New findings on 'toxic mold' will further debate

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New findings on ‘toxic mold’ will further debate

http://www.fleshandstone.net/healthandsciencenews/1467.html

02 January, 2009 05:06:00 Kathlyn Stone

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Cleaning a household mold infestation

Mold toxins in buildings damaged by moisture are much more prevalent and more

potent than previously thought, according to new international research from

Lund University in Sweden. Scientific research concerning toxic mold has broad

implications for not only patients with respiratory illnesses but also U.S. home

sellers, building contractors, trial lawyers and insurance companies.

Researchers in the university’s medical microbiology lab analyzed dust and

material samples from buildings damaged by mold using mass spectometry. The 167

samples studied came from numerous sources, including some buildings flooded in

New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. They found that 67% of all of the samples

contained at least one mold toxin. “Previously it was claimed that the

occurrence of mould does not necessarily mean that there are toxins present.

But they are! On the contrary, we can assume that wherever there is visible

mould, there are also mould toxins,” says a Bloom a doctoral candidate at

Sweden’s Lund University. Bloom’s study also asserts toxins produced by mold

are more potent than previously thought. “It has now been shown, for instance,

that mould toxins (mycotoxins) not only directly kill cells but can also affect

immune cells in a way that increases the risk of allergies,” wrote Bloom. “Even

incredibly tiny amounts of these toxins

can do this, as little as a few picograms (a picogram is one millionth of a

millionth of a gram).”

These extremely small particles can enter the lungs more easily than the

spores that have been the focus of much more study, said Bloom. “We looked at

6-7 different mycotoxins and found them in a majority of the samples. And since

there are at least 400 sorts of mycotoxins, what we have seen is probably just

the tip of the iceberg,” she says.

The Lund team will continue to study the health effects of mold, and will take

part in a large EU study on the possible connection between asthma and

allergies and indoor environments in schools.

Keeping mold (and other) research news in perspective

In 2007 I reported on a Thorax-published study of 95 asthma patients and 87

controls in South Wales that found the patients’ respiratory illnesses

improved after the visible mold was removed from their homes.

“Asthma and rhinitis symptoms and the use of medications to treat them

were reduced in patients who took part in a randomized controlled trial to

see if removing visible household mould would relieve symptoms.”

After a year the intervention group (those whose mold was removed)

reduced their use of medications by 22% while the controls reduced their

medications by 16%. The intervention group also reported about 24% net

improvement in rhinitis and rhino conjunctivitis symptoms than the control

group, and the intervention group also showed an improvement in wheeze that

affected their activities like sleeping and speaking (31% vs 7% improvement

reported by the control group). "

In the story about the South Wales study, I included comments from

Woodcock, MD, University of Manchester, UK, who outlined some of the challenges

researchers face when attempting to isolate causes of respiratory diseases

thought to be the result of indoor mold. Among them are the lack of

sophisticated and standardized skin prick tests for mold susceptibility and the

million-wide range of fungal species.

Woodcock said the results of the South Wales mold and asthma study were

important but not wholly conclusive because improvement in symptoms could have

been due to factors other than removing mold, such as a reduction in passive

smoking or exposure to mite allergens.

Often, news announcements from research institutions are reported as is by

reporters challenged by deadlines, word length and background. To serve

readers and do the research justice, journalists should read and cite the

published study and, when possible, contact experts not involved with the study

to discover possible opposing views and drawbacks.

A few years ago, Rangle, MD, author of RangleMD.com, wrote a column,

”Toxic Mold Hysteria,” in which he responded to a news report about a mass

outbreak of illnesses related to mold found in a Connecticut school. Rangle

asserted that it was only after mold was discovered that “occupants begin

reporting symptoms.”

After clarifying that common molds, and particularly aspergillus, can

aggravate existing diseases, he added that “in none of these patient

populations is the mold blamed for causing the disease, only for aggravating

it.”

" It’s only human nature for people to try and make a connection between their

health and environmental factors and it’s in the apparent nature of the media

and lawyers to feed the fire of hysteria for the sake of ratings and personal

gain.” -- RangleMD.com

With mass spectrometry and data sharing growing among researchers, and the

public’s growing awareness about mold, expect to hear much more about its

health and legal impacts.

Citations:

Bloom, a, Mycotoxins in Indoor Environments: Determination using Mass

Spectrometry. Doctoral Thesis 2008

Burr ML, s IP, Arthur RA, Effects on patients with asthma of eradicating

visible indoor mould: a randomized controlled trial. Thorax. 2007

Sep;62(9):766-71. Epub 2007 Mar 27.