;60(2-3):219-25.

Linhart C, Talasz H, Morandi EM, Exley C, Lindner HH, Taucher S, Egle D, Hubalek M, Concin N, Ulmer H. Use of Underarm Cosmetic Products in Relation to Risk of Breast Cancer: A Case-Control Study. EBioMedicine. 2017 Jul;21:79-85.

Mannello F, Tonti GA, Darbre PD. Concentration of aluminium in breast cyst fluids collected from women affected by gross cystic breast disease. J Appl Toxicol. 2009 Jan;29(1):1-6.

McGrath KG. An earlier age of breast cancer diagnosis related to more frequent use of antiperspirants/deodorants and underarm shaving. Eur J Cancer Prev. 2003 Dec;12(6):479-85.

McLachlan DR, Smith WL, Kruck TP. Desferrioxamine and Alzheimer's disease: video home behavior assessment of clinical course and measures of brain aluminum. Ther Drug Monit. 1993 Dec;15(6):602-7.

Minshal C , Nadal J , Exley C:Aluminium in human sweat. J Trace Elem Med Biol 2014, 28, 87-88.

Mirza A, King A, Troakes C, Exley C. Aluminium in brain tissue in familial Alzheimer's disease. J Trace Elem Med Biol. 2017 Mar;40:30-36.

Mold M, Umar D, King A, Exley C. Aluminium in brain tissue in autism. J Trace Elem Med Biol. 2018 Mar;46:76-82.

Rondeau V , Jacqmin-Gadda H , Commenges D , Helmer C , Dartigues JF (2009) Aluminum and silica in drinking water and the risk of Alzheimer's disease or cognitive decline: Findings from 15-year follow-up of the PAQUID cohort. Am J Epidemiol 169, 489-496.

Shaw C, Tomljenovic L.: Aluminum in the central nervous system (CNS): toxicity in humans and animals, vaccine adjuvants, and autoimmunity. Immunol Res. 2013; 56(2-3): 304-316.

Shoenfeld Y, Agmon-Levin N. 'ASIA' - autoimmune/inflammatory syndrome induced by adjuvants. J Autoimmun. 2011 Feb;36(1):4-8.

Tomljenovic L, Shaw CA. Do aluminum vaccine adjuvants contribute to the rising prevalence of autism? J Inorganic Biochem. 2011;105(11):1489-99.

Wang Z, Wei X, Yang J, Suo J, Chen J, Liu X, Zhao X. Chronic exposure to aluminum and risk of Alzheimer's disease: A meta-analysis. Neurosci Lett. 2016 Jan 1;610:200-6.