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Antimicrobial Skin Care May Harm Developing Nervous System

Prolonged exposure to a germ killer widely used in industry and in household and personal skin care products, stunts the growth of developing nerves in the brains of rats, according to new research.
The finding was described by Dr. Elias Aizenman on Sunday at the annual meeting of the American Society of Cell Biology in Washington, DC.

There haven't been many studies of the toxic effects of this compound, methyl-isothiazolinone or MIT, the researcher noted in a telephone interview with Reuters Health. "There are many documented instances of people being exposed to MIT in the workplace -- most of what one sees is contact burns or dermatitis or allergic sensitization," he said.

"I would be concerned that a pregnant woman working in such an environment could potentially be exposed to high enough concentrations of MIT to have some effects on the developing embryo, but we just don't know yet," he added.
In a previous study, Aizenman and his colleagues from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found that exposing mature rat neurons to a high concentration of MIT causes a high proportion of the cells to die within 10 minutes.

In their latest experiments, the researchers saw that prolonged exposure (roughly 18 hours) to a much lower, sub-lethal concentration of MIT caused embryonic rat neurons to stop developing in the way they should. Aizenman said he plans to conduct further studies of the toxic effects of MIT on nerves to better understand the "molecular mechanisms and the potential neurodevelopmental consequences."

Getting Clean Skin Could Be Hazardous to Your Health

By LEE BOWMAN Sunday, December 5, 2004

An antimicrobial agent found in many shampoos, soaps and cosmetic products inhibits the development of nerve cell structures critical for transmitting signals between cells, according to a new study presented Sunday.

Prolonged exposure to low levels of the agent _ methylisothiazolinone (MIT) _ restricted the growth of connections in immature rat nerve cells grown in lab cultures, apparently damaging the machinery of an enzyme that coordinates cell-to-cell contact. The compound may have potentially destructive consequences for developing nervous systems, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh told a meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology.

"While more research is needed to determine what effect MIT would have in rodent models, both at the cellular level and in a developing nervous system, our results thus far suggest there is potential that everyday exposure to the chemical could also be harmful to humans," said Elias Aizenman, a professor of neurobiology at Pitt who has been studying MIT for several years. "I realize it's a big leap to suggest there may be a parallel between environmental skin exposure and the noticeably higher rates of diagnosed childhood developmental disabilities, but I would caution that based on our data, there very well could be neurodevelopmental consequences from MIT," Aizenman added. "I would be particularly concerned about occupational exposure in pregnant women and the possibility of risk to the fetus."

MIT and related compounds kill harmful slimy bacteria that grows in wet environments, so they are often found in personal care products; paints and coatings; water-cooling systems; and factories that use water for manufacturing.

An EPA review of the chemical for industrial uses six years ago concluded it posed no significant threat to human health and Aizenman also has found no earlier published reports that the compound is neurotoxic.
Aizenman first came across the chemical several years ago when he was studying how a particular cell death pathway was activated. MIT actually uses a different pathway, but the researcher noticed that the compound was so commonplace that he went ahead with tests on rat nerve cells.

A 2002 report published in The Journal of Neuroscience found that 10-minute exposure to high concentrations of the agent was lethal to mature rat neurons. The new research on immature cells used doses 100 times less than the levels used for that study, but exposed them for an 18 hour period. Normally, when immature, developing nerve cells are kept in culture for that long they develop an axon, an extension from the cell body that's used for sending signals to other cells and several dendrites, projections that receive incoming information from other cells.

But in the cells that were exposed to MIT, Aizenman and post-doctoral fellow Kai He found that the nerve cells had few, if any, of the extensions. Further tests showed that MIT significantly targeted an enzyme that's critical for starting molecular events in cell-to-cell contacts.

While the team members will continue their own cellular studies and living animal studies, they are hoping that other scientists will take up research to widen awareness of potential risks.

"This chemical is being used more and more extensively, yet there have been no neurotoxicity studies in humans to indicate what kind and at what level skin exposure is safe," Aizenman said. "Clearly, more study is needed, with both scientists and government regulators equally engaged."

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Wash Your Hands with Soap - But Not Too Much

My mother was absolutely preoccupied about germs and cleanliness, after all “cleanliness is next to godliness,” right?

Articles are now coming out that childhood exposure to germs that normally exist in the environment strengthens their immune systems and may be a necessary part of a healthy life. What about handwashing, especially with antimicrobial agents? Even as a health professional, I’ve been concerned about overzealous washing and scrubbing. My concerns are not only for the damaging effects on the skin, but also for the secondary spreading of germs by the damaged skin.

A review of this subject by Dr. Elaine Larson, from the Columbia University School of Nursing, confirms my suspicions. As with antibiotics, when bacteria develop resistance, they not only become resistant to the single exposed agent, but somehow a whole slew of other agents the bugs never saw. The flora (bacteria) of the skin remains remarkably constant over time even without washing. Like the flora we develop in our gut after birth, the resident germs prevent colonization of more pathogenic germs.

However, washing too frequently, even with simple soaps or harsh agents, may break the skin’s protective layer, remove protective lipids, or alter flora to more pathogenic organisms. Studies on health professionals reveal an alarming rate of deteriorated skin, which carries a higher risk of germ transmission even when washed. Thus, routine public use of antimicrobial detergents isn’t only contraindicated, but potentially harmful, except in cases where there is a high risk of disease transmission (such as known contamination like fecal, crowded residence facilities, neonates, immune compromised individuals, food preparers, etc.).

Newer alcohol-based hand rinses may be superior since they do provide rapid killing of germs without the skin damaging effects of soaps, detergents, or chemical anti-microbials.

Action to take: Try not to be too fearful or zealous about germs. Normal bathing is fine, as good hygiene is healthful, but avoid using skin-damaging substances like anti-bacterial soaps. Routine use of topical antimicrobials should be avoided as well as unnecessary repeated exposure to detergents and soaps. Of course, use prudence where there’s obviously a known risk of transmission to yourself or others.

Ref: Emerging Infectious Diseases, March/April 2001.