Re: OT/Stop the use of Antibacterial Soap!

[Guest guest]

Here's the study

_http://www.ehponline.org/members/2008/11200/11200.pdf_

(http://www.ehponline.org/members/2008/11200/11200.pdf)

and an article about it

_http://blogs.rgj.com/data/2008/06/studies-raise-concerns-over-safety-of.html_

(http://blogs.rgj.com/data/2008/06/studies-raise-concerns-over-safety-of.html)

Friday, June 6, 2008

_Studies raise concerns over safety of antibacterial soap_

(http://blogs.rgj.com/data/2008/06/studies-raise-concerns-over-safety-of.html)

(http://67.88.53.36/mmMAD/Images/M-144.jpg) The chemicals that kill germs

in antibacterial soap -- triclosan and triclocarban -- have potential to

affect sex hormones and interfere with the nervous system, according to three

studies by researchers at the University of California at . They may even

be

linked to autism. Further, _antibacterial soap hasn't been shown to work

any better at keeping down germs than regular soap_

(http://www.webmd.com/news/20051020/fda-panel-no-advantage-to-antibacterial-soap\

) . So it's being

recommended that antibacterial products containing them be voluntarily

withdrawn. A

spokesman for the Soap and Detergent Association (I bet you didn't know this

group existed) calls the new reports about the dangers of antibacterial soap

" alarmist " -- and multiple studies have found them to be safe " for most

people. "

Triclosan is in 76% of liquid soap sold in stores and is added to

toothpaste, mouthwash, cosmetics, fabrics and plastic kitchenware. Triclocarban

is

commonly added to antibacterial bar soap and deodorant. Antibacterial products

generate about $1 billion in sales a year.

You can check out one of Chang & Friends' studies _here_

(http://www.ehponline.org/members/2008/11200/11200.pdf) . You can read the full

WebMD story on

the debate _here_

(http://www.webmd.com/news/20080529/safety-debate-on-antibacterial-soap) . This

is an excerpt:

[Dan] Chang, who coordinates [uC 's] studies on triclosan and

triclocarban as part of the Superfund Basic Research Program, supported by the

National Institute of Environmental Health, says the U.C. research

doesn't

contradict findings that triclosan and triclocarban are safe for most people.

But it does show that " there may be sensitive periods in development when

these compounds could have a very subtle detrimental effect. " Translation: If

the compounds cause harm, they are most likely to do so during pregnancy,

early childhood, and adolescence.

Chang argues that antibacterial soaps don't do enough good to risk this

potential harm.

In 2005, an FDA advisory panel concluded that antibacterial soaps, as used

by the general public, don't prevent illness any better than ordinary soap,

and they may contribute to the rise of resistant bacteria.

In one study, recently accepted for publication in the journal

_Environmental Health Perspectives_ (http://www.ehponline.org/) and made

available

online, Isaac Pessah, PhD, director of the U.C. Children's Center for E

nvironmental Health, looked at how triclosan may affect the brain.

Pessah's test-tube study found that the chemical attached itself to special

" receptor " molecules on the surface of cells. This raises calcium levels

inside the cell. Cells overloaded with calcium get overexcited. In the brain,

these overexcited cells may burn out neural circuits, which could lead to an

imbalance that affects mental development.

Some people may carry a mutated gene that makes it easier for triclosan to

attach to their cells. That could make them more vulnerable to any effects

triclosan may cause. ...

Triclocarban

Other researchers at U.C. found that the other chemical under study,

triclocarban, has an unusual effect on hormones. Triclocarban is a common

additive in antibacterial bar soap and deodorant.

For many years, some scientists have suspected that chemicals in the

environment, known as " endocrine disruptors, " may interfere with the human sex

hormones and reproductive development.

According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences,

endocrine disruptors may cause reduced fertility in women and men, early

puberty in

girls, and increases in cancers of the breast, ovaries, and prostate.

In the March 2008 issue of Endocrinology, the researchers published results

of studies in animals showing that triclocarban appears to amplify the

effects of hormones, telling cells to keep doing something after they normally

would have stopped.

Researchers tested triclocarban on human cells grown in the lab. When

exposed to estrogen and triclocarban together, the cells produced more of an

enzyme

than with estrogen alone.

In a separate test published in the Environmental Health Perspectives study,

the prostate glands of rats exposed to triclocarban and testosterone grew

bigger than those given testosterone alone.

Such studies cannot be repeated in humans for ethical reasons, so

researchers must infer that triclocarban could have the same effect in humans.

Lathering up for a single bath with soap containing triclocarban gives a

person the same dose of triclocarban that rats got in the study.

Wed Jun 18, 2008 12:17 pm

**************Gas prices getting you down? Search AOL Autos for

fuel-efficient used cars.

(http://autos.aol.com/used?ncid=aolaut00050000000007)