CALIFORNIA / Pesticide threat to babies linked to = enzyme levels / Researchers find them much more at risk than = adults

From: Subject: CALIFORNIA / Pesticide threat to babies linked to enzyme levels / Researchers find them much more at risk than adults Date: Thu, 9 Mar 2006 15:44:24 -0700 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; type="text/html"; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0000_01C64390.5785B590" X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V6.00.2900.2670 This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0000_01C64390.5785B590 Content-Type: text/html; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/03/03/BAGVGHHV1H1.DTL&type=printable CALIFORNIA / Pesticide threat to babies linked to = enzyme levels / Researchers find them much more at risk than = adults

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CALIFORNIA=20
Pesticide threat to babies linked to enzyme levels
Researchers = find=20 them much more at risk than adults
- Jane Kay, Chronicle Environment=20 Writer
Friday, March = 3, 2006=20

The regulation of pesticides might not be strict enough to protect = newborns=20 and infants, a study published Thursday by UC Berkeley researchers = suggests.=20
The study of 130 mothers and their children in California's Central = Valley=20 revealed that a natural enzyme in the human body that breaks down = toxicants,=20 including commonly used pesticides, varies to such a degree that some = of the=20 population's youngest members may be virtually defenseless against = some=20 chemicals.=20
For the first time, researchers believe they can predict people's=20 vulnerability to certain pesticides based on their enzyme levels, = their age=20 and their genetics.=20
"People have this remarkable difference in enzymes that defend = their health=20 from pesticide exposure,'' said Nina Holland, a UC Berkeley adjunct = professor=20 and molecular epidemiologist in children's environmental health.=20
"In developing regulatory standards for safe levels of exposure, we = need to=20 protect the most sensitive in a population, particularly because = children and=20 unborn fetuses are involved,'' said Holland, an author of the study = published=20 in the journal Pharmacogenetics.=20
The human body contains dozens to hundreds of important enzymes = that=20 control metabolism. Other studies already have shown that this = particular=20 enzyme, PON-1, is linked to protection against neurodegenerative or=20 cardiovascular diseases.=20
The study was designed to examine the protective levels of the = enzyme=20 against a class of chemicals called organophosphates, which were = developed in=20 the 1940s as warfare agents. In pesticides, they attack the nervous = systems of=20 insects.=20
Two common organophosphate pesticides, diazinon and chlorpyrifos, = were=20 widely used before they were restricted for most household uses by the = state=20 and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency by 2002. Chlorpyrifos was = a key=20 ingredient in the popular Raid spray pesticide before the restriction = took=20 effect.=20
By analyzing the enzyme in newborns, the researchers found that = some=20 newborns may be 26 times more susceptible to diazinon exposure than = newborns=20 with the highest level of the enzyme, and 65 times more susceptible = than=20 adults with the highest enzyme levels.=20
With chlorpyrifos, some of the newborns may be 50 times more = susceptible=20 than newborns with high enzyme levels and 130 to 164 times more = susceptible=20 than some of the adults. The enzyme typically reaches adult levels by = the time=20 children reach 2 years old.=20
The two pesticides are still used on cropland, where the brand = names for=20 chlorpyrifos are Dursban and Lorsban.=20
"Chlorpyrifos was banned in households largely because of its = hazards to=20 children,'' said Margaret Reeves, senior scientist at Pesticide Action = Network=20 of North America in San Francisco. "But it's still widely in farm=20 applications, putting at risk the health and well-being of = farmworkers, farm=20 families and rural-urban interface areas.''=20
The EPA reported that about 20 percent of all foods for sale in = 2001 had=20 residues of one or more organophosphate pesticides, according to the = group.=20
An author of the new study, Brenda Eskenazi, UC Berkeley professor = of=20 epidemiology and director of the school's Center for Children's = Environmental=20 Health Research, coordinated the research through the school's = Salinas-based=20 Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children.=20
In addition to the study, the researchers have collected samples = from 470=20 other mothers and their children, which they will continue to follow = along=20 with the original 130.=20
E-mail Jane Kay at jkay@sfchronicle.com.=20
Page B - 6
URL:=20 = http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/c/a/2006/03/03/BAGVGHHV1H1.= DTL=20
=A92006 San = Francisco=20 Chronicle

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